Damon Lindelof Talks Prometheus

"It started as an Alien prequel. That is what everybody wanted it to be. Obviously, Ridley Scott has not made a science fiction movie in 25 years, since Blade Runner, so the idea that he's returning to this genre is huge. But there is a real issue which is - what is the state of the Alien franchise at this point in our lives? There has been Alien Vs. Predator and all these things, and its been completely and totally diluted.

I also do feel that this movie is the movie I would want to see as a fanboy, take place in that Alien universe, which precedes the events of the original Alien, but is not necessarily burdened by all the tropes of that franchise with Facehuggers and Chestbursters, and all that stuff that I love... but its sorta like, we've seen it before, can we do something different this time? And thats the movie that Ridley wanted to make. And when you're working with an auteur, you basically just shut your mouth and listen and try to transcribe and channel the vision of that person, and get out of the way.

Sir Ridley Scott and I, and Michael Ellenberg, sat in a conference room for four hours a day, three days a week, and sort of went over it, again and again and again until I understood exactly what he wanted to do and I wrote it. It took me two weeks to write it, not a lot of time - the time consuming part was the collaboration because he thinks, and I know this sounds like I'm brown-noising but, Ridley Scott is a true genius and he thinks in visual terms far beyond the comprehension of mortals like us but also understands story and mood and tone."