forbidden planet

114 // I Don't Ever Blink: Ridley Scott and the Nature of Genius (The Forbidden Planet: Part 4)


As we continue our year-long celebration of the 40th anniversary of Alien, we've finally arrived at the man behind the camera: Sir Ridley Scott.

To say Scott was a bizarre choice to helm Alien would be putting it mildly. Virtually unknown outside of commercials and television—with just one feature film (an epic about Napoleonic War-era swordplay) to his name—Scott ended up being an almost impossibly good pick to direct this groundbreaking movie.

Jaime and Patrick explore Scott's roots—his youth in northern England, his years coming out of art school, his work for the BBC—and discuss how those life experiences helped shape him into the perfect director for one of the great films ever made. They also talk about the shoot itself, and how Scott's idiosyncrasies worked in his favor as he overcame the limitations of the studio system to craft a blockbuster that felt like an art film.

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113 // The Fantastic Dark: HR Giger and the Poetics of Fear (The Forbidden Planet: Part 3)


It's impossible to overstate just how revolutionary—and how brilliant—HR Giger's work on Alien was. But why? Why does his work continue to enthrall and haunt us? Why has it gone on to define the look of "horror in space" for the past four decades?

On this next installment into our Forbidden Planet series, hosts JM Prater and Patrick Greene welcome a special guest: Majid Shanaa, longtime listener and eloquent xeno-fan. Join the guys as they explore Giger's life, art, and his endlessly fascinating influence on us all.

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109 // Memory: An Interview with Diane O'Bannon (The Forbidden Planet: Part 2)


Patrick and Jaime were delighted to sit down with Diane O'Bannon—wife of Dan O'Bannon, the original writer and screenwriter on Alien. In this interview, Diane speaks about the origins of Alien, her meeting Dan, his dreams and hopes, and the legacy he's left behind.

Alien would not be possible without Dan O'Bannon. Let’s pay tribute to the man who discovered our Forbidden Planet forty years ago.

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108 // It Looks Like a Warning (The Forbidden Planet: Part 1)


Welcome to The Forbidden Planet—our long-awaited full series on Alien! On this kickoff episode, hosts Jaime and Patrick unpack Alien's importance in film history, in their lives, and in global popular culture. Why does it still haunt us? Why does it still inspire us? How does it fit in the continuum of science fiction—and how did it alter that continuum forever?

We're celebrating the fortieth anniversary of this landmark film with a year full of interviews, research pieces, roundtables, debates, video segments, and more.

Strap into those pressure suits. Let's get out there.

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