"Never Read Press" - Ridley Scott about Film Critics | Alien Covenant

[@nigelcarren]

Great interview mon ami. I love the fact that Sir Ridley Scott essentially declares himself a genius in interviews and nobody, myself included can disagree. BRAVO that man... such a can-do pioneer. 🏆🇬🇧

[@GuiSilva84]

Totally trusts his own talent. If critrics could make movies, THEY WOULD ! He's a brilliant man, definetely doing the right thing doing his job and not wasting time reading press.

[@nigelcarren]

@@GuiSilva84 Agreed! I have nothing to add to that. 👍🇬🇧

[@Neb30925]

Since you never read the press, Sir Ridley Scott, you will never know how much I love your movies. Sigh!

[@lukeskywalker6809]

Why does every question need to be answered? Sometimes mystery is more interesting than actually knowing. The case of the space jockeys is the best example when not knowing is much better than knowing.

[@josephhoffman2992]

I could care less what people say. Alien Covenant was a damn good film and people who say critics hated it haven't seen a lot of critic reviews... I'm so happy Ridley is making his next alien film

[@TheJacky211]

Super Interview! Will selbst in die Film Industrie und egal ob man Ridley Scott nun mag oder nicht, was er zu sagen hat ist super interessant.

[@Syklonus]

I didn't like the way Scott took the Alien lore in his recent movies, but I respect him for sticking to what he thought was best. I'm a fan, he's a film maker. It's his, not mine.

[@k31da]

Good interview! Very informative!

[@KugleeKuglee]

Why want everybody answer to all question? Mystery is one of the best key element in good movies (and driving force of imagine.....) If we know the root than at that moment we don't care too much, mystery solved go to the next.....

[@IcedEarth426]

Agreed. I like it when movies allow the viewer to think for themselves, rather than having everything spelled out for them.

[@lamarofgolgotha3071]

+IcedEarth426 I agree with both of you. It seems people have become lazy film viewers.

[@datatsushi2016]

I used to agree but now i disagree. Film makers have become lazy. How many post apocalyptic movies do we have now where the origin of the "disaster" never gets explained. A quiet place 2 for example. We still don't know jack about the creatures. Where did they come from? Why did they land on earth (did they even land at all?) what is their goal? I see what you guys are saying, but movies do require some sort of explanation.

[@leonidass3448]

Ridley my man ! He speaks the truth ! Don't let morrons tear your artwork down !

[@TheMksteel]

Leonidass People shit all over Blade Runner when it released and now look at the insane fan love, people may see this film a lot differently years from now...

[@leonidass3448]

TheMksteel I sure hope people all end up looking at Alien Covenant like the true masterpiece it is someday! :)

[@Hauerization]

No need for morons - he´s tearing himself down.

[@themonolith253]

Leonidass *I sure hope people all end up looking at Alien Covenant like the true masterpiece it is someday!* People are doing that with Prometheus. Covenant will never get that treatment because it just doesn't do anything new and is a collection of horror tropes, cliches and infuriatingly thick characters who are only remembered because of their stupidity. Prometheus was a step in a new direction. Covenant is two steps back. It is one of those films time will not sweeten.

[@enkiea52]

oh shut up

[@scarney29]

What I really want to know was why Jar Jar wasn't featured more prominently in this film.

[@Danlovar]

He says he never read press after Blade Runner, but he admits there was something going on and a lot of critics in the social media after Prometheus and now he comes with Alien Covenant. clap clap clap

[@nexusshark]

Basically the reason why Covenant failed was because Ridley, like he said, was listening to other critics and fans instead of being his own critic.

[@worldprez6655]

Ridley is the man, who else has stayed this good for this long?? Covenant was great, dude has 2 movies coming out this year, All the Money in the World looks great too

[@brianmoran6689]

These people in the comments are sad. The guy is making more Alien movies when he doesn't have to. You guys want more Alen vs Predator movies? Then shut up and be glad the guy who made the original Alien cares enough about the franchise to keep it out of the wrong hands. Alien Covenant was pretty good and so was Prometheus.

[@sophiaperennis2360]

"You guys want more Alen vs Predator movies?" In this bad quality? No, we don't.

[@germanichammersmash6440]

Brian Moran Ridley is going to kill the franchise. For years if he continues. His movies have been declining for decades. No I don't want more alien movies from Ridley.

[@bigmike3872]

Brian Moran No. Cant you fucking see what is right in front of you? Ridley Scott isn't interested in making 'Alien' movies. He wants to espouse us wit his views on everything from concepts of creation & death to A.I., theology, humanity & yes, the 80 yr old director is facing his own mortality right in front of us. I love Ridley Scott & defended him, adamantly for years because I believe when he's gone people will look back & say he was 1 of the most brilliant, visionary directors of the century. I've known that for awhile, but he's dropped the ball here. He looked in his back pocket at the possible pedestals upon which to preach & came to the conclusion that Alien franchise was that pedestal, larger than Blade Runner which he gave to someone else. This franchise doesnt hold any interest for him though. He is no longer excited by the material. He admitted this himself ' before' Prometheus. Any fool can see that for themselves. Each time he makes another sub par Alien film he not only detracts from the legacy of the 1st 2 films, he diminishes his own legacy. This needs to stop & now & thanks to Covenant mediocre box office & Fox officially branding it a ' flop', I think it's over for awhile & when it does return it will almost certainly be in a different iteration. Ridley has done enough damage to the franchise & more importantly, he's done enough damage to himself.

[@AFGalwayz]

alien covenant was shit. SPOILERS. why not call it david covenant? because there was no fucking alien in the original movie. there was no alien in the second or third. There was no ALIEN. It was made by fucking David. David did it all. Fuck this.

[@themonolith253]

Brian Moran *be glad the guy who made the original Alien cares enough about the franchise to keep it out of the wrong hands.* They were in the wrongs hands to begin with. Fox controls where the franchise goes, not Scott. He never even stood up for Prometheus when it got all the unwarranted backlash. If he were a true artist he would have stuck by his guns and told the critics to go fuck themselves and continued his original idea. But no. He cowered to the whiners and now we have Alien Covenant. A movie that is suffering from a severe identity crisis and a bad case of RSS (Retarded Spacemen Syndrome).

[@Merlinthehappypig]

Kingdom of Heaven is one of my favourite films. Truly amazing. Yet got slammed by idiotic critics.

[@TheMksteel]

Burn The Town Where I Was Born Indeed this guy has so much incredible visual subtext, Blade Runner was panned hard on release too. Bottom line is this guy makes beautiful movies with amazing worlds, so many hits, even his more mediocre films are better than a lot of the garbage Hollywood is churning out these days...

[@bradwatson7324]

Every Alien franchise movie except for the first film were poor. That first film, however -- perfection!

[@Julika7]

Ich hatte mir Ridley Scott irgendwie jünger vorgestellt. ich sollte mal seine alten Filme schauen. :^^

[@Julika7]

Sag ich ja.

[@MaxMustermann-go8xf]

Ein "Old Master"

[@luc2527]

Watch it with subtitles....

[@shelly2678]

Bester You Tuber ich liebe deine Interviews 😍👍👍

[@killerlifealbum]

Covenant was very good, we want a sequel please, but let her live, maybe start film as she wakes up and David is missing

[@SeniorAdrian]

Excellent interview.

[@Randymountaine]

Doesnt read the press, but talks about how fans complained there was no Xenomorph in Prometheus.. so added them to Covenant

[@bigmike3872]

Emperor Psycho o.k so he reads social media instead, either way, he's being hypocritical. He knows what's being said about his films

[@contactkeithstack]

big mike I know I wish hedidn't do that, prometheus was amazing, covenant felt like a compromise knowing that but maybe not. Both amazing.

[@Callsign-Blade_RunnerSG]

I agree with Ridley.

[@mikearchibald744]

Alien: "A masterpiece, a brilliant filmmaker makes a brilliant film" Ridley Scott: Thank you very much. Alien Covenant: "What a pile of garbage" Ridley Scott: Never read presss.

[@Khultan]

Dan O'Bannon created 'alien', NOT Ridley Scott. People must be reminded of this fact. Dan O'Bannon died in 2009. Prometheus was released in theaters in 2012. Did Sir Ridley Scott discuss with Dan O'Bannon about his ideas?

[@arielcontreras5882]

That's just it. He directed the first film with the material from Dan o' Bannon and Ronald Suchet and the ALIEN Xenomorph was the creation of H.R. Giger. But he thinks it's his story. That's why Prometheus and Covenant stunk because Ridley Scott doesn't know where the story is going.

[@arielcontreras5882]

And sad to say Dan O Bannon died, the same with H.R. Giger so goodbye to biomechanical dreams. The Alien franchise is in very bad shape right now.

[@Khultan]

Ariel Contreras I see that you haven't committed to research. Dan O'Bannon had said in an interview that had he another chance to work on a sequel to his masterpiece that he would have abandoned the creature behind to pursue the idea of 'alien', yet, 'fans' seem to have little to no remembrance or clue of the intent of the premise behind the 1979 story.

[@Khultan]

Ariel Contreras But, you're also correct, Ridley Scott thinks he created this which couldn't be further from the truth, though it must be said he is a most crucially integral part of the original visionary team and nobody else, remember that even Dan O'Bannon was initially doubtful and couldn't understand why Ridley was selected because he had no connection whatsoever with science fiction but was recommended by 20th Century Fox (Giler? ) because of the aesthetics behind the film, 'Duel'. It's incredible that 'alien' was made in the first place if you look at the behind the scenes story, just incredible.

[@bigmike3872]

American Borndurin Patriot. you're correct . Alien was 1 of those very rarest of occasions when all these different pieces of the puzzle came together at exactly the right​ place & exactly the right time & came together in a perfect storm to create a film that seemed to take on a life of its own .. The cast Ridley assembled were simply some of The best character actors working and somehow sold all of them on making what appeared to be nothing but straight up B Monster movie shit. Those actors had to sell. a completely new vision of space that no one had ever seen before. You had the sterile & ultra realistic extrapolation of existing technology to create stunning future that no one had ever seen in kubricks 2001 & on the opposite end of the spectrum but no less stunning was the incredible fantasy/sci-fi combo that combined incredibly dynamic fx combined with a kinetic style of direction that brought the intensity of a world war 2 aerial dog fight combined with a vision of a distant galaxy that looked so used, so lived in that it was almost possible to believe it could eixist in Lucas' Star Wars. But somewhere on the middle came the ' Space Trucker' vision of Alien & to me , this really sold the movie in its own way as much as Gigers art or the direction or writing. The movie worked & stoll works because its so goddamn REAL that you kind of feel like your 1 of the crew.The concept of a commercial entity growing so wealthy & powerful that private enterprise rivaled the governments capabilities seemed like a huge leap to some people in 1979. It doesn't seem that way anymore. And they're reason for being out there , picking automated mineral ore refinerys that We've depleted on our own planet is utterly believeable. But what really sets up the horror aspects so brilliantly is this sort of mundane arrogance thar comes with doing anything enough times again​ & again. Space has seemingly become ' routine". Its no longer an adventure. Its a job. Its almost like there was this unintentional arrogance that comes from working successfully & uneventfuly so many times that its almost as if they forgot or just pretended to forget where exactly they were at. well, they get a reality check in a big, big way. In the vast & icy cold vastness that is interstellar deep space travel you would never want to delude yourself about where exactly you were at & how exactly you were earning your money. There is just something so innateky creepy about space. Its this incomprehensible void & it represents the ultimate embodiment of our human fear of the unknown because deep down in our subconsciou we actually kmow that, Given the sheer size & numbers & time variables involved, the possibility mmmmmmmmmexteaterrestrial life in some way & in some form isnt just likely but all but a mathematical certainty. And when you look at our own planet & the diversity of life here on land & especially in our oceans, you start to get the big picture which is why, when theyre awakened thinking they're home & come to realise that they're not home. they are, in fact right in the middle of the endless pitch black ocean that they're usually hybernating through, so to wake up & realize that theyre still very much in deep space & have been prematurely awakened because the ships computer which is really just an artificially intelligent extension of the compay itself has intercepted a transmission of onlnown origin & that pet company policy, any indication of a possible intelligent origin must be investigated at risk of forfeiture of your pay. That is utterly ruthless but again, realistic in the context future represents which is just an extensions of what capitalistic , corporate America already represents. opportunism. Weyland is that kind of corporate nightnare company come to life. Weyland is the type of company that never forgets to cross its Td & dot its Is. Nort ever. You're supposed to think that they were so opportunistic that they loojed at tne particular line of work they were involved with , all these deep space runs for resources we've depleted here, that the possibility, however slim, does exist for contact of some kind with extraterrestrial life & should that chance encounter occur, however slim it may be, they werent going to be caught unawares & miss out on an opportunity to glean some kind of biologiccal or technological advantage that would be inherent to the company that came across an oppertunity for contact of the 1st 2nd or 3rd kind & was prepared . So they implemented a series of orotocolsvyhat eould automatically go into effect upon any kind of contact with a possible E.T. to make sure they were at least be putting themselves in a position to take advantage if the encounter was friendly & yielded some kind of technological or biological advantage & if the encoynter was not of the friendly kind like many of the brightest minds on. our planet suggest , oh well.There were always plenty of potential weyland future employee And them , to hedge their bets even more, they started crewing all their space runs with a synthetic at science officer an actual physical extension of Mother the company who their precious science officer would essentially guatantee a shot of success a even at expense of their lives. Thats brutal.

[@HelzHeli313]

Ridley Scott and James Cameron got to do Alien 5..

[@arielcontreras5882]

At first I was a fan of Ridley Scott because he presumably set the standards for what great sci/fi movies should be, with ALIEN and Blade Runner. He's a great visual director but story wise...not so much. He needs an ensemble of good dedicated writers and artists like what happened in ALIEN. Right now he's trying desperately to tie - down the ALIEN mythos with his Prometheus garbage. Oil and water don't mix. Alien is like water because, the narrative, the visuals etc. all flows smoothly into one cohesive story. Prometheus and Covenant are like oil. They're volatile and likely to explode in his face. Once in his interviews he said he wanted to explore the space jockey's backstory. Right now he's doing it but in the worst possible way. It's his vision but it's not a good one.

[@bigmike3872]

Ariel Contreras Good fucking analyses man. Im serious. That's some of the better stuff I've read & you're absolutely right. That's why all of this is such a tough pill to swallow. Because its Ridley Scott that's doing it & that's hard to take. WE ALL KNOW WHAT HE CAN DO, but he's not doing that. If this is the best screenplay that paid Hollywood professionals can come up with in 5 yrs time then Ridley should've just said NO.

[@skidmc]

It's as if he was david with the 3 following Aliens and Ripley wide open on a planet, waiting for the fox to pass by again for a covenant. If the fox is tired by the critics saying "it's horrific", let's hope another animal comes.

[@RaikenXion]

remember, David 31822-B

[@squarepants49]

"Ridley Scott is so great"- Ridley Scott.

[@TheDensley7]

No more than a hired gun. He takes credit for other peoples ideas, and his movies are pretty impersonal.

[@nunouno001]

Yes Ridley Scott, that is the best way to make good movies. Avoid all forms of constructive criticism.

[@mattchelseadavis]

Wtf he thinks Alien fans didn't want to know about the jockey??? Get this guy out of the Alien franchise please!!!

[@jorgerodriguez6042]

ridley scott you at bs

[@themonolith253]

Scott is talking absolute bollocks here. "If you want to take your art form seriously you have to be your own critic, no one else." Well then why did you change your original sequel plan because of the fan backlash for Prometheus? If you thought the movie was good, why didn't continue with the David/Shaw/Engineer story instead of jumping back into the established Alien formula? Oh right, it's because you are talking shite.

[@arditlika9388]

Aurora Veil because compromise has to be made when dealing with such projects. The studio's priority is profit, and they won't finance the film if they think the idea is risky. It wasn't Scott who was influenced by backlash, it was the producers. For all it' s worth, I absolutely loved the film and can't wait for the next.

[@themonolith253]

Ardit Lika Scott was influenced by the fan reaction. In an interview, he blatantly says the fans made him realise he was wrong. The producers and Scott focused only on the xenomorph complaints clearly, seeing as how every single character in Covenant is a fucking idiot, which was a major complaint in Prometheus. If Scott were a true artist, he should have walked out of the project and not taken part in the butchering of his story.

[@arditlika9388]

Aurora Veil Then someone else would have taken it instead. Similarly, Peter Jackson jumped in the last second to direct the hobbit realising it was going to be made anyway, with or without him. Artistic integrity only goes so far in these situations when you simply have no other choice and are emotionally atached to the project. I think he felt that if he stepped out they would have messed it up certainly. Again, I loved the film so I'm thrilled with the result.

[@themonolith253]

Ardit Lika Artistic integrity is everything. It’s because he loves the franchise that he should have walked out on Covenant. Better to not be associated with a train wreck instead of trying to lesson the damage. Good for you that you loved the film. However most people thought it was a load of bullshit cliches and insultingly stupid plot points. There is a reason why Fox is putting the next film on hold and re-evaluating the sequel franchise as a whole.

[@arditlika9388]

Aurora Veil criticaly it did quite well, and I think it was brilliantly directed. At this point we're comparing taste here, which might be besides the point. I understand why you might value artistic integrity so highly, rightfully so, but as an artist myself, I had had to chose between integrity and emotion, and I'm afraid to say, emotion wins almost every time.

[@kazakhseven]

I like Ridley Scott but he's lost the plot with Alien Covenant. Its a fail as you have to watch 20 other reviews to understand whats happening and even then it doesn't quite come together. Alien covenant has raised even more puzzling questions. Prometheus promised fans a whole new World of Engineers and what their role was in the creation of the Xenomrph, instead Fox interferred, we now have a mess with no continuity. Alien Covenant wasn't even scary either. Whats the use as they won't listen anyway!

[@dinsism]

Noice

[@maxheadshot3287]

Haha, i guess that he even does not read the scripts properly, he is such a mindless messy. I guess that every movie what he has solely the creative lead for, is a dead horse (at least today). He is a talented photographer, nothing more. 5 very good movies is a pretty poor record for a whole lifetime.

[@southlondon86]

Bruh he started in films at 40 and there are filmmakers who don’t even have 1 good movie...

[@dr.destrukkto-stien9154]

What a total piece of shit this movie was...Massive disappointment. The next one will go straight to the syfy channel.

[@rodster6campingprepper]

Make a decent movie and then maybe you won't have to avoid reading bad reviews.

[@bigmike3872]

Stuart Richards But most critics gave Covenant favorable reviews. It was fan reaction & shitty box office that did in Covenant, so what should Ridley do now? Well, nothing, is the answer of course because there's nothing to do, that is unless Ridley wants to finance a sequel himself. Do you see that happening? Because I dont. They're gonna shelve Alien, again. Just like they did after Resurrection, which is what happened when Sigourney Weaver had almost total control. Ridley Scott has fared little better with his attempts at control. They're both going to result in the same fucking thing. Yet another impasse in thw long, drawn out saga that is Alien

[@josephhoffman2992]

lmao have you read some reviews for Alien Covenant? They seem to love it

[@cinemar]

No ne ever asked that question or even cared about it.

[@goliathsparrow1082]

from what ive seen you dont read anything

[@B8libra]

Worst Alien movie ever made and finished for our sadness and why for what? Tell a movie what could be told in the wake of the story of Shaw a new Ripley that Ridley had just created, after all I thought was different but not he is how others create well and destroy even worse

[@pacochuquiure7807]

No my friend. The subpar Alien movies are two: Aliens and Alien 3. It is a tie.

[@OverLorD768]

Worst is still "Ressurection".

[@4Everlast]

"I never read press"... And this is why Ridley fucked up badly from The body of lies (2008) all the way to 2017's Covenant, it's all beutiful jet hollow. I respect him as a director and he is one of the best, but without a good script he can't do shit, as Martian goes to prove. If you made a movie and it's in theatres OK don't read it, what's done is done, but you make 1 film and you know there's ATLEAST 1 more to do, you read you're fuckin' "press" and see wtf you did wrong instead of listenning to the studio and their test audiences witch fucked up more films than we can count.

[@Kains_Gaming_Channel]

WE WANT JAMES CAMERON BACK!!!!

[@moviefreck-lq5gp]

just you :]

[@Kains_Gaming_Channel]

Pa Tos. I know I'm not alone :)

[@johnsmith-zu5db]

No chance! Cameron has already said he's committed to Avatar. For the next 1,000 yrs.

[@nephuraito]

A war movie with xenomorphs no thanks.

[@Khultan]

I don't.