And then I finally realized by what my dad had said when he said it was "poorly done" and "non-consistent". I think that Scott was suffering from Lucas syndrome, in which case, nobody was telling him his ideas were bad anymore. But that may not be the case. It could be the script writers? It felt like a few scripts mushed together.
According to some rumors, people
were telling him. Which is why the studio apparently brought in Lindelof to rewrite the script (which, originally, was more straightforward and dealt with the same topics in a more heavy-handed fashion according to other rumors). Ridley apparently also wanted Prometheus to be a $250 million movie, and according to other rumors, Lindelof's script was in competition with a rewrite by Ridley Scott himself. Lindelof's script was chosen because it was more budget conscious.
That's just rumor though.
What isn't rumor is that this
could have ended up as another John Carter or Waterworld. Without the viral marketing and secrecy around the script, it might have even slipped under the radar and been another in a long string of quiet sci-fi flops. The marketing pushed this movie as an
experience, something that couldn't be missed. It's the same way Lost was marketed, now that I think of it...