In 1986, young up and coming writer-director, James Cameron, took the tall task of tackling a sequel to director Ridley Scott's space-thriller, "Alien". With returning cast member, Sigorney Weaver, he not only moved the story forward, he exceeded all expectations with a bonafide box office hit as well an award-winning and ground-breaking classic we know simply as "Aliens".
On this episode, Tim Williams and guest co-host Laramy Wells share their memories of this iconic 80's flick. They also share favorite characters, movie moments, and behind the scenes trivia along the way.
Here are additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover on this episode:
- Actors who played Marines were asked to read Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers and undergo military training, which included running, lifting weights, learning salutes, marches, deployments, and maneuvers, for two weeks. Cameron wanted the Marines to train together so that they would form bonds that would show on-screen. Sigourney Weaver, William Hope, and Paul Reiser were absent from training because of other obligations, but Cameron felt that this suited their characters as "outsiders" in the film
- Many of the crew had worked on Alien and were fiercely loyal to Ridley Scott, and they believed the 31-year-old Cameron was too young and inexperienced to direct. In response, he arranged a screening of The Terminator, which had not yet been released in the UK, but many of the crew did not attend.
- Some scenes of the alien nest were shot at the decommissioned Acton Lane Power Station in Acton, London. The crew thought it was a perfect place to film because of its grilled walkways and numerous corridors, but had to spend money to remove asbestos from the station. The Atmosphere Processor set was not dismantled after filming, and was reused in 1989 as the Axis Chemicals set for Batman (1989). When the Batman crew first entered the set, they found most of the Alien nest still intact,
Sources: Imdb, Wikipedia, Box Office Mojo, and Rotten Tomatoes
Intro & Outro Music: “Total Eclipse” by Nathaniel Wyver
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