ANAHEIM – Saturday was something of a coming out day for Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus.” The Sci-Fi epic appeared before the masses of Comic-Con’s Hall H last July, but WonderCon’s smaller environs provided the opportunity to reveal more details about what may or may not be an “Alien” prequel (depending on your definition of prequel). Arguably the two most recognizable stars in the ensemble, Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender, took some time out to talk to HitFix about one of this summer’s most anticipated films in an interview you can find embedded at the top of this article.
The film was co-written by Damon Lindelof (“Lost”) so it’s no surprise keeping the script under wraps for as long as possible was a key concern. In fact, Theron reveals she had to undergo something of a “mission: impossible” scenario to read a draft before accepting the role.
“I was actually in Malaysia during monsoon so I couldn’t get reception,” Theron says. “He said, ‘I am emailing you the script now and you have to read it in two hours or it will just implode on itself.’ I had two hours to find a hill top in monsoon rain to get reception to read it. So, that was my experience.”
Fassebender, on the other hand, was actually able to finish the entire script, but says it felt like someone “had a gun to my head” saying “read faster.” The acclaimed star of “Shame,” “A Dangerous Method” and “X-Men: First Class” admits he’s a slow reader, but he was impressed by the story Lindelof and Scott had collaborated on.
“I was like, ‘This is really great. When is it going to fall apart?’ And then it just got better and better,” Fassbender says. “It’s rare to get intelligent scripts and scripts where you can’t really put your finger on what’s going to happen 10 pages in and you’re not aware of the arcs of the characters or what their journeys are going to be. So, it’s a page turner and hopefully it will be like that visually and I’m sure it will be because Ridley’s a genius.”
One of the major revelations during the days panel and press is that Fassbender is playing an android in the tradition of Ash in “Alien” (played by Ian Holm) and Bishop in “Aliens” (played by Lance Henricksen). The question is whether David is as evil as the former or goodhearted as the latter. When asked Fassbender looks at Theron and says, No, he’s just a good guy. Wouldn’t you say [about] David?”
Theron pauses and then responds, “Am I twitching?”
Insinuate from that what you will.
More intriguing is Theron’s revelation that her character, Meredith Vickers, isn’t a military officer or scientist on this star trek to an alien planet to investigate an ancient “invitation.” No, Vickers is a “corporate suit” and she may have more than her share of secrets. Could she be as dangerous as Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) in “Aliens” or as corrupt as Giovanni Ribisi’s suit in “Avatar”? Well, perhaps Theron own words will provide some insight.
“She is this quiet storm,” Theron says. “Initially I thought there was a lot of potential with that character to hide secrets and in that world I can be very scary, because it’s not at that level where you can be, ‘I’m outta here.’ You’re stuck on that spaceship. I thought there was something there where we could take your character who is the quintessential suit, the business aspect of how this thing is getting up there, and turn it into something that is a little different. Turn it on its head.”
You can watch the entire interview embedded at the top of this post.
“Prometheus” opens nationwide in IMAX and 3D on June 8.