Michael Biehn is currently attending Pensacon 2015, a regular convention in Pensacola and according to Reddit user Sskywarpe, Biehn stated he had been contacted about Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming Alien film. Of course, this is Reddit so take it with a pinch of salt:
“I’m at Pensacon, just now gave Michael a Reece ReAction figure, said “This is yours… one question, have you been contacted for Alien 5?” He looked at me, smiled and said, “Yes.” Holy… shitake…”
“He just walked by me and I said, ” Alien 5, you gonna do it!?” To which he replied, “Looks like it!” and smiled.”
Biehn’s character, Dwayne Hicks, was featured in some of the earlier released concept art that Blomkamp had commisioned for his new Alien film during its infancy. This also lends more credit to the idea that the new film will be alternative sequel to Aliens. Thanks to Valaquen and Nazrel for the news.
He was fed-up. Had a hoody on, pulled down, barely looking at anyone who came by. Barely said a word. It might have just been how busy he was - I mean, I got there in the morning, had to wait until the very end of the day to finally get my interview - so it might have just been tired but it wasn't the best of impressions. And my first convention as well.
I'm meeting him again in August so hopefully it'll be a better experience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oXxE1y3xjY#
Sorry about the late response guys but this interview was conducted back in 2009. I was.. twenty one when this was filmed and it didn't seem like long ago when I met Biehn. Feels like yesterday... God I feel old.
Is that not what they want him for?
Why not?
Seconded.
I've only met Biehn once and I had a small interview with him for Monstermania 2009 where we discussed Rodriguez's PREDATORS, the untitled Alien prequel which became Prometheus and his upcoming projects. I recorded it and posted it on Youtube. All of that was done a day after I had my wisdom teeth pulled out. Pain killers and swollen gums weren't gonna stop me from seeing Biehn!
I've already met him before too - but I'm terrible at getting tongue tied at conventions and my last impressions of him weren't terribly great to be honest. I just want a new photo (last one was awful) and a signature on my AvPGalaxy poster project that I started 3 conventions ago. I'm probably going to see Charles Dance again (3rd time) to get him included too.
Clemens' story had finished at that point. Killing him off was the best idea. That allowed Dillon to be brought forward and carry the rest of the movie alongside Ripley.
Agreed, although I liked the Cold War motif they carried. My favorite line of his was when he sent a comatose Ripley off the space station and someone asks him why he's taking the risk of letting her off the station when there's a risk of the infection spreading, and he says "I owe her that much." It was one of the few lines that gave Hicks some character in that script.
I do agree that the script as a whole was very bland. Still way better than what Alien 3 ended up being, though. I think the studio would have been better off refining that script than going with the 'monks in space' stuff they ended up pursuing. The idea of multiple factions on Earth wanting to get a hold of the xenos rather than just some evil corporate entity is actually rather appealing to me. Might have dated the movie too much if it came out when it did, what with the Berlin Wall coming down only a few years after the script was written.
Ok, that is the most awesome thing ever! Good luck.
"Yo Hicks, think we got something here..."
Having met Biehn, I can say that he's a pretty laid back and normal guy. So just approach him like you would any other dude!
But it is Hix!1!!
I know I'm gonna ask him (if I don't freeze up) when I see him in August.
Killing off Clemens before the final confrontation was a wrong decision. Would have made Ripley's sacrifice even more effective if she'd just lost him to the WY gunmen.
Hicks and Newt, honestly couldn't give a toss, not keen on seeing either of them revived for the sake of Blomkamp's preferred trilogy. It's going to be a major stumbling block to enjoying whatever else he might have in store.
I mean I can already hear a hamfisted line that goes a little like "I'll go down fighting. You knew that was how it was going to be. How it should be."
That be a bit lame though but I wouldn't mind it too much. Doubt it will happen since that's pretty much a slap to the Alien 3 fans xD
I'd completely forgotten about that one!
"He was quoting the Bible, Revelations. 'Behold the pale horse. The man who sat on him was Death... and Hell followed with him'."
In some parts, but I felt there were a few good scenes. Also, it's almost tradition amongst the Alien movies that characters only really come to life once in the hands of the actors. Alien in particular was fairly utilitarian with the dialogue and characterisation.
One more The Divide reference for Biehn in Alien V:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HrwJZak1KA
"...Because their acid blood will melt your face off!"
What about Ringo in Tombstone?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGNdnlCbfMs#ws
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8OWNspU_yE#ws
Watch "The Seventh Sign" where he stars with Jurgen Prochnow and Demi Moore.
He wasn't half bad in The Rock. He got wiped out after like fifteen minutes, but he did have a couple of good shouty dialogue scenes prior to that. He was also really good in Planet Terror. He put just the right amount of self-awareness into it.
But otherwise I'd agree I haven't really seen him do anything amazing outside of Jim Cameron movies.
But I'm sure he's also creating new characters. Probably characters that could carry the torch later on. So he has double the challenge really. I'm sure he can create new characters to service his story but his heart was set on that Ripley/Hicks/Newt story that somehow ended abruptly in the beginning of part 3.
I'm really hoping he signs on. I think he's probably inclined to do it. Just hope shit doesn't happen.
That's largely down to the director and the editor, though. Look at Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler!
Nah, that was more Dillon's role in Alien 3. He was with Ripley right until the end, where he made a noble sacrifice to trap the alien in the pit.
Maybe both Ripley and Shaw, in the first ten minutes of their respective films, should get wiped out by a safety support or a really hot cup of McDonald's coffee... that'd throw us for a loop!
Very true. Hell, that trope even kinda carries over into Prometheus too, with the deaths of Halloway and Janek.
Dallas
Hicks
Clemens
Elgyn
Everybody loves the reluctant hero.
And Hicks had to get wiped out by that acid in Aliens. Imagine Ripley and Hicks storming the hive together - now that would have been a weak-ass ending.
I do agree that Dillon and Clemens are deeper, more intriguing characters though.
Agreed. It's a way to really naturally grow the character which. Killing Hicks off in the opening credits was just cheap. The fact that the actor Michael Biehn has also had some personal trials and tribulations would make the story that much more authentic. Do I sense you're coming around to the ideas that have been thus far presented about Alien 5? You have to admit, it's an exciting time...
I loved that. It's the kind of thing I would like to see them do with him. It'd still carry somewhat of the hopeless tone of Alien 3 with that aspect. In that he descends into substance abuse to deal with his issues.
Mike deserves this role. I'm so happy for him!
Not really. Hicks in those scripts came across as pretty bland and generic.
On the subject of the Hicks character being in the vein of Kyle Reese, i'll never agree with that exactly. Both characters are actually quite different, and Biehn does deliver very different performances... However, we should give Biehn credit for Hicks even having the softer edges. A few subtle changes in the dialogue and the way it was delivered, is what gave us the Hicks we know and love. The original intend, according to Biehn anyway, was for Hicks to be more or less just as abrasive to Ripley as the rest of the marines.
Okay, fair enough. But my point still stands: Due to the fact that Clemens is both introduced and killed off within the confines of the same film (Alien 3), it is far easier for general fans to accept his death. Meanwhile, Hicks is introduced in one film with the presumed notion that his character will survive and grow as part of Ripley's new "family," only to be brutally axed off in the opening moments of the immediate sequel.
It's the same reason as to why Hicks and Newt spark so much controversy with their deaths, as opposed to other popular characters from Aliens like Vasquez or Hudson.
Indeed. There's definitely places that one could take Hicks for character development. After all, there was at least one plan for him to be the main protagonist and star of Alien 3, instead of Ripley.
Yeah and it felt like a waste following him for entire scenes, finding clues about the Alien, slowly warming to the guy, and then the film's suddenly done with him. I would've loved to see that character directly interact with Dillon, Morse etc in a time of crisis.
Clemens goes along with her, out of concern, but is never given the chance to truly believe her as he is never told about the Alien until it attacks him. He can only suspect.
A version of Clemens was originally the main character. Then he became a secondary character who sacrificed himself at the end to save Ripley and the universe. Then he was a secondary character who, according to storyboards, at least made it to the end of the film. And then he was a secondary character who unceremoniously exited the movie halfway through. Clusterf**k.
Dark Horse did pretty well with their alcoholic, embittered version of Hicks. Let's not be unimaginative; you could have done a lot with the character if you wanted to. Look at what they did with the Ripley character between the first and second films.
Where else could you take the Hicks character, really? Biehn may have perfected that 'sensitive tough guy' role, but even in the 80s that was considered cliche. It's pretty much the domain of cheesy action movies.
That would be because Clemens' story is ultimately self-contained within Alien 3. Yeah, he's one of the most interesting characters in the film and his relationship with Ripley is more complex than what she had with Hicks, but he was always meant to get the axe within the confines of the same film he was introduced in. The same goes for Dillon too.
Meanwhile, Hicks was someone who appeared in Aliens as a portion of Ripley's new "family." His character wasn't nearly as developed as Clemens would go on to be, but it was fully the director's intention that Hicks would live and go on to grow as a character and in his relationship (whatever its nature would be) with Ripley. The same goes for Newt and Bishop. Alien 3 then promptly begins with a sledgehammer to the fans' faces by impaling Hicks in his sleep.
I'm not making a statement on the quality of either film here, btw. I'm just explaining why fans are far more vocal about their disdain that Hicks died over more intriguing or complex characters like Clemens or Dillon.
That's true but I don't see the legions of fans bawling about it like they do with Hicks.
I don't even count the theatrical version anymore..
And I don't really call it 'romance' in the traditional sense. I don't think the fact they had sex was really a big deal.
Clemens did listen to Ripley, hence doing the autopsy on Newt and investigating the burn mark where Murphy was killed. He also recounted her story to Andrews.
And his is an experience (were he to survive) unexplored in the series too. We've had a person lose fractious crewmates and a child to time, but this is a person losing real, genuine camaraderie but also gaining a new unit. The idea of the surrogate family unit in a world that knows these things exist - Does that make you more or less out to exterminate them? Ripley never has anything to lose after Alien (especially after Hicks and Newt are killed offscreen). If Hicks's sole function is to present a different side of her - a woman with a lot to lose still after these things - then that is still import enough.
And take it to Earth War places, and there are opportunities for conflict in how these survivors deal with their survival. There are stories to tell here that could justify this decision, as long as it isn't just done for the sake of it. From Fox's point of view it makes sense to draft in a fan favourite who could shoulder future films should Weaver want to bow out too. It's not like Michael Biehn is going to refuse a high profile series after getting stiffed on A3, T2 and Avatar, is it? There's money in series, and familiar faces bring audiences back.
I wouldn't put his odds high on surviving this one, mind. It's card trick thinking, innit? Everyone will be so wary of the fact he dies in A3 that they'll be certain he'll survive this one, which means Blomkamp is likely to undermine that certainty for shock effect. Although, I can see Hicks living on with Newt while Ripley finally goes (which is super pointless as they did it in A3, but there we are). Conjecture is the best.