20th Century Fox

The teaser trailer for Ridley Scott‘s Prometheus — his return to the narrative landscape of his 1979 film Alien — was one of the best teasers we’ve seen in a long time. We have no idea if the script, heavily revised by Damon Lindelof from John Spaihts‘ original draft, is any good, or if the picture will hold a candle to Alien. But damn, it looks beautiful.

Here’s something that will give you a slightly better idea of what’s going on in Prometheus, however. It isn’t a trailer, and it isn’t footage from the film. Rather, it is something that plays right into the rumor that surfaced yesterday about the character played by Guy Pearce. What we’ve got is a TED Talk… from 2023. Check it out below.

As mentioned above, note that this is a promo clip only — as you’ll see in the credits below, it wasn’t directed by Ridley Scott, though he did oversee it. It does not appear in Prometheus.

So that’s Peter Weyland of Weyland Corp, aka one of the two companies that joined together to eventually become Weyland-Yutani, the corporate entity that plays a huge part in the Alien series. What does he have to do with the story in Prometheus? That talk should have given you a pretty good idea; it certainly doesn’t leave much to the imagination with respect to the legend of Prometheus and this film’s story.

Here’s what the TED page for this talk offers:

Peter Weyland has been a magnet for controversy since he announced his intent to build the first convincingly humanoid robotic system by the end of the decade.

Whether challenging the ethical boundaries of medicine with nanotechnology or going toe to toe with the Vatican itself on the issue of gene-therapy sterilization, Sir Peter prides himself on his motto, “If we can, we must.” After a three year media blackout, Weyland has finally emerged to reveal where he’s heading next. Wherever that may be, we will most certainly want to follow.

Conceived and designed by Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof and directed by Luke Scott.

There is more info about Peter Weyland at that page, too. And if you want more background on this clip, writer Damon Lindelof has a Q&A at TED where he talks about creating the video. He explains, in part,

I said, “l’ll write this thing, and we’ll put it in front of you guys, and if you think it’s cool, we would love to platform it at TED, and make it only viewable through TED.” Because I liked the idea of exposing a more general audience to, “Wait a minute, I’ve never heard of this thing. There’s more talks here.” I thought it could be mutually beneficial — as opposed to overtly cram-it-down-your-face viral marketing, which I don’t think anyone wanted to do.

Ridley Scott directed Prometheus; it stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Rafe Spall, Logan Marshall-Green, Guy Pearce, and Patrick Wilson. The film will hit theaters June 8, 2012.

Ridley Scott, director of “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” returns to the genre he helped define. With PROMETHEUS, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

• ‘Prometheus’ Trailer – Short on Plot, Heavy on Atmosphere
• See the Final ‘Prometheus’ Trailer Tease, and a New Photo
• First Look Footage: Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus’ [Updated With Second Video]
• High-Res Images From Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus’
• ‘Prometheus’ Gets a Slightly More Revealing Plot Synopsis
• Damon Lindelof Teases a Few Secrets of ‘Prometheus’

Cameron Crowe might have been MIA for a few years but he’s back in full force in 2011 with two documentaries and his latest narrative movie, We Bought A Zoo. The film stars Matt Damon as a single father who decides to move his family to a downtrodden zoo. Based on a true story, We Bought A Zoo also features Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Elle Fanning, John Michael Higgins and more. It’s scheduled for release December 23. Check out the first trailer after the jump.

Check out the trailer in HD at Apple or watch the embed below.

You can almost hear the weeping in the theater already, right? Crowe certainly looks like he’s going for the heartstrings with this one, complete with the music, the inspirational dialogue, the adorable kids and he even draws on Jerry Maguire with Damon’s “I quit” speech.

While this has long been one of my most anticipated films of the year, I must admit, this first trailer didn’t blow me away. Everything looks exactly as warm and pleasing as one would expect but the basic story of “Man moves family to zoo, improves life in unexpected ways” seems to be it. Where’s the meat? Of course, I trust Cameron Crowe unconditionally and this is just the first trailer but after my first look at the film, I’m not as hooked as I’d hoped I’d be.

What do you think?

Here’s the official plot description of the film based on the Benjamin Mee memoir.

This holiday season, acclaimed filmmaker Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) directs an amazing and true story about a single dad who decides his family needs a fresh start, so he and his two children move to the most unlikely of places: a zoo. With the help of an eclectic staff, and with many misadventures along the way, the family works to return the dilapidated zoo to its former wonder and glory.

• The Uncool Visits The Set of Cameron Crowe’s ‘We Bought a Zoo’
• Patrick Fugit and Elle Fanning Join Cameron Crowe’s ‘We Bought a Zoo’
• More Photos From The ‘We Bought A Zoo’ Set
• Cameron Crowe’s ‘We Bought A Zoo’ Script Came with a Soundtrack by Eddie Vedder and Neil Young
• Scarlett Johansson Cast in ‘We Bought a Zoo’
• Cameron Crowe Wants Scarlett Johansson for ‘We Bought a Zoo’

20th Century Fox has released the movie trailer for Rupert Wyatt‘s Rise of the Planet of the Apes., starring James Franco, Andy Serkis, Frida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, and Tom Felton. The film is a prequel/reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise which takes place in present day with a science fact-like take on how animal testing leads to the end of the human race, and yes, the rise of the apes. Watch the trailer embedded after the jump. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Watch the trailer in high definition on Apple.

Official Plot Synopsis:

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is an origin story in the truest sense of the term. Set in present day San Francisco, the film is a reality-based cautionary tale, a science fiction/science fact blend, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

James Franco plays “a young, driven scientist who becomes a crucial figure in the war between humans and apes.” John Lithgow plays Franco’s father, also a scientist, Freida Pinto plays a primatologist who helps Franco, Brian Cox plays “the villainous owner of a primate sanctuary who runs the facility without compassion for the animals that live there,” Tom Felton is the son of Brian Cox’s character, and through performance capture and WETA created visual effects, Andy Serkis plays Caesar, the chimp who leads the simian revolt. The screenplay is written by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes will hit theaters on August 5th 2011.

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• Video Of An Ape From ‘Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes’
• Andy Serkis Goes Simian Again: Cast as Caesar in Planet of the Apes Prequel
• /Film Visits The Set of ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’
• First Look: James Franco in ‘Rise of the Apes’
• First Look: James Franco, Freida Pinto, and Andy Serkis Filming ‘Rise of the Apes’