I'm kind of glad that Hicks and Newt died at the beginning of Alien 3. If they hadn't, we would've just gotten another story where Newt would have probably needed to be saved at the end of the film and I already saw that in Aliens. Alien 3 is all about loneliness and isolation (two elements of true terror) and that is only highlighted by the fact that Ripley is by herself.
When I was a kid, I remember being very sad because Hicks and Newt died but as I got more mature I began to appreciate the whole point of Alien 3. Now I love it. Plus, if Hicks and Newt's deaths were faked, it sort of paints a more sympathetic portrait of the company. I don't like that. To me, Weiland-Yutani is much better suited as the ultimate symbol of corporate greed. Hicks and Newt need to stay dead. It helps make the overall impact of the first three films in this franchise much more powerful.
