Ellen Louise Ripley is a fictional character and the original protagonist of the Alien film series , played by American actress Sigourney Weaver . Considered one of the greatest characters in science fiction film history, the character earned Weaver worldwide recognition, and remains her most famous role to date. Although she was originally conceived as male for the first Alien film (in which the character is only known as Ripley ), director Ridley Scott decided early in production to make her a woman.
148-502: Alien (1979) and its sequel Aliens (1986) were heralded for challenging gender roles , particularly in the science fiction , action , and horror genres. Weaver's performances are also highly praised: for Aliens , she earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress , which is now seen as a landmark since the Academy, to that point, had given little recognition to the genres of science-fiction and horror. For her role in
296-420: A BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles and a Saturn Award for Best Actress . Although her performance had already been acclaimed in the first film, Aliens gave worldwide recognition to Weaver: she was the third horror actress in history (after Ellen Burstyn for The Exorcist and Sissy Spacek for Carrie ) to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress . She also received
444-512: A western frontier town. It featured a makeshift construction from cargo containers, broken filming equipment, and beer crates. The alien nest scene was one of the earliest filmed; Weaver's participation was delayed by three weeks because of production issues on her previous film Half Moon Street (1986), and the scene was one of the few not involving her. The Acton Power Station location was filled with decaying asbestos and three weeks were spent having it professionally cleaned, during which time
592-560: A 42-page film treatment for Alien II —written in three days—based on Giler and Hill's suggestion of "Ripley and soldiers". The studio had a mixed reaction, one executive calling it a constant stream of horror without character development. Negotiations to sell the sequel rights to Rambo 's developers Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna failed and the project stalled again. By July 1984, Lawrence Gordon had replaced Wizan. With few projects in development, Gordon looked at sequels to Fox's existing properties and came across
740-406: A backstory for the character, in which he was trained on simulators. Henn found it hard to act afraid of the aliens (since she was fond of the actors in the suits) and imagined a dog was chasing her. Other cast members spent time with Henn between scenes, including Weaver and Paxton (who would color or craft things with her). Biehn said he and Paxton spent much of their free time together. Despite
888-445: A body harness, was used to show more of the tail moving through Bishop, and Henriksen was levered upward as if he was being lifted by the tail. To complete the effect, a dummy of Bishop was constructed with a spring-loaded mechanism that forcibly separated his upper and lower body, as if the queen had ripped him in half. Once separated, Henriksen's upper body was below the set and a fake torso attached up to his shoulders. The android blood
1036-559: A cameo appearance as Ripley's elderly daughter Amanda. The success of Alien (1979) led to immediate discussions of a sequel, but the production company Brandywine Productions struggled to convince 20th Century Fox to make it. Studio president Alan Ladd Jr. was supportive of the project but left Fox to found the Ladd Company , and his replacement, Norman Levy, was concerned about the cost of producing an Alien II . Brandywine co-founder David Giler said Levy believed
1184-454: A certain theme, with the intention to expand them into a feature film if deemed viable. The first short, an alien invasion-themed film co-written with Sweterlitsch, is titled Rakka . In July 2018, Blomkamp announced that he would be directing a new entry in the RoboCop film series for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . The film was to be adapted from a previously-unproduced spec script written in
1332-462: A colonist's chest, rousing several adult aliens who ambush the Marines, killing or capturing many of them. When the inexperienced Gorman panics, Ripley assumes command, takes control of their armored personnel carrier , and rams the nest to rescue Corporal Dwayne Hicks and Privates Hudson and Vasquez. Hicks orders the dropship to recover the survivors, but a stowaway alien kills the pilots, causing
1480-515: A combination of a praying mantis and Tyrannosaurus rex influenced by the alien warrior design. Cameron said dinosaur influences were unintentional as he considered them "boring"; his goal was to extrapolate on Giger's warrior designs to create a large and powerful creature that was also swift and overtly female, describing it as "hideous and beautiful at the same time, like a black widow spider". The queen has elongated, large forelimbs, with smaller secondary ones underneath, but Winston redesigned
1628-426: A dead mutated creature in a puddle of mud while driving down a countryside road. The creature, a dog-sized mix between a pig and a lizard, presents a tattooed seal on its side that reads "18.12 AGM Heartland Pat. Pend. USA". "AGM Heartland" was trademarked for its use in an entertainment-oriented website. On 20 February 2012, a 23-second video clip titled "IS IT DEAD?" appeared on YouTube, featuring Yolandi Visser , of
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#17327936514041776-424: A fan on Twitter asked Blomkamp about the outlook of the film going into production, he responded by saying they were "slim". On 1 May 2017, its title had been revealed to be Alien: Awakening . Ridley Scott confirmed Blomkamp's film had been officially canceled. Fans of the franchise started a petition to help save Blomkamp's cancelled film. Since then, there have been no further developments. In November 2015, it
1924-465: A financial loss despite its earnings of over $ 100 million against a $ 9–$ 11 million budget. Brandywine's lawsuit was settled by early 1983, the result being that Fox would finance the development of Alien II , but was not required to distribute the film. Levy's eventual replacement, Joe Wizan , was receptive to a sequel, and although other executives remained noncommittal, Giler's development executive, Larry Wilson, began looking for
2072-406: A large sphere with antennae, but Cameron wanted it to be flatter; the full craft had to pass the camera, and a sphere would not work with the aspect ratio . Mead designed the craft as a commercial freighter carrying a military unit. Its exterior was designed with a row of loading doors, a crane, and large gun fixtures to defend against threats. Mirrors were used as a cost-cutting measure to increase
2220-400: A laser cutting Ripley free from her hypersleep chamber. According to Henriksen, Paxton was unaware he would be involved in the knife-trick scene until it was filmed; Henriksen nicked Paxton's finger during the reshoot. Some of the early establishing scenes were filmed near the end of principal photography to capture the bond that had developed between cast and characters. Some improvisation
2368-439: A learning experience. They were essential for moving larger parts of the queen puppet, including the head, and a foot pedal in the body could hydraulically move the tail up and down. Shane Mahan took several weeks to sculpt the head by sight, based on a maquette ; computer technology to scale up the model's design did not yet exist. Two heads were built: a lightweight, fragile one; and another that could survive some damage. Each
2516-558: A long-dormant Skynet program to reinvent itself if it was destroyed, culminating in Ripley 8 apparently sacrificing herself to destroy the original super-soldier/Terminator. At the beginning of Alien: Sea of Sorrows , set 200 years after the events of Alien Resurrection , it is revealed that the crashing of the Auriga at the end of Alien Resurrection caused the destruction in Paris seen at
2664-445: A low-budget, independent horror film, and the studio was reluctant to grant his request. His credibility was elevated following the surprise financial and critical success of The Terminator in late 1984, and Gordon gave him the job. Cameron's associates tried to persuade him to reject the offer, believing anything good about the film would be attributed to Alien director Ridley Scott and anything negative to Cameron. Scott said he
2812-637: A nomination for a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress – Sci-Fi for Alien Resurrection . Although she didn't win awards specifically for Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection , she won the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Award for her acting work during the 1997 film year, including Alien Resurrection , The Ice Storm and Snow White: A Tale of Terror . Weaver won a DVDX Award for Best Audio Commentary (New for DVD) for her audio participation, among numerous other members of
2960-693: A nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama , and won the Saturn Award for Best Actress, the first award in her career (except a minor award, the Mystfest Award for Best Actress, won for Half Moon Street ). Weaver was also co-producer of the third and fourth films of the franchise. Although they were less successful critically, Weaver's performance was praised: she received her third and fourth Saturn Award for Best Actress nominations for both films and
3108-416: A power-loader suit. Because of his low expectations for The Terminator , Cameron had spent much of his free time during its production developing and trying out ideas for Alien II . This script was better received by Fox executives and Gordon, but Cameron also wanted to direct the project. Cameron was a relatively new director, his only directing credit being Piranha II: The Spawning (1982),
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#17327936514043256-535: A reel of his commercial work and shorts, shot in his off time. The four shorts that got him noticed included: Tetra Vaal , a faux advertisement for a third-world police robot that established Blomkamp's signature style of mixing lo-fi production with seamless CGI; Alive in Joburg , a gritty mockumentary about extraterrestrials marooned in Johannesburg; Tempbot , an Office Space -esque spoof; and Yellow ,
3404-411: A scriptwriter by mid-1983. Wilson came across the script for the in-development science fiction film, The Terminator (1984), written by James Cameron . With Cameron's collaborative scriptwriting efforts alongside Sylvester Stallone on Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Wilson was convinced to show the script for The Terminator to Giler, Hill, and Carroll. In November 1983, Cameron submitted
3552-443: A sequel would be a "disaster". Fox executives believed Alien ' s success was a fluke, and that it had not generated enough profit or audience interest to warrant a sequel. Box-office returns for horror films were also declining. Progress was further slowed when Giler and Brandywine co-founders Walter Hill and Gordon Carroll sued Fox for unpaid profits from Alien . Using Hollywood accounting methods, Fox had declared Alien
3700-724: A short film based on the colour yellow for Adidas' "Adicolor" campaign by digital studio IDEALOGUE, which portrays a globe-trotting android gone rogue. Blomkamp has admitted since that the Halo pre-production was a nightmare, and relations between 20th Century Fox and Blomkamp severely disintegrated before the project's end. When funding for the Halo film collapsed, Peter Jackson decided to produce District 9 instead, an adaptation of Blomkamp's earlier short film Alive in Joburg , which had been produced by Hansen and Copley. The film, directed by Blomkamp, starring Copley, and co-written with Blomkamp's wife and production partner Terri Tatchell ,
3848-416: A spring that caused it to snap back and forth. Winston added arms to the chestburster alien form (since the adult form had arms), explaining how it could drag itself out of a host's chest. Two chestburster puppets were used: a reinforced one, and an articulated one for movement. A puppeteer punched the former through a fabricated latex-foam chest; the scene took several takes to film because it could not pierce
3996-408: A time when the science-fiction genre was generally overlooked. It earned $ 131.1–183.3 million during its theatrical run, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1986 worldwide. Aliens is now considered among the greatest films of the 1980s , and among the best science fiction, action, and sequel films ever made, arguably equal to or better than Alien . It is credited with expanding
4144-435: A traumatized young girl nicknamed Newt. The team locates the colonists beneath the fusion-powered atmosphere processing station and heads to their location, descending into corridors covered in alien secretions. At the station's center, the Marines find opened eggs and dead facehuggers alongside the cocooned colonists, now serving as incubators for the creatures' offspring. The Marines kill an infant alien after it bursts from
4292-588: A wide release in the United States (U.S.) and Canada on July 18, 1986. During its opening weekend, the film earned $ 10.1 million from 1,437 theaters—an average of $ 6,995 per theater. It was the weekend's number-one film, ahead of the martial-arts drama The Karate Kid Part II ($ 5.6 million in its fifth weekend) and the black comedy Ruthless People ($ 4.5 million in its fourth weekend). Based on its opening-five-day total ($ 13.4 million), Aliens exceeded Fox's expectations and
4440-514: A womb because of Ripley's DNA, gives birth to a human-Alien hybrid, who kills the Queen and imprints on Number Eight as its mother. After escaping the Auriga in the Betty , Ripley kills the newborn Alien by using her own acidic blood to burn a hole through a viewing pane, causing the creature to be sucked violently through the small hole and into the vacuum of space, saving Call. In a scene included in
4588-464: Is a 1986 science fiction action film written and directed by James Cameron . It is the sequel to the 1979 science fiction horror film Alien , and the second film in the Alien franchise . Set in the far future, it stars Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley , the sole survivor of an alien attack on her ship. When communications are lost with a human colony on the moon where her crew first encountered
Ellen Ripley - Misplaced Pages Continue
4736-503: Is a South African and Canadian film director and screenwriter. He is known as the co-writer and director of the science fiction action film District 9 (2009), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay , and the director of the dystopian science fiction action film Elysium (2013), which garnered moderately positive reviews. He also directed the science fiction action film Chappie (2015) and
4884-539: Is focusing on directing a horror movie instead. In December 2020, it was revealed that Blomkamp had secretly shot a supernatural horror film, Demonic , in British Columbia during the summer of 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic . In August 2021, it was confirmed that the sequel to District 9 was in the works but that the script was still under development. In 2022, it was announced that he would direct
5032-466: Is not the person he sees in his head). Ripley's life and career have been extensively expanded on in various spin-off comics and novels , many of which were written before her death on Fiorina 161 , providing instead a chronology continuing on from the end of Aliens . In the Dark Horse novel series, Ripley appears at the end of Book 3, The Female War ; but subsequent books, in order to bring
5180-508: Is taken to the Alien nest, where the Queen gives birth to a Newborn, a Xenomorph with human traits. The hybrid Alien recognizes Ripley as its mother and kills the Queen. Ripley escapes to the Betty , where she tearfully kills the Newborn when it is discovered aboard attacking the other survivors. The Auriga crashes into Earth, destroying all the remaining Xenomorphs in a massive explosion. From
5328-653: The Dark Angel TV series (2000). He was the lead 3D animator for 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001). In 2003, he was hired to illustrate photo-realistic future aircraft for Popular Science ' s "Next Century in Aviation". In 2004, he illustrated "The Future of the Automobile". Blomkamp worked as a visual effects artist at The Embassy Visual Effects in Vancouver as well as at Rainmaker Digital Effects , and
5476-524: The Alien sequel with Sigourney Weaver in the lead role as Ellen Ripley . On 18 February 2015, Blomkamp himself confirmed that the Alien film will be his next project. In March 2015, he confirmed that he planned more than one sequel to the Alien franchise . The project was shelved in October 2015, pending the outcome of Ridley Scott 's second prequel installment, Alien: Covenant . In January 2017,
5624-481: The Alien II treatment; he said he was surprised that no one had pursued it. Production of The Terminator was delayed for nine months because Arnold Schwarzenegger was contractually obligated to film Conan the Destroyer (1984). Cameron used the time to develop his treatment, expanding it to ninety pages. He drew ideas from "Mother", one of his story concepts about an alien on a space station involving
5772-658: The Nostromo , to escape an alien creature that slaughtered the rest of the crew. She is rescued and debriefed by her employers at the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, who are skeptical of her claim about alien eggs in a derelict ship on the exomoon LV-426, now the site of a terraforming colony. After contact is lost with the colony, Weyland-Yutani representative Carter Burke and Colonial Marine Lieutenant Gorman ask Ripley to accompany them to investigate. Still traumatized by her alien encounter, she agrees on
5920-455: The Predator films to the Alien films. Ripley has two cameos in the "Stasis Interrupted" DLC for the game. In this prequel campaign, Ripley is seen being impregnated by a facehugger and also appeared recreating the same final scene of Alien 3. The game also revealed that Hicks actually survived the events of Alien 3 as he was retrieved by another Colonial Marines team, with the body in
6068-521: The 21st most powerful celebrity from Africa. Blomkamp was born in Johannesburg , South Africa. At the age of sixteen, he met Sharlto Copley , who had also attended Redhill High School in Johannesburg. Copley provided Blomkamp with the use of computers at his production company for Blomkamp to pursue his passion and talent for 3D animation and design. In return, Blomkamp assisted Copley in creating 3D work for pitches on various projects. Blomkamp
Ellen Ripley - Misplaced Pages Continue
6216-406: The 75th Hottest Sci-Fi Girl of All Time. and website Total Sci-Fi ranked her first on their top of the 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi, stating "one of the most iconic characters in cinema history" and "one of the most critically analysed characters in the history of cinema." In 2011, Total Film ranked her the best female character of any film. For her performance in Alien , Weaver was nominated for
6364-464: The Alien Queen embryo from her body. The United Systems Military hopes to breed Aliens to study on the spaceship USM Auriga , using kidnapped hosts delivered to them by a group of mercenaries. The Aliens escape their enclosures, while Ripley and the mercenaries attempt to flee to the Betty . They must destroy the Auriga , lest it make its emergency landing and unleashes Xenomorphs on Earth. Ripley
6512-437: The Alien is met with extreme skepticism; she loses her space flight license as a result of her "questionable judgment," and finds out that her daughter, Amanda , has died of old age. However, after contact is lost with a colony on LV-426 (the planet where her crew first encountered the Alien eggs), Ripley accompanies a group of Colonial Marines to investigate. They find the planet infested by many Aliens, who wipe out almost all of
6660-500: The Alien to the ship's airlock. In the "Last Survivor", Ripley initiates the self-destruct sequence before escaping on the Narcissus . In the web animated series Alien: Isolation , Ripley was voiced by Andrea Deck in voiceovers for Ripley's final moments to her daughter. Two hundred years after Ripley's death, a clone of Ripley is successfully produced aboard the spaceship Auriga . Her DNA proved difficult to separate from that of
6808-511: The Aliens, and the aliens have slightly more human traits, including a browner skin coloration and changes to their reproductive cycle. Number Eight learns to talk and interact with humans, but soon Aliens escape their confinement and kill most of the crew. She escapes from her cell and later meets and joins a group of mercenaries; developing a close relationship with their youngest member, Annalee Call. The now fully-grown Alien Queen, having developed
6956-495: The British Special Air Service (SAS). Vietnam War veteran Al Matthews (Apone) helped to train the actors, teaching them how to handle firearms properly because their blanks were still hazardous. Before he left, Remar accidentally shot a hole through the set of Frank Oz 's Little Shop of Horrors on an adjacent stage. The training was intended to help the marine cast develop camaraderie and treat
7104-573: The British crew at Pinewood Studios . The difficult shoot affected the composer, James Horner , who was given little time to record the music. Aliens was released on July 18, 1986, to critical acclaim. Reviewers praised its action, but some criticized the intensity of some scenes. Weaver's performance garnered consistent praise along with those of Bill Paxton and Jenette Goldstein . The film received several awards and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Weaver at
7252-469: The Pinewood crew walked out in the middle of the day. Cameron called Fox for advice and was determined to move the production out of England until Hurd convinced him otherwise. The situation was tumultuous because the number of films simultaneously in production meant the crew could not be easily replaced. Cameron and Hurd gathered the crew to discuss their grievances; Cameron explained the importance of
7400-543: The South African group Die Antwoord , crouching over the creature. Blomkamp admitted that he was still interested in making a Halo film in April 2013. After Elysium , he started work on his next sci-fi film, Chappie , in April 2013. The film was based on his own short, Tetra Vaal . Blomkamp directed and Sony Pictures Entertainment ( Columbia Pictures ) and Media Rights Capital co-produced and co-financed
7548-428: The actors' heads, and carefully blended into the larger set. After Remar was replaced, Cameron wanted to reshoot the scene, but the miniature had been destroyed; he was able to edit the scene to conceal Remar. The marines' smart guns weighed 65 to 70 pounds (29 to 32 kg), and were constructed from German MG 42 machine guns attached to a steadicam and augmented with motorcycle parts. Since getting in and out of
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#17327936514047696-411: The alien creatures, Ripley agrees to return to the site with a unit of Colonial Marines to investigate. Michael Biehn , Paul Reiser , Lance Henriksen , and Carrie Henn are featured in supporting roles. Despite the success of Alien , its sequel took years to develop due to lawsuits, a lack of enthusiasm from 20th Century Fox , and repeated management changes. Although relatively inexperienced, Cameron
7844-487: The alien hive brightly (counter to Cameron's request), and was eventually replaced with Adrian Biddle . First assistant director Derek Cracknell also ignored Cameron's requests. Gale described the situation: "[Cameron] would ask him to set up a shot one way and [Cracknell] would say, 'Oh no no no, I know what you want,' ... Then he'd do it wrong and the whole set would have to be broken down." The situation deteriorated until Cameron and Hurd fired Cracknell and
7992-404: The alien hive was fabricated in clay spawning hundreds of fiberglass and vacuum-formed castings that were installed at the station over a further three weeks. Cameron wanted to vertically pan as the marines entered the hive, but disguising the area above the marines would be time-intensive. A hanging miniature, about 12-foot (3.7 m) square, was made from plywood and styrofoam, hung just above
8140-463: The alien that was inside her during the events of Alien 3 , so the first six clones were useless monstrosities. The seventh clone turned out human enough to warrant an attempt at retrieving the alien inside her, but this also ended in failure. The eighth clone proves successful, and becomes the central character of a new story. However, the separation was still not perfect. Number 8 has enhanced strength and reflexes, acidic blood, and an empathic link with
8288-456: The book continuity in line with the film continuity, reveal that she is actually an android created in Ripley's likeness and given false memories. All novels were rebooted in 2012, meaning the only canonical books featuring Ripley are Out of the Shadows (by Tim Lebbon), Sea of Sorrows (by James A. Moore) and River of Pain . In Out of the Shadows , Ripley is woken from stasis 37 years after
8436-646: The cast; Fox did not want Weaver to return because they expected her to demand a high salary. Cameron and Hurd were insistent Weaver return as the solo star; Fox refused, saying they would damage the studio's negotiating power with Weaver's agent. Cameron and Hurd again left the project, marrying and going on a honeymoon. When they returned, the Aliens project was ready to move forward. Cameron credited Gordon with Aliens ' being greenlit . Weaver rejected initial offers to return and despite being interested after reading Cameron's script, she had to be convinced Aliens
8584-489: The character would annoy audiences until he realized he was comic relief for the tense scenes. Henriksen was concerned about portraying Bishop after other recent successful portrayals of android characters, such as Ian Holm in Alien and Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner (1982). He played Bishop as an innocent child who pities the short-lived humans. He suggested wearing distinctive contact lenses to convey when Bishop
8732-454: The clothing. A deleted scene in Alien established a life cycle for the alien creatures in which a lifeform would be cocooned and transformed into an egg that birthed a facehugger. Inspired by a beehive -like hierarchy, Cameron believed the vast field of eggs on the derelict alien craft would come from a much larger creature, the queen, with the other alien creatures serving as her drones. Winston described Cameron's initial queen design as
8880-403: The colony, apart from the main entrance used by the marines, was constructed in scale miniature form. The set was about 80-foot (24 m) long to accommodate the sixth-scale APC replica. The set was so large it had to be laid out diagonally across the stage, and forced perspective was used to add in buildings that would otherwise not fit. Cobb used a stylized design for the colony, resembling
9028-544: The condition that they exterminate the creatures. Ripley is introduced to the Colonial Marines on the spaceship Sulaco but is distrustful of their android , Bishop , because the android aboard the Nostromo had betrayed its crew to protect the alien on company orders. A dropship delivers the expedition to the surface of LV-426, where they find the battle-ravaged colony and two live alien facehuggers in containment tanks, but no bodies or colonists, except for
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#17327936514049176-498: The creatures. Ripley brings Hicks to Bishop in the second dropship, but she refuses to abandon Newt and arms herself before descending into the processing station hive alone to rescue her. During their escape, they encounter the alien queen surrounded by dozens of eggs, and when one begins to open, Ripley uses her weapons to destroy them all and the queen's ovipositor . Pursued by the enraged queen, Ripley and Newt join Bishop and Hicks on
9324-424: The creatures. She accuses Burke of releasing the facehuggers to implant her and Newt with alien embryos, allowing him to smuggle them through Earth's quarantine. The power is suddenly cut, and aliens attack through the ceiling. In the ensuing firefight, the aliens kill Burke, subdue Hudson, and injure Hicks; the cornered Gorman and Vasquez sacrifice themselves to avoid capture. Newt is separated from Ripley and taken by
9472-530: The crew, in the audio commentary of Alien in its 2003-reissue in Alien Quadrilogy . On his presentation speech about Weaver before rewarding her for her overall career with the Heroine Award at the 2010 Scream Awards , Aliens director James Cameron stated her main participations in film history as the Alien franchise, Ghostbusters and Avatar . Aliens (film) Aliens
9620-425: The crew. The situation was exacerbated by Cameron's hands-on approach, often modifying setups such as lighting himself to fit his vision without involving the unionized crew. The crew was dismissive of Cameron for his relative inexperience, thinking he had not done enough to earn such a prominent position, and that Hurd had her job only because she was his partner. Cinematographer Dick Bush insisted on lighting
9768-469: The difficulties, Fox was satisfied with the daily footage , and principal photography concluded in January 1986, on time and on budget. Post-production began in late April 1986. Several scenes were removed from Aliens ' theatrical release, including Ripley learning about her daughter's death and a cocooned Burke begging her for death. Fox and Hurd suggested removing a long opening scene detailing
9916-828: The dropship and escape moments before the station explodes, consuming the colony in a nuclear blast. Aboard the Sulaco , the group is ambushed by the queen, who stowed away in the dropship's landing gear. The queen tears Bishop in half and advances on Newt, but Ripley fights the creature with an exosuit cargo loader and expels it through an airlock into space while the damaged Bishop keeps Newt safe. Ripley, Newt, Hicks, and Bishop then enter hypersleep for their return trip to Earth. The Colonial Marine cast includes privates Vasquez ( Jenette Goldstein ), Drake ( Mark Rolston ), Spunkmeyer ( Daniel Kash ), Crowe ( Tip Tipping ), and Wierzbowski ( Trevor Steedman ), and corporals Dietrich (Cynthia Dale Scott) and Ferro ( Colette Hiller ). In addition to
10064-407: The dropship to crash into the station. Almost out of ammunition and resources, the survivors barricade themselves inside the colony. Ripley discovers that Burke ordered the colonists to investigate the derelict spaceship containing the alien eggs, intending to profit by recovering them for biological weapon research. Before she can expose him, Bishop informs the group that the dropship crash damaged
10212-503: The embryo of an Alien Queen growing inside her, thus realizing why she had not been attacked. After having killed the Alien by thermal shock , Ripley sacrifices herself by diving into a gigantic furnace just as the alien Queen begins to erupt from her chest. Her plan was to exterminate the final trace of the Aliens and prevent the Weyland-Yutani Corporation from using it as a biological weapon . 200 years after her death, scientists clone Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and surgically retrieve
10360-400: The end of that film. Additionally, the protagonist of the novel, Decker, is stated to be a descendant of Ellen Ripley, but there are several hints throughout the novel revealing that Decker's grandmother was actually Ripley 8 (mainly his empathic abilities, the fact Amanda Ripley-McClaren is stated to have had no children in Aliens , and when Decker is shown a picture of Ripley, he says that she
10508-540: The events of Alien , fights Xenomorphs alongside several miners, and is put in stasis again the end of the book with her memory of these events erased to spare her from the worst of the psychological trauma she has experienced. Ripley is mentioned repeatedly in Sea of Sorrows , which stars the grandson of Ripley 8, and appears in River of Pain , which takes place before and during the events of Aliens . An Audio-Animatronic Ripley
10656-414: The events of Alien . This game, set 15 years after the events of Alien and 42 years before the events of Aliens , features Ripley's daughter Amanda. Amanda was originally introduced in the extended version of Aliens , when Ripley learns that during her 57-years long stasis, Amanda grew up, married, and died. In the game, Amanda investigates potential clues regarding her mother's disappearance, and goes to
10804-467: The extended edition of the film (referenced in the events of Alien: Sea of Sorrows ), the Betty lands on Earth and Ripley and Call discover that Paris is desolate. The comic book Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator continues the storyline of Ripley 8 after Resurrection , seeing Ripley 8 allying with the Predators to defeat both a new wave of Aliens and a group of Terminators created by
10952-433: The film, although it is possible Weaver and Cameron were referring to the pitch document. On May 1, 2017, Ridley Scott confirmed that the fifth film is not happening. An alternate ending for The Predator displaying a Weyland-Yutani Corp pod containing Ripley (played by Breanna Watkins) wearing a Weyland-Yutani breathing apparatus shaped like an Alien Facehugger was yet one among several references intended to further connect
11100-443: The film, there were only 12 alien suits: simple black leotards covered in molded foam were used for faster-moving shots, and detailed models with articulated upper bodies and mouths for closeups. When the aliens were shot and destroyed, puppets were hung up and detonated. The aliens' acidic blood was a combination of titanium tetrachloride , cyclohexylamine , acetic acid and yellow dye. The facehugger design remained faithful to
11248-399: The film, which was released March 2015. In early 2015, Blomkamp posted several pictures to his Instagram page that showed concept art for an Alien film he might have been working on. Included in the art is Ripley and Hicks, a ship bearing resemblance to The Derelict from the 1979 Alien , and a concept Xenomorph. In a February 2015 interview with Collider , he stated that he planned
11396-627: The film. Unused portions of Horner's Aliens score were repurposed for Die Hard (1988). Development of the special effects for Aliens began in May 1985, with John Richardson supervising a 40-person team at Stan Winston Studio . L.A. Effects Group created miniatures and optical effects. Cameron lacked contacts at the more established special effects studios and avoided using them because he believed his hands-on approach would not be welcomed. He also did not rehire many Alien crew members because he did not want to be restricted by their loyalties to
11544-487: The film. On January 21, 2017, in response to a fan question on Twitter asking what the chances were of his Alien project actually happening, Blomkamp responded "slim." In April, Scott said he did not think the film would ever be made. He elaborated that there was never a complete script, just a 10-page pitch, that Fox decided they did not want to pursue any further. Commentators have noted this goes against Weaver's and James Cameron's statements about reading Blomkamp's script for
11692-490: The film. The only mandate was that they be laceless so one could easily slide off of Weaver's foot during the finale. H. R. Giger , who designed the alien creature, was reportedly disappointed that he could not be involved in Aliens . According to Hurd, Giger was contractually obligated to Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and Fox was not allowed to negotiate with him. Giger was replaced by special-effects creator Stan Winston . Cameron also contributed to designs but
11840-451: The first female movie characters who isn't defined by the men around her, or by her relationship to them." The same year, she was ranked #9 on Empire magazine's compilation of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters in 2008 and #5 in 2015, being the highest ranked female in both. She was ranked eight on Premiere magazine's list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time , with her Defining Moment being "Ripley's nervy refusal to open
11988-436: The first film. Those who returned were often given a higher status (such as Crispian Sallis , Alien focus puller and Aliens set decorator). Cameron had enjoyed returning artist Ron Cobb 's work on Alien , and conceptual artist Syd Mead was recruited because Cameron was a fan of his work on films such as 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984). Mead designed the Sulaco , the marines' spaceship. He conceived it as
12136-413: The floor that activated a gear inside it, causing the appendages to move as it was pulled along. Several rubber facehuggers were made to be thrown or blown up. Manipulating the facehugger inside a water tank was also difficult as the tank had to be watertight, limiting the use of control cables. A method was developed that required fewer cables to move the facehugger around the tank; the tail was fitted with
12284-404: The four survivors, which then crashes on Fiorina 'Fury' 161, an abandoned foundry facility and penal colony. Ripley alone survives the crash. Unbeknownst to her, an Alien egg had been aboard the ship. Once hatched in the prison, the creature begins to kill inmates and guards, but strangely refuses to kill her. After rallying the inmates and preparing the defense against the creature, Ripley discovers
12432-422: The franchise's scope with additions to the series' backstory and factions such as the Colonial Marines. It inspired a variety of merchandise, including video games, comic books and toys. It was followed by two sequels: Alien 3 (1992) and Alien Resurrection (1997) and a prequel film, Alien: Romulus (2024). Ellen Ripley has been in stasis for 57 years aboard an escape shuttle after destroying her ship,
12580-422: The franchise, Weaver has also been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama , a BAFTA Award for Best Leading Newcomer , and four Saturn Awards for Best Actress , winning one for Aliens . Ripley is often considered one of the most significant female protagonists in cinematic history, and is a prominent figure in popular culture. Today, Ripley's influence extends beyond that of
12728-517: The game's two DLCs, set during the events of Alien . Ripley is joined by Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), Brett (Harry Dean Stanton), Parker (Yaphet Kotto) and Ash (Ian Holm, likeness only), allowing the player to play through two iconic scenes from the film. With the Nostromo Edition pre-order, the "Crew Expendable" bonus content allows gamers to play as one of the surviving crew members just after Brett's demise to entice
12876-400: The heat generated in the barrel. A cast was made of Henn's upper body and her stunt double's legs to construct a lightweight dummy for Weaver to hold when carrying a gun; Henn's weight plus a gun would have been too heavy. Goldstein had never handled a gun, and held her weapon incorrectly in closeups, so Hurd stood in for her. The flamethrowers were functional. The art department had covered
13024-421: The horror of Alien with the action of The Terminator . According to Hill, Cameron said if the first film could be compared to a haunted attraction , Aliens should be like a roller coaster . Cameron believed in having a strong female heroine to distinguish his films from typical Hollywood action fare and wrote the script with a picture of Weaver on his desk. He referred to The Terminator , and how he removed
13172-427: The late 1980s by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, the writers of the first film , who were slated to executive produce the film. Tentatively titled RoboCop Returns , the film was to serve as a direct sequel to the first film, ignoring 1990's RoboCop 2 and 1993's RoboCop 3 , as well as the 2014 remake . On 15 August 2019, Blomkamp announced on Twitter that he is no longer directing RoboCop Returns as he
13320-404: The legs by adding a double joint to make it more inhuman. Cameron and Winston worked on several concepts to vivify the queen, including large puppets, miniatures, and costumes with several people inside. A frame was built large enough to hold two people, covered in black polythene bags, and hung on a crane. The prototype was a success, and Cameron wrote the alien-queen scene. The final alien queen
13468-613: The lives of the colonists, Newt's family discovering the derelict alien ship, and her father being attacked by a facehugger, because it ruined the pacing and sense of mystery. Two scenes with James Remar as Hicks (shown from the back) were used in the film. Ray Lovejoy was responsible for editing the final two hours, 17 minutes cut of Aliens . Fox wanted the film to be under two hours so it could be shown more times per day in theaters, increasing its revenue potential. Fox production president Scott Rudin flew to England to ask Cameron and Hurd if they could cut another 12 minutes, but Cameron
13616-471: The lower cost of filming in England. Filming was difficult as Cameron, a Canadian, had little familiarity with British film-industry traditions such as tea breaks , which interrupted production for up to an hour each weekday, and was frustrated at losing hours of filming every week. In his book The Making of Aliens , J. W. Rinzler described Cameron as aggressive and certain of what he wanted, which irked
13764-653: The main cast, Aliens features Paul Maxwell as Van Leuwen (a member of the board reviewing Ripley's competence) and Barbara Coles as the cocooned colonist killed when an alien bursts from her chest. Carl Toop and Eddie Powell portray alien warriors. Some scenes removed from Aliens ' s theatrical version were restored in subsequent releases. Additional credits for these scenes include Newt's father, Russ Jorden ( Jay Benedict ), and her mother Anne (Holly de Jong). Henn's brother, Christopher, plays her brother Timmy, Mac McDonald portrays colony administrator Al Simpson, and Weaver's mother, Elizabeth Inglis , makes
13912-417: The marines. Ripley finally escapes the planet with Corporal Dwayne Hicks , the android Bishop, and Newt, a young girl who is the last surviving colonist. Back on the Sulaco , they are soon attacked by the surviving Alien Queen , which is finally expelled into space by Ripley. Ripley enters hypersleep alongside the three other survivors for the return to Earth. The Sulaco launches an escape pod containing
14060-577: The normal protective forces from Sarah Connor so she had to fend for herself. Cameron had also always wanted to make a film about space infantry . The final script was well received, but Fox executives (including chairman Barry Diller ) were concerned about the budget. Fox estimated the cost as close to $ 35 million, but Hurd said it would be closer to $ 15.5 million. Diller offered $ 12 million, prompting Cameron and Hurd to quit. Gordon negotiated with Diller until he relented, and Cameron and Hurd returned. In April 1985, conflict turned to
14208-504: The number of sleeping pods and add a power loader. Cobb designed the dropship, the armored personnel carrier (APC), and exteriors of the colony and its vehicles. The Sulaco ' s dropship was designed to be life-size, for use on the Sulaco set, but a smaller replica was used for some shots. The APC was a disguised pushback tug for a Boeing 747 . The derelict alien spacecraft used in Aliens had been in historian Bob Burns III 's driveway since its appearance in Alien . Most of
14356-521: The number-one film of its third weekend with a gross of $ 7.1 million, ahead of the debuts of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives ($ 6.8 million) and the Howard the Duck ($ 5.1 million). The film fell to third place in its fifth weekend with a gross of $ 4.30 million, behind the debuts of The Fly ($ 7 million) and ' Armed and Dangerous ($ 4.33 million). Aliens
14504-413: The original Alien design, but the overall appearance was made to appear more organic, and its eight legs were made more finger-like, enhancing the detail on the knuckles and adding fingernails. Unlike in Alien , which only involved one substantial jumping scene, the facehugger models used in Aliens featured full articulation for their tongue, legs, and tail, allowing for more action set pieces. The tail
14652-422: The original film franchise; she has appeared in novels, comic books and video games. Ripley is introduced as a warrant officer aboard the Nostromo , a spaceship en route to Earth from Thedus. Having been placed in stasis for the long journey home, the crew is awakened when the Nostromo receives a transmission of unknown origin from a nearby planetoid . Following their landing, an unknown creature infiltrates
14800-407: The other actors (Weaver, Reiser, and Hope) as outsiders. Biehn's late casting caused him to miss the training, and he said he regretted being unable to customize his armor like the other actors (since he inherited Remar's). Cameron created a distinct backstory for each marine and instructed the actors to read Starship Troopers so they would understand the space marine archetype. Vasquez
14948-432: The power plant's cooling system, and the plant will soon overheat and explode, destroying the colony. He volunteers to travel to the colony transmitter and remotely pilot the Sulaco 's remaining dropship to the surface. After falling asleep in the medical laboratory, Ripley and Newt awaken to find themselves trapped with the two released facehuggers. Ripley triggers a fire alarm to alert the Marines, who rescue them and kill
15096-440: The production, and that any member of the crew who could not support it should volunteer to be replaced. The crew agreed to support Cameron if he supported their scheduled working hours. The relationship between filmmakers and crew remained cool; when filming concluded at Pinewood, Cameron told the crew: "This has been a long and difficult shoot, fraught by many problems ... but the one thing that kept me going, through it all,
15244-402: The queen and power loader was extensively choreographed, as Weaver risked serious injury battling a large, unwieldy animatronic. The camera was sometimes moved to simulate subjects moving faster. The scene of the queen running at Ripley was one of the more difficult shots; the wires and rods had to be concealed, since they could not be removed in post-production. Miniatures were used for parts of
15392-402: The scene with go motion , a version of stop motion with motion blur added. The 1986 summer film season began in mid-May. The season had been starting earlier each year as studios attempted to beat each other with their biggest films. Fifty-five films were scheduled for release between May and September, including the action drama Top Gun and the comedic Sweet Liberty , but the season
15540-437: The score up, using pieces where he believed they fit best, and inserted pieces of Jerry Goldsmith 's Alien score and hired unknown composers to fill gaps. The director said in a later interview he thought the music was good, but did not fit the scenes he had filmed. Horner's "alien sting " sound was initially used only once, during the scene with the cocooned woman, as Cameron disliked it, but he eventually used it throughout
15688-457: The sets in an unspecified substance to artificially age them; the flamethrowers vaporized it, causing fire and heavy smoke. Goldstein struggled to breathe and, since improvisation was encouraged, Paxton thought she was acting until he also became breathless. The nuclear explosion of the colony in the finale was created by shining a light bulb through cotton. Reebok designer Taun Le was commissioned to design custom sneakers for Weaver to wear in
15836-418: The sets were left in place until Tim Burton redressed the sets into interiors for Axis Chemicals during the filming of his 1989 film Batman . While filming the dropship descent from the Sulaco , shaking collapsed the set roof onto the cast and crew. Most of the cast were unharmed, but a large piece of debris hit Cameron in the head. Because of the tight budget, Hurd made Cameron pay for an early scene of
15984-443: The ship's hatch so that Kane (John Hurt) can be admitted - with a thing attached to his face." She was the third highest ranked female of the list, after Annie Hall and Scarlett O'Hara . She was ranked 57 on Fandomania 's list of the 100 Greatest Fictional Characters . In 2009, MTV selected her as the second Greatest Movie Badass Of All Time, the only women with Sarah Connor , ranked sixth. In 2011, UGO Networks ranked her
16132-421: The ship, and kills every other member of the crew. Ripley is the only member to escape from the Nostromo prior to its explosion, which she deliberately commenced to kill the monster. However, she discovers that the Alien is also aboard the ship's shuttle, but expels it into space before putting herself in stasis for the return trip to Earth. 57 years later, Ripley awakes from her stasis. Her testimony regarding
16280-461: The smart-gun rig was difficult, the actors kept them on when not filming. The pulse rifle was made from a Thompson submachine gun and a Franchi SPAS-12 pump-action shotgun in a futuristic shell. Weaver was opposed to weapons in general, but Cameron explained weapons were secondary to the core narrative of Ripley bonding with and protecting Newt. Weaver found using the weapons strange and difficult, due to their weight and her concern about pulling
16428-525: The space station Sevastopol in hope to find answers. Near the end of the game, Amanda ultimately finds a vocal message from her mother (voiced by Weaver), who added a personal message to the Nostromo 's final log entry at the end of Alien addressed to Amanda, in which Ripley explains the true nature of the disappearance of the Nostromo , tells her she loves her, and hopes that she will get to hear this someday. Weaver also reprises her role more extensively alongside several other original cast members in
16576-529: The sports drama film Gran Turismo (2023). Blomkamp employs a documentary-style, hand-held , cinéma vérité technique, blending naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated visual effects , and his films often deal with themes of xenophobia and social segregation . He is also known for his collaborations with actor Sharlto Copley . Time named Blomkamp as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2009. A 2011 article in Forbes named him as
16724-415: The sports film Gran Turismo based on the video game series and the true story of Jann Mardenborough , a teenage Gran Turismo player that later would become an actual racing driver. In 2020, Blomkamp joined Gunzilla Games as Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer. https://gunzillagames.com/en/about/ . He began work on OFF THE GRID and the game went into early access on October 8, 2024. Blomkamp
16872-496: The stasis chamber that crashed being another marine who was knocked into Hicks' pod during a firefight, dying when the EEV crashed. Ripley, Newt and Bishop's pods were ejected while Hicks had to go with the other Marines. In 2014, Weaver reprised her role as Ripley for the first time in 17 years for a voice cameo in the video game Alien: Isolation , centered on Ripley's daughter Amanda , and more extensively in its two DLCs set during
17020-475: The studio , minus the theaters' share, was $ 42.5 million. Box office figures outside the U.S. and Canada are inconsistent and not available for all 1986 films. According to the box-office tracking websites Box Office Mojo and the Numbers , Aliens earned from $ 45.9 million to $ 98.1 million. This gives Aliens a worldwide gross of $ 131.1 million to $ 183.3 million, making it
17168-407: The windows of the Betty, Call and Ripley look down at Earth, and when Call asks what Ripley wants to do next, she says, "I'm a stranger here myself." In an alternate ending, the Betty lands in a ruined Paris. After director Neill Blomkamp announced on February 19, 2015 that his next film would be a fifth Alien movie, Weaver confirmed on February 25 that she would reprise her role as Ripley in
17316-421: The wrong trigger. Automated sentry guns were also constructed for Aliens , although they do not appear in the theatrical cut. Real machine guns were positioned atop remote-controlled hydraulic tripods that allowed them to pivot horizontally or vertically. The guns were capable of firing up to 600 wooden-blank rounds per minute that were shattered into small splinters by baffles in the muzzle and incinerated by
17464-513: The year's fourth-highest-grossing film, behind Platoon ($ 138 million), Crocodile Dundee ($ 328.2 million), and Top Gun ($ 356.8 million), or the third-highest-grossing film behind Crocodile Dundee and Top Gun . According to Fox's 1992 estimate, Aliens had earned $ 157 million worldwide. The New York Times described the film as "extremely successful." Neill Blomkamp Neill Blomkamp ( Afrikaans: [ˈnil ˈblɔmkamp] ; born 17 September 1979)
17612-545: Was 18 when he moved to Vancouver with his family, where he enrolled at the Vancouver Film School . In the late 1990s, he started working in the film industry as a visual effects artist and 3D animator. His animation credits include Stargate SG-1 (1998), First Wave (1998), Mercy Point (1998) and Aftershock: Earthquake in New York (1999). In 2000, he garnered his first role of lead animator for
17760-534: Was Daniel Kash's (Spunkmeyer) debut film role. He offered Cameron his coat if he got the part and also auditioned for Hudson. The actors stayed at the Holiday Inn in Langley, Berkshire , during filming. Paxton described the actors' time outside work positively: "God, we had the best time ... We all hung very hard together. That's where I first met [Henriksen], who I fell in love with. [Matthews] ...
17908-422: Was Goldstein's first feature-film role. She credited her physique to spending hours at the gym while unemployed, gaining 10 pounds (4.5 kg) at Cameron's request. Goldstein wore dark contact lenses and underwent an hour of makeup to cover her freckles and darken her white skin to portray a " Chicano " character; she studied Mexican-American gang interviews to develop her demeanor and accent. Ricco Ross (Frost)
18056-478: Was a 14-foot (4.3 m) puppet made of lightweight polyurethane foam. Two people sat inside to control the arms; the legs were controlled by rods connected at the ankles, and a separate person whipped the tail around with fishing line. The head was manipulated with a combination of servomotors and hydraulics controlled by up to four people. The effect was hidden by lighting, steam, slime, and smoke. The Stan Winston Studio had not used hydraulics and considered them
18204-599: Was a really good spirit to have around, with a great voice. And all these hilarious British characters, like [Steedman], the stuntman, who used to grab my bicep and go, 'Blimey, more meat on a cat's cock! ' " Principal photography began in September 1985, on a 75-day schedule, and an $ 18.5 million budget, not including film prints and marketing. Filming took place mainly at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire near London , because of its large sets and
18352-436: Was alerted to danger, but Cameron believed they would make the character appear more frightening than the aliens. Biehn, Paxton, and Henriksen had worked with Cameron on The Terminator . Aliens was Reiser's first major theatrical role, following small parts in films like Beverly Hills Cop (1984). The Colonial Marines cast features a mix of British and American actors who underwent three weeks of intensive training with
18500-401: Was also lengthened about 6 in (15 cm) to give it more functions such as a whip-like action. Nine operators were required for the fully articulated facehugger; other less-detailed variants were used for simple actions such as scurrying across the floor. The design team struggled with making it scuttle believably while moving the appendages; they eventually developing a control wire along
18648-615: Was announced that Blomkamp would be working on adapting the forthcoming Tom Sweterlitsch novel The Gone World , described as a "sci-fi time travel" concept, but the film was either subsequently scrapped or stuck in " development hell ," with production never going forward. In 2017, Blomkamp announced the creation of his own film production company, Oats Studios , and confirmed a series of experimental short films and other content titled Oats Studios Volume 1 to be released via Steam . The films will also be available for free streaming on YouTube. These films are distributed to gauge interest in
18796-454: Was anticipated to become the summer's top film, surpassing The Karate Kid Part II , Back to School , and Top Gun . The Los Angeles Times reported long lines to see Aliens , even on weekday afternoons. The film retained the number-one position in its second weekend with an additional gross of $ 8.6 million, ahead of the debuting Heartburn ($ 5.8 million) and The Karate Kid Part II ($ 5 million). Aliens remained
18944-414: Was articulated with hydraulics and cables to control the queen's mouth and lips. To create the effect of the queen piercing Bishop's chest with her tail, Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis constructed a chestplate for Henriksen with a rubber segment of the queen's tail flattened against it. The tail was pulled forward by wire, apparently exploding through Bishop's torso. A rigid piece of tail, attached to
19092-465: Was at school in Lakenheath , England, and though she lacked acting experience, Cameron said she had a "great face and expressive eyes". Stephen Lang auditioned for the role of Hicks, but James Remar secured the role on the recommendation of Hill, his close friend. Remar left shortly into filming, ostensibly due to urgent family matters or creative differences with Cameron, but he later admitted he
19240-739: Was booked to begin scoring The Name of the Rose (1986) shortly afterwards. Horner recorded the score at Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra . His schedule was so tight that the music for the climactic battle between Ripley and the queen was written overnight. Cameron first heard the score while it was being recorded by the orchestra and did not like it, but it was too late to make changes. Brad Fiedel 's synth-inspired tracks for The Terminator had allowed changes to be made quickly based on feedback, but Cameron had no experience managing orchestral music. Cameron cut
19388-434: Was cast as Hudson before Cameron and Hurd decided to take the character in a different direction. Cynthia Dale Scott (Dietrich) was an aspiring singer when she was cast. Colette Hiller (Ferro) was upset she had to cut her hair short for the role because she was getting married shortly afterward, and made the filmmakers buy her a long, blonde wig. Trevor Steedman (Wierzbowski) was a stuntman rather than an actor, and Aliens
19536-455: Was committed to Full Metal Jacket (1987), whose filming schedule overlapped for a week with Aliens ' . Although Cameron offered to let Ross join the filming later, Ross was concerned that Stanley Kubrick 's projects often overran, and opted for Aliens instead. Rolston misled the filmmakers to get his part; he had finished filming Revolution (1985), and implied he was its most prominent actor after Al Pacino . William Hope (Gorman)
19684-568: Was concerned further cuts would make it nonsensical, and Rudin relented. James Horner met Cameron early in their careers, when they worked for director Roger Corman . Aliens was Horner and Cameron's first collaboration; Horner called it a "nightmare". He arrived in London to compose, expecting a six-week schedule. There was nothing for him to score, as Cameron was still filming and editing, and Horner had only three weeks to compose. The producers were unwilling to give him any more time, and he
19832-465: Was encouraged. Weaver discussed tweaks to her character with Cameron on set, believing she understood how Ripley would act. Her line "Get away from her, you bitch!" had to be filmed in one take due to the tight schedule remaining, and the actress thought she had messed it up. Paxton believed he was not good at improvisation and discussed ideas with Cameron before filming. Hudson's signature line "Game over, man; game over!" originated from Paxton developing
19980-692: Was featured in the Alien scene of The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World from 1989 to 2017. Ellen Ripley is often featured in lists of the best characters in film history: in 2008, American Film Institute ranked her as the eighth best hero in American film history in their list of the 100 greatest heroes and villains , the second highest ranked female character after Clarice Starling . In 2009, Entertainment Weekly ranked Ripley fifth on their list of The 20 All Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture , calling her "one of
20128-467: Was fired after being arrested for drug possession. Hurd hired Michael Biehn the following Friday. Paxton credited his casting as Hudson to a chance encounter with Cameron at Los Angeles International Airport , during which he mentioned he would be interested in a role. Fox supported Paxton's casting because of positive feedback for his performance in Weird Science (1985). Paxton was worried
20276-456: Was hired to write a story for Aliens in 1983 on the strength of his scripts for The Terminator (1984) and Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985). The project stalled again until new Fox executive Lawrence Gordon pursued a sequel. On an approximately $ 18.5 million budget, Aliens began principal photography in September 1985 and concluded in January 1986. The film's development was tumultuous and rife with conflicts between Cameron and
20424-426: Was milk, and after several days of filming, it was sour and foul-smelling. John Richardson designed the mechanical power loader exosuit, with input from Mead. As with the queen, a prototype was built out of wood and polythene bags stuffed with newspaper to see how the movement would work. The finished design was so cumbersome that stuntman John Lees, in a black skinsuit, operated it from behind. The battle between
20572-457: Was never offered the chance to direct the sequel, possibly because he was difficult to work with on the original. The title Aliens reportedly came from Cameron writing "Alien" on a whiteboard during a pitch meeting and adding a "$ " suffix. Cameron also wanted his collaborative partner and girlfriend, Gale Anne Hurd , to serve as the producer, but Fox did not take the request seriously, believing she could not stand up to Cameron, who believed she
20720-671: Was not as concerned with the warrior aliens because they were on screen only briefly. In redesigning the alien warriors, Cameron remained faithful to Giger's work while building on it. Conscious that the creatures would be seen by audiences as people in costumes, he enhanced the designs by extending their arms and often filmed them hung from wires or from atypical positions to make them appear more inhuman. The aliens were played by dancers and stuntmen in lightweight costumes that allowed them to move quickly. Several 8-foot (2.4 m) mannequins were used for aliens that were contorted into inhuman poses. Although hordes of alien creatures appear to be in
20868-519: Was not being made exclusively for financial reasons. Weaver received a $ 1 million (equivalent to $ 2.78 million in 2023) salary and a percentage of the box-office profits, the highest salary of her career at the time. Negotiations were so lengthy that Cameron and Hurd told Schwarzenegger's agent they intended to write Ripley out of the movie (knowing Weaver's agent would be told); terms were reached shortly afterward. Cameron wanted an unknown actor to portray Newt. Agents scouted Henn while she
21016-671: Was not expected to break financial records due to fewer sequels, anticipated blockbusters , and films by Steven Spielberg or starring popular comedians that had dominated the earlier half of the decade. Some industry experts also blamed the burgeoning home-video market, which had grown from 7 million rentals in 1983 to 58 million by 1985. Films expected to do well were aimed at younger audiences and featured comedy or horror, such as Back to School , Ferris Bueller's Day Off , and SpaceCamp . Some films targeted at adults were also seen as potential successes, including Legal Eagles , Ruthless People , and Cobra . Aliens
21164-575: Was one of the top ten highest-grossing films for 11 weeks. By the end of its theatrical run, Aliens had grossed about $ 85.1 million. This figure made it the year's seventh highest-grossing film , behind Back to School ($ 91.3 million), science-fiction film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ($ 109.6 million), The Karate Kid Part II ($ 115.1 million), war film Platoon (138.5 million), action comedy Crocodile Dundee ($ 174.8 million) and Top Gun ($ 176.8 million). Aliens ' box-office returns to
21312-479: Was released in mid-August 2009 by TriStar Pictures to widespread critical acclaim and became a box office success, earning $ 210 million worldwide. District 9 was later nominated for the 2010 Academy Award for Best Picture , along with nominations for Best Visual Effects, Editing, and Adapted Screenplay. In October 2010, a video released on the iPad version of Wired Magazine was credited to Neill Blomkamp. It shows an amateur recording of two young men who find
21460-404: Was seen by industry professionals as a potential sleeper hit based on positive industry word-of-mouth during filming, enthusiastic industry screenings, and favorable pre-release reviews. The film's success was considered dependent on its ability to attract audiences outside the young males and blue-collar workers typical for the genre. The tagline was, "This time, it's war". Aliens began
21608-470: Was signed by Toronto commercial house Spy Films. Blomkamp directed a trilogy of live-action short films in 2007, known collectively as Landfall . They were set in the Halo universe, to promote the release of Halo 3 . Blomkamp was then slated to direct his first feature-length film, an adaptation of the Halo series of video games, produced by Peter Jackson . Jackson came to know of Blomkamp after viewing
21756-451: Was the certain knowledge that one day I would drive out the gate of Pinewood and never come back, and that you sorry bastards would still be here". He described most of the crew as "lazy, insolent, and arrogant". Paxton called the crew's work impeccable, but their attitude more relaxed than the American crews to which he was accustomed. The power plant and alien nest were filmed in the decommissioned Acton Lane Power Station in London, and
21904-494: Was the only person who would. Hurd had several industry associates contact Fox executives to convince them she was a legitimate producer. Cameron turned in the finished script in February 1985, hours before a Hollywood writer's strike . Cameron recalled the audience reactions while seeing Alien in the theater and believed it would be difficult to recreate the emotion and novelty of the original. He and Hurd agreed to combine
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