Earlier this week, Don’t Breathe and Evil Dead (2013) director Fede Álvarez shared the “Don’t f*ck up” card that he received (ahead of helming Alien: Romulus) from Alien director Ridley Scott. The king of the chestbursters, however, had some more specific advice for the new co-helmer of the franchise (Noah Hawley is showrunning FX’s upcoming TV series) that he shared after Scott was the first person to test-watch the movie.
Scott didn’t reveal his exact wording while speaking with Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet, but he suggested that his advice included trimming down the runtime, and Scott also (jokingly?) alluded to Álvarez having a (privately) physical response to Scott’s notes.
“I was hugely relieved that it was potentially a huge film, and I just said, you don’t have to take a note, but I’ll tell you what I think,” the Gladiator 2 director related. “And instead of talking, I sit down and write notes, and he reads them privately, kicks the wall, punches the door, and then comes out and says, ‘They’re good notes.’” Then Álvarez took that advice to heart: “And from that, I was impressed… mostly, directors tend to make it too long. It was long, so you don’t want to lose that dynamic. The dynamics in this kind of movie are everything. He had so much going on, he didn’t need so much.”
Alien: Romulus takes place on the Alien franchise timeline in between the onscreen events of Alien (released in 1979) and Aliens (released in 1986 as directed by James Cameron). The new film follows young-adult colonists who scavenge a ship and receive much more than they bargained for. Expect some Ellen Ripley easter eggs, of course, because you gotta give a nod to Mom.
Alien: Romulus arrives in theaters on August 16.