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King
MemberOvomorphDec-01-2012 11:47 AMthis was the origin story of the jockey and how he landed on LV-426, this is the story that Dan O'Bannon had for the jockeys and it was told by Ron Cobb based On what Dan O'Bannon had told him.
"Thousands of years ago, the jockey’s race had hoped to settle on the Alien’s barren world. Like most advanced civilizations, they had long ago outgrown their native world. A large, fit breed, they planned to use their sophisticated science to do what they had done on countless other planets: alter its environment to make it habitable. First, the colonists made certain that they would not be destroying any native life-forms with their atmospheric manipulation; unfortunately, since the Alien eggs were dormant, two sensors of the benign giants indicated no signs of life. A ship landed, its crew hopeful that the job could be swiftly accomplished. They began their work and, after screaming into their radios, were never heard from again. A second team suffered a similar fate, so the third landing was made by the jockey, at the controls of an armed vessel. With one finger on the trigger of the cannon, the pilot warrior looked for the creatures which were presumed to have slain the previous parties. There was nothing to be seen. No remains of the jockey’s fellow being, or their attackers. Stepping onto the planet’s rocky surface, the jockey did some exploring and, like those before him, discovered the Alien eggs. Thinking them to be harmless in their unhatched state, and possibly damaged by the environmental changes begun by his predecessors, the newcomer loaded them into the ship’s hold, to bring them home for protection and study. The parents of these creatures must have perished protecting their unborn children against what they thought was an “invasion.” Surely they could not be blamed for that! Suddenly, about to leave the hold, the jockey was assaulted by a Face Hugger and, unable to see, stumbled to the bridge of the ship, to surroundings which were familiar and could be navigated by touch alone. When the Face Hugger’s task had been completed, the Alien seed implanted in a host, the chitinous carrier died and fell away. The unsuspecting victim recovered quickly and broadcasted the story home. Then, the jockey felt the first painful movements of the throbbing Chestburster. Movements before the Alien sprung from within its torso, the giant being programmed the ship to beam a warning, twice each minute, to any ship which might approach the planetoid: STAY AWAY! "
i think this is by far (for me at least) the most accurate and best description/origin story for the Space Jockey in alien.
[img width=351 height=150]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ML_kFkjpdzE/SK6uPUT8iKI/AAAAAAAAGm4/tzk1lye2eZE/s400/vlcsnap-94269.jpg[/img] "Frostmourne Hungers"
27 Replies
Visionary Alpha
MemberOvomorphDec-02-2012 7:11 PM@BigDave:
It's really great to learn these things about the first movie! I wonder if the temple can be visited in another alien sequel someday?
BigDave
MemberDeaconDec-02-2012 6:11 PMWell the original idea was that the Space Jockeys came across a Temple on LV 426 and after they explored this temple they got infected by Octopus Face Hugers.
The Eggs was inside the Temple/Pyramid and the Ship was separate with a dead pilot.
Budget restraints made Ridley combine the Egg Chamber and the Derelict in one, as they never had the budget to create a Pyramid etc.
This is where the Eggs was then stored within a Cargo Hold on the Derelict.
So the Original Draft and Story had the Space Jockeys come across the Eggs and maybe thus nothing to do with the creation of them.
The idea for the Space Jockey was huge far larger than 15ft... but the Prop was about 15ft tall and after the illusion of using child actors never worked, they then decided this race was 15ft tall.
The Prometheus Drafts by both Spaights and Lindeloff both had the Engineers as a race of 12-15ft tall Humanoids....
The early concept work seemed to show them as being about 12ft aswell.
But once Ridley drafted in the Actor to play the Last Engineer because he knew that it would be hard to pull off the illusion of a 12-15ft race with out using CGI or Computer Aided Trickery....
The idea was then to lower the height of the Engineers to be a race of 9ft tall beings....
But again the illusion did not pay off and we could all see that the Engineer stood only about 7.5ft tall...
Ultimately Ridley should have employed the camera trickery like that was used in Lord of the Rings and the Hobit for the Hobbits to make them appear smaller, to make the Engineers appear taller.
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Feebs
MemberOvomorphDec-01-2012 12:00 PMThis is ... breath taking :O Sure this is real?
This is my forum signature.
King
MemberOvomorphDec-01-2012 12:06 PMyes, its from the original writer of Alien Dan O'Bannon :)
[img width=351 height=150]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ML_kFkjpdzE/SK6uPUT8iKI/AAAAAAAAGm4/tzk1lye2eZE/s400/vlcsnap-94269.jpg[/img] "Frostmourne Hungers"
caenorhabhditis
MemberOvomorphDec-01-2012 2:47 PMit is good but i can see why ridley changed it these jockeys were harmless and not complex or terrifying there wouldnt have been anywere for the story to go other than humans meeting jockeys and going "oh hi nice trunk, see youve had trouble too with these egg laying face *****ng monsters lets compare notes" alien shoot em up buddy movie..... nah
I LIKE WORMS! I LOVE WORMS!
Oneironaut 717
MemberOvomorphDec-01-2012 4:12 PMGreat read, makes a nice (alternate) back story! If it is indeed Mr O'Bannon's original vision, of how the original Space Jockey ended up on LV-426.
joeyjoe
MemberOvomorphDec-01-2012 5:33 PMvery interesting....AND, only several nuances make it incompatible with prometheus. The essence of the above story could still be somewhat relevant in the context of prometheus. We just dont know for sure...
Visionary Alpha
MemberOvomorphDec-01-2012 7:46 PM@King:
Thanks for this post. I like it better even than the story they went with in the end.
zzplural
MemberOvomorphDec-01-2012 11:35 PMThanks for the post. An interesting take on the history of the SJ.
There's a million ways an accident like that could have happened, but this explanation is slightly corny. They are some pretty useless eggs if they conveniently hang around until some dumb SJ has made a football field out of them.
I much prefer what we ended up with: evil bastards bitten hard by their own misdeeds.
The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent
Custodian
MemberOvomorphDec-02-2012 3:22 AMinteresting, but not a 'real narrative driver' as such; more of a 'raison d'etre' than a plotline, ya know?
I still like the idea that the elephantine Space Trucker race was WELDED INTO HIS SEAT (did O'Bannon suggest it was a Gunner Turret? Wow!) like a giant Hermit Crabs from Space, from birth or maybe part of some 'mating ritual' to interstellar adolescence. I didn't see the USE for a 'basketballer humanoid' with absolutely no compassion or any of the things you'd demand a human actor for. And he wasn't an 'actor', just a tall guy. If they were going to strip him to his bare tallness, they should have strobe-muted him like they did the original Alien xenomorph.
Anyway, a snack-ette more than a substantial alternative meal.
2013 sci-fi horror novels 'Custodian' and 'Tandem' available from Amazon, B&N, iTunes etc...
DenzelTH
MemberOvomorphDec-02-2012 6:16 AMGood explanation...Ive been trying to find out what the original SJs original story was, thankyou. What would the parents of these eggs be? Xeno or new species
\\\" I Want To Go Where They Come From\\\"
caenorhabhditis
MemberOvomorphDec-02-2012 7:50 AM@Custodian!!!!! "I didn't see the USE for a 'basketballer humanoid' with absolutely no compassion or any of the things you'd demand a human actor for. And he wasn't an 'actor', just a tall guy" there are so many things i would like to lob at you for that comment! including some of my worst and most imaginative swearing.... but the idiocy of a stranger isnt worth raising my bloodpressure over
I LIKE WORMS! I LOVE WORMS!
zzplural
MemberOvomorphDec-02-2012 8:14 AMSteady, now. Custodian isn't an idiot; he's just a bit gripey about Prometheus, as ever.
The best gripe mixture is going to be its sequel.
The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent
caenorhabhditis
MemberOvomorphDec-02-2012 9:32 AMI'm calm now zzplural promise!, i just take exception to derogatory comments about the glorious Mr Whyte.... i assume that is who Custodian refers too when they say "basketball humanoid" who is moving into more involved roles now actuuuuaarrrrly Custodian!
I LIKE WORMS! I LOVE WORMS!
Indy John
MemberOvomorphDec-02-2012 9:49 AM Custodian raises an interesting point about the depiction of the Engineers. From the beginning of the storyline they were much taller, more filled out than humans. As we know that weapons make for great equalizers in protecting or taking of lives as far as the size of the weapon holder.
In this movie we have not seen any personal protection displayed by the Lst Engineers or even in the holograms.
Can their thinking be that were so superior mentally and physically that no weapons would be needed in any part of the Universe?
Perhaps it more of they used weapons in past,,but that past wes so distant that the memories are bit foggy.
I guess if the Engineers were 3 foot tall; would that have affected the storyline?
Be choicelessly aware as you move through life
Alien DNA
MemberOvomorphDec-02-2012 1:44 PM"I still like the idea that the elephantine Space Trucker race was WELDED INTO HIS SEAT" - Custodian
You know, I would've liked to see some more of this as well. If you had a chance to read Spaihts original script he had left the Engineer more obviously fused to his cryo/stasis chamber. Considering that they used some CGI for the pilots chair when he hooked up to that; then why not use a little more for the cryo/stasis scene. It certainly wouldn't have hurt to give the film some more visual cues connecting it to the original film and showcasing the biomechanical tech of the Jockeys at the same time.
DenzelTH
MemberOvomorphDec-02-2012 7:29 PMI still find that very strange about the SJ in Alien, its moves on pretty quickly from them that you almost forget.
Its like George Lucas starting Star Wars off at episode 4 lol.
First time i saw the SJ i thought he was just a average alien, shooting through space that got into something deep.
Did RS always have an idea of what and who they are??
\\\" I Want To Go Where They Come From\\\"
BigDave
MemberDeaconDec-03-2012 4:58 PM@Visionary Alpha
Here is the original draft from Dan O'Bannon that Alien was based on.
[url=http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/alien_early.html]Star Beast[/url]
You will find a number of things that this script as in common with Prometheus.
1) There is a Temple Complex.
2) The Temple had Murals inside it.
3) This contains Leathery Urns... not Eggs.
4) The Face Hugers that come from these Urns are pretty much just like Shaws Baby as it was cut out of her in the Med Pod Scene.
5) The Chest Buster is very similar to the Hammerpede in Prometheus.
You will notice many things with just as much in common with Prometheus as you would with Alien
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BigDave
MemberDeaconDec-03-2012 5:07 PM@DenzelTH
Well the draft that Alien was based off, had the Space Jockey indeed as a fossil and not a Space Suit and it was a giant Alien creature that bared little resemblance to a Human.
This Space Jockey was just a helpless victim just as the cast of Alien was, the Space Jockey must have detected the Pyramid and took one of the Urns back to the Ship but got infected, and he then set off a SOS to Warn other not to land on that planet.
Not much back ground on the Space Jockey was given, just as in Alien he was a Enigma.
More was given to the description of the Temple, which had Murals and Hieroglyphs that seemed to be laid out in some kind of religious fashion and kind of described History of some kind.
Their was some artwork that went with the Draft and the Mural of the Creature was much like Shaws Baby Trilobyte all grown up as it appeared in the scene where it attacked the Last Engineer.
After Alien was made, the idea that Ridley had was that he was just some long dead Pilot of the Derelict who was carrying a Cargo of Alien Eggs. There was no real back ground or purpose.
Only that he had the Cargo, but not why or where from or where he was going to and these questions was what Prometheus was originally going to answer when Spaights was drafted in to start on a Script.
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Kinga
MemberOvomorphDec-03-2012 10:19 PMThank you for posting this awesome information, King !
Reading it made my day !
It is great to see how the SJ were perceived at the beginning, in the Original Draft. Not hostile, but unlucky victims of an exceptionally cunning life form.
The SJ were not all knowing. Life writes many improbable scenarios. Even for them. They were neither careless idiots nor evil masterminds. Just a group of mightily unlucky fellows. Both the SJ from the Original Draft and the Engineer at the end of the Prometheus became victims of something that could not have been predicted.
I prefer to consider the SJ benevolent, not a bunch of space traveling, raging nuts. There is no proof strong enough to make me believe, that the last Engineer on LV-233 was rotten dark bastard.
It would be quite cool to see them being 15ft tall. Those 7.5ft make the Engineer look too human, too fragile. I just can not imagine dr. Shaw waving an axe in front of a 15ft tall guy. What would she do with that axe then? Scratch his feet so as to check if he has got giggles ??
Are there any chances we will see other humanoids apart from those called Engineers? Is there a possibility we might get presented with even more imposing beings?
Rubirosa
MemberOvomorphDec-06-2012 10:18 PMI dont care what many on this forum think, but the Engineers in Prometheous should have been depicted as an Elephantine race of aliens. Its just fits in so perfectly. I did not like the 8 foot giant we were given in Prometheous. The Engineers in Prometheous cheapned the film for me. Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed the film very much. But in my opinion there is something about that Space Jockey scene in Alien that is so dark, and macbre. Its Geiger at his best as his Lovecraftian influence shines through out his work on Alien. Mr.Geiger who is a huge fan of HP Lovecraft has created through out his life art that is right out of a Lovecraftian story. So why give us an 8 foot humanoid looking giant when we should of recieved a 15 foot Elephantine alien. That is whatv I think was missing from Prometheous which Alien had. That Alien script was written by a true science-fiction writer. That script for prometheous was written by a TV show writer. The differance is so huge. The film could and should have been better. They should get Dan O'Bannon back on the team to help out on the sequel. In think that the new script needs an old school touch to it.
Svanya
AdminPraetorianDec-06-2012 10:25 PMQuote-
"[i]That is whatv I think was missing from Prometheous which Alien had. That Alien script was written by a true science-fiction writer. That script for prometheous was written by a TV show writer. The differance is so huge. The film could and should have been better. They should get Dan O'Bannon back on the team to help out on the sequel. In think that the new script needs an old school touch to it." -Rubirosa[/i]
@Rubirosa; Dan O'Bannon passed away in 2009....
craigamore
MemberOvomorphDec-06-2012 10:41 PMFirst off, Dan O'Bannon cannot help with the sequel....the man is dead...God rest him.....and second, much as I respect the man, O'Bannon was not a 'true science fiction writer' as you state. He was a down on his luck film school grad, who's prior film work, 'Dark Star', was a failure by all accounts. He wanted very badly to write a story like what 'Alien' became and thanks to Shusett's kindness, friendship and partnership, 'Alien' eventually became a reality.
Now, on the one hand, I agree with your displeasure concerning the humanoid form of the SpaceJockey race; on the other hand, I've come to accept an appreciate it, especially since I was fortunate enough to read Spaiths' script 'Alien: Engineers'. They make a bit more sense in in this earlier versio. The biology engineered by the SpaceJockies make a hell of a lot more sense in this version. Peopl make far fewer idiotic decisions in this version and while I admit Spaiths' script needs work, streamlining, etc., it is so much more interesting and worthwhile, worth our time than what 'Prometheus' became. In fact, I can honestly say that I experienced more satisfaction from reading Spaiths' script than what I got from the dissapointment that was 'Prometheus'. I'm dead serious about that. I feel cheated out the movie I was always hoping and dreaming for...and when I say that, I want you all to get my full meaning.....I believe that what Spaiths attempted to give us was everything we Alien fans had always dreamed of. It surely needed a polish, but I know that for me, Spaiths' script delivered, at a fundamental level, the narative and explanatory payoff we fans have always wanted. I feel robbed of it and I'm pissed off. I wish we could go back and fix this. I really do....but what can I say is..this..Hollywood always seems to manage, always seems to find a way to screw with what works and I'm just devastated by the knowledge of what could have been.
Indy John
MemberOvomorphDec-07-2012 7:02 AM At some point there will need to be additional connections to Alien. It doesn't have to be direct connections,but on the path to tie in with the rather movie.
The scene where the Last Engineer is getting seated with the Big gun is a great example of how special effects can be blended with an ordinary scene to make it outstanding.
It is very subtle, more matter of fact as the seat wraps around the Engineer's body and then he exhales as the mask moves down to cover his face. I played it a couple of times to see how detailed tho part of the movie was.
Be choicelessly aware as you move through life
Custodian
MemberOvomorphMay-10-2013 1:46 PMOkay,
I'll re-state what you've all missed, "Space Trucker was GUNNER."
The SEVEN METER TALL (by my calculation) elephantine Alien was not a driver, certainly not detachable from his Star Wars-like gunning position.
Pissed off about Prometheus? Not really, pissed off that it's nothing more than an Alien Reboot masquerading as a prequel, perhaps.
2013 sci-fi horror novels 'Custodian' and 'Tandem' available from Amazon, B&N, iTunes etc...
Ruhaniya
Veteran MemberMemberOvomorphOct-28-2013 11:26 PMWhat an eery essence that "Space Trucker" had! Perhaps whose lifes purpose was to take that ship out into the abyss of darkness....such a long journey at incredible speed. Like Dr Who and his Tardis..but with a one way ticket to quote Hudson on Aliens "On an express elevator to Hell"! Which I guess it would be much worse if it's not express.
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