It seems like all the cool kids are going viral these days, so it only stood to reason that Ridley Scott’s Prometheus also joined in the fray sooner or later. And of course when the visionary director does it, it’s downright geekgasmic.
Less than a few days after it was revealed that Guy Pearce will be playing Peter Weyland (of Weyland-Yutani Corp), we can now see him doing his extremely charismatic thing in this TED broadcast from the year 2023.
TED is of course the very real conference where leaders and innovators in the fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design are given a platform to speak about their work and ambitions. Combining TED with such a corporate-science-centric film as Prometheus, is simply inspired genius. Conceived by Scott and Damon Lindelof, and directed by Scott’s son, Luke, this very clever clip may not be providing us with any real details, but it sure as hell is riveting.
The TED 2023 page adds this:
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.
First thing I noticed from watching this is that Guy Pearce appears to be doing an eerily accurate John Hurt impersonation. Hurt, of course, played executive office John Kane in Alien, who was last seen having his sternum turned into a gaping crevasse by a xenormorph hatchling. Could there be a connection between the two, or is this just another case of “Ridley Scott is a sadistic bastard who likes to toy with the emotions of his fans”?
Either way, I hope we see more of these types of clips soon!
Last Updated: February 29, 2012
Justin Hess
February 29, 2012 at 12:38
He’s just doing an English Accent. It’s more to do with selling the strong, solid determination of the character than aiming for John Hurt impersonation is my guess
Kervyn Cloete
February 29, 2012 at 13:48
I get the English accent bit, but his every inflection just screams of John Hurt.
It’s probably a massive coincidence, but cool and mysterious nonetheless.
Justin Hess
February 29, 2012 at 14:20
It’s curious though. Why an English accent? What abut Pearce’s native Aussie accent? Or are we just incapable of finding someone with an Aussie twang particularly villainous.
The Stereotypical SA accent can even be a bit villainous. But Aussies? Nope