What James Cameron Didn’t Like About ‘Alien: Covenant’ And The Possibility Of ‘Aliens’ 3D
James Cameronhad great success convertingTitanicto 3D. When it came out in 2012, it made $67 million its opening weekend in China and went on to accumulate over $200 million worldwide. Cameron’snext 3D venture,Terminator 2: Judgement Day, opens in theaters soon. If it’s even a smidge as profitable asTitanic 3D, maybe Cameron will makeAliens 3D.
Below, the director talksAliens 3Dand shares his opinion on this summer’sAlien: Covenant.
If Cameron were to convert the firstTerminatorto 3D, it’d cost more than the budget of his classic 1984 film. That brilliant lo-fi sci-fi movie doesn’t scream for a $7 million 3D conversation, but some of Cameron’s other films seem more appropriate for 3D. If there’s one other title he thinks could work beyond two-dimensions, it’sAlienshe said onFacebook Live:
We haven’t proven the business case yet so ask me again in a couple of weeks ifT2 Judgement Dayin 3D does well. I think the next title on my list, in terms of fan enthusiasm would probably have to beAliensbefore I got to the other titles that you mentioned.Aliensseems to really hold up in people’s minds and that would probably be my next one. But we’ve got to prove the business case here so people have to show up. So show up!
There are so many darkly lit environments inAliensI wonder how some of them might look in 3D, but in James Cameron we trust. If he thinks it’d work in 3D, it’d probably work in 3D. Earlier this year when he was discussing the current state of theAlienfranchise,he said, “The franchise has kind of wandered all over the map. I don’t think it’s worked out terribly well.” He did, however, say he’d be first in line for the new Ridley Scott film,Alien: Covenant. In his reaction to the movie, he commented on amajor spoilerbut thought it was a beautiful and visceral ride:
I thought thatAlien: Covenantwas a great ride. It was beautiful. I love Ridley’s films and I love his filmmaking, I love the beauty of the photography, I love the visceral sense that you’re there, that you’re present. It’s not a film that I would have made. I don’t like films where you invest in a character and they get destroyed at the end. I would not have made that film. I can’t comment on where Ridley is going with it but I think he is obviously trying to create a greater universe around it and more backstory with the Engineers and so on. I’ll show up for the next one, absolutely.
He had a similar criticism ofAlien 3, which killed off characters right at the beginning he got the audience to invest in for over two hours withAliens. Cameron thought Scott’s previousAlienfilm,Prometheus, didn’t add up logically, but he enjoyed that one as well. While Scott has taken over the reins of the franchise he helped create, Cameron might do the same withTerminator. While some are divided whether Scott has gotten theAlienfranchise back on the right course, it’ll be interesting to see how Cameron attempts to do something similar with anewTerminatortrilogy.
Terminator 2 3Darrives in theaters onAugust 25, 2017. While promoting the release on Facebook Live, Cameron also mentionedTrue LiesandThe AbyssBlu-Rays are on his to-do list and are “coming, absolutely.”
