Alan Dean Foster Says Star Wars and Alien Movie Novelization Royalties Not Being Paid by Disney

Whenever I read stories about big corporations not paying royalties, I’m reminded that these days self-publishing is an option to protect against this situation. Of course, Amazon or whatever bookseller could also choose to withold royalty payments leading to the same situation.

Anyway, who doesn’t despise reading stories about creative people being screwed? Or at least saying they’re being screwed and not getting paid outstanding royalties.

Alan Dean Foster, a science-fiction author of note, has written the likes of the novelisation of the Star Wars movie as well as a sequel, Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye before Empire Strikes Back was even on the blocks. He also wrote the novelisations of the Alien, Aliens and Alien 3 movies. The only thing is – that the royalties on all these books, which still continue to sell, have stopped. And he is directly blaming Disney.

Demands For Disney To Pay Alan Dean Foster Over Star Wars Increase

I don’t read many movie novels, but have actually read Alan Dean Foster’s take on Alien and also read Star Wars: Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye. Both were done well. I’m not a big fan of movie tie-in novels. I’d rather a movie be adapted from a novel like Doctor Sleep from Stephen King, but I see the value in these novelizations. Regardless, the authors should always be paid royalties.

Let’s hope this is just some accounting mistake at Disney. Pay the man his royalties.

Ridley Scott, “I still think there’s a lot of mileage in Alien”

Good, it sounds like the next Alien movie likely won’t follow Prometheus or Covenant. Felt like those movies were a little too cerebral. Not that the Alien franchinse storyline needs to fall into a cheesy horror side (like Leprechaun), either, but there has to be that trapped in the isolation of space, gut-busting gore and terror to be worthy. Alien has always been about the isolation fear, not the origins.

“I still think there’s a lot of mileage in ‘Alien,’ but I think you’ll have to now re-evolve,” Scott said. “What I always thought when I was making it, the first one, why would a creature like this be made and why was it traveling in what I always thought was a kind of war-craft, which was carrying a cargo of these eggs. What was the purpose of the vehicle and what was the purpose of the eggs? That’s the thing to question — who, why, and for what purpose is the next idea, I think.”

Ridley Scott Teases New Alien Film and Future of the Franchise | IndieWire

Some stories, particularly horror, can be ruined when we destroy all the mystery. We’re siding with Ridley Scott that there are more Alien tales that can be told, but jury out on whether or not the cargo of eggs and their destination will make for a good sequel.

What do you think? Do you want to see more Alien stories?