NATALIE PORTMAN To Star In ALIEN Prequel?
The reported battle between Ridley Scott and Fox seems to be petering out, which is good news for us ‘Alien‘ fans. So the question now falls on who will play the lead in this eagerly-awaited prequel? Apparently Fox has its eyes on Natalie Portman – according to New York’s Vulture.
The site says:
”One reason Fox execs are so thrilled with Lindelof’s Alien draft is that, not only is it creatively engaging, but it adds no expensive “set pieces” — production-speak for elaborate, effects-heavy action sequences that add millions to the cost of a film — to the movie.”
“20th Century Fox and Scott have been wrangling over the director’s proposed budget. One insider familiar with the situation puts Scott’s suggested budget at between $150 million and $160 million; Fox obviously, would like that number to shrink. Still, this is some good news for Fox, which has almost nothing resembling a blockbuster in the hopper for the summer of 2012, and could certainly stand to reinvigorate a wildly popular multi-part sci-fi franchise.
“A parade of actresses have met with Scott (who’s being represented in these negotiations by his longtime WME agent George Freeman) to discuss the lead role — that of a female Colonial Marine general — but only two have engendered substantial enthusiasm from both Fox brass and Ridley Scott Associates, the director’s Fox-based production company: Vulture can report exclusively that at the top of the list is Natalie Portman.”
An insider also tells the site that the script looks like a 12A (PG-13) version. If this is true, I’m not sure how much I’ll be interested in seeing this movie :/
