By Robbie Graham
Prometheus director Ridley Scott spoke to Empire magazine recently about what age rating his movie might receive and the big questions that drove him to revisit the Alien universe he helped create in 1979.
Scott said of Alien's ‘Space Jockey’ subplot:
"I always wondered when they did [Aliens] 2, 3 and 4 why they hadn't touched upon that, instead of evolving into some other fantastic story. They missed the biggest question of them all: who's the big guy [the Space Jockey]? And where were they going? And with what? Why that cargo? There's all kinds of questions."
Regarding the possible age rating for Prometheus, Scott hinted to Empire that the violence may have been toned-down enough to facilitate a PG-13 rating (booo!), but insisted that the movie will be every bit as powerful as the R-rated Alien and Aliens.
"The question is, do you go for the PG-13, [which] financially makes quite a difference, or do you go for what it should be, which is R? Essentially, it's kinda R... It's not just about the blood, it's about ideas that are very stressful. I'm not an idiot, but I'll do everything I can to get the most aggressive film I can."
I, for one, am disappointed (though not particularly surprised). “Kinda R” is not “R”. PG-13 may work for Harry Potter, but the horrors the Alien universe were never meant to be tamed. Still, even if it does wind-up a PG-13, if Scott’s final product can match the chilling intensity of its trailer, fans may yet find it in their hearts to forgive the old master.
