BTS Alien pic

Saw this over at AICN.. Man, they just don't do it like this anymore. All blue screens and cartoon backgrounds..
A thing of beauty.

Schweet. I'm still skeptical about this. Scott hasn't touched this genre in a while, and the series is so ized at this point. I also am against redundant prequels that eliminate the imagination and mystery of a series. I'm also very worried about The Thing prequel.

One of the reasons I like Christopher Nolan so much. Nolan doesn't use CGI unless it's absolutely necessary.

A transformer poops all over that.

I'm sure you really believe that...

I've been reading nothing but good stuff about it.. AIC has an interesting interview with Adebesi (I won't even attempt to spell his real name) who looks to be playing an apparent Childs type character..

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/47416

They discuss something that I've long wondered.. At the end of The Thing when Childs joins MacReady they leave it hanging as to whether either one is a Thing. As the years go by I lean towards thinking Childs is.. Thoughts?

CGI rules.

Practical FX, real locations etc. rule more..

One of my friends was once an employee at the Universal model shop... she told me how sad it was to see all these fine craftsmen and talented artists get shut down and put out of work because of the move to CGI.

There's a lot to be said for CGI; it does have it's benefits, otherwise nobody would use it. Unfortunately it also results in things like the Star Wars prequels and remixes of the original Episodes 4-6. There's so much great CGI in Forrest Gump that a wonderful story and historical rewrite happens; there's so much great CGI in Avatar that it results in a silly Disney cartoon that I don't care to see.

The HR Geiger-inspired set in the OP and the scene that results from it is a great example of what CGI can't do: the set can be filled with dank and mustiness... it can be made foggy and gloomy... it can became a character in and of itself, and it's tangibility gives the actors something to interact with and respond to. By comparison, all that can happen on a greenscreened CGI set is to have an actor constantly be told what his motivation is without ever actually seeing it or identifying with it. Hackness ensues, along with far-too-crisp digital imagery. In Alien, this set is impressive, but we feel the fear and intrigue of the characters in it because of what we can't see and not because of what's being brought to us in beautiful, crisp CGI rendering.

CGI can add to a scene under the guidance of skilled hands, but it can't be a scene itself; whenever it's tried, it becomes cheap eye candy. Industrial Sound And Light was far more convincing and engaging with plastic models and a black curtain than it was with Apple Final Cut Pro and a full set of plug-ins.

CGI on movies like Toy Story is great otherwise a little goes a long ways.