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When it comes to sequels in Hollywood, there is a certain logic in studios taking a “more of the same” approach. After all, follow-up movies are generally produced following a successful release, and it makes sense to try and give audiences more of what they’ve proven to like. One franchise that has long been an exception to this, however, is Alien – and that difference is very much reflected in Sigourney Weaver‘s recalled reaction to reading the script for James Cameron‘s Aliens for the first time.
Weaver is currently having a big week, as she received the the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and while recently reflecting on her incredible career in an interview with Deadline, she was asked about her experience working with directors Ridley Scott and James Cameron for Alien and Aliens. She remembers that she was aboard working on a project when she first got the screenplay for the latter title (easily one of the great science-fiction films of all time), and she was blown away by how different it was from the former. Said Weaver,
I recall that I was filming in France when I received the script for Aliens. It was this almost operatic role for Ridley [Scott]. I was stunned. It was such a different way of approaching the material, much more muscular and much more akin to an action picture.
One can assume that Sigourney Weaver was expecting Aliens to be a more traditional sequel that would see the heroic Ellen Ripley once again locked into another horrific circumstance involving a monstrous xenomorph (or multiple xenomorphs, as the title of the sequel implies), but she instead found herself reading a completely different kind of story – one that would see her teaming up with a crew of space marines investigating an emergency situation on a moon colony. Instead of being straight horror like its predecessor, Aliens is an extremely awesome action movie.
Back in the mid-1980s, Weaver was shocked by the radical new direction for Aliens, but she also very clearly has a great deal of appreciation for the franchise turning her into a cinematic legend as a female hero. In the new interview, she couldn’t specifically contrast the difference between working with Ridley Scott and James Cameron, but she did acknowledge that none of her work in the Alien franchise (also including Alien3 and Alien: Resurrection) had her getting a “more of the same” feeling. Said the actor,
Alien is perfect. It’s so claustrophobic, frightening, and unsettling. And Aliens is this big kick-ass movie of scale, which actually has a more conventional story. But it’s hard to compare them as filmmakers. They are very different. I can say that all four of the Alien filmmakers I worked with [Ridley Scott, James Cameron, David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet] all made the material their own.
Of course, the Alien franchise is big in the zeitgeist right now thanks to Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus – which has both been well-received by critics and has pushed Deadpool & Wolverine out of the top spot at the box office. The new film is currently playing in theaters everywhere, but if you’re in the mood to revisit the classic chapters of the beloved franchise starring Sigourney Weaver, all of the movies in the Alien movie timeline are currently available to watch with a Hulu subscription.