Sorry for the late reply.
I tried to see what I could do in terms of rearranging shots in Brett’s death, but any alterations I made only served to make the scene more awkward.
And while I agree getting rid of those short closeups of the alien’s face, the object of this cut in my mind has been to keep all the footage I can, above all else.
For an update, not much. Things have been progressing steadily. But it’s just obsessive little polishes I keep making.