Prometheus
The Search for Our Beginning Could Lead to Our End
Country
Production
Genre
Budget
$130 000 000
Box office
$403 354 469
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Ridley Scott, David Giler, Walter Hill, Mark Huffam, Michael Costigan, Damon Lindelof, Michael Ellenberg
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
Arthur Max, Philip Elton, Claudio Campana
Audition
Avy Kaufman, Nina Gold
Editing
Short description
A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
What's left behind the scenes
- The three triangles—the Weyland Corporation logo (which visually resembles The Weinstein Company logo)—actually originate from a wall drawing in an early Ron Cobb painting depicting a "Space Pilot" for the original Alien film. This logo can be seen in David's fingerprints.
- During the flight, David watches David Lean's film 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962) and attempts to replicate the hairstyle of the main character played by Peter O'Toole.
- Producers Walter Hill and David Giler joined Ridley Scott for the first time in 30 years, since their first collaboration on the film "Alien" (1979).
- Ridley Scott named the film "Prometheus," believing that this title fully reflected its essence: "It is a story of creation; a story about the gods and the man who rebelled against them." In ancient Greek mythology, the titan Prometheus, a servant of the gods, stole fire and gave it to humans, which forever changed the course of humanity for better and worse simultaneously.
- After the Alien’s blood gets on Holloway’s helmet, it melts the plastic and drips onto his face, leaving a huge imprint. Later, when the rest of the team exits the ship to rescue him, he only has a small puncture in his helmet.
- Gemma Arterton, Carey Mulligan, Olivia Wilde, Anne Hathaway, Abby Cornish, and Natalie Portman were all considered for the role of Dr. Elizabeth Shaw.
- According to Ridley Scott, the film's plot was inspired by the works of Erich von Däniken regarding the presence of alien astronauts on Earth in the distant past: "Both NASA and the Vatican agree that mathematically it is almost impossible for us to be where we are today without some small amount of help along the way. That is what interests us: we are talking about gods and engineers, engineers of space. Were the aliens conceived as a form of biological weapon, or as something that would come and cleanse the planet?"
- When Vickers stands before Weyland and talks about why she went on the journey, her hands change position several times. In one frame they are in front of her, and in the next they are behind her.
- On May 7, 2012, Guillermo del Toro stated that his long-planned preparation for the film 'At the Mountains of Madness' had been postponed indefinitely once he felt that Ridley Scott's approach to the film was very similar to how he had been working on Lovecraft's novella, to the point that there 'would be almost identical scenes, the same plot branches, and exactly the same revelations at the end'.
- This is not Ian White's (who plays the last engineer) only role connected to the "Alien" film series. White also played Predators in the "Alien vs. Predator" series.
- This is not the only role Ian White (who plays the last Engineer) has had in the 'Alien' film series. White also played the Predators in the 'Alien vs. Predator' movies.
- Multiple times during the initial exploration of the planet, the characters' helmets are shown being cleaned with steam, and then in the next frame they are completely clear.
- Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski convinced Ridley Scott that the film could be shot in 3D with the same ease and efficiency as a conventional film. The company 3ality Technica provided the equipment to facilitate 3D filming and trained the staff on how to use it. Since shooting 3D films requires higher lighting on set, the dark, gloomy atmosphere inherent to the Alien films was added during the final stage.
- On May 7, 2012, Guillermo del Toro stated that his long-planned preparation for the film 'At the Mountains of Madness' had been postponed indefinitely as soon as he felt that the approach in Ridley Scott's film was very similar to how he was working on the Lovecraft novella, to the point that "there would be almost identical scenes, the same plot branches, and exactly the same revelations at the end."
- Swedish actress Noomi Rapace trained extensively for her role to speak with a British accent.
- When Dr. Elizabeth Shaw is rescued during the sandstorm, Dr. Holloway calls her 'Numi'.
- Ridley Scott suggested that the actors “live” in the sets on the set, but this did not happen due to safety violations and the potential threat to the actors’ health.
- To emphasize the mysterious nature of Meredith Vickers, Ridley Scott instructed Charlize Theron on how to freeze, lurking in a corner, and how to move stealthily.
- While preparing for the role of David, Michael Fassbender watched films such as: 'Blade Runner' (1982), 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' (1976), 'The Servant' (1963), and 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962). Fassbender also studied Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis, drawing inspiration from his physical qualities.
- Charlize Theron had a difficult time during the filming of the action scenes due to her smoking habit, especially during scenes where she had to run on sand in shoes weighing fourteen kilograms.
- Logan Marshall-Green described his role as Charlie Holloway as a specialist in worldwide extreme games from the cable sports channel "ESPN" who watches before he leaps.
- Logan Marshall-Green described his role as Charlie Holloway as a global extreme games specialist from the cable sports channel ESPN, who looks before he leaps.
- Ridley Scott contacted the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London to find specialists who could help create a new language for the film. Ultimately, Anil Biltoo, from the university's language center, took on the task of creating the language, as well as the alien writing system seen throughout the film. Anil himself can be seen in a scene with Michael Fassbender.
- Ridley Scott titled the film “Prometheus,” believing that this title fully reflected its essence: “It’s a creation story; a story about gods and a man who rebelled against them.” In ancient Greek mythology, the servant of the gods, the Titan Prometheus, stole fire and gave it to humans, forever changing human life for the better and for the worse at the same time.
- Producers Walter Hill and David Giler joined Ridley Scott for the first time in 30 years, since their first collaboration on the film 'Alien' (1979).
- In preparing for the role of David, Michael Fassbender watched films such as 'Blade Runner' (1982), 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' (1976), 'The Servant' (1963), and 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962). Fassbender also studied Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis, drawing inspiration from his physical qualities.
- At the conference, when Shaw discusses her findings, the inscription “Eilean a' Cheo” can be seen in the background. Translated from Scottish (Celtic), it means “Island of Mists,” this island is also known as Skye, and its name is correctly written as “An t-Eilean Sgitheanach.”
- The moment when Dr. Shaw grabs the axe happens instantaneously, from a shot filmed behind her to a shot in front of her.
- When Shaw exits the escape pod, she is wearing a helmet but no gloves. In the next shot, she is wearing gloves.
- Charlize Theron had a difficult time filming the action scenes due to her smoking habit, especially during scenes where she had to run across the sand in footwear weighing fourteen kilograms.
- Ridley Scott decided not to show Xenomorphs in the film because “the sequels wrung everything out of them, and it was great… but I’m not going back to them in any way.” The film is nevertheless an indirect prequel to “Alien” (1979), and Scott decided to show the ancestors of the Xenomorphs, the parents of the Xenomorphs.
- The role of Charlie Holloway could have gone to James Franco.
- During the flight, David watches David Lean's film "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) and tries to replicate the hairstyle of the main character as portrayed by Peter O'Toole.
- H.R. Giger, who created the appearance of the xenomorph for "Alien" (1979), was invited as a design consultant for the aliens in this film.
- When Vickers asks David how long they have been in hypersleep, he replies: “2 years, 4 months, 18 days, 36 hours, 15 minutes.” It is unclear why a day should be longer than the standard 24 hours, and why he didn’t say “19 days, 12 hours.”
- Michelle Yeoh was considered for the role of Meredith Vickers.
- During the making of the film, Ridley Scott tried to use computer graphics as little as possible, using it primarily in spatial scenes. Scott recalled advice from visual effects specialist Douglas Trumbull, which he gave him during the filming of “Blade Runner” (1982): “If you can do it live, do it live,” and also stated that real visual effects are much more cost-effective than digital ones.
- The first shots of cave paintings at the beginning of the film, which depict a horse in motion, are taken from the Chauvet Cave in southern France. Werner Herzog made a documentary film about these drawings, "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" (2010) (which was also shot in 3D, incidentally).
- As mentioned in the film, Prometheus is a character from Greek mythology. He was a Titan (immortal) who gave fire to mankind. Prometheus was punished for this; he was chained to a rock in Colchis, where an eagle (a symbol of Zeus) flew every day to peck at his liver. And just as it grew back, the eagle would return the next day and eat it again. In some tales, Prometheus is eventually freed by Heracles (Hercules). Among the ancient Greeks, Prometheus was revered as a deity. Prometheus may originate from the Greek “foreseeing” or from the Proto-Indo-European “thief.” Prometheus also deceived the gods, which has significance for the film.
- Gemma Arterton, Carey Mulligan, Olivia Wilde, Anne Hathaway, Abbie Cornish, and Natalie Portman were considered for the role of Dr. Elizabeth Shaw.
- Initially, the film was intended to be a prequel to 'Alien' (1979), which was also directed by Ridley Scott. However, he decided to make 'Prometheus' an original film starring Noomi Rapace (who had been cast at the time), who eventually played one of the five lead roles. Later, it was confirmed that although the film takes place in the same universe as 'Alien' (1979) and references it extensively, it would effectively be an original film rather than a direct prequel.
- The film was originally supposed to be called "Paradise," as planned in December 2010.
- When Captain Janek flirts with Meredith Vickers, she claims to be “half a billion miles” away from other people. That distance barely stretches from the Sun to Jupiter, let alone other solar systems.
- David saves Elizabeth and Charlie from a sandstorm 'cutting through their spacesuits,' and in the very next scene in the airlock we see that the suits are without a single scratch.
- The three triangles – the logo of the Weyland Corporation (which visually resembles the logo of The Weinstein Company) actually originates from a drawing on a wall in the background of an early Ron Cobb painting depicting a “Space Jockey” for the original “Alien” film. This logo can be seen in David’s fingerprints.
- Rumor has it that Ben Foster could have gotten one of the roles in the film.
- The film contains approximately 1300 shots with special effects.
- H.R. Giger, who created the appearance of the Xenomorph for 'Alien' (1979), was invited to serve as a design consultant for the aliens in this film.
- Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski convinced Ridley Scott that the film could be shot in 3D as easily and efficiently as a conventional film. "3ality Technica" provided equipment to facilitate 3D shooting and trained personnel to operate it. Since filming 3D movies requires higher lighting on set, the dark, gloomy atmosphere characteristic of the Alien films was added in post-production.
- The Prometheus crew’s spacesuits are made in a very strange way: they can withstand a fierce sandstorm and don’t even get a scratch, but they tear easily when an unfortunate astronaut breaks an arm or when a helmet is shattered by an impact.
- The scene that opens the film was shot in Iceland. The entire shoot took two weeks.
- Ridley Scott suggested that the actors "live" in the sets on the filming location, but this did not happen due to safety violations and potential health risks to the actors.
- When Dr. Shaw enters the ship that crash-landed on the planet, you can see books and belongings scattered everywhere, but a bottle of vodka sits undisturbed on the bar next to a helmet and some kind of container.
- Ridley Scott contacted the School of Oriental and African Studies in London to find specialists who could help create a new language for the film. Ultimately, Anil Biltoo from the university's language center took on the task of creating the language, as well as the alien script seen throughout the movie. Anil himself can be seen in a scene with Michael Fassbender.
- An innovative viral advertising campaign, consisting of several videos depicting the world of the near future from the film, was used to promote the film. The first was a video of Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) giving a speech at a “TED” conference in 2028. Then two different versions of the advertisement for the android “David 8” (Michael Fassbender) were released. These videos were conceived by Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof, and directed by Luke Scott (Ridley’s son).
- According to rumors, Ben Foster may have been considered for one of the roles in the film.
- An innovative viral marketing campaign was used to promote the film, consisting of several videos depicting the near-future world of the movie. The first was a clip of Peter Weyland's (Guy Pearce) speech at a "TED" conference from the year 2028. This was followed by two different versions of an advertisement for the "David 8" android (Michael Fassbender). These videos were conceived by Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof and directed by Luke Scott (Ridley's son).
- According to Ridley Scott, the inspiration for the film's plot came from the works of Erich von Däniken about the presence of alien astronauts on Earth in the distant past: “Both NASA and the Vatican agree that mathematically it is almost impossible that we are where we are today without some small help along the way. That's what interests us: we are talking about gods and engineers, space engineers. Were aliens designed as a form of biological weapon, or as something that will come and cleanse the planet?”
- To emphasize the mysterious nature of Meredith Vickers, Ridley Scott explained to Charlize Theron how to freeze, hide in a corner, and move stealthily.
- Initially, the film was supposed to be a prequel to "Alien" (1979), also directed by Ridley Scott. However, he decided to make "Prometheus" an original film starring Noomi Rapace (who was already slated for a role), who ultimately became one of the five main cast members. Later it was confirmed that, despite taking place in the same universe as "Alien" (1979) and referencing it in many ways, it would actually be an original film, not a direct prequel.
- During the production of the film, Ridley Scott sought to rely on computer graphics as infrequently as possible, using them primarily for space scenes. Scott recalled advice from visual effects specialist Douglas Trumbull given during the filming of "Blade Runner" (1982): "If you can do it live, do it live," and also stated that practical visual effects are far more cost-effective than digital ones.
- The initial shots of cave paintings at the beginning of the film, which show a horse in motion, are taken from the Chauvet Cave in southern France. Werner Herzog filmed a documentary about these paintings called 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams' (2010) (which, incidentally, was also filmed in 3D).
- The names of the androids in the Alien films go in alphabetical order: Ash in “Alien”; Bishop in “Aliens” and “Alien 3”; Call in “Alien Resurrection”. In “Prometheus” – David.
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Auditions in India
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