The 'box' Alien

[Mr. Clemens]

There was a thread around here recently (that I can't seem to find) where people were talking about the 'box' alien scene, and if it was ever filmed. You know the one:



Well sorry if this information is already well-known, but it appears that it was! Here's part of an interview with Walt Simonson, the artist on ALIEN: The Illustrated Story:

"There's a scene in the graphic novel that's not in the movie, where at the end, when Ripley is running around the spaceship, she bumps into a box and the box unfolds itself and it turns out to be the alien waiting there for her in the hallway. That scene isn't in the film, but it was in the rough cut that I saw. I thought it was really cool. Another guy I was with thought it looked really cheesy, but I liked the way it looked. They were still editing the film at that point, so when I got to the point in the graphic novel where I had to put that page in or not put it in, because it would affect the placement of the left and right pages of the story, I asked and they said, 'Right now, it's in.' I added it back in, pasted everything around it and then, lo and behold, the movie comes out and the scene isn't there. Go figure."

[Full interview here: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=41835]

Interesting... hope we can see it, someday. They say that Fox gave Creative Assembly 3 TB of largely-unseen behind the scenes stuff for Isolation - maybe we'll see the Alien in that game folded up in a box! 

[Xenomorphine]

I know they were asked about that scene and reiterated that they'd definitely seen it in an early cut, but not that they actually went to (presumably) Fox and got official confirmation about it, at the time. Seems like the kind of thing the people at the other end would have corrected or said something like, "What scene?" If it was never filmed.

Strongest possible indication, to date, of its existence.

Was clearly at a point after it was decided not to include the cocoon sequence, though.

[wmmvrrvrrmm]

I know they were asked about that scene and reiterated that they'd definitely seen it in an early cut, but not that they actually went to (presumably) Fox and got official confirmation about it, at the time. Seems like the kind of thing the people at the other end would have corrected or said something like, "What scene?" If it was never filmed.

Strongest possible indication, to date, of its existence.

Was clearly at a point after it was decided not to include the cocoon sequence, though.

Okay, I found the quote a few weeks back and now that I've looked I brought it to the surface while we were chatting in the Coolant Locker thread at the beginning of December.

. I'll have to add that bit from the comic source interview to my page about it, thanks.

Dan O'Bannon said in Famous Monsters of Film Land, #159: Some scenes were shot of the alien closeup, of it folded like a weird-looking box, but it was decided this would give us too graphic a look at the beastie, so snip! snip!! snip!!!

http://alienexplorations.blogspot.co.uk/1979/04/organic-box-like-thing.html


I've just found another interview to publicise the comicbook rereleaste where Walter Simonson talks about this subject http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/45847/interview-walt-simonson/

[Elmazalman]

Always wanted to see that footage,been waiting years for it.Maybe one day it might turn up on a future home video release like the "Burke Cocoon" footage finally did.

[wmmvrrvrrmm]

I suppose we've got to a point where the whole idea that it ever existed isn't such a blur now, with Walter Simonson talking about it last year at greater lengths and we can access that information.

[Elmazalman]

What I would like to see,what I think everyone would like to see,if the footage is unavailable for whatever reason,is production stills from the scene.To my knowledge I don't think any have ever surfaced,all it would take is just one image to finally confirm whether it was filmed or not.I was hoping to find one at least in the massive photo gallery of the Anthology set,no such luck.

[Local Trouble]

Seems kinda pointless for the alien to do that.

[wmmvrrvrrmm]

What I would like to see,what I think everyone would like to see,if the footage is unavailable for whatever reason,is production stills from the scene.To my knowledge I don't think any have ever surfaced,all it would take is just one image to finally confirm whether it was filmed or not.I was hoping to find one at least in the massive photo gallery of the Anthology set,no such luck.

Well, I believe Dan O'Bannon and Walter Simonson when they say it was filmed and trimmed out and so I need no further evidence that it was actualy filmed. Let's hope it does surface. Let's hope someone finds a reason to actually hunt it down

Seems kinda pointless for the alien to do that.

It does seem that Walter Simonson certainly found a point in it, as a story teller, and what he did say did interest me since he saw the movie. It certainly would have messed up peoples urges to believe that the aliens had exoskeletons like insects when it came to Aliens and we might have then commonly thought about this creature having an octopus like solidity. So Walter assumed that it was about the creatures ability to shape shift and camouflage itself

[SiL]

My money's still on them just creatively interpreting the Bolaji being curled up in the suit.

[Elmazalman]

Seems kinda pointless for the alien to do that.

If the scene was used, it could have demonstrated to viewers just how the adult had the ability to squeeze itself into tight places,such as air shafts and the shuttle interior.

My money's still on them just creatively interpreting the Bolaji being curled up in the suit.

Maybe,can't say until we see something.

[SiL]

I'd say the overwhelming lack of having seen anything would put good money on it being the case. No concept designs, no construction shots, no behind the scenes stills, no mention in Giger's Alien, etc.

[Elmazalman]

I'd say the overwhelming lack of having seen anything would put good money on it being the case. No concept designs, no construction shots, no behind the scenes stills, no mention in Giger's Alien, etc.

I'll take Walter Simonson's word for it,he's been privileged to see something we probably never will.

[wmmvrrvrrmm]

I'd say the overwhelming lack of having seen anything would put good money on it being the case. No concept designs, no construction shots, no behind the scenes stills, no mention in Giger's Alien, etc.

I 'd imagine that the suit might have been roughly squashed into a box shape and then inflated with balloons inside and I'd assume wouldn't have required Giger's involvement since he hasn't mentioned it.

[Elmazalman]

I'd say the overwhelming lack of having seen anything would put good money on it being the case. No concept designs, no construction shots, no behind the scenes stills, no mention in Giger's Alien, etc.

I 'd imagine that the suit might have been roughly squashed into a box shape and then inflated with balloons inside and I'd assume wouldn't have required Giger's involvement since he hasn't mentioned it.

Maybe,would have been easier and less time consuming to have the actor just squat there and curled up as previously mentioned.What makes me think the "box form" exists is the depiction in the comic,it looks to detailed and specific,much like everything else presented.

[SiL]

I 'd imagine that the suit might have been roughly squashed into a box shape and then inflated with balloons inside and I'd assume wouldn't have required Giger's involvement since he hasn't mentioned it.

Again, you'd think that would be the sort of effect set-up someone would mention at some point.