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culture | culture |
28
Jaws in
space...
By Jenny McShane
It’s now 30 years since Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’ first aired. Jenny
McShane examines the film’s origins and the thinking behind the
creation of the greatest science fiction film of all time.
When ‘Alien’ first hit the theatres on May 25th 1979, no one could
possibly have foreseen the impact it would have on popular culture.
Screen writers Dan O’Bannon and Ron Shusett had written what was
considered an average B–movie script called ‘Star Beast’ with one
key idea: an alien incubating within a human. The story is simple
enough - Spaceship Nostromo and its crew are on a return trip
to earth when they receive an unknown transmission. Following
investigations, an alien form attaches itself and breeds through one
of the crew members, and escapes onto the ship. Then all hell breaks
loose. It is a simple, yet hugely effective concept.
The original script was stripped bare when put into the hands of
Fox producers Walter Hill and David Giler. After many re-writes,
the cheesy moments were removed along with clichés that would
have written the film off as just another average sci-fi movie. The
central idea was still there, and this is what attracted director Ridley
Scott to the project. Scott was the last director to be approached in
taking hold of the project. Both scriptwriters and numerous other
directors were asked but Bannon, who was a fan of Scott’s first film
‘The Dualists’, felt he was the one who would unearth the script’s
full potential.
‘Alien’ was given the green light by 20th Century Fox at an initial
budget of $4.2 million. Scott then created detailed storyboards
(known after as his infamous ‘Ridleygrams’) for the film in London.
It impressed Fox so much, they doubled the film’s budget from $4.2
million. The biggest issue for the filmmakers was getting the design
of the extra-terrestrial right. Bannon introduced Scott to the artwork
of conceptual artist H. R. Giger. After much initial reluctance from
the studio, Giger was hired to work on all aspects of the alien and its
environment. “Once I met with Giger, I knew the biggest problem in
the film had been solved,” says Scott.
With design and production underway, next came the issue of
casting. There was only seven human characters in the story, so
Scott sought to hire strong actors in order to focus most of his
energy on the film’s visual style. It starred Tom Skerritt, Sigourney
Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian
Holm, and Yaphet Kotto. It was eventually decided that a woman
would play Ellen Ripley, the film’s protagonist. It would make a star
of Weaver (she was a virtual unknown at the time of filming) by
securing her iconic status in Hollywood. Scott says he had a striking
woman in mind prior to filming: “I wanted a good physical type,
preferably tall. With authority and brains.” That was Weaver. Despite
the years passing, time does not seem to have aged her much. She
is still unmistakably Ripley: beautiful, tough and smart. But weaver
insists it was the character that had done all the work. “Ripley is
much bigger than what I brought to it,” Weaver says modestly. “I’m
grateful. She’s an iconic character.”
With the first few hurdles overcome, it was time to start filming.
‘Alien’ was shot over fourteen weeks from July 5 to October 21,
1978. Production time was short due to the film’s low budget
and pressure from 20th Century Fox to finish on schedule. This
combined with the huge design element of the film meant the
creation of tensions on all sides were inevitable. To assist the actors
in preparing for their roles, Scott wrote several pages of back-story
for each character explaining their histories. He filmed many of their
rehearsals in order to capture spontaneity and improvisation. Also
to produce anxiety between some of the cast members, particularly
towards the less-experienced Weaver - it translated convincingly onto
film. The cast improvised a huge majority of the scenes. Scott was
not known as an actor’s director and this added to the already edgy
atmosphere. Weaver left the set in tears at one point as a result of
Scott losing his temper at her.
Even though Scott admits the prosthetics weren’t great in those days
- the majority of the scenes special effects were done live on camera
– including the now famous chest-bursting scene. The rumour the
entire cast bar John Hurt didn’t know what would happen during the
scene is partly true. They were told a basic outline of the scene but
no specifics. All the reactions are genuine, Veronica Cartwright, for
example, did not know she would be sprayed with blood and went
hysterical, it’s right there in the movie.
“What I wanted was a hardcore reaction,” says Scott. “If the actor
is simply acting you won’t get the genuine reaction of raw fear.” He
certainly got it in the end!
Cut to the second test screening in 1979 in Dallas. Everyone remains in
their seats until Hurt’s chests bursts open and according to the film’s
producer, people actually “ran out of the theatre”. The filmmakers
considered the screening a huge success. Myth may have embellished
truth but stories ran wild of people keeling over, fighting for seats near
the back of the theatre and how one unfortunate person tripped while
running out and broke his arm.
Part of the success in creating the film’s atmosphere is the slow build
up to the action starting; it’s 45 minutes in before anything grizzly
happens. So if told you were about to see a new sci-fi movie, a huge
shock lay in store. Word of mouth got around, mixed with good
critical reviews, as moviegoers flocked to see the film. ‘Alien’ grossed
an impressive (for the time) $3.5 million in its opening weekend,
resulting in a phenomenal $38,709 per screen average. Influenced
by good reviews and capacity-filled screenings, Fox expanded the
release of the film two weeks later on June 8, and by June 22, the
film was playing on over 500 screens throughout the US and Canada.
After several months in release, ‘Alien’ concluded its North American
release with a cumulative box office gross of over $75 million. Not bad
for an R-rated film and 1979 ticket prices. The film was a commercial
success, its total worldwide gross coming to $104,931,801.
The film is now synonymous in the science fiction genre and has
become one of the biggest selling movie franchises of all time. It
has topped numerous film polls branding it the scariest movie of all
time. The sequels just keep on coming. Alien followed with two very
successful sequels and then came the more unfortunate Alien Vs
Predator films. All this aside, the original remains the best out of the
trilogy. Fans of Scott’s film can look forward to the next instalment
in the series, as he will be directing the as yet untitled ‘Alien 5’.
Scheduled for an early 2011 release, all we know to date is that it
will be a prequel to Alien, featuring a new cast. If anything like its
predecessor, it will certainly be worth the wait.