Alien Christopher (Alien Characters Book 60)

Hurt was connected to a prosthetic body with the exploding Alien prop tucked away with meat and fake blood. When the scene was filmed the cast reacted dramatically, with Veronica Cartwright hit in the mouth with fake blood and falling backwards. Ash Ian Holm is the Nostromo 's science officer, who administers medical treatment, conducts biological research and investigates alien life forms. Abruptly assigned to replace the Nostromo 's previous medical officer for the return journey from Thedus to Earth , Ash is a secret android tasked by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation to ensure that a mysterious signal emanating from LV is investigated.

When Kane is infested by an Alien facehugger, Ash violates quarantine protocol by allowing him to be brought aboard.

Alien by Alan Dean Foster

He attempts to kill Ripley after the ship's computer, Mother, discloses that Ash's orders are to ensure the Alien's return to Weyland-Yutani's laboratories at the expense of the crew. He is disabled by Parker, and his identity as an android is revealed. Ash's mangled body is briefly powered back up by the crew so he can confirm his directive and assure them that they cannot defeat the Alien. His body is incinerated by Parker shortly afterwards.

Although Giler and Hill believed that Alien required a secondary story element, O'Bannon said in the film's audio commentary that he saw it as unnecessary. The Making of 'Alien , calling it "one of the best things in the movie". Reading Science Fiction Film , seeing him as a menacing robot who exists before his creators would impose programming alluded to in Isaac Asimov 's Three Laws of Robotics. On the ship, he incessantly demands bonuses for investigating the Derelict 's distress beacon. After Dallas' fateful confrontation with the Alien, Parker investigates and finds the flamethrower left behind.

When Ash attacks Ripley, Parker and Lambert save her and decapitate the android. After Ripley extracts the meaning of Ash's directive to allow the crew to die, Parker uses the flamethrower to incinerate his remains. He and Lambert are killed by the Alien when it ambushes them in their attempt to flee aboard the shuttle, with the Alien crushing Parker and finishing him off with a head bite. Yaphet Kotto was offered the role of Parker along with lucrative offers from two other productions. Although his agent advised him to decline the role in Alien because his salary was not specified, Kotto accepted the role.

The extraterrestrial species referred to as "Aliens" technically known as "Xenomorphs" is the primary, titular antagonist of the Alien franchise. Introduced in the first film, Aliens are laid as eggs by a queen. This produces a facehugger, which latches onto and impregnates its prey with an embryo. This in turn produces an Alien with some characteristics of its host which ejects itself from the host's rib cage, killing it in the process. Described as "pure" by the android Ash, the Alien's motivation is to ensure the survival of its species; this commonly entails the elimination of creatures, such as humans, who pose a threat.

With rudimentary intelligence, the Aliens are difficult to kill. When writers Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett brainstormed for the original film, they decided to have an Alien impregnate a male orally as a metaphor for rape. Giger , design the Alien. Scott chose the sketch Necronom IV , from Giger's Necronomicon , as the basis for the Alien because of its sexual ambiguity and phallic overtones.

The Engineer was impregnated by a trilobite conceived by Elizabeth Shaw after sexual intercourse with an infected Charlie Holloway. Designer Neal Scanlan explained in the book Prometheus: The Art of the Film that the breed borrows physical traits such as femininity from Shaw.

Predator franchise; [25] Andrew Crawford and Goran D. In Alien , Mother aboard the Nostromo awakens the crew prematurely, in order for them to investigate the signal emanating from the derelict ship. Upon Kane being infested by a Facehugger, thereby confirming the existence of a life form that could be weaponized by Weyland-Yutani, Mother gives Ash authorization to use whatever means necessary to keep the Alien alive, even at the expense of crew lives. With the self-destruction of the Nostromo , Mother is destroyed.

Covenant , Mother aboard the Covenant maintains a more passive role, with her predominantly providing analytics upon request. When Tennessee attempts to lower the ship's altitude to a dangerously close proximity to the storm above the Engineer home world, Mother rejects the order and has to be overridden by both Tennessee and Upworth. Mother detects an Alien aboard the Covenant and provides the surviving crew members with information of the creature's location, as well as respond to their orders for corralling it.

The character Mother is most commonly psychoanalyzed as be complementary to the feminist theory. The most commonly referenced pertaining to the subject is the Barbara Creed book, The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis , which perceives Mother as being complementary to the archaic mother theme of the film. Creed cites the crew members being awoken by a figure dubbed "Mother" in a womb-like room, without a father figure, and with the comprehensive directive to provide life support, as being the poignant indicator to support her conclusion. Fuller, Mother is presented as the central focus for the context of a mother ship.

As the authors describe, Mother maintains an intimate connection with the crew, providing a watchful eye when they are asleep, as well as a small, womb-like computer module for direct communication about sensitive matters. Jones, nicknamed "Jonesy", is a ginger American Shorthair who is the rodent-control ship's cat on the Nostromo. After the birth and escape of the Alien, Jones is detected by the crew and risks interfering with the ship's motion sensors which could mistake the cat's movements for those of the Alien.

Brett finds Jones in the cargo room, where the Alien kills Brett as Jones watches. When the remaining crew members prepare to escape the ship, Ripley loads Jones into a pet carrier but must temporarily abandon him as the Alien approaches her. The Alien inspects Jones but leaves him alone, since the cat poses no threat. Ripley retrieves Jones and flees with him on a shuttle. Jones remains Ripley's pet for the duration of her new employment until she departs on the Sulaco , leaving him behind.

The Engineers, also known as space jockeys, are an ancient race of large humanoids which created humanity from their own DNA during Earth's primordial era. In the film, the last surviving Engineer on LV is awakened and immediately tries to resume his mission of delivering the substance to Earth, but he is subsequently stopped by the survivors of the human expedition. Ironically he is killed by an Alien like creature created by the mutagen's effect on a human.

For the Engineer pilot in Alien , a foot 7. Hicks looks for options for holding out with the survivors of the Hadley's Hope colony until aid arrives, and he and Ripley bond when he teaches her to use a pulse rifle. He is one of four survivors of the military mission. As the survivors escape, Hicks is injured when a spray of acid blood from an Alien hits his chest and face. Colonial Marines , Hicks is revealed to be alive and was actually kidnapped by mercenaries working for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. His body is replaced by an anonymous victim to cover up the kidnapping, and he is rescued by Colonial Marines.

James Remar , initially cast as Hicks, left the project ostensibly due to "artistic differences" with director James Cameron. When he learned that he had a minor role and his likeness would be used, Biehn and his agent threatened 20th Century Fox with a lawsuit unless he received compensation similar to Aliens. After telling Ellen Ripley about her daughter's death and hearing her account of the Nostromo incident, Burke uses the information to have LV's colonists rendezvous with the Derelict and trigger an Alien outbreak.

He persuades her to join the Colonial marine expedition, to destroy not extract specimens, as an adviser in exchange for her regaining her flight license. Burke accompanies the squad aboard Sulaco to safeguard the company's investment in the terraforming colony. His ulterior motives are discovered by Ripley; his rationale is that the Aliens are an important species they cannot exterminate and the facility is a significant investment. Burke tries to have Ripley and Newt impregnated by imprisoned facehuggers, but the Colonial Marines intervene.

Although most of the survivors press for Burke's execution, Ripley protests; the Aliens cut the power and use an architectural-design flaw to break into the room. He escapes, leaving the rest of the group to die, but is confronted by an Alien in the locked medical lab and his screams are heard by those outside.

According to Reiser, Cameron cast him against type as a villain. The actor said that Cameron failed to introduce Burke as a surprising villain because of his suspicious demeanor and dialogue in his first scenes. The Making of Lt. Bishop Lance Henriksen , the android executive officer assigned to the Sulaco , is primarily responsible for planetary maneuvering. When he introduces himself to Ripley, he says that his programming demands complete loyalty and an inability to harm humans unlike Ash ; Ripley is initially distrustful. After most of the Colonial Marines are wiped out by the Aliens on LV, Bishop is a medic and technician who ensures that the company's dropship receives Ripley, Newt and Hicks.

When he boards the Sulaco , he is impaled and bisected by the stowaway Alien Queen. When Ripley defeats the Queen by opening the airlock, Bishop saves Newt. He is placed into cryosleep with Ripley, Newt and Hicks. Although his speech and memory are repaired by Ripley so he can disclose the events leading to the crash, he asks Ripley to shut him down permanently, to which Ripley obliges. Although Ash's programming allows and encourages harming humans, Bishop puts human life above all else in accordance with the First Law of Robotics.

She is living in the air ducts of the Hadley's Hope compound when she is discovered by the Colonial Marines' party. Although she is in a state of shock, Newt bonds with the party—particularly with Ripley, whom she sees as a mother figure. During the survivors' escape from LV, Newt is abducted by the Aliens, but Ripley infiltrates the hive and rescues her from the Alien Queen. Soon afterwards, the Alien Queen confronts the survivors on the Sulaco ; Newt is her primary target, but Ripley intervenes and defeats her. Newt is then put into cryosleep, [5] drowning in the crash of the Sulaco in Alien 3 when her chamber floods.

Out of fear of an Alien infestation, her body is autopsied but drowning is the only finding. According to Aliens 's casting director, Newt was the most challenging role to cast; five hundred schoolchildren auditioned, often smiling when they read their lines. The agent notified the producers, and Henn was cast after her audition at Pinewood Studios.

Arrogant and overconfident, he soon cracks under the stress of the failed incursion into the Alien hive. Hudson despairs and panics until Ripley and Newt reassure him, enabling him to regain his composure. He fights to the end in the colony's operation room, where the survivors of the party make their final stand, and is pulled through a floor grate by an Alien while providing cover fire. Colonial Marines, Hudson's corpse was discovered in the sewers with a large hole in his chest, revealing that Hudson was impregnated by a Facehugger after he was dragged beneath the grates and later died when a chestburster erupted from his chest.

Paxton was visiting his girlfriend Louise Newbury in the United Kingdom in early July when he auditioned at Pinewood Studios for director James Cameron, whom he knew from previous projects. Although he was enthusiastic about the role, he found the high-energy Hudson one of his most difficult characters.

Scott Gorman William Hope is commanding officer of the mission to LV, and the Colonial Marines do not take kindly to the inexperienced lieutenant. Although he performs adequately when they initially secure the empty colony, he quickly loses control of the situation when the Aliens ambush his troops. Ripley takes over, driving the command vehicle, and Gorman is knocked unconscious.

When he comes to, he transfers command of the colony's defense to Hicks. During the Aliens' assault on the operations room, Gorman tries to rescue Vasquez but his pistol runs out of ammunition. Realizing they are trapped, they embrace and detonate a grenade taking a number of Aliens with them. Hope had been offered a leading role in Stanley Kubrick 's war film , Full Metal Jacket , when he was offered the role of Gorman. He interacted with the other film's cast and crew, since both were shot near the Battersea Power Station in Nine Elms. Director James Cameron said that he wanted Hope separated so he would be seen as an outsider, complementing Gorman's onscreen inexperience.

One of the few survivors of the assault on the hive, she helps seal off the complex from the Aliens. Vasquez is immobilized when acid blood from an Alien, shot at point-blank range, lands on her leg.

When Gorman returns to help her, they are surrounded; she delivers a fond parting quip, and they detonate a grenade. Producer Gale Anne Hurd, impressed with Goldstein's physique, called her when she was an unemployed bodybuilder in the United Kingdom. After she was cast, Goldstein trained for the role with Marine Al Matthews. During the first incursion into the atmospheric processor, he enforces Gorman's orders not to use pulse rifle and smartgun ammunition.

Shortly after finding a surviving, cocooned colonist whose chest bursts to reveal an Alien, Apone grabs a flamethrower from Frost to incinerate it. In the subsequent Alien attack, he is captured alive. Hudson later states that the life sign computer readouts indicate that Apone was not killed in the attack; presumably impregnated by an Alien, he died when the atmosphere processor exploded or from an Alien gestating in his body.

Matthews said in a Alien Experience interview that he had moved to the United Kingdom due to the treatment of his fellow Vietnam War veterans and was acting in The American Way when Cameron offered him the role of Apone. Using his military experience, Matthews consulted with the film crew and helped direct the actors playing Colonial Marines. Drake and Vasquez are very close to each other, though the exact nature of their relationship is left unclear.

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During the first incursion, Drake disobeys orders to turn in his ammo along with Vasquez. Frost is something of a joker, often making wisecracks and humorous comments, though he has a close friendship with the much more serious Hicks. Posthumously introduced in Aliens , she died at age sixty-six, two years before the events of the film.

Isolation , which takes place fifteen years after the events of Alien and forty-two years before those of Aliens. After learning that the Nostromo 's flight recorder has been found, she joins a crew en route to the Sevastopol space station and encounters Aliens that have run amok. Ripley escapes from the station, which is destroyed when it falls into the gravitational well of the Jovian planet KG Amanda Ripley's introduction in Aliens was not included in the theatrical version of the film, since 20th Century Fox was concerned about the film's running time.

Sigourney Weaver criticized the cut, seeing Amanda as crucial to Ellen Ripley's character development and her bond with the orphaned Newt. Isolation , Creative Assembly originally desired a female protagonist and decided to use Amanda as the best way to focus on her mother, Ellen's, traits. Isolation she is voiced by Andrea Deck with motion capture by Kezia Burrows. Amanda's design in Alien: Isolation was based on pictures from Elizabeth Inglis' youth.

Leonard Dillon [66] Charles S. Dutton is the Fury preacher and chaplain to the prisoners. An inmate with a history of murder and rape, he turned to God while incarcerated. Dillon is one of the few prisoners to whom Ripley speaks after her arrival; he asks if she has faith, and says that his men have faith enough to accept anyone. He delivers an eloquent eulogy during Newt and Hicks' funeral which touches Ripley. When prisoners try to rape her, Dillon bashes them with a crowbar. Ripley asks Dillon to kill her and the gestating Alien inside her, and he promises to do so when the Alien is dead.

Shortly afterwards, Dillon organizes the remaining prisoners to lure the Alien into the foundry and drown it in molten lead. When the Alien attempts to follow Ripley out of the trap, Dillon baits it; when it attacks, Ripley submerges them both in the molten lead. According to Dutton, Sigourney Weaver was largely responsible for his casting. In the years leading up the production of Alien 3 , she promised him a role in the third film. While he was working on Broadway in December , Weaver phoned him that the studio approved his casting and wanted him to fly to London. Although Dutton liked Alien 3 , he found its production tumultuous; director David Fincher encountered resistance from 20th Century Fox, and Pinewood Studios was in need of renovation.

Jonathan Clemens Charles Dance is Fury 's doctor. When Ripley crashes into the oil sea, he nurses her back to health and shows her around. Clemens performs an autopsy on Newt at Ripley's request, although he is annoyed at not being told why. To gain Ripley's trust, Clemens admits that he got drunk after a long shift as a resident and accidentally killed eleven men being treated after a boiler explosion by misprescribing a painkiller. Sentenced to Fiorina , he served his time but remained behind with the other inmates when they refused to leave.

Ripley still does not reveal the true nature of the events taking place; as Clemens injects her with a serum, the Alien kills him and drags his body away. According to the actor, his role as Clemens exposed him to American audiences and led to a prominent role as Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones. Harold Andrews Brian Glover is the warden of Fury He becomes increasingly annoyed with Ripley when she leaves the infirmary and takes out his frustration on Clemens, who he distrusts. When Murphy is killed in the ventilation fan, Andrews blames Ripley, suggesting that Murphy was concentrating on her rather than his work.

When Golic returns from the scene of Boggs and Rains' death covered in blood, Andrews thinks that the "simple bastard" has murdered them. He does not believe Ripley's story about the Alien and quarantines her to the infirmary, knowing that Weyland-Yutani considers her a high priority. Andrews is organizing a search party for Boggs and Rains in the mess hall when Ripley runs in, screaming, after Clemens is killed in the infirmary.

He orders Aaron to escort her back to the infirmary before the Alien snatches and kills him from the air ducts. In From Alien to The Matrix: Films That Scar , a literary analysis of the director, Mark Browning writes that Harold Andrews' totalitarian control of Fury exempts Dillon's religiosity because Andrews views religion as a tool to prevent violence and provide control. After Andrews' death, Aaron tries to take charge but the prisoners refute his authority. Ripley tells him several times that the Weyland-Yutani company does not care about him or any other employee, and are more interested in acquiring the Aliens.

Aaron refuses to send the rescue ship away because he wants to see his family again. He helps Ripley with the bio-scan she performs on herself on the crashed spacecraft, and they discover that she has been impregnated with an Alien chestburster. Weyland-Yutani immediately informs the prison that a rescue ship will arrive in several hours to pick her up, and Aaron concludes that the corporation only wants the Aliens.

When the prisoners decide to lure the alien into the molten lead, he calls them crazy and locks himself in his office.

Michael Bishop lands with his team and tries to convince Ripley to leave with him; Aaron hits him with a large metal rod, nearly ripping his ear off, and is shot dead by Bishop's team. Walter Golic [66] Paul McGann is a mentally unstable murderer and arsonist who is imprisoned on Fury He sees the Alien killing Boggs and Rains and is later found in the cafeteria eating cereal, his face covered in blood.

Golic is presumed to have turned on his fellow inmates, and he is strapped to a bed in the infirmary under the supervision of Clemens and Ripley. When the Alien kills Clemens, he watches the creature admiringly. He knocks Morse out, goes to the containment chamber containing the Alien, kills Arthur who is guarding the door and releases the creature—which promptly kills him. In an August Elle magazine article, McGann said that Golic intends to release the Alien in the hope that he can collaborate with it to kill the humans on Fury Robert Morse [66] Danny Webb is loud, argumentative, cynical and Golic's only friend.

Golic, who has been restrained in the infirmary since the deaths of Boggs and Rains, convinces Morse to free him; he subdues Morse, and releases the creature. After Dillon's death, Morse helps Ripley reach the top of the furnace so she can kill the Alien Queen and then herself by deliberately falling into the vat of molten lead. At the end of the film he is led away by Weyland-Yutani personnel, the only surviving resident of Fury Thomas Murphy Christopher Fairbank , is a prisoner inmate who resided in the correctional unit on Fiorina and one of several who stayed behind after the facility was officially closed down by Weyland-Yutani and Spike's owner.

He was killed by the Runner that was born in the prison in He was its first victim, rolling into a large ventilation fan when the Alien spat acid in his face. Ripley meets him at the furnace, where he tells her that he designed the Bishop android series; his medical team will extract the Alien Queen inside her and destroy it. Ripley does not believe him, and backs away towards the furnace as he begs her to give him the creature. Aaron sneaks up behind him and strikes him with a crowbar, nearly ripping off his ear.

He watches in despair as Ripley sacrifices herself by falling into the lead smelter. Michael Weyland's ambiguous humanity is a subject of debate for viewers and critics, and speculation exists that he is an android more sophisticated than Bishop. Hyperreal Hollywood in the Long s , Randy Laist interprets this ambiguity as indicative of a theme of the Alien franchise: Michael Weyland is a duplicitous character, and it is irrelevant whether he is a human or an android.

Edward Boggs Leon Herbert is an aggressive, hostile prisoner. Boggs often mocks his fellow prisoners, but harbors a special hatred for Golic, often going out of his way to antagonize him. Boggs, Rains, and Golic are sent on a routine surveying mission where they are attacked by the Runner. Boggs and Golic flee, only for the Runner to grab Boggs and kill him, drenching Golic in his blood. The DNA's integrity has been compromised by the process of infestation and the human and Alien DNA in Number 8 is mixed , creating a humanoid organism with Alien traits such as an empathic link with the rest of the hive, acidic blood , enhanced strength and reflexes and genetic memories.

After United Systems Military researchers extract the Alien Queen from Number 8 on the ship USM Auriga in the year , they keep her alive and confined and give her a rudimentary education. When the Aliens breach their containment, Number 8 joins the crew of the mercenary vessel Betty to attempt an escape; she is captured by the Aliens, who bring her to their nest. Number 8's Alien Queen gives birth to a Newborn, a hybrid which identifies Number 8 as its mother after it kills the Alien Queen.

Number 8 escapes from the Auriga on the Betty and again encounters the Newborn, which she jettisons into space. After the Betty lands on Earth, Number 8 looks around with the other survivors and wonders about their uncertain future. However, the studio reconsidered abandoning the emphasis on heroine Ellen Ripley and told screenwriter Joss Whedon to make the story about a clone of Ripley instead.

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Predator films, she supported Whedon's concept of a human-Alien hybrid because of the character's uncertain loyalty to either half of her genealogy. Annalee Call Winona Ryder is the newest crew member of the Betty , an undercover, second-generation synthetic an android manufactured by other androids to appear more human on a secret mission to kill Ripley 8 and her unborn Alien Queen. After arriving on the Auriga , Call infiltrates Number 8's cell to kill her and discovers that the Queen has been extracted. She is apprehended by Wren, who rounds up the crew of the Betty for execution, but they overpower the USM soldiers and try to escape with Wren in custody.

Wren shoots Call, who falls to her apparent death, but she reappears and reveals her synthetic origin. Call orders the Auriga to crash into Earth. On the Betty , Call is confronted by the Newborn; she is saved by Number 8, who ejects it into space. Annalee Call was originally written for Angelina Jolie ; although Jolie auditioned, she turned down the role and Winona Ryder was cast in December Roger Ebert praised Ryder's acting, but felt that she did not bring a strong presence or purpose to the film except as a familiar face to younger viewers. He often whistles the Popeye theme. When the Aliens escape their confinement, Vriess holds his own with a collapsible shotgun while separated from the group.

After he rejoins the group, Christie carries him on his back and he helps defend the group from the Aliens until Christie sacrifices himself. The group escapes aboard the Betty , in which Vriess and Johner are co-pilots. Pinon and Ron Perlman were cast by Alien: Resurrection director Jean-Pierre Jeunet largely due to the director's practice of casting recurring collaborators in unconventional, marginal roles.

Resurrection 's hybridization theme; the dynamic between Vriess and his wheelchair share a synergy of flesh and prosthetic with Number 8 and her Alien composition. Johner Ron Perlman is a crew member and mercenary on the Betty. After the crew boards the Auriga they encounter Number 8, whom Johner tries to seduce.

She overpowers him, attacking the rest of the crew as well. The Aliens escape captivity, forcing Johner and the rest of the crew to collaborate with Number 8 to escape from the Auriga. Aboard the Betty , Johner and Vriess co-pilot their damaged ship to Earth. Perlman, a frequent collaborator with director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, said in a AMC Networks featurette that Alien Resurrection was his only film in which he feared for his life. During the filming of the underwater scene, Perlman struggled with the aquatic set and nearly drowned because he could not reach its openings.

Reading Science Fiction Film , Roz Kaveney interprets Johner and Number 8 as monogamous animals , with a weaker, aggressive male unsuccessfully attempting to seduce a stronger female. Christie Gary Dourdan , an adept mercenary, is second-in-command of the Betty. After Call is apprehended and the crew rounded up for execution, Christie uses his hidden pair of pistols to shoot them out of their situation. When the crew goes underwater, Christie harnesses Vriess to his back and swims to the opening which puts them in the middle of a clutch of Alien eggs.

Fleeing from the attacking Aliens, Christie is injured and his foot is snagged by an Alien. He saves Vriess by detaching himself, allowing Christie to fall into the water below, sacrificing himself. Christie's sacrifice in the film is a heavily criticized plot element, with critics from online publications such as Cracked. The bitching by Brett and Parker, who are concerned only about collecting their shares.

The masterstroke of the surface murk through which the crew members move, their helmet lights hardly penetrating the soup. The shadowy outline of the alien ship. The sight of the alien pilot, frozen in his command chair. The enormity of the discovery inside the ship "It's full of McIntee praises Alien as "possibly the definitive combination of horror thriller with science fiction trappings. Alien , on the other hand, focuses on the plight of people being attacked by a monster: Worse, it's about them trying not to get raped by said drooling monstrous animal.

Gorehounds like it for the chest-burster. Science fiction fans love the hard science fiction trappings and hardware. Men love the battle-for-survival element, and women love not being cast as the helpless victim. David Edelstein wrote, " Alien remains the key text in the 'body horror' subgenre that flowered or, depending on your viewpoint, festered in the seventies, and Giger's designs covered all possible avenues of anxiety.

Men traveled through vulva-like openings, got forcibly impregnated, and died giving birth to rampaging gooey vaginas dentate — how's that for future shock? This was truly what David Cronenberg would call 'the new flesh,' a dissolution of the boundaries between man and machine, machine and alien, and man and alien, with a psychosexual invasiveness that has never, thank God, been equaled.

In , the American Film Institute ranked Alien as the seventh-best film in the science fiction genre as part of AFI's 10 Top 10 , a CBS television special ranking the ten greatest movies in ten classic American film genres. The ranks were based on a poll of over 1, film artists, critics, and historians, with Alien ranking just above Terminator 2: It is seen as one of the most influential science-fiction films. Alien had both an immediate and long-term impact on the science fiction and horror genres. Shortly after its debut, Dan O'Bannon was sued by another writer named Jack Hammer for allegedly plagiarising a script entitled Black Space.

However, O'Bannon was able to prove that he had written his Alien script first. One of the first was The Alien Dead , which had its title changed at the last minute to cash in on Alien 's popularity. The film built on Alien by having many similar creatures, which originated from large, slimy eggs, bursting from characters' chests.

On Earth , was released in and included alien creatures which incubate in humans. Other science fiction films of the time that borrowed elements from Alien include Galaxy of Terror , Inseminoid , Forbidden World , Xtro , and Dead Space The "chestburster" effect was parodied in Mel Brooks' comedy Spaceballs.

Near the end, in a diner, John Hurt does a cameo appearance as a customer who seems to be suffering indigestion. He turns out to have an "alien" in his gut, and moans, "Oh, no Alan Dean Foster wrote a novelization of the film in both adult and "junior" versions, which was adapted from the film's shooting script. The Illustrated Story , as well as a Alien calendar. The Book of Alien contained many production photographs and details on the making of the film, while Giger's Alien contained much of H. Giger's concept artwork for the movie. The success of Alien led 20th Century Fox to finance three direct sequels over the next eighteen years, each by different writers and directors.

Sigourney Weaver remained the only recurring actor through all four films: The success of the film series resulted in the creation of a media franchise with numerous novels, comic books, video games, toys, and other media and merchandise appearing over the years. A number of these began appearing under the Alien vs. Predator crossover imprint, which brought the Alien creatures together with the eponymous characters of the Predator franchise. A film series followed, with Alien vs. Predator in , and Aliens vs. Sigourney Weaver has expressed interest in reuniting with Ridley Scott to revive her character for another Alien film.

In the commentary track for the Alien DVD included in the Alien Quadrilogy set, she and Scott both speculated on the possibility, with Weaver stating: I think outer space adventure is a good thing for us right now, 'cause Earth is so grim Weaver indicated that she would only return to the franchise if either Scott or James Cameron were to direct.

Predator , which he felt would "kill the validity of the franchise". Titled Prometheus , it went into production in May , and was released the following year. Scott said in a statement: The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien 's DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. Variety reported on February 18, that a new Alien film would be developed by Neill Blomkamp.

Several computer games based on the film were released, but not until several years after its theatrical run. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the science-fiction film. For its sequel, see Aliens film. Dan O'Bannon Ronald Shusett. Terry Rawlings Peter Weatherley. United Kingdom United States [2] [3].

Dan [O'Bannon] put his finger on the problem: I have no idea how, but if we could solve that, if it can't be that it just snuck in, then I think the whole movie will come into place. Further information on individual characters: List of Alien characters. Further information on the creature: Alien creature in Alien franchise. The "facehugger" was the first creature Giger designed for the film, giving it human-like fingers and a long tail. The "chestburster" was shoved up through the table and a false torso by a puppeteer. I resent films that are so shallow they rely entirely on their visual effects, and of course science fiction films are notorious for this.

I've always felt that there's another way to do it: That way the story and the characters emerge and they become more real. I mean, people were screaming and running out of the theater. List of accolades received by Alien. It suggests that the filmmaker has finally overcome the interference of heavy-handed studio executives, and that the film has been restored to its original, untampered form.

Such is not the case with Alien: It's a completely different beast.

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Some have argued the film's narrative details and visual design were inspired by those of the Italian film Planet of the Vampires , such as a scene in which the crew discovers a ruin containing giant alien skeletons. Unfortunately, the films it influenced studied its thrills but not its thinking. Archived from the original on June 23, Retrieved June 25, Archived from the original on August 26, Retrieved August 25, British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on October 15, Retrieved December 9, Archived from the original on August 10, Archived from the original on June 21, Retrieved September 8, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Archived from the original on September 21, Retrieved September 6, Archived from the original on July 31, Retrieved July 2, Archived from the original on September 14, Archived from the original on February 23, Archived from the original on August 29, National Film Preservation Board. Archived from the original on March 28, Retrieved July 22, Archived from the original on March 10, Retrieved December 1, Archived from the original on May 3, Retrieved July 14, Casting", The Beast Within: Alien DVD audio commentary track.

Archived from the original on July 15, Retrieved April 21, Creature Design", The Beast Within: Archived from the original on August 13, Retrieved September 21, The Book of Alien. Developing the Story", The Beast Within: Archived from the original on September 5, Archived from the original on April 27, Retrieved 12 October Direction and Design", The Beast Within: The Force Is With Them: Within the context of that fantasy [ George Lucas ] said people still have to wash behind their ears at night.

That was another wonderful touch. It influenced me when I did Alien. I thought I better push it a bit further and make them truck drivers. Shepperton Studios, ", The Beast Within: Music and Editing", The Beast Within: Archived from the original on Archived from the original on September 23, Retrieved October 12, Archived from the original on September 29, Retrieved August 17, Archived from the original on April 30, Retrieved May 29, Archived from the original on March 15, Archived from the original on October 1, Retrieved September 7, Reaction to the Film", The Beast Within: Archived from the original on August 20, Archived from the original on December 22, I wanted to imply that poor old England is back on its feet and has united with the Japanese, who have taken over the building of spaceships the same way they have now with cars and supertankers.

In coming up with a strange company name I thought of British Leyland and Toyota , but we couldn't use "Leyland-Toyota" in the film. Changing one letter gave me "Weylan," and "Yutani" was a Japanese neighbor of mine. The Definitive Story of the Making of the Film. Visual Effects", The Beast Within: Archived PDF from the original on Retrieved November 7, Derek Malcolm reviews the new films in London and Edinburgh". Archived from the original on November 13, Retrieved August 20, Archived from the original on August 2, Archived from the original on July 27, Retrieved October 11, Archived from the original on September 26, Archived from the original on June 5, Retrieved June 9, Archived from the original on October 26, Alien' succeeds in the scare department".

Archived from the original on February 4, Retrieved December 7, Archived from the original on October 9, Archived from the original on October 13, Retrieved September 25, Alien Quadrilogy DVD booklet. Archived from the original on November 16, Retrieved May 28, Alien director Ridley Scott had talked with Cameron, stating "I think it would be a lot of fun, but the most important thing is to get the story right. On learning that Fox intended to pursue Alien vs. Predator , Cameron believed the film would "kill the validity of the franchise" and ceased work on his story, "To me, that was Frankenstein Meets Werewolf.

It was Universal just taking their assets and starting to play them off against each other Predator , however, Cameron remarked that "it was actually pretty good. I think of the five Alien films, I'd rate it third. I actually liked it. I actually liked it a lot. When asked in May if he had watched them, Scott laughed, "No. I couldn't do that. I couldn't quite take that step. The concept of Alien vs. Predator originated from the Aliens versus Predator comic book in by comic book writers Randy Stradley and Chris Warner and was hinted at when an Alien skull appeared in a trophy case aboard the Predator ship in Predator 2.

The project was delayed chiefly because the studio was working on Alien: As there were six producers between the film franchises, Predator producer John Davis had difficulty securing the rights as the producers were worried about a film featuring the two creatures. Anderson pitched Davis a story he worked on for eight years, and showed him concept art created by Randy Bowen. Apocalypse , with Shane Salerno writer of Aliens vs. Salerno spent six months writing the shooting script, finished its development, and stayed on for revisions throughout the film's production. Early reports claimed the story was about humans who tried to lure Predators with Alien eggs, although the idea was scrapped.

Predator , describing a scenario in which Predators taught ancient humans to build pyramids and used Earth for rite of passage rituals every years in which they would hunt Aliens. To explain how these ancient civilisations "disappeared without a trace", Anderson came up with the idea that the Predators, if overwhelmed by the Aliens, would use their self-destruct weapons to kill everything in the area. Lovecraft 's novella At the Mountains of Madness served as an inspiration for the film, and several elements of the Aliens vs.

The Biggest Mistake Made by Sci-Fi Writer John Christopher, Dead at 89

Predator comic series were included. Predator is a sequel to the Predator films and prequel to the Alien series, Anderson was cautious of contradicting continuity in the franchises. He chose to set the film on the remote Norwegian Antarctic island of Bouvet commenting, "It's definitely the most hostile environment on Earth and probably the closest to an Alien surface you can get. So there's nothing in this movie that contradicts anything that already exists. The first actor to be cast for Alien vs. Although the Alien films are set years in the future, Anderson wanted to keep continuity with the series by including a familiar actor.

According to Anderson, Weyland becomes known for the discovery of the pyramid, and as a result the Weyland-Yutani Corporation models the Bishop android in the Alien films after him; "when the Bishop android is created in years time, it's created with the face of the creator. It's kind of like Microsoft building an android in years time that has the face of Bill Gates. Producer Davis said, "There's a truly international flavor to the cast, and gives the film a lot of character. Sanaa Lathan was selected, and one week later she flew to Prague to begin filming. The filmmakers knew there would be comparisons to Alien heroine Ellen Ripley and did not want a clone of the character, but wanted to make her similar while adding something different.

Anderson reported in an interview that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was willing to reprise his role as Major Alan "Dutch" Schaeffer from Predator in a short cameo appearance if he lost the recall election on condition that the filming should take place at his residence. Actress Sigourney Weaver , who starred as Ellen Ripley in the Alien series, said she was happy not to be in the film, as a possible crossover was "the reason I wanted my character to die in the first place", and thought the concept "sounded awful". Production began in late at Barrandov Studios in Prague, Czech Republic , where most of the filming took place.

Production designer Richard Bridgland was in charge of sets, props and vehicles, based on early concept art Anderson had created to give a broad direction of how things would look. The pyramid's carvings, sculptures, and hieroglyphs were influenced by Egyptian , Cambodian , and Aztec civilisations, while the regular shifting of the pyramid's rooms was meant to evoke a sense of claustrophobia similar to the original Alien film.

Third scale miniatures several meters in height were created to give the film the effect of realism, rather than relying on computer generated imagery CGI. For the whaling station miniatures and life-sized sets, over bags of artificial snow were used roughly 15—20 tons. Visual effects producer Arthur Windus, claimed miniatures were beneficial in the filming process: With a miniature, you shoot it and its there.

It was designed so the model could be collapsed and then reconstructed, which proved beneficial for a six-second shot which required a re-shoot. Visual special effects producers Arthur Windus and John Bruno were in charge of the project, which contained effects shots. For five months the creatures were redesigned, the Predators wrist blades being extended roughly four times longer than those in the Predator films, and a larger mechanical plasma caster was created for the Scar Predator. The basic shape of the Predator mask was kept, although technical details were added and each Predator was given a unique mask to distinguish them from each other.

These masks were created using clay, which was used to form moulds to create fiberglass copies. These copies were painted to give a weathered look, which Woodruff claims "is what the Predator is all about". The puppet required six people to run it; one for the head and body, two for the arms, and a sixth to make sure the signals were reaching the computer.

Movements were recorded in the computer so that puppeteers would be able to repeat moves that Anderson liked. The puppet was used in six shots, including the fight scene with the Predator which took one month to film. The crew tried to keep CGI use to a minimum, as Anderson said people in suits and puppets are scarier than CGI monsters as they are "there in the frame". The Alien queen was filmed using three variations: The practical version required 12 puppeteers to operate, [15] and CGI tails were added to the Aliens and the queen as they were difficult to animate using puppetry.

Anderson praised Alien director Ridley Scott 's and Predator director John McTiernan 's abilities at building suspense by not showing the creatures until late in the film, something Anderson wanted to accomplish with Alien vs. Austrian composer Harald Kloser was hired to create the film's score. After completing the score for The Day After Tomorrow , Kloser was chosen by Anderson as he is a fan of the franchises. The score was released on 31 August , and received mixed reviews. James Christopher Monger of Allmusic thought Kloser introduced electronic elements well, and called "Alien vs.

Predator Main Theme a particularly striking and serves as a continuous creative source for the composer to dip his baton in. Kloser throws in some interesting percussion cues "Antarctica" and "Down the Tunnel" , but more as a sound effect than a consistent motif. Predator was released in North America on August 13, in 3, theatres. It ranks second behind Aliens at the domestic box office, and fifth behind the first three Alien films and the original Predator film , when adjusted for inflation. The film was not screened in advance for critics. Predator received negative reviews [41] with praise towards its special-effects and set design, but received criticism for its dialogue, the "fast-paced editing" during fight sequences, lighting, and its PG rating.

Rick Kisonak of Film Threat praised the film stating, "For a big dumb production about a movie monster smackdown, Alien vs. Predator is a surprisingly good time". The first featured Paul W. A minute "Making of" featurette and a Dark Horse AVP comic cover gallery were included in the special features along with three deleted scenes from the film. On release, Alien vs. A two-disc "Extreme Edition" was released on 7 March , featuring behind the scenes footage of the conception, pre-production , production, post-production , and licensing of the film.