‘Alien' TV stars tour spaceship wreck at Comic-Con
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Los Angeles Times
14 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Go behind the scenes with the ‘Alien: Earth' cast at Comic-Con 2025
SAN DIEGO — Sydney Chandler has wanted to attend San Diego Comic-Con as a fan for years. So it's 'surreal' that the actor's first experience with the annual pop culture expo is to promote her upcoming FX series 'Alien: Earth.' Chandler stars in the 'Alien' prequel as Wendy, a young girl whose consciousness has been transferred to an android. 'To be able to do it in this capacity is just mind-blowing,' she tells The Times in advance of the show's Hall H premiere on Friday. 'It's emotional because we worked on this for so long and I learned so much. … I'm kind of at a loss of words.' She does have words of appreciation, though, including for what she's learned from her character. 'Her journey of finding out how to hold her own and stand on her own two feet taught me so much,' says Chandler. 'I'm an overthinker. I'm an anxious person. I would have run so fast. I would not be as brave as her, but she taught me … that it's OK to just stand on your own two feet, and that's enough. That's powerful.' Even before the show's Hall H panel, fans have gathered on the sidewalk outside of the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego to catch a glimpse of Chandler and her 'Alien: Earth' cast mates Timothy Olyphant, Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin and Babou Ceesay, along with creator Noah Hawley and executive producer David Zucker, on their short trek to the bus that would transport them to the convention center for the show's world premiere. On the ride over, Hawley betrays no nerves about people seeing the first episode. 'I really think, in a strange way, it plays for all ages because it is about growing up on some level,' says the showrunner. 'But it's also 'Alien,' and it is a meditation on power and corporate power. ' Huddled together on the bus with Lawther and Blenkin, Ceesay is surprised to learn that this is the first time attending San Diego Comic-Con for all three. There's plenty of good-natured ribbing as they talk about the early interviews they've completed at the event. 'I just sort of want to make jokes with you all the time,' says Lawther as he looks towards his cast mates. 'I find it quite giddy in the experience, and I had to remind myself that I'm a professional.' 'Sometimes the British sarcasm instinct just kicks in,' Blenkin adds. Their playful dynamic continues as they joke about crashing Ceesay's other panel, and also backstage at Hall H as they try to sneak up on each other in the dark. After the panel, the cast is whisked away for video interviews and signing posters at a fan meet-and-greet at a booth on the exhibit floor. ('Timothy, you're the man!' shouts a fan passing by.) Later, Hawley, Chandler and Ceesay will hit the immersive 'Alien: Earth' activation where they will explore the wreckage of a crashed ship. 'It's such a safe space for people who just enjoy cinema and enjoy film,' Chandler says of Comic-Con. 'And that's me. I'm a complete nerd for all this stuff, so just to be around that group — it reminds me of why I love film so much in the first place.'
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Alien: Earth' Screens Blockbuster First Episode at Comic-Con
The upcoming Alien television series crash landed into Comic-Con with a blockbuster Hall H panel that got thousands of geeks sitting on the edge of their seats to an encroaching otherworldly horror. Alien: Earth, the FX series based on the classic 20th Century Studios science fiction horror movies, saw its first episode play on a giant screen in front of over 6,500 fans ahead of the show's premiere on FX and Hulu on Aug. 12. It was an ear-splitting, body-shaking experience that showcased epic moments, intimate moments and icky moments. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Rick and Morty' Spinoff 'President Curtis' a Go at Adult Swim 'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon' Renewed for Fourth and Final Season at AMC "James Fraser Dies" in First 'Outlander' Season 8 Footage 'This is by far the biggest thing I've ever made,' said Noah Hawley, the showrunner who wrote and directed the pilot episode. 'But I made it like I make everything else: By hand, and love for you.' The series is ostensibly about a crashed spacecraft that brings the dreaded Alien xenomorph to Earth. But as expected, in Hawley's hands, there is much more going on. There are themese of humanity's quest for immortality, the greed of corporations (and inter-corporate warfare) and sibling love. Sydney Chandler plays a young woman named Wendy who is a first of her kind hybrid, a humanoid robot infused with human consciousness made by one of the mega-corporations who run the world. When a research starship owned by another mega-corporation crashes in a Southeast Asian metropolis, the childlike Wendy leads a rescue mission in order to find her brother. Unbeknownst to all, a xenomorph is on the ship… and so are a bunch of brand new alien creatures. 'Each hour has to have its horror elements but it has to be a drama,' explained Hawley. 'It has to be a character journey and be themactically rich. You have to worry that I may kill one of these people. I just might.' Timothy Olyphant, who plays a father figure of sorts to Chandler's characters, concurred, adding that by the time audiences gets four episodes in, it will be the character moments they will remember. But let's get back to the new creatures. Hawley said that the idea behind that was creating new feelings of 'genetic revulsion.' 'The one feeling you can't get back is the discovery of the life cycle of this creature (we all know so well now),' he said. 'How every step along the way is worse than the step before.' That said, there is plenty of xenomorph action. And it was mostly practical effects. The xenomorph was a man in a suit, not CG. 'I almost peed,' Chandler said when she saw him on set for the first time. Alien: Earth has a strong presence at Comic-Con as it also has an elaborate activation on the grounds of the convention center and nearby hotel. The interactive site allows guests to visit the crash site of the space ship holding the alien specimens and even allows for 'missions' in the evening as well as giveaways. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
44 minutes ago
- USA Today
At his first Comic-Con, George Lucas previews Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
SAN DIEGO – George Lucas has amassed 50 years of cool stuff, and now he's going to have a place to put it. Even better, you can see it, too. Original sketches, paintings and assorted illustrations from the 'Star Wars' creator's personal collection – plus quite a bit representing that galaxy far, far away − will be on display at the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. The building is under construction in Los Angeles' Exposition Park, will open in 2026, and is dedicated to 'cultural fantasy,' Lucas said. The Hollywood icon was joined on Sunday, July 27, at a Comic-Con panel about the museum by 'Star Wars' illustrator and production designer Doug Chiang, Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, and moderator Queen Latifah. It was Lucas' first time at Comic-Con in his legendary career, earning a standing ovation from the 6,500 faithful in Hall H. But instead of waxing nostalgic about "Star Wars" and his movies, Lucas previewed the creation of his passion project. Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox A video narrated by Samuel L. Jackson took the crowd on a tour of what will be in the space, from an exhibit on myths through the ages to displays featuring artists like Norman Rockwell, Frank Frazetta, Jack Kirby and R. Crumb. Some of the works in the museum include the first Flash Gordon character drawing from 1934 ('You can see all the smudges,' Latifah noted), original 'Peanuts' sketches from the 1950s and '60s, and an original drawing of the 'Iron Man' No. 1 cover from 1968. 'Star Wars' fans will find plenty to love, too, including actual vehicles like a Naboo starfighter from Lucas' prequel movies and speeder bikes from 'Return of the Jedi.' And here's another fun fact: The museum architecture contains no right angles, only curves. Lucas, 81, has collected 40,000 pieces of art in the past five decades. 'It occurred to me: What am I going to do with it all?' he said. 'I'm not going to sell it. I could never do that. It's not what art is.' He called the museum a "temple to the people's art" and discussed that art is "a personal thing" to us, "not how much it cost or what celebrity did it or whatever. And I don't think it's anything that anybody else can tell you, 'That's art, that's not art.' It doesn't work that way. If you have an emotional connection, then it's art. "I've discovered just from my experience of making movies and things that other people's opinions don't mean much." Del Toro, a board member for the Lucas museum, appreciates "the pieces we have that celebrate freedom from anarchy," he said. "Comics were the first one to punch Nazis before movies." And with art, "we're not eternal. But what we hold and cherish is." The recent fires made del Toro worry a little about his own large collection. "I draw the line at three houses full of stuff," he said with a laugh. "Now that this museum exists, maybe some of it goes there." And the Lucas museum very much reflects the man whose name is on it, said Chiang, whose own work will be on display. "George leads from the heart, and this museum is him. My hope is that it will inspire the next Norman Rockwell or Frank Frazetta."
