IGN Germany asking Ridley the questions we want to hear...

[Local Trouble]

I wanted a retread of Aliens with marines and pulse rifles and queens and 'splosions! 

[Corporal Hicks]

I don't buy these narratives.

They aren't narratives. They're facts. There's so much more to these films than the directors. Just to pick one - Without Giger the Alien wouldn't be the iconic creature it is today. Yes, they're important but it's not as simple as them being the be all and end all.

[Beatnation]

I don't buy these narratives.

Without Lucas there would be no Star Wars.

Without Ridley Scott, Alien would be a low budget Roger Corman movie.

Yes, it was a collaboration, but I don't buy that Ridley is destroying Alien or Lucas destroyed Star Wars.  This is just people mad that they did not get what they wanted.

Which is more ALIENS, more dumbass marines shooting everywhere with their pulse rifle and destroying the perfect organism like it was canon fodder, more stupid 1 v 1 deathmatch of a single human against a Queen Alien, more Newt, more Hicks and of course more geriatric Ripley saving the day with a Disney channel type ending.

[Scorpio]

Alien Awakening = The Force Awakens?

I don't buy these narratives.

They aren't narratives. They're facts. There's so much more to these films than the directors. Just to pick one - Without Giger the Alien wouldn't be the iconic creature it is today. Yes, they're important but it's not as simple as them being the be all and end all.

That's an interesting point, but on the flipside, Giger has worked on a lot of other movies that weren't as successful.

[Corporal Hicks]

Yes, it was a collaboration, but I don't buy that Ridley is destroying Alien or Lucas destroyed Star Wars.  This is just people mad that they did not get what they wanted.

Which is more ALIENS, more dumbass marines shooting everywhere with their pulse rifle and destroying the perfect organism like it was canon fodder, more stupid 1 v 1 deathmatch of a single human against a Queen Alien, more Newt, more Hicks and of course more geriatric Ripley saving the day with a Disney channel type ending.

It wasn't true the first time someone said it, it still isn't now.

That's an interesting point, but on the flipside, Giger has worked on a lot of other movies that weren't as successful.

True but it still doesn't change the fact that Giger's Alien is an iconic creature and very much in the pop culture and was part of Alien's success. It was something completely different. Could you imagine Alien without the Alien as we know it? Perhaps with Ron Cobb's design instead? Would it have anywhere near the impact it does now?

[Scorpio]

What actually happened was Ridley saw Necronomicon IV and one of Giger's paintings, and wanted that to be the alien.  Giger wanted to design a new monster but Ridley insisted, so he adapted his painting from Necronomicon IV.

I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, but I'll post it anyway:



So that had nothing to do with Alien originally.

[Corporal Hicks]

And it was O'Bannon who shoved that book in Ridley's face. But regardless of whether the origins of that approach was originally designed for Alien or not, it was still a Giger design and still contributed to the success and lasting impact of the film.

[Scorpio]

Yeah and Ridley could have said "f**k off it's my movie" and chose someone else, but he didn't.

[Gash]

And it was O'Bannon who shoved that book in Ridley's face. But regardless of whether the origins of that approach was originally designed for Alien or not, it was still a Giger design and still contributed to the success and lasting impact of the film.

But as you know Giger wouldn't have got the gig if Scott hadn't pushed hard for him, 20th Century Fox didn't want to go anywhere near him. Scott made the decision for the surrealist to cover everything alien and Cobb, Foss, Mobius etc to build the human environments. It was also his attention to detail and passion to lift the project that got the budget doubled via his extensive storyboards, which interpreted Giger's creature. That was a deciding factor.

A film is a collaborative event of course, ALIEN is the perfect storm of talent, but like a grand orchestral score what drives people to their best work and inspires then to up their game everyday is the guy who stands conducting. O'Bannon was denied access to rushes but sneaked in anyway, what he saw inspired him to greater involvement, much to Giler and Hill's chagrin.

You can look at many of the major talents who worked on ALIEN, and the work they did post ALIEN, but they never shone like they did through Ridley's orchestration.

However I freely admit I am more of a Scott fan than an Alien franchise fan. IMHO Scott's had way more hits than the Alien franchise has, and I prefer the diversity of subject matter. I think Scott's tone and viewpoint has been largely consistent since The Duellists, and I've always liked that grandiose but slightly sombre tone that he conveys in much of his work. I'm not a fan of every Scott film, I think he's had his duffers, and there are a few I've never seen, but he is a favourite director and it his style and choices I tend to enjoy.

[Highland]

I don't buy these narratives.

Without Lucas there would be no Star Wars.

Without Ridley Scott, Alien would be a low budget Roger Corman movie.

Yes, it was a collaboration, but I don't buy that Ridley is destroying Alien or Lucas destroyed Star Wars.  This is just people mad that they did not get what they wanted.

Which is more ALIENS, more dumbass marines shooting everywhere with their pulse rifle and destroying the perfect organism like it was canon fodder, more stupid 1 v 1 deathmatch of a single human against a Queen Alien, more Newt, more Hicks and of course more geriatric Ripley saving the day with a Disney channel type ending.

But what about the Soccer Moms?

[SM]

Won't someone think of them?

[Mr. Xenomorph]

I'm still not sure what he means when he talks about "War of the World type characters."

The first thing I think about is a legion of Xenomorphs delivering an onslaught on an unsuspecting world. But now he's back to the "the beast is cooked" mood. So how does that affect the next one now if it even happens? No Xenomorphs?

[Beatnation]

I don't buy these narratives.

Without Lucas there would be no Star Wars.

Without Ridley Scott, Alien would be a low budget Roger Corman movie.

Yes, it was a collaboration, but I don't buy that Ridley is destroying Alien or Lucas destroyed Star Wars.  This is just people mad that they did not get what they wanted.

Which is more ALIENS, more dumbass marines shooting everywhere with their pulse rifle and destroying the perfect organism like it was canon fodder, more stupid 1 v 1 deathmatch of a single human against a Queen Alien, more Newt, more Hicks and of course more geriatric Ripley saving the day with a Disney channel type ending.

But what about the Soccer Moms?

This man asking the real question.

[asil]

I'm still not sure what he means when he talks about "War of the World type characters."

The first thing I think about is a legion of Xenomorphs delivering an onslaught on an unsuspecting world. But now he's back to the "the beast is cooked" mood. So how does that affect the next one now if it even happens? No Xenomorphs?

The beasts are no longer a mystery, not the main focus. The focus has shifted.

[Scorpio]

Scott made the decision for the surrealist to cover everything alien and Cobb, Foss, Mobius etc to build the human environments.

And originally it wasn't O' Bannon who picked Giger but Jodorowsky, as they met while working on Dune.  O' Bannon got the idea to use Giger's design while writing the script for Alien, based on meeting with him and seeing his art while collaborating on that failed project.  If it wasn't for Jodorowsky, Giger might have just been an obscure Swiss artist.