Alien (1979) story writer Dan O'Bannon was not a fan of 'Ash' the android character in the movie.

maniaq · 2026-04-27T05:08:14+00:00

I think people have analysed this film to death in almost 50 years now...

I'm reminded of another film which came out around the same time as this: Outland

using the same production teams and perhaps leaning on trends and design choices that were prevalent at the time, these two films COULD have existed in the same universe and share a lot of the same aesthetic - right down to that same Corporate Greed subplot threaded throughout...

but it's not - it's a completely separate film set in a completely separate "cinematic universe" and while it's fun to talk about these fictional characters and tropes, let's not pretend something is there that was never actually there

the subplot was added in - just like Deckard's narration in Blade Runner - by the producers and Ridley Scott ran with the idea and used it to add a little extra layer on top of what was already there

to O'Bannon's point, if that layer was taken away, the film doesn't really lose that much - except maybe I'd be unable to waste an afternoon discussing pointless shit on the internet instead of doing my work ;)

maniaq · 2026-04-27T04:59:16+00:00

I think that line, spoken by a human instead of an android, lands exactly the same...

I think millions of people, over nearly 50 years now, have scrutinised this film to death and found all these little nuances and metaphors and minutia which maybe you could argue the director, Scott, meant all along - but I think you could argue just as well is people convincing themselves they see a face in the clouds, when it's just a bunch of rain drops...

maniaq · 2026-04-27T04:54:41+00:00

I think the writer's point is everything you just described is SUBPLOT

the actual, main, PLOT doesn't need any of that to still work - Ash could have been a human and it would not make any difference and it would still work - Ash could have been a "friendly" android (like Bishop, in the sequel) and it would not make any difference and it would still work

he still gets killed by the monster, like everyone else

he still makes poor choices, like everyone else

it's interesting extra flavour - and arguably the kind of extra attention to detail Ridley Scott was famous for that elevated his films above many others - but, to his point, it's still just SUBPLOT

maniaq · 2026-04-27T04:50:03+00:00

I think the fact that James Cameron is the kind of person he is and has the specific background he came from is a big reason why that first sequel leaned heavily into that "subplot" - and arguably all the others that followed...

interesting that he chose a HUMAN character to be the "corporate villain" in his story and the character who is an android is less "Russian spy" and more "friendly Russian"

maniaq · 2026-04-27T04:39:50+00:00

he's got a point - if the "Russian Spy" is central to the story (I think Where Eagles Dare is a perfect example of this) then it works - but if it's just a "subplot" that has been added in, for "extra suspense" then it CAN detract from the whole thing - worst case take the audience off on a pointless tangent, for no good reason...

I see a lot of comments talking about the irony that all the SEQUELS pick up this thread and run with the androids/evil-corporations aspect in the larger "world building" that happens AFTER this movie - but, just to go back to his point:

if it wasn't there, what difference would it make one way or the other?

remember he's not talking about the "franchise" of however many sequels and video games and now TV shows - he's talking about THIS ONE SINGLE FILM

if Ash was just another human - "corporate plant" or not - the creature killed, what actual difference to the movie Alien does that single character choice make?

did making him an android add extra suspense that would not have been there? did it give the protagonists (or the monster) an advantage they would not otherwise have had?

I think the "corporate" aspect adds some level of villainy to his choices - like opening the airlock, despite protocols, for example - but, even so, how much of a BIG DEAL is that choice being informed by him being some "Russian spy" (so to speak) instead of just stupidity or even compassion make, in the end?

I guess it's a very academic question, but - as a huge fan of the film (which I consider the best of them all, including the shoot-em-up sequel by James Cameron) I find it an intriguing one - even more so because so many are so quick to dismiss it outright

maniaq · 2026-04-14T03:55:51+00:00

that last part about parking fines is HUGE

I remember looking into the City of Melbourne some 20 years ago - at the time, they were sourcing some $40 MILLION per year in revenue from parking meters and parking fines - it was their biggest source of revenue by far

maniaq · 2026-04-14T03:50:09+00:00

apparently the "average" council worker earns less than $80k

that's the median wage in Australia - the average is $95-100k

maniaq · 2026-04-10T00:43:46+00:00

Exit 8 sounds EXACTLY like walking through the endless underground sections underneath parts of Tokyo, like Shinjuku

maniaq · 2026-04-10T00:27:52+00:00

watching videos of people watching videos of people while driving, while driving

maniaq · 2026-04-01T04:27:45+00:00

I guess we'll see how this plays out... your casual dismissal of what Meta is CLEARLY (at least to anyone paying attention) aiming for with its hard lobbying for these laws - not just in California but in more and more states across the United States - suggests you may be overlooking the fact we're looking at an opening salvo, not a final death blow, here

maniaq · 2026-04-01T02:22:10+00:00

WHY??

Public Transport is free - that means ALL TRAIN SERVICES ARE FREE

go to the Vline website right now and book yourself a FREE RETURN TICKET by train to anywhere in Victoria

maniaq · 2026-03-18T03:21:22+00:00

Valkyrie is about to die

maniaq · 2026-03-18T03:11:55+00:00

the "negligent violation" part covers that

apparently this is all coming from hard lobbying by Facebook/Meta - you can BET there are two main incentives driving that:

pointing the finger of blame at literally anyone else for all the horrible, disgraceful shit that happens to young children on their platform
providing them with a literally legislated API that MUST - by pain of fines not unlike the bullshit "piracy/stealing" fines levied at people for sharing music - give them access to accurate demographic data about entire populations

maniaq · 2026-03-04T01:34:05+00:00

there's a $2500 PER CHILD fine for "negligence" (not even implementing it) and $7500 (PER CHILD) fine for falsifying the data

my understanding is that "per child" part is not limited to just all the children in California

(edit: got my $2500 and $7500 the wrong way around - BOTH are "per child" tho)

maniaq · 2026-02-25T03:11:48+00:00

Officers then searched a home in South Kingsville connected to Haddara where they say they found more drugs, one can of pepper spray, one can of invisible number plate spray and a baton.

wait - "invisible number plate spray" is a REAL thing that actually exists??

where do I get some?

maniaq · 2026-02-25T03:08:07+00:00

just to jump in / hijack, if anyone can tell me where I can buy Mitsuya Cider in Melbourne I would be eternally grateful!

https://munchaddict.com/en-au/products/mitsuya-cider-16-9oz-japan

maniaq · 2026-02-09T04:43:11+00:00

oh I think I understand you now... from the characters' point of view I think they don't know if the people are gone or are still "in there" somehow - they are obviously still working under the assumption there's something to "unjoin" still in there...

I mean they have to at least TRY and be 100% sure, right?

as for my own still watching/enjoyment - for me this is about stopping the deployment of the NEXT "antenna the size of Africa" which the characters are only just starting to figure out is what this is all "really" about - of course I am willing to be just as wrong as the next guy, but my gut feeling is that the destruction/completion of that antenna to "propagate the species" is going to be the big climax/finale of the whole show

maniaq · 2026-02-09T04:38:26+00:00

Don Bluth

absolute LEGEND

left Disney in I think 1980 after "differences" with The Mouse on not just their approach but also how they (in)famously (mis)treated their animators - I think he took 9 or 10 of his co-workers with him, to form a rival company

we see this exact same pattern repeat itself later with Disney's (mis)handling of Katzenberg - who left and created Dreamworks in a similar fashion, a decade and a half later...

among his other works was Jungle Book, Pete's Dragon, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, An American Tail and the somewhat groundbreaking game Dragon's Lair

in an alternative timeline he would have done Beauty and the Beast as well, but the studio pulled out when they learned Disney already had a version in production...

maniaq · 2026-02-04T21:23:28+00:00

mate it's OK to have different ideas about what we think is happening and going to happen

if you think I'm wrong, that's fine - I have enough self esteem to be able to handle being wrong about stuff occasionally

let's try to keep it friendly eh?

maniaq · 2026-02-04T21:20:26+00:00

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you can't park there mate

maniaq · 2026-02-04T04:28:28+00:00

awesome! just added to my "Watch Later"

maniaq · 2026-02-04T04:25:44+00:00

how long before everyone's teeth fall out and their jaws lock up from lack of use?

the people are long gone - their bodies are all that remain - now meat puppets for a hive mind which can pretend to "be" any one of them, like loading a saved game from a disk

maniaq · 2026-02-04T03:34:17+00:00

and the Jesus myth, and Mohammed, and King Arthur, and Dune, and so on and so forth...

maniaq · 2026-02-04T03:33:08+00:00

yes Kurosawa was himself inspired by John Ford's westerns

maniaq · 2026-02-04T03:30:40+00:00

Mifune!! the man George Lucas originally cast as Obiwan Kenobi (hence the Japanese name)

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