The Alien (unproduced film): Difference between revisions
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'''''The Alien''''' was a [[science fiction]] film under production in the late 1960s which was eventually cancelled. The film was being directed by [[Bengali cinema|Bengali]] [[Cinema of India|Indian]] director [[Satyajit Ray]] and produced by [[Hollywood]] studio [[Columbia Pictures]]. The script was written by Ray in 1967, based on '''''Bankubabur Bandhu''''' ('''''Banku Babu's Friend'''''), a [[Bengali literature|Bengali story]] he had written in 1962 for ''Sandesh'', the Ray family magazine. |
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'''THE ALIEN''' is a newly published crime-thriller novel penned by John Lucas. While, on the back cover, it claims to be "the first officially printed novel documenting the largest killing spree in the history of the state of Maryland," none of the actual claims contained therein can be traced back to any largely known person or event. Therefore, its approach of "A TRUE STORY" is most likely a marketing ploy similar to that of the films "THE AMITYVILLE HORROR," "THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT," and the novella "GO ASK ALICE," all of which claimed to be either: "Based on a True Story," or more bluntly, "A True Story." |
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What differentiated ''The Alien'' from previous [[science fiction]] was the portrayal of an alien from outer space as a kind and playful being, invested with magical powers and capable of interacting with children, in contrast to earlier science fiction works which portrayed aliens as dangerous creatures. |
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'''THE ALIEN''' begins by chronicling the events which lead up to the kidnapping of a fifteen-year-old Maryland boy named Jack Robinson, (not to be confused with the famous baseball player Jackie Robinson). The similarity in names is most likely coincidental as the author John Lucas is not known to be a sports fan. |
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The plot revolved around a spaceship that landed in a pond in rural [[Bengal]]. The villagers began worshipping it as a temple risen from the depths of the earth. The alien established contact with a young village boy named Haba (Moron) through dreams and also played a number of pranks on the village community in course of its short stay on planet earth. The plot contained the ebullient presence of an [[India]]n businessman, a journalist from [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] and an American engineer. |
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After what is listed in the book as being "ONE MONTH LATER" (after the kidnapping), Jack escapes from a serial pederast's cellar, which is described as being a cross between the cellar of Buffalo Bill in the film "THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS," and what is perceived as having possible contents in someone's like John Wayne Gacy. While the pederast who kidnapped Jack is never identified by name, (in the novel, he is simply called "the killer"), there are several MO's similar in style to Gacy, Ted Bundy, Eileen Wuornos, Ed Gein, and Jeffrey Dahmer. |
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John Lucas's approach to the reader's perception of "the killer" is to an extent as "the worst of all worlds" with regards to the aforementioned, notorious serial killers/mass murderers. |
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''The Alien'' had Columbia Pictures as producer for this planned US-India co-production, and [[Peter Sellers]] and [[Marlon Brando]] acting in lead roles. However Ray was surprised to find that the script he had written had already been [[copyright]]ed and the fee appropriated. [[Marlon Brando]] later dropped out of the project and though an attempt was made to bring [[James Coburn]] in his place, Ray became disillusioned and returned to Calcutta. Columbia expressed interest in reviving the project several times in the 70s and 80s but nothing came of it. |
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Upon Jack's escape, he has a psychotic break from reality, and, from then on, is convinced that he is a super hero whose sole responsibility is to rid planet Earth of evil, and "punish the wicked" all while retracing his journey back to the killer's house to avenge himself. |
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When [[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial|''E.T.'']] was produced in 1982 by the same company that had contracted with Ray in 1967, many saw striking similarities in the movie to Ray's earlier script - Ray discussed the collapse of the project in a 1980 ''[[Sight & Sound]]'' feature, with further details revealed by Ray's biographer [[W. Andrew Robinson|Andrew Robinson]] (in ''The Inner Eye'', 1989). Ray believed that [[Steven Spielberg|Spielberg]]'s film "would not have been possible without my script of ''The Alien'' being available throughout America in mimeographed copies." When the issue was raised by the press, Spielberg denied this claim and said "I was a kid in high school when his script was circulating in Hollywood." |
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'''THE ALIEN''' was meant to be construed as a violent and graphic satire/commentary on violence in video games, and how, with proper desensitization and transference, contributes to violence in real life. In the novel, Jack Robinson is loosely described as being a video game addict whose game of choice features an extra-terrestrial known only as "The Alien." While the name of the video game itself was never referred to by title in the novel, John Lucas has stated in interviews that the video game was titled "ALIEN'S INVASION." In the video game, the character The Alien visits different planets along the infinite number of galaxies to defeat boss characters in a number of different, creative, and violent ways. Since the novel is set in Baltimore, Maryland during March of 1994, it would be theorized that "ALIEN'S INVASION" was the original violent video game. |
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==References== |
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Not only does Jack believe himself to be a super hero, he aptly calls himself The Alien. Based on the few descriptions of the video game itself within the novel, it would be assumed that Jack follows similar styles in murder to the video game character. |
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*{{cite web |
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| author= Neumann P |
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| publisher=Internet Movie Database Inc |
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| url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006249/bio |
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| title=Biography for Satyajit Ray |
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| accessdate=2006-04-29 |
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}} |
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*{{cite news |
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| author=Newman J |
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| url=http://www.ucsc.edu/currents/01-02/09-17/ray.html |
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| title=Satyajit Ray Collection receives Packard grant and lecture endowment |
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| publisher=UC Santa Cruz Currents online |
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| date=[[2001-09-17]] |
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| accessdate=2006-04-29 |
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}} |
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*{{cite web |
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| publisher=Satyajit Ray Society |
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| url=http://www.worldofray.com/raysfilmography/unmaderay.aspx |
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| title=The Unmade Ray |
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| accessdate=2006-11-04 |
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}} |
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[[Category:Satyajit Ray|Alien, The]] |
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What sets '''THE ALIEN''' apart from other novels is that it is one of the few, if not then only, book of its kind to be issued with Deleted Scenes and an Alternate Ending. It coaxes the reader to believe that he or she is actually watching a movie, although this does not help the book's approach of it being "based on actual events." |
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[[Category:Bengali-language films|Alien, The]] |
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[[Category:Bengali literature|Alien, The]] |
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[[Category:Cancelled films|Alien, The]] |
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Revision as of 01:45, 17 July 2007
The Alien was a science fiction film under production in the late 1960s which was eventually cancelled. The film was being directed by Bengali Indian director Satyajit Ray and produced by Hollywood studio Columbia Pictures. The script was written by Ray in 1967, based on Bankubabur Bandhu (Banku Babu's Friend), a Bengali story he had written in 1962 for Sandesh, the Ray family magazine.
What differentiated The Alien from previous science fiction was the portrayal of an alien from outer space as a kind and playful being, invested with magical powers and capable of interacting with children, in contrast to earlier science fiction works which portrayed aliens as dangerous creatures.
The plot revolved around a spaceship that landed in a pond in rural Bengal. The villagers began worshipping it as a temple risen from the depths of the earth. The alien established contact with a young village boy named Haba (Moron) through dreams and also played a number of pranks on the village community in course of its short stay on planet earth. The plot contained the ebullient presence of an Indian businessman, a journalist from Calcutta and an American engineer.
The Alien had Columbia Pictures as producer for this planned US-India co-production, and Peter Sellers and Marlon Brando acting in lead roles. However Ray was surprised to find that the script he had written had already been copyrighted and the fee appropriated. Marlon Brando later dropped out of the project and though an attempt was made to bring James Coburn in his place, Ray became disillusioned and returned to Calcutta. Columbia expressed interest in reviving the project several times in the 70s and 80s but nothing came of it.
When E.T. was produced in 1982 by the same company that had contracted with Ray in 1967, many saw striking similarities in the movie to Ray's earlier script - Ray discussed the collapse of the project in a 1980 Sight & Sound feature, with further details revealed by Ray's biographer Andrew Robinson (in The Inner Eye, 1989). Ray believed that Spielberg's film "would not have been possible without my script of The Alien being available throughout America in mimeographed copies." When the issue was raised by the press, Spielberg denied this claim and said "I was a kid in high school when his script was circulating in Hollywood."
References
- Neumann P. "Biography for Satyajit Ray". Internet Movie Database Inc. Retrieved 2006-04-29.
- Newman J (2001-09-17). "Satyajit Ray Collection receives Packard grant and lecture endowment". UC Santa Cruz Currents online. Retrieved 2006-04-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "The Unmade Ray". Satyajit Ray Society. Retrieved 2006-11-04.