web counter
 

Bullet Dodged

By Cindy Davis | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (19)

leonardo-dicaprio.jpg

I love me some Leo DiCaprio (quiet, Jay), but there is one place this fine actor doesn’t belong: an Alien film. Not that I don’t think he could do a fantastic job; I’m sure he’d put on that super-freaked-out, paranoid expression he wore through most of Shutter Island and half of Inception. He’d make us believe he was scared. He can handle the physicality of a role, he has the chops to pull off any part he might be given — ship doctor, researcher, android, asshole corporate mogul who turns out to have started the whole monster race — but, dude just does not belong there. He would throw everything all out of whack and it would no longer be an Alien film, it would all be overshadowed by his presence. So, I hope you’ll be as happy as me to hear we have dodged that bullet.

There were rumors flying around this week that the prequels had been delayed until 2013 or so. But, New York magazine claims that Ridley Scott wanted DiCaprio and the possibility of holding off was due to Leo’s scheduling conflicts. Things didn’t work out though, so production is set to begin March 2011.

The prequel’s working title is said to be Paradise and like its original Alien predecessor, the film will “follow a group of space travelers who encounter a monstrous alien creature that picks them off, one by one.” In addition to the lead female role (for which Noomi Rapace and Olivia Wilde are vying), Vulture reports there are several parts being cast: an earlier version of Bishop, named David; and Vickers, a hot, tough chick. Names being bandied about for these roles are Michael Fassbender (Jonah Hex, Inglourious Basterds) and Michelle Yeoh (Memoirs of a Geisha, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Finally, I’m a little alarmed hearing that there will be an engineer portrayed by a CGI enhanced actor, but as long as it’s not too gimmicky and the story is well done, that’s still better than if Leo had come on board.

Is anyone else as relieved as me or do you think DiCaprio should have gotten lost in space?









Each Time You Like, Share, Tweet or Stumble a Pajiba Post, An Angel Does the Paul Rudd Dance

← Transformers: Dark Of The Moon Trailer | Is That You Bay, Or Just A Brilliant Disguise | First Trailer for BBC Dirk Gently Adaptation | "Let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all" →









Comments

Is anyone else as relieved as me or do you think DiCaprio should have gotten lost in space?

Both?


HA!

Posted by: Jay at December 9, 2010 9:35 AM

If Noomi Rapace is in it, I'm there.

Posted by: clocker at December 9, 2010 10:20 AM

I love me some Olivia Wilde, and she's on my list, but Ripley worthy she is not. If she's supposed to be a non-Ripley like character, then ok. Let Michelle Yeoh do all the ass-kicking. I

Posted by: KatSings at December 9, 2010 10:29 AM

KatSings was forcibly removed from this column mid-sentence by a giant mob of horny 15 year olds nerds who want to see Olivia Wilde covered in dirt and sweat wearing a torn shirt and a sneer while battling aliens in space. I say we give them what they want if we ever want to see KatSings again.

Posted by: Kballs at December 9, 2010 10:41 AM

I'm 53, not 15.

The rest is accurate.

Posted by: , at December 9, 2010 10:47 AM

Well, the fucking 15 year olds need to take their fucking medicine and learn who the fuck Michelle Yeoh is. Fuckers.

Posted by: Jay at December 9, 2010 10:52 AM

Man, when did Olivia Wilde becomes such a hot commodity? Did I blink and miss it? Her giant, bodysuit-clad self looms over me every day on the 101 from that massive Tron: Uncanny Valley billboard. Doing a classic yoga Warrior pose and clutching a futuristic AEROBIE Pro, she's narrowing her gaze on the Berkeley hills as if she means to shear the heads off some hardcore hippies (not that I blame her).

But seriously, isn't she was just that super skinny chick who was a bisexual on The OC and then bisexual and sick on House. Now she's all giant billboard posing, consorting with both Cowboys and Aliens and vying to be a Ripley successor? Good one ya, girl, I just thought someone had to have a box office success under their size 0 belt* before they got such juicy roles tossed at their feet. Did I miss something major other than a Maxim spread?

*For the record I think she's SUPER pretty. Her eyes are gorgeous. I would just like to sit down with her and watch her eat a cookie. It could be a vegan cookie. That's okay too.

Posted by: coveredinbees at December 9, 2010 10:57 AM

Of course ,. Please forgive me. If I'd done my homework, I would know that a herd of horny nerds is harmless without a great leader providing focus and fuel for their ire. I congratulate you, good sir, and wish you luck.

Posted by: Kballs at December 9, 2010 10:59 AM

I hate the term 'chops'.

I do wish people would stop talking about acting chops.

Posted by: Pillip at December 9, 2010 10:59 AM

Can I still talk about judy chops?

Posted by: coveredinbees at December 9, 2010 11:05 AM

Hey Pillip can we talk about lamb chops? I hope so because I love Shari Lewis. And Kukla Fran and Ollie fuck my shit way up.

Le segue

Michelle Yeoh can karate chop (see what I did there?) her way into any movie she pleases as far as I am concerned. I don't see enough of her. But I have seen enough horny 15 year olds to last a lifetime.

Posted by: klingonfree at December 9, 2010 11:06 AM

But I have seen enough horny 15 year olds to last a lifetime.

Unless you're a high school teacher, you have some explaining to do.

Posted by: Kballs at December 9, 2010 11:10 AM

Yes, and do please explain slowly.

Posted by: superasente at December 9, 2010 12:25 PM

Hey I was a 15-year-old girl at one time, and I was arguably hot, so I've seen my share and then some (just sayin). Also, since I was at one time 15, I have been a horny 15 year old. What? nowhere in the sentence does it say the 15 year old horndogs had to be male, right?

Posted by: klingonfree at December 9, 2010 12:38 PM

klingonfree-- Touche. And from one Pajiban of the female persuasion to another, right on!!

I'm sorry, but I just came in to take a closer look at the hotness that is Leonardo DiCaprio and now those scenes from "The Departed" where he gets it on with the psychologist lady in the kitchen and then the bedroom and all you see (or all *I* saw because it's damn well all that mattered) is Leonardo's thick torso and tight, tight abs with a shot of the undies is playing in constant loop in my head.

Whew. Is it me or did it suddenly get hot in here?

Fuck it, for Dustin it's Ryan Reynolds and for me it's good ol' Leo.

Posted by: smijca at December 9, 2010 1:08 PM

@coveredinbees: I wrestle with myself every day over Olivia Wilde. But afterward, I always feel a little shameful, and it's not just because I was told it would make me go blind. She is almost too thin* and I don't normally go for that, but her face is exquisite. And, yes, her eyes are almost enough to do it for me. If she'd eat a ham sandwich once in a while, she might be perfect.

Oh, and I've a feeling it's all those "bisexual" roles that got her on that Tron: Legacy billboard.

Naturally, even when Kballs is sick, he still makes it virtually impossible for anyone else to be considered for an EE.

* I say "almost" because I've a feeling that's mostly her body type, and if she isn't doing anything wrong or dangerous to keep herself at that size/weight, then we really shouldn't knock her for it...

Posted by: RobP at December 9, 2010 2:27 PM

I'm with you, Cindy. DiCaprio could do a great job with any role he's given but he's not right for the Aliens prequel. A story like that requires an actor without such a prominent a-list status.

Posted by: stardust at December 9, 2010 2:58 PM

Death to all prequels!

Wasn't the unnecessariness of all prequels already covered in Pajiba recently?


Posted by: oldschool60 at December 9, 2010 4:33 PM

Since this is a prequel to Alien I hope when you say "...an earlier version of Bishop..." you really mean "...an earlier version of Ash..." since Ash was the Hyperdine System's 120-A2, and that model came at least 57 years before Bishop.

And as we all know, the A2's always were a bit twitchy.

Posted by: PissBoy at December 10, 2010 11:49 AM