Screen Media and Legion M announced today the acquisition of all North American rights to Alexandre O. Philippe's documentary feature film Memory: The Origins of Alien. The film premiered to rave reviews in the Midnight Section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, CPH: DOX, Hot Docs and many others. Screen Media and Legion M plan to release the film in theaters this summer, timed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the theatrical release of Alien. The deal comes on the heels of Screen Media's recent acquisition of Corporate Animals, which also premiered in the Midnight Section of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Paris-based Indie Sales is handling sales for the rest of the world.
Memory: The Origins of Alien unearths the largely untold origin story behind Ridley Scott's cinematic masterpiece, and reveals a treasure trove of never-before-seen materials from the archives of Alien creators Dan O'Bannon and H.R. Giger - including original story notes, rejected designs and storyboards, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, and O'Bannon's original 29 page script from 1971, titled Memory. The documentary also takes fans on an exploration of the mythical underpinnings of Alien and dedicates focus on the film's iconic Chestburster scene.
Leveraging the "wisdom of the crowd," Memory: The Origins of Alien was one of the highest rated Sundance films on Legion M's innovative SCOUT platform, where fans in Park City and around the world had the opportunity to become film scouts by rating and evaluating information on nearly 120 films premiering at the festival. The Legion M Scout community provided data that directly influenced the companies' decision to acquire the documentary.