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What Makes A Good Alien? ‘Arrival’ and the Science Behind Designing Aliens

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What Makes A Good Alien? ‘Arrival’ and the Science Behind Designing Aliens

Aliens – the strange sometimes-scary-always-fascinating creatures that lurk throughout the pages and screens of science fiction, conjuring ideas of worlds beyond our own, whether they be horrible or mesmerizing. Since human beings first set their eyes on the stars, fantasies of life beyond Earth have followed us through our stories, our literature, and, eventually, our film, growing and changing alongside us as we learn more about what life could possibly exist in the far reaches of space. Just as the stories we create are varied and plentiful, so too are the aliens we imagine; from little green (or gray) men to horrifying monsters with a penchant for destruction, alien design runs the gamut of human imagination. With the upcoming Alien TV series set to start filming in 2022, we thought it apt to look at how one goes about designing an alien for film and TV, focusing on the 2016 film, Arrival, which features aliens unlike almost any other seen in modern media.

RELATED: Why 2017’s ‘Life’ Is an ‘Alien’ Rip-Off Worth Revisiting

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Before diving into how Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve, steps away from “conventional alien design”, it is important to address the difficulty of designing a believable alien in the first place. How does someone come up with something so completely different, so ‘alien’, to anything that can be found on Earth? The answer, for many, is not to; when looking at the majority of aliens in fiction, it isn’t difficult to pick out similarities to various Earth creatures. Aliens with humanoid bodies, who walk upright and use hands to wield weapons or procure samples, such as the xenomorphs from the Alien franchise. Aliens with four legs and sharp fangs, like that of a feline or canine, or with bulbous, bug-like eyes, or scaly, reptilian skin – aliens like these are found throughout series like Star Wars and Star Trek. Creators look to the world around them, to the world that they know, to design their aliens. They draw inspiration from the things that they understand, because, by doing so, they can create a creature that the audience will understand as well. Straying too far from what people understand as ‘life’ can result in a creation that confuses and distracts audiences, lessening the impact of whatever story is being told.


Yet, there remains a dilemma with such methods of designing aliens; drawing inspiration from Earth to create something that does not come from Earth is somewhat contradictory. The history of life on Earth is complicated and cratered with various and, sometimes, catastrophic events, from mass extinctions to ice ages. These, along with the incredibly specific circumstances that occurred for life to form on Earth the way it did, mean that life on other planets could never be what it is on Earth; there are just too many unique factors. If one wants to design a ‘realistic’ alien, something that does not come from Earth, they need to consider how life may form on a different planet with different characteristics and a different history. Obviously, this is quite hard, seeing as all we know is Earth and anything we try to imagine will be influenced by what we already know. So, it’s no surprise why most creators design aliens inspired by Earth; aliens that, while strange, is familiar enough to seem like something real.


Arrival attempts to step outside these boundaries while still keeping their aliens believable; concept art by artist Peter Konig shows the difficult process of creating an alien ‘from scratch’. Some of the sketches feature strange, amorphous creatures that almost resemble a bundle of organs, though no definable shapes are present. Notes such as ‘no definite front’ and ‘soft and rigid forms that flex and change’ litter a few of the pieces, like annotations in a book. Other pieces show aliens with more identifiable features; a clear head and face, tentacle-like appendages, and even something that could be considered a mouth. Konig’s concept art and other work can be found on his website.

In the end, the aliens of Arrival end up a strange mix: They are large, with multiple limbs and proportions that seem somewhat impossible considering their ability to stand upright. Their upper bodies almost resemble a human torso and head, with parts that could clearly be labeled as ‘shoulders’ and ‘neck’, yet they have no arms and what little can be seen of their fronts is mottled and ribbed with strange musculature. They bring to mind images of some kind of ancient cephalopod, with their many limbs and ability to create an ink-like substance, while still remaining otherworldly and mysterious.

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In reality, Arrival doesn’t quite manage to design something without any influence from life on Earth, yet their aliens still seem so removed from anything found here. How? Part of it is the filmmaking. The characters of the film, as well as the audience, never see the aliens in full; they are continuously shrouded in mist, obscuring their features and keeping the finer details of their design a mystery. The atmosphere that the aliens create with their presence and the environment that they exist in during the movie are just as important in creating an other-worldly feeling as their physical designs. They act to hide features that could invoke images of animals or people for the audience, instead, leaving much to the imagination and taking some pressure off the film and its designers to create something entirely unique.


Even more important is the language that the aliens use, a major component not only of their identity but of the film as well. The aliens communicate in strange symbols that they create with their ink-like emissions, with different symbols representing everything from singular words to unique phrases to even names and identifiers. These symbols are physical, hanging in the air before disappearing or morphing into something new.

The aliens also communicate using time and memory, which is difficult to explain and, thus, makes these aliens even harder to understand in the best way possible; they speak in a way that is incomprehensible to someone only familiar with human language. Their language transcends the boundary of time, turning it into something physical and moldable, rather than just a concept.


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By creating a language and a communication system so entirely different from anything found in humans and other animals on Earth, Arrival fills in the gaps left by physical design; it plays with time and space as an integral part of the aliens’ language, something that humans find difficult, if not impossible, to understand. In the film, even when the characters can get close and are able to understand the basics of what is being said and the concept of the language, they are still never privy to true understanding. Because of this, Arrival’s aliens not only look the part, they act and feel like true aliens as well.

The future of alien design in media depends on a lot of factors: The progression and advancement of science, new discoveries regarding space and extraterrestrial life, and the continued attempt by humans to push the boundaries of the imagination. It cannot be definitely said that it is ‘impossible’ to create what would be considered a realistic alien; no one can be sure what a realistic alien is, whether it’s something intelligent or something as simple as a single cell organism. Either way, films like Arrival, which look to expand on the perception of life beyond Earth and what it could actually look like, do wonders in not only satisfying a need for new and strange ideas but also in fueling a desire for discovery and knowledge of what may be out there among the stars.



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Review: SAMARITAN, A Sly Stallone Superhero Stumble

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Review: SAMARITAN, A Sly Stallone Superhero Stumble

Hitting the three-quarter-century mark usually means a retirement home, a nursing facility, or if you’re lucky to be blessed with relatively good health and savings to match, living in a gated community in Arizona or Florida.

For Sylvester Stallone, however, it means something else entirely: starring in the first superhero-centered film of his decades-long career in the much-delayed Samaritan. Unfortunately for Stallone and the audience on the other side of the screen, the derivative, turgid, forgettable results won’t get mentioned in a career retrospective, let alone among the ever-expanding list of must-see entries in a genre already well past its peak.

For Stallone, however, it’s better late than never when it involves the superhero genre. Maybe in getting a taste of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) with his walk-on role in the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel several years ago, Stallone thought anything Marvel can do, I can do even better (or just as good in the nebulous definition of the word).

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The property Stallone and his team found for him, Samaritan, a little-known graphic novel released by a small, almost negligible, publisher, certainly takes advantage of Stallone’s brute-force physicality and his often underrated talent for near-monosyllabic brooding (e.g., the Rambo series), but too often gives him to little do or say as the lone super-powered survivor, the so-called “Samaritan” of the title, of a lifelong rivalry with his brother, “Nemesis.” Two brothers entered a fire-ravaged building and while both were presumed dead, one brother did survive (Stallone’s Joe Smith, a garbageman by day, an appliance repairman by night).

In the Granite City of screenwriter Bragi F. Schut (Escape Room, Season of the Witch), the United States, and presumably the rest of the world, teeters on economic and political collapse, with a recession spiraling into a depression, steady gigs difficult, if not impossible, to obtain, and the city’s neighborhoods rocked by crime and violence. No one’s safe, not even 13-year-old Sam (Javon Walker), Joe’s neighbor.

When he’s not dodging bullies connected to a gang, he’s falling under the undue influence of Cyrus (Pilou Asbæk), a low-rent gang leader with an outsized ego and the conviction that he and only he can take on Nemesis’s mantle and along with that mantle, a hammer “forged in hate,” to orchestrate a Bane-like plan to plunge the city into chaos and become a wealthy power-broker in the process.

Schut’s woefully underwritten script takes a clumsy, haphazard approach to world-building, relying on a two-minute animated sequence to open Samaritan while a naive, worshipful Sam narrates Samaritan and Nemesis’s supposedly tragic, Cain and Abel-inspired backstory. Schut and director Julius Avery (Overlord) clumsily attempt to contrast Sam’s childish belief in messiah-like, superheroic saviors stepping in to save humanity from itself and its own worst excesses, but following that path leads to authoritarianism and fascism (ideas better, more thoroughly explored in Watchmen and The Boys).

While Sam continues to think otherwise, Stallone’s superhero, 25 years past his last, fatal encounter with his presumably deceased brother, obviously believes superheroes are the problem and not the solution (a somewhat reasonable position), but as Samaritan tracks Joe and Sam’s friendship, Sam giving Joe the son he never had, Joe giving Sam the father he lost to street violence well before the film’s opening scene, it gets closer and closer to embracing, if not outright endorsing Sam’s power fantasies, right through a literally and figuratively explosive ending. Might, as always, wins regardless of how righteous or justified the underlying action.

It’s what superhero audiences want, apparently, and what Samaritan uncritically delivers via a woefully under-rendered finale involving not just unconvincing CGI fire effects, but a videogame cut-scene quality Stallone in a late-film flashback sequence that’s meant to be subversively revelatory, but will instead lead to unintentional laughter for anyone who’s managed to sit the entirety of Samaritan’s one-hour and 40-minute running time.

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Samaritan is now streaming worldwide on Prime Video.

Samaritan

Cast
  • Sylvester Stallone
  • Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton
  • Pilou Asbæk

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Matt Shakman Is In Talks To Direct ‘Fantastic Four’

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According to a new report, Wandavision’s Matt Shakman is in talks to direct the upcoming MCU project, Fantastic Four. Marvel Studios has been very hush-hush regarding Fantastic Four to the point where no official announcements have been made other than the film’s release date. No casting news or literally anything other than rumors has been released regarding the project. We know that Fantastic Four is slated for release on November 8th, 2024, and will be a part of Marvel’s Phase 6. There are also rumors that the cast of the new Fantastic Four will be announced at the D23 Expo on September 9th.

Fantastic Four is still over two years from release, and we assume we will hear more news about the project in the coming months. However, the idea of the Fantastic Four has already been introduced into the MCU. John Krasinski played Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The cameo was a huge deal for fans who have been waiting a long time for the Fantastic Four to enter the MCU. When Disney acquired Twenty Century Fox in 2019 we assumed that the Fox Marvel characters would eventually make their way into the MCU. It’s been 3 years and we already have had an X-Men and Fantastic Four cameo – even if they were from another universe.

Deadline is reporting that Wandavision’s Matt Shakman is in talks to direct Fantastic Four. Shakman served as the director for Wandavision and has had an extensive career. He directed two episodes of Game of Thrones and an episode of The Boys, and he had a long stint on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. There is nothing official yet, but Deadline’s sources say that Shakman is currently in talks for the job and things are headed in the right direction.

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To be honest, I was a bit more excited when Jon Watts was set to direct. I’m sure Shakman is a good director, but Watts proved he could handle a tentpole superhero film with Spider-Man: Homecoming. Wandavision was good, but Watts’ style would have been perfect for Fantastic Four. The film is probably one of the most anticipated films in Marvel’s upcoming slate films and they need to find the best person they can to direct. Is that Matt Shakman? It could be, but whoever takes the job must realize that Marvel has a lot riding on this movie. The other Fantastic Four films were awful and fans deserve better. Hopefully, Marvel knocks it out of the park as they usually do. You can see for yourself when Fantastic Four hits theaters on November 8th, 2024.

Film Synopsis: One of Marvel’s most iconic families makes it to the big screen: the Fantastic Four.

Source: Deadline

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Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase Star in ‘Zombie Town’ Mystery Teen Romancer (Exclusive)

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Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase have entered Zombie Town, a mystery teen romancer based on author R.L. Stine’s book of the same name.

The indie, now shooting in Ontario, also stars Henry Czerny and co-teen leads Marlon Kazadi and Madi Monroe. The ensemble cast includes Scott Thompson and Bruce McCulloch of the Canadian comedy show Kids in the Hall.

Canadian animator Peter Lepeniotis will direct Zombie Town. Stine’s kid’s book sees a quiet town upended when 12-year-old Mike and his friend, Karen, see a horror movie called Zombie Town and unexpectedly see the title characters leap off the screen and chase them through the theater.

Zombie Town will premiere in U.S. theaters before streaming on Hulu and then ABC Australia in 2023.

“We are delighted to bring the pages of R.L. Stine’s Zombie Town to the screen and equally thrilled to be working with such an exceptional cast and crew on this production. A three-time Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award winner with book sales of over $500 million, R.L. Stine has a phenomenal track record of crafting stories that engage and entertain audiences,” John Gillespie, Trimuse Entertainment founder and executive producer, said in a statement.

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Executive producers are Trimuse Entertainment, Toonz Media Group, Lookout Entertainment, Viva Pictures and Sons of Anarchy actor Kim Coates.  

Paco Alvarez and Mark Holdom of Trimuse negotiated the deal to acquire the rights to Stine’s Zombie Town book.

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