Wednesday 31 May 2017

The Force is 40 brings together Largest Gathering of Star Wars Fan Clubs in Malaysia


This year Star Wars celebrated its 40th Anniversary since release of the first movie Episode IV A New Hope in 1977, launching a new era of science fiction adventure in the cinemas. All across the world, fans celebrated 4 decades of the franchise with the largest most prestigious convention taking place at Star Wars Celebration Orlando (SWCO) in April.

UNITED IN THE FORCE!
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

Not to be left out, Malaysian fans got together for our very own Star Wars Day 40th Anniversary Celebration at Sunway Pyramid Shopping Centre from 15 to 21 May 2017. Whilst many Star Wars Day events around the world take place around 4 May, i.e. May the 4th, this celebration date is actually closer to the actual anniversary day of the movie release on 25 May, 1977.

Fans gather at the Blue Concourse for a Lightsaber Flash Mob on Saturday.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

This fan based event was indeed put together by fans for fans by 4 local fanboys: Julian, Ng, Daniel and James. As the Organising Committee, they worked tirelessly since last year to unite 20 fan communities to celebrate their love for Star Wars with the support of Disney / Lucasfilm, partner brands, and Sunway Pyramid, one of our country's premiere malls. These are the participating fans and communities:

Costuming Fan Groups:

Costumers from various fan clubs get together for photo ops.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.
Lightsaber Fan Groups:

Jedi Academy by Force Arts Stunt Team (FAST).
Photo credit: John Gullidge.
Star Wars Inspired Artists:

Artists showcase their Star Wars fan art.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.
Star Wars Inspired Fashion Designer:

Geek Pop Culture Community:

Outpost Productions with the fan clubs at the Blue Concourse.

Toys Collector Fan Groups:
15. Chancellor Peter (SW Vintage Collector)

Franchise brands like Hasbro, LEGO, Uniqlo, etc. at the Orange Concourse.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.
These are the franchise brands represented at the Orange Concourse showcasing and retailing their products throughout the week:
  • Hasbro
  • LEGO
  • Hot Wheels by Mattel
  • Funko Pop (by Sheldonet)
  • Royal Selangor
  • TGV
  • Uniqlo
  • Toys R Us
  • GL Design
  • UrbanTee
  • Hot Toys
  • Gamer's Hideout
Outpost Productions was glad to have been invited as one of the fan communities to represent Geek Pop Culture in Malaysia, of which Star Wars form a huge fan-base. We setup stall over the weekend of 20-21 May in the Blue Concourse showcasing Star Wars fandom at events from other parts of the world, and doing our small bit for charity. We offered a Hasbro AT-ST Walker toy and LEGO Micro-fighter on raffle with ticket sales donated to the Spastic Children's Association of Selangor & Federal Territory (SCASFT), the adopted charity for this event.

Our contribution for charity.

Winners of our charity raffle prizes: Tan Kok Hwee (left) and Andrew Mark Fernandez.
Over 2 days we collected RM211 from the raffle and doubled up this amount to donate RM422 to SCASFT. Collectively RM7,700 of cash donation was collected from activities of the various fan communities on the weekend. Together with other donation channels, over RM11,000 is being donated to SCASFT, excluding proceeds from the fan art paintings now being auctioned (more below).


Children from SCASFT pose with fans.

Here's coverage by the Malaysian Insight over the weekend:


Read-up more at their online article Celebrating 40 years of Star Wars.

One of the participation fan clubs, Star Wars Modellers Malaysia (SWMM) also put together their video of the event showcasing their fantastic scaled models on display as well as other fan activities:


Whilst we are unable to give every participating fan community their due (we were rather occupied ourselves), we do wish to highlight the very awesome Star Wars inspired Fashion Show by Venus Lim of Costurera Haberdashery on Sunday. 

The Blue Concourse packed for the Star Wars inspired Fashion Show on Sunday.

The 25 minute show showcased 14 outfits inspired from Star Wars plus 7 canon costumes in 3 chapters as well as a lightsaber duel performance by Force Arts Stunt Team (FAST). For those who missed out being there in person, here is video of this very unique Fashion Show:


Venus Lim of Costurera Haberdashery with her Star Wars inspired outfits modeled during Fashion Show.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

Browse these Facebook photo albums for great shots by John Gullidge. His 6 photo albums from the whole week provide the most complete record of the whole event. Thank you John!

John Gullidge Star Wars Day photo albums: Blue Concourse 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and Orange Concourse

Note: Most photos here credit to John Gullidge.

Our Outpost Commander Richard Chua facilitating discussion on the Fan Panels.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

Outpost also put together a series of Fan Panels for the event offering fans the chance to share their personal stories and passion for Star Wars. Moderated by Outpost Commander Richard Chua, the four panels featured different facets of Star Wars fandom as follows:

Collectors Fan Panel (left to right): Richard (moderator), Oppie (SWMM), Sanjiv (SWMFC) Bryan (PVM), Chancellor Peter, Ng (LOM). Photo credit: John Gullidge.

Collectors Panel:
  • Oppie of Star Wars Modellers Malaysia: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a small band of model makers formed a group. It was designed for people with a passion for building and creating. A group where you can grow and share ideas, while creating your own style and form. A genuine passion for creativity and a meeting of the same mindset. The group is designed to help modelers develop and share their skills. A unique place to learn and perfect your craft. For those of you who love model making, whether it be scratch build or working from a kit, this group will provide great deal of input from fellow modelers, who have experience and talent in the art.
  • Sanjiv Indran of Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club (SWMFC): The club was established in December 2011 by a group of fanboys who shared a passion for that beloved galaxy far, far away. As a nonprofit organization registered with the Registrar of Societies Malaysia, SWMFC aims to promote the timeless space fantasy saga by uniting fans across the region, as well as organizing Star Wars themed events for its members and the general public. Community service is a hallmark of our society, and we strive to bring the joy and excitement of growing up with Star Wars to the next generation.
  • Bryan of Pop Vinyl Malaysia: A group formed to bring collectors of Funko products together, now 1.5 years old and reaching 600 members.
  • Peter Lai, a Vintage Star Wars Collector. Better known as “Chancellor Peter” in the International Vintage Star Wars collecting forums and Facebook Vintage Star Wars collecting Groups, he has been a lifelong collector since getting his first STAR WARS figure in the Christmas of 1979 and collected well into the Internet era. Evidently, a completist at heart as he has put on display the full range of Vehicles, Playsets, Creatures, Display Stands and Collectors Case released by KENNER PRODUCTS from 1977 to 1979, complete in their original STAR WARS packaging.
  • Ng of LEGO User Group of Malaysia (LOM): The group was incepted in 2013 by brick enthusiasts and has since become the fastest growing LEGO fan club in Malaysia with over 10,000 online members. LOM's vision is to share the love of LEGO to Malaysians and unite Adult Fans of LEGO. At Star Wars Day, their members have built scenes from Episodes I to VII including Rogue One.
Chancellor Peter's collection of vintage Star Wars toys from 1977-79.

Moderator Richard Chua (far left) with the Saber Masters (left to right): Tintoy Chuo, Alan Cheong, Jason Ngiam, Saber Dad / Vincent Wong. Photo credit: John Gullidge.
Lightsaber Panel:
  • Tintoy Chuo of Lightsaber League Malaysia (LLM): LLM is a gathering of like-minded individuals who admire the elegant weapon, from a more civilized age. Lightsaber fans from all over Malaysia to come together to talk, share, participate, and source stunt sabers.
  • Alan Cheong of AC Lightsabers (ACL) helps Star Wars fans purchase, modify, customise and upgrade their lightsabers. Alan himself literally hand crafts lightsabers right here in Malaysia and therefore can customise hilts to specific requests for unique designs tailor made for a fan.
  • Jason Ngaim of Sabertrio provides high-grade aluminimum hilt illuminated stunt lightsabers for Star Wars fans to duel like the movies. Sabertrio's sabers are made locally as to be much more affordable to Malaysian fans.
  • Vincent Wong, more commonly known as Saber Dad in the local lightsaber community, was one of the early adopters of LED saber technology. Armed with almost a decade of saber building knowledge, he does servicing, installations, conversion, and custom builds.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

Artists Panel (left to right): Richard Chua (moderator), Dave Liew, Bone Alfie, Jon Tham, Michael Chuah, Tintoy Chuo. Photo credit: John Gullidge.
Artists Panel:
  • Dave Liew the co-founder of Fearless Ideas & Designs providing art direction while managing an impressive work flow with a tight turnaround for a wide range of clients. He is also a stalwart members of the 501st Legion and won best fan-made Star Wars social poster for the 2011 Japanese Tsunami Relief Effort.
Dave has littered his art piece with Easter eggs for fans.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

  • Bone Alfie is a full-time graffiti artist. With 16 years experience in the field, he does commission art for clients such as Petronas. His personal style tends to be distorted, deformed or monstrous versions of the subject matter.
Bone's distorted art style of a Stormtrooper.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

  • Jon Tham is a graphic designer who infuses manga art into his work, capable of drawing manga style portraits and caricatures, designing anime characters, conducting art classes and, on many occasions, raised funds for charity through his art. He experiments in colour pencil art and produced quite a number of fan art ranging from Star Wars, Batman and Transformers.
Jon's manga-influenced version of Force twins Luke & Leia.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

  • Michael Chuah is a Malaysian comic artist and well known designer. Over the years, he focuses on the development of comic art presentation and its contents, as well as its character and graphic designs. His comic, Gengkeyhad a line of vinyl toys and character design collection artbook GENGKEY 100 : The Character Guide. His other notable works are: Office Survival》、《KO Campus》、《Monster Chaos》、《Three Hours To Master》、《Horoscope Feverand many more. He contributed the Fan Key Art for this event collaterals. Thanks Michael!
Michael's comic edition of Darth Vader.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

  • Tintoy Chuo of Fusion Wayang Kulit. Founded by Tintoy & Take Huat, Fusion Wayang Kulit teams up with Mr.Pak Dain, the 13th accredited Tok Dalang ("Master Puppeteer") of the Kelantan Traditional Malay Shadow Play, to revive this dying traditional culture by merging it with fusion element & enhancing it with various multimedia components.
Tintoy with his art piece of the galaxy's most famous smugglers, Han Solo & Chewbacca. Photo credit: John Gullidge.

Each artist contributed a special Fan Art Drawing for the event to be auctions for charity with proceeds donated to SCASFT. The five pieces are exclusive fan art pieces are now up for silent auction starting from RM1,000 per piece. If interested to bid for them, please call Ms. Kimberley of SCASFT at 6016-225 9886 to submit your bid.

Art pieces (left to right) by Bone Alfie, Michael Chuah and Dave Liew are being auctioned for charity.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

Our 40th Anniversary Fan Panel (left to right): Richard (moderator), Rafie, Nightress, Julian, Allen.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

The Force is 40 Fan Panel:
  • Rafie is a familar face in the local fan community, being the current President of the Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club (SWMFC). He revels in dabbling in both the Light and Dark Side of the Force, but committing to neither.
  • Nightress love for Star Wars comes from watching A New Hope but delved into costuming during the Prequel era. She is a member of the Rebel Legion inspired to recreate screen accurate costumes to support the fan community's charitable causes.
  • Julian Kong is the Force behind this Star Wars Day 40th Anniversary Celebration event. Please thank him and his comrades in arms, Ng, James & Daniel, for bringing us together.
  • Allen Yap is founder of Cosplay-FUN Malaysia (CFM) with the mission to help Cosplay in Malaysia gain more positive acceptance & exposure as well as present cosplay as a healthy interest / craft for all ages, races and creed. Allen is a Star Wars fan at heart and strives to be a Jedi Master.
THE FORCE IS 40!
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

Thank you again to everyone contributing their time for the passion of Star Wars.

May the Force be with You!

Disclaimer: Star Wars and other trademarks are copyright to Lucasfilm and/or Disney, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.

Thursday 18 May 2017

Malaysia Fans Unite in the Force for Star Wars Day 40th Anniversary Celebration


There is a disturbance in The Force. Do you feel it? An army of voices rising from near and far... the Light and Dark will unite to celebrate 40 years of Star Wars!


This week renown Malaysian shopping mall Sunway Pyramid is hosting a unique Star Wars adventure by fans for fans. The Star Wars Day 40th Anniversary Celebration from 15th to 21st May takes place in two concourse on level LG2 of the mall. In the Orange Concourse, brand partners like Hasbro, LEGO , Royal Selangor, etc. showcase and retail their official Star Wars merchandise throughout the week. Over at the Blue Concourse, fan groups will come together on the weekend to share their passion for Star Wars over numerous thematic activities.


For the uninformed, Star Wars Day is celebrated annually on 4 May by fans worldwide, although the date itself was not officially declared by Lucasfilm. Along with the date comes the catchphrase "May the fourth be with you" and Star Wars fans have made it so since 2011. The actual day on 4 May itself may not always present the best day of the week to revel in fandom fever, therefore events to celebrate Star Wars Day may stray a few days away.



The most epic Star Wars fan event 40 years in the making, is coming to you soon!
Posted by The Force is 40 on Thursday, 4 May 2017

This Star Wars Day event was vision of 4 local fan boys: Julian, Ng, Daniel and James. Their idea was to connect as many local Star Wars fan communities as possible for a meaningful event celebration 40 years of Star Wars. After volunteering their time planning months ahead with some volume of sweat along the way, it all comes together this week in the Star Wars Day 40th Anniversary Celebration. Here's what to expect:

Orange concourse of franchise brand partners showcasing official merchandise.
Photo source: Sunway Pyramid
The Orange Concourse is populated by brands associated with the franchise, offering licensed merchandise like toys and apparel served to Star Wars fans. These brands include Hasbro, LEGO, Mattel (Hot Wheels), Sheldonet (Funko POP!), Royal Selangor (pewter), TGV Chill-X, Uniqlo (apparel), Toys R Us, GLD, UrbanTee and Gamer's Hideout. Get your wallets ready as Hasbro is offering selected toys on major discount whilst LEGO has brought out the latest building sets screaming to be brought home.

Royal Selangor's premium Star Wars figurines from pewter.
Main activities at the Orange Concourse over the weekend open to all shoppers:
  • LEGO Darth Vader & Stormtrooper appearance at 11am, 1.30pm, 4.30pm, 8pm
  • Star Wars Mini-Race on Track and Custom Diorama contest by Hot Wheels Collectors Malaysia at 11.30am & 3pm.
  • Rebel activities (?) by Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club at 2pm & 6pm.

Now over at the Blue Concourse, fan-centric activities take centre-stage (literally) through contributions from the numerous fan groups in attendance: LightsaberLeague Malaysia (LLM), Force Arts Stunt Team (FAST), Sabertrio, ACLightsabers, Fightsaber Malaysia, 501st Legion Malaysia Garrison, Rebel Legion Malaysia Outpost, Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club (SWMFC), LEGO Fans of Malaysia (LOM), Hot Wheels Collectors Malaysia, FusionWayang Kulit, Costurera Haberdashery, Star Wars Modellers Malaysia(SWMM), Pop Vinyl Malaysia, and ourselves Outpost Productions. Also present are local artists Bone Alfie, Dave Liew, Michael Chuah, JonTham and Tintoy Chou, plus Vintage Star Wars Collector Chancellor Peter.

Here's a teaser of the fan-led activities courtesy of Streething.com.

Here are activity highlights at the Blue Concourse:
  • Introduction of Fan Groups on Saturday 10am
  • Lightsaber Flash Mob on Saturday 1pm.
  • Prop Making Session & Trivia Quiz by SWMFC on Saturday 3pm.
  • Talk on "How to choose a lightsaber" by AC Lightsabers on Saturday 5pm.
  • Star Wars Inspired Fashion Runway Show on Sunday 1.30pm.
  • Music lecture and Comedy skit on Sunday 2.30pm
  • Star Wars Kids Costume Contest on Sunday, 5pm
  • Live Auction of Artist paintings on Sunday, 7pm
  • History of Star Wars Vintage Toys by Chancellor Peter on Saturday 12pm, then Sunday 1pm.
  • Lightsaber performances by FAST on Saturday 1.15pm & 4.15pm, then Sunday 1.45pm & 4.15pm
  • Saber Academy for younglings by FAST on Saturday 4.30pm, the Sunday 7pm.
  • Jedi Academy by FightsaberMY on Saturday 2.30pm, then Sunday 4.30pm.
  • Model Kit building tutorials by SWMM on Saturday & Sunday 11.30am & 6pm.
  • LEGO Speed Build & My Own Creation contests by LOM on Sunday 11am, 1pm, 3.30pm, 5.30pm & 7.30pm.
Note: Schedule shown is at time of posting and may subject to change without prior notice. Please do not throw Force Lightning at us if actual activity timing differ!

Wow, a Star Wars inspired "Fashion Show" this time by fan for fans!

Our Outpost commander Richard Chua will be moderating a series of fan panel discussions as follows:
  • Lightsabers on Saturday, 10.30am with AC Lightsabers, Sabertrio, Lightsaber League Malaysia, & Saber Dad.
  • Collectors on Sunday, 10am with Vintage Star Wars Collector Chancellor Peter, Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club, Star Wars Modellers Malaysia, & Pop Vinyl Malaysia.
  • Artists on Sunday, 11am with Michael Chuah, Bone Alfie, Dave Liew, Jon Tam and Tintoy Chuo of Fusion Wayang Kulit
  • 40 years of Star Wars on Sunday, 12pm with fans.

Listen from the Saber Masters themselves during their Panel moderated by Outpost's Richard Chua.


The fanboys of Star Wars Modellers Malaysia will be conducting tutorials to educated aspiring modellers how to create these highly characters and vehicles.

Charity has often been a core engagement with many Star Wars fans. At this event, donations collected by fan groups will be channeled to The Spastic Children's Association of Selangor & Federal Territory (SCASFT). The association offers life-long FREE support to children with cerebral palsy through various services and programmes. The Association manages a Spastic Centre which comprises a Special Education School, Vocational Training, a Sheltered Workshop and a Rehabilitation Centre.

4 local artists will be live drawing fan art at the event to be auctioned off on Sunday 7pm for charity with proceeds to SCASFT.

In previous years at Star Wars events Outpost Productions have contributed toys for charity auction with proceeds going to either the organiser's nominated charity, or the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Our modest collection of RM900 in 2014 from C2Age grew to RM1,510 in 2015 and RM2,000 last year at SWMFC events. While we do not quite have the same opportunity this time around, we will be offering this Hasbro 3.75in series AT-ST Walker on Charity Raffle at RM5 per ticket sold this weekend from our table in the Blue Concourse. 

Make a donation and stand a chance to win this Hasbro 3.75in AT-ST Walker.

A live draw will take place on Sunday 21 May, 7pm to determine the lucky winner. If you really want this HTF (hard to find) toy, please feel welcome to purchase more raffle tickets to increase your chances to win! Plus Outpost will match the donated sum 1-for-1 and may even throw in a few other surprise Star Wars items.

Representatives of the fan groups and organisers look forward to see you this weekend!

So don a Jedi robe and plot course to Sunway Pyramid this weekend to Celebrate 40 years of Star Wars fandom. Oh and if you do not want to stress over parking, use this Uber code for a discounted ride:


May the Force be with You!
#THEFORCEIS40

Like The Force is 40 onFacebook for the latest updates.

Disclaimer: Star Wars and other trademarks are copyright to Lucasfilm and/or Disney, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.


Wednesday 3 May 2017

Will the origins of Xenomorphs be finally revealed in Alien: Covenant?

Fans of the Alien movie franchise will get to rejoice next week with the return of the classic Xenomorph and Facehuggers in Alien: Covenant. Although they were much anticipated during release of the preceding movie, Prometheus (2012), neither were actually featured to the disappointment of fans who were instead treated to a number of new alien monstrosities. This time there is no mistaking return the Xenomorph is it distinctly featured in movie trailers and other promotional materials.


Alien: Covenant is the sixth movie in this billion dollar sci-fi franchise and second in a series of planned prequels. Beginning 38 years ago in 1979 with Alien, acclaimed director Ridley Scott returns to the helm once again and promises to bring back the cinematic terror of sci-fi horror that was invented by the original masterpiece. Although Alien: Covenant is intended to be R-rated with barrels of claret (fake blood) flowing, Scott will also be further exploring the universe that inhibits his films through the search for mankind's progenitors (in Prometheus) and now the origins of the Xenomorphs (in Covenant, hopefully!).

Before joining the crew of the Covenant on their journey, let us briefly recap of the previous five movies according to timeline of the Alien universe: 


Ridley Scott returned to direct this first prequel movie to the saga in 2012 after a 3 decade hiatus from the original Alien in 1979. Prometheus begins in 2089 with the discovery of star map amongst ancient hieroglyphs on Earth. This sets off an expedition team four years later aboard the starship Prometheus to a mysterious planet LV-223 in search of mankind's origins. Needless to say their discovery of the "Engineers", a giant humanoid race, was far from amicable resulting in destruction of the Prometheus and most of her crew. With more questions than answers, the survivors Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and synthetic android David  (Michael Fassbender),  depart LV-223 on an alien spacecraft journeying to the "Engineers" homeworld, setting up the scene for Alien: Covenant.

Check out this official prologue video linking these two prequel movies:

10 years after the doomed Prometheus expedition, its surviving crew Elizabeth Shaw and the synthetic David continue their journey to discover our origins. Watch The Crossing, an official prologue short for #AlienCovenantMY in cinemas 10 May, with special sneaks 9 May
Posted by 20th Century Fox on Friday, 28 April 2017


P.S.: No Xenomorphs.


Official Synopsis:
Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world -- whose sole inhabitant is the "synthetic" David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.


Alien: Covenant takes place 10 years after the events of Prometheus. As a colony ship on a mission to spread mankind across the galaxy, crew of the Covenant comprise couples: Captain Jacob (James Franco) and his wife, Daniels, head of terraforming operations (Katherine Waterston); second-in-command Christopher Oram (Billy Crudup) and his biologist wife Karine (Carmen Ejogo); boisterous pilots Tennessee (Danny McBride) and Faris (Amy Seimetz); head of security Sergeant Lope (Demián Bichir) and his second-in-command and husband Sergeant Hallett (Nathaniel Dean). Plus one Weyland-Yutani synthetic, Walter (Michael Fassbender again), a more advanced version of David upgraded by AMD technology(!) to better serve real humans. Indeed reserve your very own Walter at MeetWalter.com and check out the video on YouTube.

Bridge crew of the Covenant. Choose your likely survivors?
As can be seen from the trailers, the mission pretty much goes to hell shortly after planetfall and becomes a full-on gore-fest with the Covenant's crew being eliminated by the classic Facehugger and Xenomorph as well as a new creature dubbed the Neomorph. Following in the footsteps of strong female leads, we can almost expect Katherine Waterston's Daniels to resist being alien-kill for most of the movie. But don't count on her returning for the sequel as Noomi Rapace's Shaw is clearly not returning for this movie unlike Ripley in the original Alien Quadrilogy.

Will director Ridley Scott finally reveal origins of the Xenomorphs?
Whilst Prometheus delved into mankind's origins from outer space, this time director Ridley Scott aims to finally address origins of the Xenomorph. Make what you will of Scott's cryptic statement: “It came to me that no one had asked the question, who made this and why. You could say monsters from outer space, gods from outer space, engineers from outer space invented it. They didn’t. Alien: Covenant's going to flip that around.” Speculation is rife across geek channels on what this actually means. Just search Google and YouTube for numerous fan theories.


Alien: The mother of sci-fi horror movies was unleashed in 1979 hot on the heels of Star Wars frenzy. Set around 30 to 60 years after the first prequel movie, Prometheus, this story revolves around crew of the commercial starship Nostromo who, on the way back to Earth, responds to a mysterious transmission from planet LV-426. During investigation planetside, one of the crew is impregnated with an alien creature and gives birth to the first Xenomorph seen in cinemas to terrify movie audiences for years to come. Most of the crew die save Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver in the role which defines much of her future career.

Director Ridley Scott said he always thought of Alien as a B-movie, but really well done, with a basic subtext of seven people locked in the old dark house and who’s going to die first and who’s going to survive. Pretty much the same subtext carries over in the sequels although the specific environments change and Xenomorphs evolve to keep each movie fresh.


This Time It's War! So goes the tag-line for the first sequel movie Aliens helmed by award-winning director James Cameron in 1986. Taking place 57 years later in the Alien timeline, Ellen Ripley returns of LV-426 with a team of bad@$$ marines to investigate loss of communications with the colony. Battles ensue between the marines and hordes of Xenomorphs, climaxing with a showdown between Ripley and an Alien Queen. No cookies for guessing who walks away as the victor!


The third official movie released in 1992 simply named Alien3 takes place shortly after the events in Aliens on the penal colony Fiorina "Fury" 161 where Ripley crash-lands. Whilst adapting to harsh conditions of the planet, Ripley soon discovers presence of a Xenomorph as prisoners are massacred one by one. Even worst she finds herself impregnated with an Alien Queen and in the end chooses to sacrific herself over allowing corporate suits from Weyland-Yutani to harvest the Xenomorph as a weapon.


Almost like superhero comic books, no good protagonist remains dead for long and Ripley is resurrected 200 years later on the United Space Military starship Auriga as part of an experiment to control Xenomorphs. As expected, that plan goes sour way fast as Xenomorphs escape and overrun the starship. Ripley then teams up with a band of mercenaries to escape the Auriga.

If you have not yet seen these movies, consider saving yourself 10 hours by watching this 5 minute summary before watching Alien: Covenant:


To celebrate the franchise, Alien Day took place last week on 26 April (as numbers of LV-426 by month & year) with a special 1-hour event broadcast live online from Fox Studios in Los Angeles. The event featured interviews with cast members of Alien: Covenant, live art drawings, and peaks into the upcoming movie including the aforementioned Prologue. Watch the entire event below as well as behind-the-scenes with Adam Savage:

Special event for Alien Day 2017.

Adam Savage visits the film set of Alien: Covenant.

Some additional filming trivia: Exterior scenes on Alien: Covenant were shot in Milford Sound, New Zealand, one of the wettest places on our planet. This combination of rain and sheer rocky mountains shrouded in mist provided the otherworldly setting for the movie amidst being one of the top tourist attractions in the world. Here's comparison of the scene from the movie with a scenic photo by our Outpost Commander at Fiordland National Park:

Screen-cap from the trailer as crew of the Covenant discover a wheat field.

View of Fiordland valley along Te Anau - Milford Sound Highway on a clear day.
Compare those mountain ranges!

Just before heading into the cinemas, it would be worth your while to watch this 2nd Prologue introducing the main crew of the Covenant and setting up the scene for the new movie.


Also note Ridley Scott is already developing 2 more prequels with working title of the next one being Alien: Awakening. Perhaps we can expect this movie in a couple of years to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of Alien in 2019.


Typically the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) will be providing intel on where to find movie stuffs locally. Thanks to the nice people at 20th Century Fox Malaysia, we have 8 pairs of Movie Premiere invites to Alien: Covenant for our readers as well as Movie Premiums.

Alien: Covenant Movie Premiere
Monday 8 May, 8.45pm
@ MBO Starling Mall
(Damansara Utama)

UPDATE 8 May: Movie Premiere Contest CLOSED.

Follow our newly launch Instagram channel Outpost MY for chance to win more Movie Premiums during the opening week of Alien: Covenant.

Up for grabs Alien: Covenant t-shirts, notebooks, bottle opener & cup.

Just follow these instructions below for a chance to win a pair of Movie Premiere Invites, an exclusive Alien Day mini-poster (above), face towel and a Movie Premium:

1. Like our Facebook Page, Outpost Productions, and this article post.
2. Share this Blog post on Facebook and/or Twitter (set your post privacy to Public)
3. Submit your personal details and answer 3 questions plus write creative caption in the online form below.

Make sure your entries reach us by Friday 5 May, 11.59pm and stay tuned to our Facebook Page for announcement of winners.


Terms and Conditions for Movie Premiere contest (CLOSED):
  • Participation only for residents in Malaysia able to attend the Movie Premiere.
  • Only 1 entry per person. Multiple entries after the first entry will be automatically rejected.
  • Selection of winners will be based on answering all 3 questions correctly and our selection of the most creative captions.
  • Winners will announced on our Facebook Page anytime after Saturday 6 March, 12pm. It is the winners' own responsibility to lookout for the announcement and respond accordingly to the redemption instructions given.
  • Giveaways items to be collected in person at the Movie Premiere in MBO Starling on Monday 8 May between 8.00pm to 8.30pm. Winnings are forfeit if not collecting by 8.30pm.
  • We reserve the right to revise these terms and conditions at any time without prior notice.
Alien: Covenant Twitter Contest
17-18 May 2017

Please give thanks to the folks from 20th Century Fox Malaysia as we have one final round of giveaways for you Alien fans. Follow us on Twitter at OutpostMY and retweet our contest post with caption on your rating of the movie out of 10 with a few keyword hashtags on why and ending with #OutpostGiveaway, e.g. 8/10 #Xenomorph #horror #gory #plottwist #MichaelFassbender #NewZealand #OutpostGiveaway. Contest closes Thursday 18 May, 11.59pm (Malaysian time).


Win this tshirt and mini-poster from our Twitter contest.
Terms and Conditions for Twitter contest:
  • Participation only for residents in Malaysia.
  • To participate, Follow OutpostHolonet @OutpostMY on Twitter.
  • Retweet the Contest Tweet (link above).
  • In retweet add Comment with your rating of Alien Covenant our of 10, e.g. 9/10, and keyword hashtags on why, e.g. #Xenomorph #horror #gory #plottwist #MichaelFassbender
  • End comments with hashtag #OutpostGiveaway
  • All entries to be posted by Thursday 18 May, 11.59pm.
  • Only 1 entry per person. Multiple entries after the first entry will be automatically rejected.
  • Selected winner will be contacted by direct message on 19 May.
  • Prize to be collected from Outpost stall at Sunway Pyramid, Blue Concourse on 20-21 May 2017 between 10am to 10pm.
  • We reserve the right to revise these terms and conditions at any time without prior notice.






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