Biographical note:
Ian Nathan, who lives and works in London, has been a film writer, producer, broadcaster, and magazine editor for twenty years. As executive editor of Empire, the world's leading film magazine, he is allowed to feed his passions on a daily basis: generating, editing, and writing articles as a thinly veiled excuse to provide the world with his opinions. Like any healthy cinema obsessive, he grew up on James Bond, Indiana Jones, and sneaking into horror movies when he was tall enough. it has grown into a magnificent obsession with everything from Hitchcock to Kurosawa, from arcane film theory to picking your favorite Harrison Ford punch. He has had the immense good fortune of traversing the globe, interviewing the great and good: watching the godlike Steven Spielberg at work, eating ice cream with Peter Jackson and a tableful of orcs, buying Sigourney Weaver breakfast, and behing hugged by both Oliver Stone and Kate Winslet, not a once. Nathan has regularly contributed to books; newspapers such as the London Times and Independent; and magazines; had a weekly radio show; and produced TV documentaries and award ceremonies. The work of Sir Ridley Scott, in particular the extraordinary Alien, has been seminal in inspiring him to what film could be, and how much there is to discover within it.
Main description:
For over thirty years, audiences have been simultaneously captivated and appalled as the spaceship Nostromo is invaded and its crew stalked by a terrifying parasitic creature. From the gore of the infant alien bursting from Kane’s chest to the mounting claustrophobia as Ripley discovers the monster has followed her into the escape shuttle, Alien is a chilling masterpiece.
Now, Alien Vault: The Definitive Story of the Making of the Film opens a portal into the making of this legendary film, tracing its path from embryonic concept to fully fledged box office phenomenon.
Featured herein are director Ridley Scott’s own annotated storyboards, Polaroids and script pages; the elegant but disturbing concept artwork of H.R. Giger; sketches and construction blueprints for the Nostromo; costume designs by Moebius; a treasure trove of never-before-seen photographs of the cast and crew; and ten meticulously reproduced artifacts, enclosed in vellum envelopes, for readers to remove and examine more closely.
Fully authorized and illustrated throughout, Alien Vault is the ultimate tribute to a movie that changed cinema forever.
Review quote:
io9, October 20, 2011
The new book Alien Vault gives you a terrific insight into the insane amount of craftsmanship — and the craftsmanlike touches of insanity — that went into Ridley Scott's Alien. Ian Nathan's new book is a ridiculously comprehensive and beautifully assembled tribute to one of science fiction's all-time great movies.
Portland Mercury (online), November 1, 2011
For those who've watched all the Blu-rays and dug through every yellowed issue of Starlog, much of this info will be familiar, but as a total experience—combining the stories of writing, producing, shooting, and editing the film, right alongside rare and frequently striking images from its preproduction, production, and marketing phases—Alien Vault feels more unified and cohesive than previous looks at the making of the film. Here's hoping Nathan has plans for a similar book—an Aliens tome in this format feels like the obvious next step, but I'd almost rather see Nathan follow Scott to the set of his follow-up to Alien: Another damn-near perfect film, 1982's Blade Runner.
Book Legion, November 1, 2011
The vault is a hardcover book with a nice slipcase that feature
The Retroist, October 21, 2011“This book I truly believe lives up to it’s title, this is the definitive source on the making of Alien. It is superbly written and I can say that for any fan of the film they need to add this book to their collection.” YES! Weekly (print and online), October 26, 2011
“Even the most jaded and knowledgeable Alien aficionado will be amazed by the breadth and depth of research Nathan has done. The book truly is everything you ever wanted to know about Alien but were afraid (for whatever reason!) to ask. In addition to conducting extensive interviews with the film’s creative team, Nathan has also packed the volume with behind-the-scenes photographs (some never-before-seen) and a variety of inserts and enclosures, including reproductions of Ridley Scott’s storyboards, HR Giger’s conceptual art, sketches, blueprints, advertising materials and more.”
Related Items
