Perfect Organism episodes

85 // Interview with Odd Studio (Yutani Collab)

In this special collaborative interview with Yutani Podcast, JM and Clara talk to Adam Johansen and Damian Martin of the prolific effects house Odd Studio. Odd Studio (along with Creatures Inc) provided many of the astonishing makeup, creature, and prosthetic effects in Alien: Covenant.

In this far-ranging interview, Adam and Damian give us a glimpse into the innermost workings of the Covenant production, and answer some of fandom's burning questions along the way. You won't want to miss it!

iTunes: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes // Google Play: bit.ly/perfectorganismgoogleplay

84 // Renewing the Covenant: Debating Alien: Covenant a Year Later

It's been a year since Alien: Covenant released around the world. The hosts at Perfect Organism Podcast and its contributing co-hosts sit down to talk about how the film sits with them a year later and how the fandom is processing the film, and so much more. This was a spirited, and sometimes very tense discussion as hosts Patrick, JM, Mykal, Clara and Dave put into words the complicated relationship that some of us have with the film, as well as the surprising new love that others are feeling for it. Sit back and enjoy. Listen through the end, as JM and Patrick stay on to read user comments from a recent fan poll.

iTunes: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes // Google Play: bit.ly/perfectorganismgoogleplay

83 // ALIEN: Supporting Characters

Contributing Host (and Xenomorphing.com blogger) Dave Gogel brought up the idea of discussing the supporting characters of each Alien film, beginning with Alien. JM and Patrick sat down with Dave to begin what will be a series of long conversations about the lesser discussed characters in the Alien universe. It was a great time.

iTunes: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes // Google Play: bit.ly/perfectorganismgoogleplay

80 // An ALIEN Commentary [ALIEN DAY 2018]

JM and Patrick sit down and share their first formal viewing of Ridley Scott's seminal film, ALIEN. This was a really wonderful couple of hours to spend together. We hope that this commentary is as special for all of you, as it was recording it. Pay no attention to the Covenant argument slash discussion that broke out. We couldn't help ourselves. You guys n' gals are amazing people. Without you, there would be no Perfect Organism Podcast.

iTunes: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes // Google Play: bit.ly/perfectorganismgoogleplay

81 // Interview with Gabriel Hardman, creator of Aliens: Dust to Dust [ALIEN DAY 2018]

Gabriel Hardman has had quite the career. From storyboarding films like Inception and Interstellar to drawing Hulk for Marvel, Hardman has established himself as a uniquely gifted voice in visual storytelling. His newest release is a stunning miniseries just released by Dark Horse: Aliens: Dust to Dust. In this extended interview, Patrick and Gabriel go in-depth on the creative process, the nature of working with established intellectual properties, the evolution of the xenomorph's design, and lots more.

We hope you enjoy it, and we hope you're having wonderful Alien Days!

Listen on iTunes: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes // Listen on Google Play: bit.ly/perfectorganismgoogleplay

79 // Review: ALIEN Offworld Colony Simulator [ALIEN DAY 2018]

I tried not to panic. I really tried.

I tried not to panic. I really tried.

Alien Day 2018 starts with a bang! And a feverish run down a corridor towards a door with a combination I can't figure out while being pursued by hissing creatures in the darkness ...

Fox granted us early access to this wonderful new RPG-style Alexa game. In this minisode, Patrick runs through the basics and shares some of his thoughts. 

To play the game yourself, swing over to alienuniverse.com right now!

Stay tuned for many, many #ALIENDAY events over the coming hours by liking Perfect Organism on Facebook and bookmarking www.perfectorganism.com/alienday. 

78 // Raunchy Resurrection Roundtable (Reengaging Resurrection: Part 1)

It's easy to write off Alien Resurrection as the black sheep of the Alien Saga. Whether you love it or you hate it—or both at the same time—you can't deny there's a lot to talk about.

In this riotous roundtable, Ryan, Patrick, Clara, and Dave revisit this crazy film and try to figure out what works and what doesn't. Along the way, they deal with some pretty deep questions: Is Dave's dad a prophet? Was Michael Wincott the inspiration for Christian Bale's Batman voice? How much K-Y Jelly is too much K-Y Jelly?

As we come closer to the end of our In Defense of Alien 3 series, we're excited to launch this new miniseries on Resurrection. 

Anyone up for some basketball?

77 // The Alien 3 Script: Frankenstein's Beautiful Monster (In Defense of Alien 3: Part 6)

At long last, our In Defense of Alien 3 miniseries has arrived at the final shooting script for Alien 3—a strange, wild thing that somehow pulled itself through years of development hell and emerged a dark masterwork.

Ringing with the echoes of all the stories and creators that had come (and left) before, Giler and Hill’s final script is a crazy journey. In this episode, Ryan, JM, and Patrick come together to walk through the actual script as it appears on the page. Along the way, they analyze their favorite moments from the film and discuss why, in their opinions, Alien 3 deserves to be held up as an enduring masterpiece.

Proximity: Last Stand at Hadley's Hope (Complete Story)

Perfect Organism is proud to present a groundbreaking new audio drama set in the Alien universe. The culmination of nearly a year of work, Proximity is a character-driven glimpse into the nightmare that erupted in the Hadley's Hope colony on Acheron in June of 2179.

Written and directed by JM Prater, Proximity is the story of Anne (Micah Greene) and Aaron (Patrick Greene) Andrews, two young colonists trying to hold it together while the world around them falls apart. With immersive sound design, an orchestral score, and a talented cast of voice actors from around the world, Proximity is a love letter to the Alien Saga created by people who love it madly and truly.

This is for you. We hope you enjoy it.

CAST (in order of appearance)
Introduction: Richard 'Spanners' Ready of Missed Apex Podcast
Narrator: Kevin Kordis
Aaron Andrews: Patrick Greene
Anne Andrews: Micah Greene
Radio: JM Prater
Brad Lydecker: Bradford Eckhart
Woman on Transmission: JoAnne Greene
Child on Transmission: Jude Greene
Medlab Voices: Ryan Zeid
Radio Commercial: Ryan Zeid
Ooge: Mykal McCulloch
Robbie: Kevin Duffield

SOUND DESIGN
JM Prater and Patrick Greene

MUSIC
Patrick Greene (see patrickgreenemusic.com for full list of performers)

TELEPLAY
JM Prater

DIRECTOR
JM Prater

Based on original characters by Dan O'Bannon, Ron Shusett, and James Cameron

76 // Nerdgasm

After months of infighting, confusion, and generalized crankiness, the Alien fan community rejoiced as one this past week in the wake of two big announcements: a new video game and a new comic!

In this episode, Ryan, Patrick, Dave, and Mykal have an especially raucous roundtable discussion about the big news. Along the way, they go deep into their personal histories with in-universe video games—the good ones, the bad ones, the weird ones, the ones that got seized as evidence by the FBI when they were children, and much more.

It was great fun to record this episode; we hope it’s just as fun to listen to.

75 // Interview with Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. of Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc.

As Alien fans, we’ve become used to change. Different directors; different scripts; different planets; different eras; different timelines; even different film studios. With everything so constantly in flux, it’s easy to forget that Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. have been there since nearly the very beginning. From their pioneering work on Aliens, to the foundation of the legendary Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc., Gillis and Woodruff have been at the vanguard of the effects industry for more than three decades.

In this exclusive, unprecedented interview, our very own JM Prater visited Gillis and Woodruff at Studio ADI in Hollywood for a sit-down conversation about their love for the Alien Saga, their relationships with the fans, and much, much more.

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Proximity: Last Stand at Hadley's Hope (Chapter 1)

,

Perfect Organism is proud to present a groundbreaking new audio drama set in the Alien universe. The culmination of nearly a year of work, Proximity is a character-driven glimpse into the nightmare that erupted in the Hadley's Hope colony on Acheron in June of 2179.

Written and directed by JM Prater, Proximity is the story of Anne and Aaron Andrews, two young colonists trying to hold it together while the world around them falls apart. With immersive sound design, an orchestral score, and a talented cast of voice actors from around the world, Proximity is a love letter to the Alien Saga created by people who love it madly and truly.

This is for you. We hope you enjoy it.

CAST (in order of appearance)
Introduction: Richard 'Spanners' Ready of Missed Apex Podcast
Narrator: Kevin Kordis
Aaron Andrews: Patrick Greene
Anne Andrews: Micah Greene
Radio: JM Prater
Brad Lydecker: Bradford Eckhart
Woman on Transmission: JoAnne Greene
Child on Transmission: Jude Greene
Medlab Voices: Ryan Zeid
Radio Commercial: Ryan Zeid
Ooge: Mykal McCulloch
Robbie: Kevin Duffield

SOUND DESIGN
JM Prater and Patrick Greene

MUSIC
Patrick Greene (see patrickgreenemusic.com for full list of performers)

TELEPLAY
JM Prater

DIRECTOR
JM Prater

Based on original characters by Dan O'Bannon, Ron Shusett, and James Cameron

www.perfectorganism.com

74 // Stay Frosty, We're All in Strung Out Shape

Recent events—the announcement of the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company; controversial proclamations by Ridley Scott on the future of the franchise; a surprise Instagram post by Neill Blomkamp offering never-before-seen conceptual art for his Alien 5 project; among others—have Alien fandom whipped into a frenzy.

Hoping to make some sense of these late-breaking developments, JM, Ryan, Patrick, and Mykal assembled for a very impassioned late-night roundtable discussion.

Where do you stand on all this? What are your thoughts? Tell us at Building Better Worlds—we’d love to keep this conversation going.

***BONUS*** Stay tuned at the end of the episode for an exclusive preview of Proximity: Last Stand at Hadley's Hope! And be sure to refresh your podcatchers on January 1, when we’ll be dropping the first chapter of this groundbreaking audio drama.

73 // Disney and the Alien

With the news of the recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney, Jaimeand Ryan convene to discuss the implications of the sale, and what it means for the series. They go on to discuss Ridley Scott's role in the franchise and whether or not Alien should leave the creature behind and explore artificial intelligence. We hope you enjoy this episode.

72 // Tales Of the Body Thief: Interviewing Director Charles de Lauzirika

I've been attempting to track down Charles de Lauzirika for many many years. Charles is an award winning film director, and one of very few people who have been privy to the innerworkings of the worlds that legendary film director Ridley Scott has created over the course of several decades. After what felt like the impossible, Charles kindly granted Perfect Organism an interview. I am honored and pleased to share that conversation with you now.

-JM

71 // Defending Alien: covenant (part 2)

In what is our longest show ever, clocking in at over 2.5 hours, JM, Ryan, and Patrick are joined by our roundtable hosts Mykal and Dave, and special guest Clara Fei-Fei. This is a really special episode as we talk to Clara about her entry into the world of Alien, her first memories, favorite scenes, and her opinion on Alien: Covenant. This episode is a second chapter in an ongoing and heated discussion over Alien: Covenant, and Ridley Scott's latest comments that have proven incredibly divisive among the fans. The last hour of the show, Ryan, Patrick and JM read our user feedback and comments. Enjoy!

70 // Has the Beast Run Out?

JM and Patrick sit down for an impromptu discussion surrounding Ridley Scott's latest comments that the alien has run its course. These words have sent a shockwave through a VERY fractured and broken fandom, leaving many of us enraged, and scratching our heads. Patrick and JM upack this revelation. Let us know your opinion! 

Ep. 69: Ghosts of Arceon: Tales from a Wooden World (In Defense of Alien 3: Part 5)

In this in-depth episode, Patrick sets out to create the definitive account of his favorite unfilmed script: Vincent Ward and John Fasano's legendary Alien III, set on the wood-paneled planetoid of Arceon.

You'll hear firsthand accounts by some of the creative forces behind this fascinating story, as well as extensive analysis of what might've worked, what might've flopped, and what ultimately survived into David Fincher's film. You'll also get the full background on how Ward was brought into the picture, where his unique ideas might've come from, and why he was ultimately ejected from the project.

Patrick also goes through the script in detail, providing his own dramatic synopsis alongside tightly integrated music cues—hopefully giving some sense of what it might've felt like to watch the film, had it been made.

NB: If you'd like to read the script while you listen, you can get it here for free!

Episode 67: In Defense of Alien 3: Gibson's New Nightmare

In this minisode—the first in a series of three—Ryan tackles the horrifying, fascinating script written by legendary sci-fi figure William Gibson all the way back in 1987. Gibson's script, which he titled Alien III, explodes with innovative ideas, memorable characters, and high-budget setpieces.

Although it was never filmed (and indeed was followed by nearly a dozen subsequent script rewrites), Gibson's ghostly story has influenced subsequent Alien Saga films in some very real and noticeable ways—perhaps none more so than Alien: Covenant.

Before we got Alien 3, we nearly had Alien III.

This is its story.