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A lot of info on the Alien trilogy
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Newsgroups: alt.cult-movies,rec.arts.sf.movies,rec.arts.movies
From: hobson@mprgate.mpr.ca (Darryll)
Subject: ALIEN FAQ v1.4 -> new!
Message-ID: <1993Jun23.201753.15229@mprgate.mpr.ca>
Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies
Sender: news@mprgate.mpr.ca
Reply-To: hobson@mprgate.mpr.ca
Organization: MPR Teltch, Burnaby, B.C., Canada, Earth, Milky Way, Universe
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1993 20:17:53 GMT
Here's the latest version... the FAQ is becoming QUITE large, so I won't be
posting it unless:
- the same old discussions start cropping up again
- there has been a decent amount of additions to its content.
I'll try and get it onto news.answers and into a few FTP archive sites...
but that's not a reality as of yet...
There have been A LOT of changes (hence the long delay in getting it out)...
At any rate, here it is:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
& &
& ALIEN, ALIENS and ALIEN^3 &
& &
& Information and Frequently Asked Questions &
& &
& Version 1.4 &
& &
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A word about the information provided in this FAQ (paraphrased from earlier
editions):
With the exceptions of my own contributions, this FAQ has been assembled
by the material supplied to me through Email and public-access messages that
I've scavenged off the internet. Information that is contributed is often
paraphrased and combined with existing (other users') info. Needless to say,
it's impossible to give everybody their rightful line of credit, so a general
"Thank you" goes out to all who've contributed to this FAQ and made it what
it is. (you know who you are)
- Darryll Hobson (hobson@mprgate.mpr.ca)
The contents of this FAQ are not "carved in stone" so if you have proof to
support or deny anything that is stated, don't hesitate to say so.
This FAQ will be posted OCCASIONALLY to: alt.cult-movies
rec.arts.sf.movies
rec.arts.movies
And an archive will be setup in news.answers (hopefully soon)
WARNING: This FAQ contains spoilers.
WARNING: Anyone who complains about the posting of this LARGE document to
the Internet or offers me bizarre, strange, and complicated
alternatives to "posting" will be [cordially] ignored.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS
How do I contribute to this FAQ?........................................0
Movie synopsis..........................................................1
What is an Alien?.......................................................2
Who is [character/director]?............................................3
Which scenes were "cut"?................................................4
What different versions of each movie are there?........................5
Was there any merchandise?..............................................6
Memorable quotes........................................................7
Trivia..................................................................8
Technical problems......................................................9
Plot problems and loopholes.............................................10
Frequently asked questions..............................................11
Frequently discussed topics.............................................12
Movie viewing rituals?..................................................13
Where can I get Gibson's ALIEN^3 script?................................14
Revision history........................................................15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0. HOW DO I CONTRIBUTE TO THIS FAQ?
To ensure accuracy, this FAQ has a few ground rules. The only
canonical sources are interviews with the creators, the theatrical
version of _ALIEN_, the director's cut (or theatrical version) of
_ALIENS_ and the extended version (or theatrical) of _ALIEN^3_. All
other sources (ie: books, comics, toys, games, etc...) are generally
considered speculative.
This does not mean that any information outside of the listed movies is
not welcome here. A lot of the "speculative" information is used in
discussions or for giving "possible" answers to questions that cannot
be answered by events that occur in the movies.
If you would like to contribute to this FAQ, TRY and follow this
guideline:
- include references where necessary. If you're referring to a book,
it's often a good idea to include the title of the book and Author's
name as it would appear on the book (ie: " Alan Dean Foster " instead
of " Foster ")
- be specific/verbose about your information, there's no limit to the
size of this FAQ.
- if you wish to update/add to something already in the FAQ, please do
so. Some of this information could easily be elaborated upon
[especially the comments that are enclosed in square brackets].
- it's preferable if you make your contribution through Email as this
FAQ can get posted to a newsgroup that I don't read and your efforts
will be wasted.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. MOVIE SYNOPSIS
_ALIEN_
(Color, 1979, Rated R, Shot in Panavision (2.35:1)) In deep outer space the
crew of a commercial spaceship make an unscheduled landing on a barren and
desolate planet for engine repairs. They encounter a pulsating organism
which attaches itself to one of the crew members and reproduces within his
body to become the deadly ALIEN. As each of the crew members is slain by
the creature - one by one - the final confrontation between the last
surviving crew member and the Alien culminates in an explosive conclusion.
116 minutes. [quoted from the 1984 CBS/FOX Video release]
_ALIENS_
(Color, 1986, Rated R, Shot flat (1.87:1)) Sigourney Weaver returns as
Ripley, the only survivor from mankind's first encounter with the
Alien. Her account of the Alien and the fate of her crew is received
with skepticism - until transmissions from space colonists who have
since settled on the Alien's planet abruptly stop. Determined to end
the recurring nightmares of her terrifying ordeal and to completely
exterminate the deadly creature, Ripley joins a team of high-tech
combat vets sent to investigate the disappearance of the space
colonists! Approx. 138 Minutes. [quoted from the 1992 CBS/FOX Video
release]
_ALIEN^3_ (1992)
(Color, 1992, Rated R, Shot in Panavision (2.35:1)) In _ALIEN^3_,
Ripley finds herself an unwelcome guest on Fiorina 161, a lice-infested
planet in a distant solar system, when the EEV she's travelling on
malfunctions and crashes. Fiorina -- or "Fury" -- 161 is inhabited by
a small community of violent criminals who discovered religion and
stayed behind when their prison facility was evacuated. As a woman,
Ripley is the ultimate outcast; her presence causes conflicts that
endanger the precarious balance of power on the planet, threatening to
turn the reformed members of the monastic community back into killers.
There is, however, an even more dangerous visitor to Fury 161 -- a
stowaway alien who threatens not only the inhabitants of this planet
but of the entire universe. Faced with extinction, the prisoners band
together under Ripley's leadership and, despite a lack of advanced
technology and modern weapons, battle the creature for the very future
of mankind. [quoted from the 1992 CBS/FOX laserdisc release]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. WHAT IS AN ALIEN?
This section discusses what we know about the Alien life-form; it is
entirely based on facts that are provided to us in each of the movies.
* Note: nothing in any of the canonical sources indicates that aliens
use the DNA of their hosts to help adapt to their environment.
* Note: the phrase "acid for blood" is accepted in this section as a
convenient way of describing the corrosive liquid that comes out of the
aliens/face-huggers when they are shot/cut/mutilated.
Eggs - eggs are initially created inside a queen alien and enter the
world (after being queued in her extended abdomen) via slimy tube to
stand on their own (indicating that there is a definite "up" side and
"down" side to the egg). The egg itself is a leathery object [...it's
full of leathery- objects; like eggs or something... Kane (Alien)],
translucent and approximately 2.5 feet tall. According to a scene that
was cut from _ALIEN_ these eggs could also be "constructed" by a
regular alien "infecting" an organism (which would undergo some sort of
metamorphosis) however, this concept was not supported (nor denied) in
_ALIENS_ and _ALIEN^3_. It is important to note that this method was
the originally intended method of the designer of the Alien, H.R.
Giger.
Face-huggers - hibernating inside one of these eggs is a parasite,
commonly referred to as a face-hugger. When a viable host is brought
near a closed egg (either by curiosity, or being cocooned and held in
place) it triggers the "contents" of the egg to come to life. The egg
opens and the face-hugger launches out at the organism and attaches
itself by wrapping a long "tail" around its victim's neck and using
long spider-like legs (like a spider, the face-hugger has 8 legs) to
firmly grip the organism's head. The face-hugger controls the amount
of oxygen its host receives and puts the victim in a comatose state
while it reaches down the host's throat and lays an egg. In order to
ensure that the job can be completed with little outside interference,
the face-hugger has concentrated acid for "blood" (a possible self
defense mechanism) and can strangle its host with its tail [...it's not
coming off without tearing his face off with it. Dallas (Alien)]
After the egg is planted in the victim's body, the face-hugger leaves
the host (who will soon re-gain consciousness) and dies. [...he's got
an outer layer of protein poly-saccharides, has a funny habit of
shedding his cells and replacing them with polarized silicon which
gives him a longer resistance to adverse environmental conditions. Ash
(Alien)]
Chest-burster - the alien begins its life by bursting from the chest of
its host. At this stage in its development it has a small cranium,
tan-colored skin and is susceptible to fire.
Alien^3 chestburster - This chestburster was different from the ones in
_ALIEN_ and _ALIENS_; it was more "mature looking" immediately after
its birth. Specifically, unlike the chestbursters of the previous
movies, this one had legs.
Alien - As the chest-buster matures, it sheds its skin (similar to a
snake), its cranium becomes elongated and it has a hard, dark
(black/green) outer shell (exo-skeleton). The mature alien has
concentrated acid for "blood" and a higher tolerance to fire. One
distinguishing feature of the alien is that it has two mouths, one
inside the other. According to H.R. Giger, the inner mouth is in fact
the alien's "tongue" (it is such a vicious creature that even its
tongue is dangerous). Another interesting feature of the alien is that
it does not have (what we would perceive to be) "eyes".
Alien^3 alien - This alien is different than the previous ones we've
seen; it tends to move around on all fours at times and ensures that
the unborn queen alien is kept safe. There are a few speculations as
to why this alien is different; refer to section [13] frequently
discussed topics.
The Queen Alien - little is known about her. From _ALIEN^3_ we know
that a queen alien can be born in the same way as a regular alien.
Some things that we do know about the queen: she has a much larger
cranium than the usual alien and is slightly taller (approx 2-3 feet).
The queen has the ability to create and lay eggs (through the use of
the extended abdomen) and she has the ability to survive without the
extended abdomen (for an unknown amount of time).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. WHO IS [CHARACTER/DIRECTOR] ?
If you seek further information about the cast or creators listed below, check
out the rec.arts.movies movie database package which is available via anonymous
FTP to boulder.colorado.edu in the pub/tv+movies/lists directory.
_ALIEN_
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Dan O'Bannon
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Director of Photography: Derek Vanlint
Designer: H.R.Giger (Hans Rudi Giger. Giger pronounced rhyming with
"eager")
Cast:
Ellen Ripley [Sigourney Weaver]: Warrant Officer
J. Lambert [Veronica Cartwright]: Navigator.
Ash [Ian Holm]: Science officer, an android.
Parker [Yaphet Kotto]: Chief engineer.
Kane [John Hurt]: Executive officer; the alien bursts from his chest.
The _ALIEN_ novelization states that his first name is "Thomas".
S. E. Brett [Harry Dean Stanton]: Engineering technician.
A. Dallas [Tom Skerrit]: Captain.
Alien [Bolaji Bodejo]
Mother [Helen Horton]: voice of the Nostromo computer.
_ALIENS_
Director: James Cameron
Writers: James Cameron, David Giler (story), Walter Hill (story)
Composer: James Horner
Director of Photography: Adrian Biddle
Cast:
Ellen Ripley [Sigourney Weaver]: Cargo loader, gets assigned (by
choice) as an advisor for the mission to LV-426.
Sergeant A. Apone [Al Matthews]: sergeant, ground commander.
Corporal Dwayne Hicks [Michael Biehn]: only soldier that survived.
Private W. Hudson [Bill Paxton]: cracks a lot of jokes.
Private J. Vasquez [Jenette Goldstein]: uses a smart gun.
Private M. Drake [Mark Rolston]: uses a smart gun.
Corporal C. Ferro [Colette Hiller]: dropship pilot (wears sunglasses).
Private D. Spunkmeyer [Daniel Kash]: dropship co-pilot and cargo loader.
L. Bishop [Lance Henriksen]: Android; science officer.
Carter J. Burke [Paul Reiser]: Company advisor.
Private R. Frost [Ricco Ross]: Hated the corn bread.
Private T. Crowe [Tip Tipping]
Corporal C. Dietrich [Cynthia Scott]: Medic.
Lieutenant S. Gorman [William Hope]: Controls the marines from the APC.
Private T. Wierzbowski [Trevor Steedman]
Rebecca Jorden [Carrie Henn]: Newt.
_ALIEN^3_
Director: David Fincher
Writers: Larry Ferguson, David Giler, Walter Hill, Vincent Ward (story)
Composer: Elliot Goldenthal
Director of Photography: Alex Thomson
Cast:
Ellen Ripley [Sigourney Weaver]: sole survivor of the Sulaco, shaves her
head, carries the next alien queen embryo in her body.
Bishop [Lance Henriksen]: android and (in a different roll) the designer
of the android.
Clemens [Charles Dance]: the doctor.
Golic [Paul McGann]: in the infirmary, wearing the straight jacket.
Dillon [Charles S. Dutton]: the religious leader.
Andrews [Brian Glover]: superintendant
Newt [Danielle Edmond]: the little girl corpse.
Aaron [Ralph Brown] Morse [Danny Webb]
Arthur [Dhobi Oparei] Murphy [Chris Fairbank]
Jude [Vincenzo Nicoli] Eric [Niall Buggy]
Frank [Carl Chase] Kevin [Philip Davis]
Rains [Christopher John Fields] Gregor [Peter Guinness]
Boggs [Leon Herbert] William [Clive Mantle]
Junior [Holt McCallany] David [Pete Postlethwaite]
Troy [Paul Brennan] Company Man [Hi Ching]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. FILMED SCENES THAT DIDN'T APPEAR IN THE THEATRICAL RELEASES.
_ALIEN_
* From Famous Monsters #158, Special 1980 Annual:
A gruesome scene where Kane's bloated corpse floats past the
observation blister.
* From the _ALIEN_ box set:
After being awakened from hypersleep, Kane wanders out to the kitchen
to prepare breakfast, he says "Rise and shine Lambert".
Scene where the crew gathers on the bridge and listens to the signal
coming from the derelict craft.
Scene where Lambert confronts Ripley about Ripley's reluctance to let
them back on the ship with Kane and the facehugger. Lambert tells
Ripley, Parker and Brett how the face hugger got on Kane.
Ripley radios down to Parker and Brett to see how they're progressing
on the repairs, Parker and Ripley exchange tense words over the radio.
After the face hugger's acid eats through a few floors, the crew
returns to the med lab to check up on Kane's condition. Ripley sees an
X-Ray of Kane's chest and asks Ash, "What is that dark stain on Kane's
lung?" The rest of the crew starts asking if Kane's going to live,
Dallas tells everyone to go back to work.
After Kane's death, the crew gathers around at the meal table to
discuss what they're going to do with the escaped alien. Brett
announces the cattle-prod idea and suggests "catching" the alien in a
net.
Longer version of Brett's death. This scene had Brett frozen with fear
as the alien grabs his head, he yells "Parker!" and then blood pours
from beneath his cap. The alien lifts him up into the landing gear and
Ripley and Parker come rushing in. Parker stands where Brett once was
and looks up; blood drips on his shirt and then Brett's cattle prod
falls to Parker's feet.
2/3 of a scene was filmed, this involved Parker, Ripley and Lambert
trying to flush the alien out of the air lock. As they are about to
succeed, an alarm is triggered and the alien rushes out of the airlock
(getting its tail caught in the closing door, and spilling acid that
causes a hull breech). Parker falls unconsciously to the floor, Ripley
does the same and Lambert and Ash come to their rescue. Ripley
vocalizes her suspicions about Ash by accusing him of setting the alarm
off.
After Dallas's disappearance, Ripley (being suspicious of Ash) asks
Lambert if she's ever slept with him.
The build-up to Lambert's death is much longer. (Watch the alien's
shadow on the wall, it walks in, crouches down, then immediately gets
up) A scene where we see the alien enter, crouch down and wait until
Lambert notices its presence was cut. When Lambert sees the alien, it
uncoils its tail and walks (like a crab) over to Lambert.
After Ripley discovers the remains of Parker and Lambert, she makes
another discovery. Ripley enters the landing gear area of the Nostromo
(where Brett got killed) and discovers a cocooned Dallas and Brett
mutating into an egg. Dallas pleads, "Kill me". Ripley flames Dallas
and the Brett-egg and then runs to set the ship on self-destruct.
_ALIENS_
* From the "liner notes" that came with the collector's edition of the
movie on laserdisc.
Ripley is sitting on the park bench waiting for Burke (before the
inquisition), immediately following her stay in Gateway Station'
hospital. This scene reveals that Ripley had a daughter who died 1.5
years before Ripley was found, and Ripley had promised to be back for
her 11th birthday before going off into space on the Nostromo.
After Ripley's outburst during in the inquest ("Because if one of those
creatures gets down here, you can kiss all of this goodbye"), dialogue
has been restored in which Van Leuwen voices the council's final
decision. (her flight status is revoked because she is deemed unfit to
serve as a flight officer, she has to have monthly psych evaluations,
and no criminal charges being filed against her)
During the sequence in Ripley's apartment (where they try to convince
her to go investigate the lack of contact with the Colony), Burke's
dialogue regarding "The Company's" interest in the colony has been
restored.
Immediately following the establishing shot of the Sulaco is a restored
introduction to the interior of the ship, eventually leading to the
frost- covered hypersleep chamber (and then they wake-up. this is
similar to the start of Alien).
During the drop from the Sulaco to LV-426, is a restored scene of
Hudson playfully boasting about the Marines and their weaponry.
During the Marines' initial search through the colony, a sequence has
been inserted in which Hudson investigate some motion they have
detected ahead of them.
The scene in which Ripley, Burke, Gorman, and Bishop enter the colony
has been restored. (you see lotsa hesitation on Ripley's face before
entering the complex).
During Hick's discussion of the equipment salvaged from the APC
wreckage, additional dialogue has been added in which he describes the
four remote sentry guns and how they can be used.
When Ripley and the Marines examine the colony's blueprints, discussing
how they will barricade themselves inside the complex, there is some
additional dialogue referring to the strategic placement of the sentry
guns.
The sequence of Hicks arming the sentry, and Hudson and Vasquez testing
one of the sentry guns been restored.
Before the scene where Ripley carries Newt into the infirmary, a single
show of the sentry guns has been inserted.
During the scene where Ripley puts Newt to bed in the medical center,
the dialogue about Ripley's daughter and the origin of babies as been
restored. (Newt asks if Ripley ever had a daughter and the fact that
she's dead).
In the scene where Ripley, Bishop, Hudson, and Vasquez discuss the
aliens' life cycle, there is some additional dialogue in which Hudson,
Vasquez and Bishop offer their speculations. (beehive/anthill sort of
society)
After Ripley's confrontation with Burke, the sequence involving the
aliens attempting to make their way past the sentry guns in the service
tunnel has been restored.
After Vasquez and Ripley seal Bishop in the pipe, the aliens confront
the other two sentry guns that have been set up in the colony
corridors. At the end of the sequence, when Hicks dispatches Hudson and
Vasquez (to walk perimeter), some of the shots have been rearranged
from the theatrical edition and Hicks' dialogue slightly altered.
Before Ripley leaves the drop-ship to rescue Newt, there is some additional
dialogue in which she turns to Hicks to say goodbye, and they exchange
their first names:
RIPLEY : See you Hicks.
HICKS : Dwayne. It's Dwayne.
RIPLEY : Ellen.
HICKS : Don't be gone long, Ellen.
Scene where a small the colonists receive orders from Burke telling
them to explore the derelict space craft. Newt's family drives to the
site, during the trip Newt and her brother Timothy are arguing about a
game of hide and seek that they play in the colony's air duct system.
Timothy complains that Newt has the unfair advantage of being able to
hide in the small places that the rest of the players can't get to.
Following this, they arrive at the derelict ship and the mother and
father go in; later the mother returns dragging the father who now has
a face hugger clamped on his face.
There's a scene of the colony, before contact with the aliens, in this
scene we see a sign outside the colony reading: "Hadleys Hope - pop.
158"
Newt asks Ripley if human babies are born the same way the aliens are.
When Ripley is searching for Newt, she finds Burke who has been
cocooned and impregnated. Burke begs Ripley to shoot him, instead she
hands him a grenade. < this scene did not appear in the director's
cut, but WAS filmed >
_ALIEN^3_
Scene where Ripley's face is covered with bugs [possibly lice?]
There was a dream sequence near the start of the movie where Ripley
dreams that an alien is searching the wreckage and tries to rape her.
The original movie didn't include the scene of the alien bursting from
the dog's chest. Card #39 (of the _ALIEN^3_ trading card set) is a
picture of an ox hanging in an Abattoir and the text says, "In one of
the original scenes for Alien^3, oxen are used to pull Ripley's EEV
from the water. When one of the oxen falls to the ground, the
prisoners take it to the Abattoir for butchering. But while a prisoner
is preparing to butcher the ox, the Alien bursts from the animals
chest."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. DIFFERENT MOVIE VERSIONS.
_ALIEN_
2 videos - standard and wide screen edition.
2 discs - standard and special letterbox version containing a separate
section with the cut scenes, photos and several design drawings,
including drawings by Moebius, Ron Cobb and H.R. Giger.
- "Alien" Super 8 Film (200 feet long)
_ALIENS_
2 videos - standard and directors cut, containing cut scenes put back into
the movie.
2 discs - same as videos.
_ALIEN^3_
2 videos - standard and a making of.
discs - probably only standard movie.
[more?]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. MERCHANDISE
_BOOKS_
* NOTE: "pb" = paperback, "hc" = hardcover.
- Alien Souvenir Movie Program sold in theatres (pb)
- Alien Official Movie Magazine (pb, Warren Publishing)
- "The Book Of Alien" by Scanlon/Gross (pb, Simon & Schuster)
- "Alien, The Illustrated Story" by Goodwin/Simonson (pb, Heavy Metal)
- "Alien", The Movie Novel edited by Anobile (pb, Avon)
- "Giger's Alien" art by H R Giger (pb, Big O Publishing)
(hc, Morpheus International)
- "Aliens", The Official Movie Book (pb, Starlog) (pb, Japanese)
- "Aliens", The Official Movie Magazine (pb, Starlog)
- "Alien" by Alan Dean Foster (novelisation) (pb, 1st US ed. Warner)
(1st US. hc, SFBC, code J-27) (1st trade hc, UK)
- "Aliens" by Alan Dean Foster (novelisation) (pb, 1st US ed. Warner)
(1st US hc, SFBC, code Q-44) (1st trade hc, UK, Severn House)
- "Alien^3" by Alan Dean Foster (novelisation)
- "Alien" Movie Script by Hill and Giler
- "Aliens" Movie Script by James Cameron
- "Alien III" Movie Script by William Gibson
- "Alien Poster Magazine" Nos. 1 & 2
- Alien Press Book
- Alien Press Kit
- Aliens Press Kit
_COMICS_
- Dark Horse comics:
Aliens vol 1 1-6, black+white Aliens vol 2 1-6, colour
Aliens: Earth War 1-4 Aliens:Hive 1-4
Aliens:Genocide 1-4 Aliens:Tribes 1-4
Aliens:Newt's Tale 1-2 Aliens:Colonial Marines 1-12 (+more)
Aliens:Rogue 1-? Aliens vs. Predator 0-6
- Dark Horse comics (special):
Dark Horse Presents 24 (first appearance of the aliens in a comic)
Dark Horse Presents: Aliens (available in a Platinum edition as well)
- Dark Horse Comics: Alien3 1-3
_MAGAZINES & ARTICLES_
- Alien Invasions (Warren Presents No.3)
- American Cinematographer: August, 1979 issue
- American Film: Vol.4, No.5.
- Cinefantastique: Vol.9, No.1 Vol.16, No.3, No.4/5 (double issue)
- Cinefex: Nos. 1 & 27
- Cinemacabre: No.2
- Cracked Magazine: (parody) Digest No. II (Monster Party, 1/87)
- Famous Monsters of Filmland: Nos. 154,155,156,157,158,159
- Fangoria: Nos. 1 & 3
- Fantastic Films: Nos. 9,10,11,12,13,22
- Filmfax: No. 4
- Future Life: No. 11
- Galactic Journal: No. 21
- Mad Magazine: (parody) Nos. 212, 268
- Mediascene: Nos. 32 & 35
- Monsterland: Nos. 11 & 13
- Prevue: No. 65
- Questar: No. 5
- Space Monsters: No. 1
- Space Wars: issues dated 9/79, 3/80
- Starburst: (British) Nos. 8,14,16,17,19,88,97,98,99,100,102,105
- Starlog: Nos. 22,23,24,25,26,27,41,99,103,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,
115,117,121,125,126,150
- Japanese Edition: Nos. 7 & 9
- Sci-Fi Yearbook: No. 1
- Scrapbook: No.6
- Best of Starlog: Nos. 1 & 7
- Poster Magazine: Vol.1, Nos. 2 & 7
- Starlog Yearbook: Nos. 1,2,6,7
- Starwarp: Vol.2, No.3
_CLOTH PATCHES_ _IRON ONS_
- US Colonial Marines (with Eagle) - USCS Nostromo
- US Colonial Marines (words) - Alien Egg
- USCS Nostromo (emblem) - Space Jockey
- USCS Sulaco (emblem)
- Delta (USCM emblem)
_PUZZLES (all from HG Toys)_
- "Alien" painted by Montage (large size) - "Alien Egg"
- "Nostromo in Flight" - "Kane Looking In Egg"
- "Puzzle in an Egg"(painted Alien Warrior) - "Alien Space Jockey"
_BUTTONS AND PINS_
- "Alien" movie promo (probably more than one)
- "Aliens" movie promo (probably more than one; the one I have is a blue
3-D button with the word logo)
- "Alien 2" Japanese painted metal pin (figure of Alien Warrior)
- Dark Horse Cloisette Series:
No.1 (Alien Warrior) No.2 (Alien Warrior)
No.3 (Alien Queen) No.4 (Chestburster)
No.5 (Facehugger) No.6 (Facehugger)
scheduled (ie, Nos. 7 & 8, the "Alien Drones")
_POSTERS AND PROMO ITEMS_
- "Alien" movie poster issue (one sheet) [possibly a 3 sheet]
- "Aliens" movie poster issue styles "A" and "B"
- "Ripley and Newt" Aliens promo poster
- Alien Warrior: comic illustration (by Mark Neilson)
- "Aliens" video promo poster
- door sized Alien Warrior
- Alien Warrior photo poster
- H. R. Giger set of 6 or 8 concept design lithographs (S/N, edition of 325)
- "Alien" movie sticker (Italien)
- "Alien" movie stills (eight coloured stills, labeled "Set A") [more?]
- "Alien" set of eight lobby cards (larger/smaller sizes)
- "Alien" promotional matchbook (given away at 7-11, features Alien Egg logo)
- "Alien" 8" by 16" cardboard promotional (movie theatre) insert
- "Aliens" cardboard promotional (movie theatre) stand up of Ripley in Alien
Egg Chamber
- "Aliens" video store promotional display
_CARDS_
- "Alien" card set (84 cards with 22 stickers) (Topps)
- "Alien^3" card set
_MODELS_
- KAIYODO Alien Warrior (Japanese)
- KAIYODO Alien Queen (Japanese)
- KAIYODO Alien Warrior II (based upon H.R. Giger's pre-production concept
design; limited ed., issued at 8/89 Japanese Model Fest)
- KAIYODO Alien Warrior ("deformed") (Japanese)
- TSUKUDA Alien Warrior (Japanese)
- JRC Facehugger (Japanese "Garage Kit")
- JRC Chestburster (Japanese "Garage Kit")
- NYC Narcissus (Japanese)
- NYC Alien Queen Metal Miniature Figure (Japanese)
- OZ SHOP Alien Warrior, Astronaut, APC, Drop Ship (all "deformed")
- SCOOP Alien Facehugger Bust (Japanese)
- Scoop Alien Egg (on base) (Japanese)
- MPC Alien Warrior (1st edition with jaws, 2nd edition no jaws)
- HALCYON Alines Armoured Personnel Carrier
- HALCYON Aliens Drop Ship (* Note: SHED customising kit available)
- GONZOID Alines Armoured Personnel Carrier (1/72 scale)
- LATTIMER PRODUCTIONS Chestburster (lifesize)
- MFR. UNKNOWN Alien Nostromo Astronaut (on base with egg) (Japanese)
- AEF MODEL KITS (small scale, highly detailed) Hicks; Drake; Frost; Dietrich;
Apone; Gorman; Hudson; Wierzbowski; Crowe; Ferro; Spunkmeyer; Vasquez(gun);
Vasquez(escape); Ripley(combat); Ripley(escape); Completion Kits A,B,C;
Equipment Kits A,B,C; Alien Warriors A,B,C,D; Alien Queen (attack mode);
Alien Egg Assortment; Closed Egg Assortment; Facehugger/Chestburster
Assortment; Alien Egg Chamber [very ltd edition of 150?]; USCM Power Loader
- Sulaco, ALIEN^3 chestburster, facehugger (full scale) [more?]
_UNCONFIRMED MODEL KITS_
- Unknown Mfr. M-41A Pulse Rifle Kit
- Unknown Mfr. Alien Chestburster (Japanese Garage Kit)
- Unknown Mfr. "Aliens" Deformed Queen (Japanese Garage Kit)
- ICHIBA Nostromo Model Kit (200+ pieces) (Japanese)
_AUDIO ITEMS_
- "Alien" Film Soundtrack (J. Goldsmith)
- "Aliens" Film Soundtrack (J. Horner)
_MISC ITEMS_
- LARAMI "Alien" Glow Putty
- THINKING CAP COMPANY "Alien" NOSTROMO baseball cap
- "In space, everybody can wear a cap" cap.
- BEN COOPER "Alien" Halloween Costume
- DISTORATIONS "Alien" Full Size Mask (cast from original used in movie,
limited edition) [anwhere from 25 to 300 in edition?]
- DON POST "Alien" Facehugger (lifesize in plexiglass case)
- SF MASK COMPANY "Alien" Head Mask
- MARCO INDUSTRIES "Alien" Head Mask
- MARCO INDUSTRIES "Alien" Full Sized Body Suit with Mask & Working Jaws
- MARCO INDUSTRIES "Aliens" M-41 A Pulse Rifle Set (3 grenades, locater
wristband, web sling, extra pulse cartidge, etc.)
- "Aliens" Logo Mug
- "Aliens" Doorknob sign ("This Room Protected By Aliens" and "Bug Off")
- "Aliens" Car Window Sign ("Aliens on Board")
- "Aliens" Door Sign ("Aliens Fan Club Members Only")
- "Aliens" Note Pads ("Trust Me, I'm The Boss" & "A Note From The Better Half")
- Full-scale inflatable alien doll.
_T-SHIRTS_
- Black Shirt with Drooling Alien (front) Green Alien Egg (back)
- Black/Grey Shirt with Alien Warrior (front) Warrior's Tail and words
("In Space No One Can Hear You Scream") (back)
- Black Shirt with Alien Egg and words ("How Do You Like Your Eggs?") (front)
- 3-D Alien Chestburster coming through front of shirt
- Grey Shirt with USCM Emblem (front)
- Grey Shirt with "Aliens" logo (front)/words ("There Are Some Places In The
Universe You Don't Go Alone")
_TOYS AND GAMES_
- KENNER 18" "Alien" Warrior Action Figure
- KENNER "Alien" Board Game
- HG TOYS "Alien" Blaster Target Game
- HG TOYS "Alien" Chase Target Game
- KENNER "Alien" Movie Viewer and Cartridge
- "Alien"
- ACTIVISION "Aliens" Computer Game
- ELECTRIC DREAMS "Aliens" (European version)
- "ALIEN^3" for the Sega Mega Drive, Amiga and possibly others.
- LEADING EDGE "Aliens" Role Playing Game
- LEADING EDGE "Aliens" Expansion Module
- HG TOYS "Alien" pistol (shoots ping-pong balls)
- RPG: Primary Design: Barry Nakazono
Writing and Design: David McKenzie
Editing and Production: Irene Kinzek
The roll playing game contradicts the movie in several ways, therefore
its contents are purely speculatory, however it has this to say about
the aliens:
* Aliens feed on electricity, sort of like car batteries.
* Facehuggers are awakened by MOTION outside their egg.
* There are 3 types of aliens: queen, warrior and sentries.
* All types of aliens can lay eggs, however the queen's are larger and
will last longer (centuries as opposed to months).
* Warriors are the standard aliens that you see in the movies.
* Sentries have special sensors that allow them to "feel" vibrations
anywhere in the hive.
* Aliens do have a language of gestures and audible sounds.
* Aliens can see infrared as well as the visible spectrum.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. MEMORABLE QUOTES
In some cases, the circumstances around which these quotes occur will
be given so the reader can get the "full effect" of the moment.
"The entire world revolves around this wretched Alien." - H.R. Giger
_ALIEN_
< Kane starts choking, this starts the scene where the Alien bursts
from his chest>
"What's the matter man, the food ain't THAT bad?!" - Parker
< Ripley asks how long it takes the ship to self destruct >
"If we ain't outta here in 10 minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly
through space." - Parker
"You still don't know what you're dealing with do you? Perfect
organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility
[...] I admire its purity, a survivor; unclouded by conscience, remorse
or delusions of morality." - Ash
_ALIENS_
< An alien is trying to get into the APC (Hicks puts a shotgun in its
mouth and pulls the trigger) >
"You wanna eat something? EAT THIS!!" - Hicks
< Ripley tells the story of why Burke tried to impregnate her and Newt
with alien eggs >
"I say we grease this rat-fuck son-of-a-bitch right now!" - Hudson
"You know Burke, I don't know which species is worse; you don't see
them fucking each other over for a goddam percentage!" - Ripley
< Gorman orders the troops to disarm all their weapons before the first
alien encounter >
"What the hell are we supposed to use man, harsh language?" - Frost
< The dropship crashes >
"Well that's great, that's just fuckin' great man, now what the fuck
are we supposed to do? We're in some real pretty shit now man [...]
That's it man, game over man, game over! What the fuck are we gonna do
now? What are we gonna do?" - Hudson
< After Ripley rescues the remaining troops with the APC and suggests that
they nuke the sight from orbit, Burke tries to stop this plan >
"Hey maybe you haven't been keeping up on current events, but we just
got our ASSES kicked pal!" - Hudson
< Hudson asks Vasquez if she's ever been mistaken for a man, to which
she replies... >
"No, have you?" - Vasquez
< Ripley responds to Burke's reservations about nuking the
alien-infested site >
"They can BILL me!" - Ripley
"Dear Lord Jesus, this can't be happenin' man, this isn't happenin..."
- Hudson
< Hicks says that there won't be any rescue attempt made for another 17
days >
"17 days?! Hey man, I don't want to rain on your parade, but we're not
gonna last 17 hours against those things!" - Hudson
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." - Bishop
"Another glorious day in the Corps. A day in the Marine Corps is like a
day on the farm. Every meal a banquet, every paycheck a fortune, every
formation a parade. I love the Corps!" - Apone
< After Gorman says, "Hicks, meet me at the south lock. We're coming
in." >
[sarcastically] "He's coming in. I feel safer already." - Hudson
< Bishop says "I'm afraid I have some bad news." >
"Well that's a switch." - Hudson
"Get away from her you bitch!" - Ripley
_ALIEN^3_
< Ripley's looking for the alien >
"Don't be afraid, I'm part of the family." - Ripley
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
_ALIEN_
- The "blurb" on the back of the movie box is wrong. The astronauts
did not set down on the planet to make repairs to their ship, they set
down to investigate a beacon.
_ALIENS_
- After the Sulaco arrives at LV-426, a computer screen displays the
last names and first initials of each of the crew members. Hudson
isn't on the list.
- Adding up the estimated time that Bishop makes (for getting the drop
ship down to the planet) gives a total of 180 minutes (3 hours),
however the fusion reactor is not going to blow up for another 4 hours.
Ripley says "It's going to be close..." but they actually have a full
hour to clear the base. [not NECESSARILY a technical problem, but it
could be]
- In the LD version of aliens, during those split-seconds the camera is
NOT on the queen during the fight between Ripley and her, pay attention
to bishop. In one shot, you can clearly see the hole that Lance
Henriksen is standing in (to hide the other half of his body) to give
the effect of being ripped in two.
- In the battle scene between Ripley and the mother alien where Ripley
is in the loader, we see the alien pull the loader into the airlock
when Ripley tries to drop it. The loader is turned upside down and the
cone on top with the spinning yellow caution light is broken when it
slams into the floor. In the next scene, however, we see the loader
lying on the floor of the airlock with the yellow cone still in one
piece. Also, the sharp end of the alien tails seems to be missing, as
if it broke off, but the broken part isn't on the airlock floor.
- When Bishop gets it from the mother alien, you can see the string
pulling the stinger through the dummy.
- The Pulse rifles are using "standard armor piercing explosive tip,
caseless" [Gorman, Aliens] and yet when one is fired, you see shells
flying out of it if you look carefully.
_ALIEN^3_
- Many instances where you can see the "outline" created by the blue
screening technique.
- The "furnace" that Ripley falls into at the end is WAY off scale, it
was just too big!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. TRIVIA
_ALIEN_
- _ALIEN_ grossed $ 40,300,000.00
- The first half of the movie was based on original ideas and a script
entitled "Memories" by Dan O'Bannon, the second half originated from
the idea of gremlins on a B-17 bomber, transposed to a spaceship.
[source: _ALIEN_ box set]
- It has been suggested that _ALIEN_ is a rip-off from from an A.E. van
Vogt short story entitled "Discord in Scarlet".
- The ship is called "Nostromo". This is the name of a novel by Joseph
Conrad. Ridley Scott's first major film, _The Duellists_ was based on
a Joseph Conrad short story. Perhaps Scott's trademark is a subtle
reference to Conrad in all of his films?
- The alien's habit of laying eggs in the stomach (which then burst
out) is similar to the life-cycle of the tsetse fly.
- The images that the computers display during the Nostromo's
separation from the Mother ship (as well as some images used near the
end where Ripley is setting up the escape pod to blast off) are re-used
in _Blade Runner_ (also directed by Ridley Scott)
- Only John Hurt and the camera crew knew exactly what was going to
happen during the chest-bursting scene. The actors' only clue as to
what was going to happen was from what they read in the script, so
reactions are genuine.
- In the scene from ALIEN where Dallas, Kane and Lambert are leaving
the ship, the actual actors walking past the Nostromo's landing struts
are 3 children (two of which were Ridley Scott's children) dressed in
scaled down spacesuits. This has the effect of making the ship look
even bigger.
- Watch the scene where Kane gets attacked by the facehugger
frame-by-frame. You'll see (through Kane's eyes) the facehugger jump
out of the egg, attach itself to his helmet, break through the glass
shielding and stick a tube down his throat.
- The alien creature has 6 fingers.
- An over-turned ice cube tray is on the side of Ash's motion tracking
device.
- A sex scene between Dallas and Ripley (!) was in the script, however
was not filmed. [source: _ALIEN_ box set]
- The front (face) part of the alien costume's head is made from a real
human skull. [source: _ALIEN_ box set]
- Although it has nothing to do with _ALIEN_, Sigourney Weaver's real
name is Susan Alexandra. [source: Who is Who in America, 47th Edition]
- Apparently, in the final scene with Ripley and the Alien, the sounds
of people having sex can be heard. [can anyone confirm this?]
- A good deal of the music that Jerry Goldsmith wrote for Alien never
made it into the movie. Several tracks on the CD soundtrack don't
appear in the film, and most of them that are in the movie apparently
weren't used in the scenes they were written for, judging from track
titles. The movie uses some classical music, plus music from an
earlier Jerry Goldsmith score entitled "Freud."
< the next two points are quoted from the Blade Runner FAQ with
permission >
- Notice that both _Alien_ and BladeRunner have "artificial persons",
and there is ambiguity as to who is/was a real human. _Alien_ and BR
are perfectly compatible, the only problem being that Ash should have
been a replicant, as opposed to a robot.
- When Deckard enters his apartment at the end, the background hum is
the same distinctive hum as in parts of _ALIEN_.
_ALIENS_
- Ripley was in hypersleep for 57 years.
- Ferro has "(Fly the Friendly Skies)" written on her helmet.
- On the side of the first drop ship is an insignia of an eagle with
big sneakers on, sort of completing a jump. Just above this is the text
"Bug Stompers" and just below is "We endanger species".
- The second drop ship is called "Smart Ass" and just below is
"We aim by P.F.M." (ie: Pure Fucking Magic)
- "Adios" is painted on Vasquez's smart gun.
- The smart guns used by Drake and Vasquez are mounted on them via set
of hydraulic arms. These arms take most of the load of the guns and
keep them stable. Virtually the same technology is used by camera men
on outside broadcasts, where they are used to keep the cameras steady.
The hydraulics absorb most of the energy created by a camera man
running down the road leaving a very steady picture.
- An ammunition clip for the M41-A pulse rifle holds 95 rounds.
- The mechanism used to make the facehuggers thrash about in the stasis
tubes in the science lab came from one of the "flying piranhas" in one
of James Cameron's earlier movies: Piranha II - The Spawning. It took
9 people to make the face hugger work, one person for each leg and
someone for the tail.
- Hicks was originally played by actor James Remar, but Michael Biehn
replaced him a few days after principal photography began, due to
"artistic differences" between Remar and Cameron.
- Partly as a joke and partly to leave the ending open for subsequent
sequels, James Cameron added the sound of an egg opening/face hugger
scuttling about at the end of the film credits. (different sounds were
appended to different versions of the movie)
- "She thought they said 'illegal aliens' and signed up..." - Hudson
This quote (directed towards Vasquez) was in "inside joke" to the
actors of the movie. (quoted without permission from an interview with
Jeanette Goldstein [Vasquez] that appeared in STARLOG magazine)
``...she answered an ad for a film role in the local trades. It read
simply, "Genuine American actors, British Equity, for feature film,
ALIENS, 20th Century Fox," she relates, over lunch near the old
homestead in Beverly Hills.
"I had seen ALIEN, but I had NO idea this was a sequel. It had been so
long ago, it didn't even occur to me. I thought it was about actual
aliens, you know, immigrants to a country. I was wondering why they
wanted Americans. I figured the movie was about lots of different
immigrants to England."
Since she didn't have an agent at the time, she answered the ad on her
own, with rather surprising results. "I actually came in wearing high
heels and lots of makeup, and I had waist-length hair," she says.
Other auditioners, who had advance notice from THEIR agents, were
decked out in military fatigues
--- Goldstein's first inkling she would be reading for the role of a
marine...''
- One track of music from Goldsmith's CD for _ALIEN_ appears near the
end of _ALIENS_, during one of the big scenes of the Queen stomping
around the colony. Even though this music was used in _ALIENS_,
Goldsmith's name was not mentioned in the closing credits.
_ALIEN^3_
- Apparently, this movie went through 14 script changes [can anyone
verify this?] Some of the writers involved were: Eric Red (The
Hitcher), Renny Harlin, David Twohy (Warlock), Clive Barker, David
Cronenberg, Richard Stanley (Hardware), Vincent Ward, Ridley Scott.
The first script was written by William Gibson.
- One of the scripts for _ALIEN^3_ revealed the origin of the derelict
space craft (in _ALIEN_) as well as the origin of the aliens
themselves. This script was also going to reveal more about the
creatures such as their level of intellect and feeding habits.
- Prior to its release, _PREDATOR II_ came out in the theaters (which
had an almost identical story to the original idea for _ALIEN^3_) near
the end of _PREDATOR II_ we see a trophy case of different skulls, one
of which is the skull of an alien.
- Yet another concept for _ALIEN^3_ that never made it to film:
(quoted, without permission, from an article that appeared in the May
'92 issue of PREMIERE magazine)
''...Back in New York, [Walter] Hill saw "The Navigator : An Odyssey
Across Time", a stunning but esoteric art film by an obscure New
Zealand director named Vincent Ward. But Ward said he didn't like
[David] Twohy's script. No problem, said Fox. "So I hopped on an
airplane," says Ward," and during the flight, I had an idea that was
totally different: Sigourney would land in a community of monks in
outer space and not be accepted by them." The monks would live on a
wooden planet that looked like something out of Hieronymus Bosch, with
furnaces and windmills -- and no weapons...
FINCHER : In the draft Larry [Ferguson, Beverly Hills Cop II] was
writing, she [Ripley] was going to be this woman who had fallen from
the stars. In the end, she dies, and there are seven of the monks left
--- seven dwarfs.
Q : You're kidding?
FINCHER : Seriously. I swear to God. She was like...what's her name
in Peter Pan? She was like Wendy. And she would make up these
stories. And in the end, there were these seven dwarfs left, and there
was this fucking tube they put her in, and they were waiting for Prince
Charming to come wake her up. So that was one of the endings we had
for this movie. You can imagine what Joe Roth said when he heard this.
"What?! What are they doing over there?! What the fuck is going on?!"''
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. PLOT PROBLEMS AND LOOPHOLES
This section contains plot problems that are SO BIG that there is no
plausible explanation for it. If a good theory comes along, the point
will be moved to section [11] frequently asked questions (at my
discretion of course).
_ALIEN_
- The shuttle on the Nostromo only had one hypersleep chamber; there
isn't enough capacity for the entire crew.
_ALIENS_
- What infantry platoon in its right mind would enter an enclosed space
carrying flamethrowers?
- What kind of pilot would leave her aircraft wide open and unguarded
in an unsecured area? (referring to the first dropship)
- From a scene that was cut from _ALIENS_ (possibly the reason why it
was cut): Why do the aliens just throw themselves at the sentry guns,
instead of using stealth like in _ALIEN_?
_ALIEN^3_
- How did the eggs get on the Sulaco? (refer to section [12])
- Why is the escape capsule so poorly designed? It gets ejected and
then FALLS to the nearest planet. The capsule crashes on the planet
and Hicks is impaled by a SAFETY beam?!
- How could Ripley hold on to the chestburster AFTER it tore through
her chest?
- Why did it take so long for the chestburster to come out of Ripley?
It only took a few hours for it to come out of Kane in _ALIEN_. Even
though Ripley was carrying a queen, the chestburster itself was STILL
the same size as the one that came out of Kane.
- Why is that bloody autopsy necessary? As we see later in the movie,
that nice diagnostic scanner in the EEV's cryo-tube is still working
quite fine (and Ripley knows about it). The autopsy is obviously very
unpleasant for her, so it is hard to see why she didn't figure out the
easier way?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This section has been extended to allow for theoretical answers, the
responses that aren't based on solid facts (yet provide a plausible
answer) start with "[possibly]". If you believe you have a better
explanation, don't hesitate to say so. Any questions that seem to have
more than one plausible answer will appear in section [12] frequently
discussed topics.
_ALIEN_
Q: Is there a fan club I can join?
A: Depending on when you read this FAQ, these clubs may have dissolved (even
though we'd like to believe that _ALIEN_ will last forever):
The British Aliens Fan Club The Dropship
PO Box 11 19 Compton Crescent
Liskeard, Cornwall Northolt, Middx
PL14 6YL UB5 5LS
England England
Q: What is the "Narcissus" ?
A: The Narcissus is the name of the shuttle Ripley uses to escape from the
Nostromo.
Q: Who is the "Space Jockey"?
A: This is the name given (by the technical staff) to the remains of
the creature found on the derelict space craft.
Q: What is written on Brett's cap?
A: USCSS NOSTROMO 180286
Q: Why is there a "self-destruct button" on the Nostromo?
A: [possibly] the "emergency destruct system" exists to protect company
secrets in case the Nostromo is hijacked by a competitor. (this would
be a similar principle to espionage: when an enemy spy gets caught, he
takes poison to kill himself so he cannot be tortured into giving away
secrets). Or, a 20 million ton ship flying through space at very high
speed tends to become a great danger when it gets off course by some
malfunctions. If it's on collision course to some space station or
colony, and there is no possibility of redirecting or stopping it, it
would be very reasonable to put it on self-destruct and get away with
the small shuttle.
Q: The crew is awakened early out of their hypersleep to explore the
planet from which the beacon is being transmitted, HOW early are they
awakened?
A: 10 months as indicated by Lambert (after the shuttle returns to the
Nostromo)
Q: Did the entire crew go down to the surface of LV-426?
A: Yes. The Nostromo is a towing device for the 20,000,000 tons of
ore. The entire crew went down to the planet's surface in the Nostromo
(which detached itself from the cargo it was towing).
Q: After the Nostromo blew up, and Ripley discovers that the alien is
on board the escape capsule, why does the alien take SO long to attack
her?
A: [possibly] the alien was coming to the end of its life cycle, when
Ripley happened to disturb it. It was slow to attack because it was
dying. This theory is supported by an older version of the _ALIEN_
script where Ash reveals that the alien had made a nest and ensured the
continuation of its species (cocooned Dallas and transformed Brett into
an egg) at which time the alien itself would approach the end of its
life cycle; curl up and die.
Q: Does the alien have eyes? How does it see?
A: No. The alien was designed (by H.R. Giger) to "see" entirely by
instinct. The chase scene in _ALIEN^3_ would appear to contradict this
as it shows the chase through (what would appear to be) the alien's
eyes. However, it is likely that this cinematic technique was used to
show the chase, not through the aliens eyes, but through its
"perception". (it is also likely that this alien, being so different
from the ones we've already seen, has some kind of eyes)
Q: I want a longer version of the movie, dammit!
A: Easy. You'll need a laserdisc player with frame advance, a 4-head
VCR with frame advance (frame advance allows for nice editing), the
_ALIEN_ box set (on laser disc of course) and a 160 min tape (130 min
might work too). Now, all you need is to know where the "extra" scenes
(on the 3rd disk) can be re-added into the movie:
- Kane prepares breakfast - don't bother, there's a fade between the
hypersleep chamber and the breakfast scene... this is where you'd place
the scene, but the fade makes it impossible to do a good job.
- Crew listens to alien transmission - right after Parker agrees to
going down to the planet's surface, and right before the shot of the
ship approaching the planet.
- Lambert confronts Ripley - some of the scene already exists, just cut
THAT part out, and replace it with the longer scene.
- After the acid - add this scene right after Dallas tells Brett to get
back to work, and right before the scene where Parker and Brett are
repairing the ship.
- Ripley radios Parker - Add this right after the "post-acid" scene.
Place it right before the scene where Parker and Brett are repairing
the ship.
- Discussion of what to do (after Kane's death) - originally, this
scene was right before Kane's funeral, but it makes a lot more sense to
put it in immediately AFTER Kane's funeral.
- Brett's death - difficult to place, you have to replace some of the
film, all you miss out on is a few cuts back to Jones. (if you're
really skilled, you can re-integrate them). Put it right before the
scene where Parker is drinking coffee.
- Alien in the airlock - don't bother with these two scenes, they don't
fit in the movie very well.
- Ripley talks to Lambert - add it as Ash walks out of the room (after
Dallas's death). But before Ripley looks at Lambert (you'll have to
cut that bit out.)
- Lambert's death - too bad, there's no sound, don't add it in.
- Cocoon scene - originally, it was after Ripley started running for
the shuttle (no wonder it created a pacing problem). If you add it in
after she discovers Parker and Lambert's bodies, but before she starts
running, then it doesn't affect the pacing.
That's it. The movie is now about 2 hrs and 8 minutes long. I added
on the original movie theater trailer at the end, just for kicks.
Q: I recall seeing extra scenes in the movie when I saw it in the
theaters, am I imagining things?
A: Probably. However, during December 1978 a rough cut of _ALIEN_ was
screened in London, England (it was 2 hours & 45 minutes long) and it
included ALL of the completed "cut" scenes (as described earlier in the
FAQ).
_ALIENS_
Q: Is LV-426 also called "Acheron" ?
A: There doesn't seem to be any evidence of this in the movie, the name was
given to the planet in the Alan Dean Foster novelization, the movie-comic
as well as the RPG.
Q: What IS the name of the company?
A: The Weyland-Yutani Corporation. It can be seen, mirror-reversed, on a
blast shield after the discussion of the atmosphere processor blowing up.
It's also on all beer cans in _ALIEN_ but is too small to see. In _ALIEN^3_
it is written on a computer screen in an extreme close-up near the end.
Q: Why don't the colonists on LV-426 pick up the derelict SOS?
A: In a cut scene from ALIENS, the derelict ship has been damaged by volcanic
activity and, as a result, the beacon was rendered inoperable. [James
Cameron, STARLOG #125, DEC 1987]
Q: How did the colony get infected?
A: In my [James Cameron] version of the Alien life cycle, the
infestation of the colony would proceed like this :
1. Russ Jorden attacked, they radio for rescue.
2. Rescue party investigates ship...several members facehuggered...
brought back to base for treatment.
3. Several "chestbursters" free themselves from hosts, escape into
ducting, begin to grow.
4. Extrapolating from entomology (ants, termites, etc.), an immature
female, one of the first to emerge from hosts, grows to become a new
queen, while males become drones or warriors. Subsequent female larvae
remain dormant or are killed by males... or biochemically sense that a
queen exists and change into males to limit waste. The Queen locates a
nesting spot (the warmth of the atmosphere station heat exchanger level
being perfect for egg incubation) and becomes sedentary. She is then
tended by the males as her abdomen swells into a distended egg sac.
The drones and warriors also secrete a resinous building material to
line the structure, creating niches in which they may lie dormant when
food supplies and/or hosts for further reproduction become depleted
(i.e. when all the colonists are used up). They are discovered in this
condition by the troopers, but quickly emerge when new hosts present
themselves.
[STARLOG #125, DEC 1987]
Q: Is Ferro's first name "Mira" ?
A: No, according to the on-board computer on the Sulaco, Ferro's first
name starts with a "C". The confusion with her name is caused by
Vasquez when she says (to Ferro): [...hey mira, who's Snow White?]
However, in Spanish (Vasquez is Mexican), "mira" means "look", so
Vasquez is actually saying, "hey look, who's Snow White?".
Q: How many colonists are there?
A: There were 158 colonists on LV-426 [...you were responsible for the
deaths of 157 colonists... Ripley (Aliens)] plus Newt. This number is
also visible on a sign that was on-screen during the scene where Newt's
parents are going out to the derelict craft (director's cut only).
Q: How many aliens where on LV-426 when the marines arrived?
A: [possibly] around 156. (Newt was still alive and at least one of
the other colonists hadn't been chest-busted yet) There has been some
suggestions that the colonists had livestock that the aliens could've
infected as well (raising the number of aliens to an indeterminate
amount) however there is no evidence of livestock anywhere in the
movie; furthermore, the planet does not seem to be a habitat in which
live stock could survive (there was no vegetation on the planet).
Q: Why did Ripley risk life and limb to save Newt, but didn't give a
second thought to Dietrich and Apone?
A: In the theatrical version of the movie, it can be said that Ripley
knew exactly where Newt was because of the locater band she was
wearing, thus making rescue of Newt plausible.
A better reason exists, however it was cut from the theatrical release;
the scene where Ripley discovers that her daughter has died of old age
(refer to section [4] on cut scenes) reveals to us that her daughter
was relatively the same age as Newt the last time Ripley was with her.
We can see the parallels between Newt and the daughter that Ripley had
lost.
Q: How can Ripley hang on during violent vacuum decompression while the
much stronger alien queen can't?!
A: Ripley had her arm wrapped around a step in the ladder where as the
queen only had a finger-hold on Ripley's boot, when Ripley's boot
slipped off her foot, the queen had nothing else to hold onto.
Q: Why does Ripley attempt to climb out of the pit after the queen has
been "vacuumed" out of the Sulaco? Why doesn't she just close the
doors?
A: [possibly] Ripley thought that the lower door in the pit would be
damaged with the acidic blood of the queen alien, so she had to close
the top doors in order to seal up the breech. (this explanation is
from the novelization)
Q: Why doesn't anyone stay on board the Sulaco?
A: [possibly] the Sulaco is so automated that it would be unnecessary.
If another dropship was required, the station on LV-426 was equipped to
remote-pilot it down. (however, they had no idea that the equipment
had been ruined by the aliens)
Q: How has Newt survived all this time? The aliens seem to have no
problem getting around in the air ducts?
A: She can crawl through the air ducts that the aliens can't fit into.
This, combined with her knowing the air ducts so well, could keep her
out of the aliens' grasp (perhaps the aliens knew about her, but just
couldn't catch her). In the director's cut, Newt boasts to her brother
that the reason she wins their version of "hide-and-seek" is because
she can get into all those tiny crooks and crannies where no one can
reach her.
Q: How does the queen know how to use an elevator, and how does she
know what floor to get off at?
A: The elevator returns automatically to the level of the platform
Ripley got off at. When she leaves the elevator (to find Newt) you see
it returning up. She comes back (with Newt) and calls both elevators.
Ripley takes the first one that arrives and it starts going up. The
queen gets in the second elevator and it automatically goes up.
Q: Are those power-loaders real?
A: Based on the Collectors Version of Aliens on Laserdisc, which comes
with a disk that shows some of the secrets of the making of the movie,
the loader is part real, part fake. The actual loader is real, but has
an external power supply. Since the loader is extremely heavy, it is
supported by cables which are masked out for the final print.
_ALIEN^3_
Q: How did the face-huggers get on the Sulaco?
A: The truly factual answer is that the audience wasn't supposed to
question it. Use your imagination. (several theories exist, some of
which are stated in section [12] frequently discussed topics)
Q: Did the little face-hugger critter actually do so much damage to the
Sulaco that the ship decided to EJECT the hypersleep capsules?
A: Shown at the start of the movie was a face hugger jumping on a
cryo-tube, cracking the glass and dripping some acid on the floor. The
acid manages to eat its way into the electrical system and cause a
fire. The Sulaco then ejected the hypersleep capsules (probably
because it couldn't put out the fire).
Q: I remember seeing a trailer for _ALIEN^3_ that was really different
than the movie?
A: This is true. Quite awhile before _ALIEN^3_ was finally released,
there was a "coming soon" trailer shown in several theaters. This
trailer indicated that some aliens made it to Earth and there was going
to be a massive encounter. Later on, the writers ditched the movie
idea upon release of Predator II (due to the similarity in plot) and
decided to find a new story for _ALIEN^3_.
Q: There's a prison planet: is anyone really going to spend money on
hideously expensive space travel in order to send these guys to some
far-off solar system?
A: [possibly] Historically, extremely dangerous and/or subversive-to-
the-government criminals have been shipped off (at great expense) to a
new location quite often. England regularly shipped off prisoners to
one of the American colonies (Georgia? South Carolina?) which was a
designated prison colony, as well as Australia -- a prison *continent*.
The progression of the Western legal system has been to appeal numerous
times (at great expense) to avoid death penalties. The Company in the
Alien series is a reasonable outgrowth from the rest of Western
business, why not the legal system, too? They avoid the massive cost
of incarceration and court and lawyer fees from appeals by not having a
death penalty, but shipping the prisoners off to a "prison".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. FREQUENTLY DISCUSSED TOPICS
This section is intended for frequently asked questions that have many
diverse theories and explanations. I've included some of the more
plausible theories given for some of the topics. Wherever possible, I
tried to group the "for" and "against" cases.
* In _ALIEN_, how does the company know about the aliens anyway, and how
* much do they know, and why don't they send a well trained scientific
* "collection" team ?
- They knew about the aliens from the beacon signal that was picked up
by another space craft, maybe off course and with some technical
problems so that they could not investigate it themselves, or maybe it
was picked up by some automatic exploration vessel. Back on earth they
had enough computer power to unscramble it (remember that "Mother"
couldn't unscramble it completely). And probably sending a ship out
into deep space isn't an every day's job in that time, too, so they
just ordered the next ship that was to come nearby to go there and
investigate (They must have known about the aliens before the Nostromo
started because they sent Ash on board).
- They did not know everything about the aliens and just wanted to see
what happens ("crew expendable"), and Ash was supposed to store all
information in the computer (Ash gives us a few details about the
aliens, but he does not necessarily know everything from the start, he
might have gathered some things from what he has already seen on the
Nostromo). Later, when the Nostromo had returned to earth with it's
autopilot, they could first remote-access the computer and then, with
all the information, decide how to get out the alien eggs (or whatever
was found to be there). In that case they would have only lost 6
employees and perhaps an expensive android.
* In the 57 years between _ALIEN_ and _ALIENS_, why don't they try again
* to get some alien eggs?
- "The company" seems to be quite large, with several divisions. Maybe
the whole alien plan was just an idea of the bio-weapons division, and
after the loss of the Nostromo the management decided to give up
because the risk was much higher than the possible profit. Then, during
the following decades, they just forgot about it. Obviously Burke
doesn't know about the aliens before he got Ripley's report.
- The bio-weapons division possibly started the whole thing without
permission, and then, after the catastrophic failure (loss of an
expensive space ship), they destroyed all information about it, and
therefore the general management never knew about it (This appears to
be exactly the way Burke acts in _ALIENS_).
- When Burke tells Ripley that she's been in hypersleep for 57 years,
it was (possibly) during her dream sequence (with the chestburster).
In actuality, she may have been asleep for only a few years.
* Are we really to believe that, having lost contact with an entire colony,
* the Colonial Marines send a warship out with only ONE SQUADRON of soldiers?
- Possibly, Burke had a fair idea of what has happened on LV-426 so by
sending a small number of soldiers, he was gambling that some would
survive and bring (accidentally or not) an Alien back to Earth.
- The company may have assumed that the colony's transmitter broke down
or the colony itself had suffered a horrible epidemic or just died out.
So the possibility of actually needing more troops was considered to be
small.
- Several times in the movie it was implied that this group of marines
had been on these sort of "bug hunts" before (ie: the sign on the side
of the first dropship: "Bug Stomper" and Hudson asking, "Is this gonna
be another one of those bug hunts?" [Aliens]) They had been able to
handle "bug hunts" with one squad before, so why send more this time?
- The squad had enough fire power to deal with the situation, if they
had been fully armed and ANYWHERE other than underneath the primary
heat exchange for their first confrontation (in that confined space)
then they would've had no problem with defeating the aliens.
* Theories regarding the derelict space craft and its fossilized pilot (from
* the movie _ALIEN_).
- Perhaps the species that was transporting the eggs mirror the human errors
of judgement (made mostly by the Company) that were to follow. Perhaps
this species, like the Company, thought they could lower their guard,
treating the aliens like a commodity. Maybe their now dead/mute state
indicates where the human race might be heading as a result of the company's
"financial" venture.
- The species piloting the derelict craft were aware of the dangers of the
aliens, this is why they submersed the entire colony of eggs under the blue
"film". When the film is broken, it would trigger an alarm (sort of like
a laser-operated security system) and they'd know that there was motion in
the "cargo".
- Suggested by an old draft of the _ALIEN_ script: the derelict craft landed
on LV-426 to make repairs, a silo of eggs (on the planet) was discovered
by the space jockey species and they got infested. The hull full of eggs
is in fact the crew of the derelict after being transformed into the eggs
(as shown in the Brett-egg scene edited out of the _ALIEN_ theatrical
release)
* Alien intelligence. Although they have a large cranium, can they really
* "think"?
YES:
- In _ALIENS_, when Ripley is in the "hive", several aliens filter in
to attack her; Ripley threatens to flame the eggs and the queen waves
them off. This would indicate that the aliens can communicate and ARE
intelligent.
- The alien in _ALIEN^3_ acted to protect Ripley (since she was
carrying the queen embryo) when the doctor was going to give her an
injection and when Dillon grabbed her (near the end). This would
indicate that the alien can reason through situations.
- The aliens in _ALIENS_ cut the power to the complex. (unless this
was just an "accident")
- A quote from James Cameron [STARLOG #125, DEC 1987] "One admittedly
confusing aspect of this creature's behavior (which was unclear as well
in ALIEN) is the fact that sometimes the warrior will capture prey for
a host, and other times, simply kill it. For example, Ferro the
dropship pilot is killed outright while Newt, and previously most of
the colony members, were only captured and cocooned within the walls to
aid in the Aliens' reproduction cycle. If we assume the Aliens have
intelligence, at least in the central guiding authority of the Queen,
then it is possible that these decisions may have a tactical basis.
For example, Ferro was a greater threat, piloting the heavily armed
dropship than she was a desirable host for reproduction. Newt, and
most of the colonists, were unarmed and relatively helpless, therefore
easily captured for hosting."
NO:
- On several occasions, the aliens kill potential hosts when they could
just as easily capture them. (from _ALIEN_: Parker, Lambert. from
_ALIENS_: Ferro, possibly others. from _ALIEN^3_: the doctor, several
prisoners) this would indicate that the alien is not intelligent.
(unless the alien kills those people for food)
- The scene in the _ALIENS_ director's cut where the aliens "throw"
themselves at the sentry guns would indicate that they are not
intelligent (ie: sacrificing countless numbers just to get their hands
on 7 potential hosts.)
* What does the alien use for energy, does it eat? if so what?
- The alien could work like a battery, using electricity for it's
energy (suggested by the acid blood). This idea is suggested by the
RPG.
- The alien increases its mass greatly between its chestburster and
full-grown stages of development. In order to do this it MUST eat
something solid (perhaps: flesh, minerals, metals)
- H.R. Giger introduces the concept of a bio-mechanical species (notice
how the Space Jockey of _ALIEN_ was attached to/part of the machinery
it was sitting at?) If the aliens are part of Giger's bio-mechanical
world then it's entirely possible that they could eat metal alloys to
increase their mass.
- In an old draft of the _ALIEN_ script, when Ripley finds Dallas cocooned
and the Brett-egg, she says to Dallas, "I'm going to get you out of here"
and Dallas replies, "No, it's too late for me, the alien has eaten to much
of me already... see what it did to Brett?"
* What are those long, dark "spines" sticking out of the back of the alien?
- These spines could be functionally similar to the plates on the back
of a Stegasaurus; they make it difficult to land a damaging blow on
the alien from a sneak-attack from behind.
- The spines could also be some form of reservoir for acid (similar to
the humps on a camel).
- Perhaps they are heat sinks.
- They could be gills for breathing, like a fish, the alien probably
doesn't breath the same air we do, so these "gills" would filter out
the components that it needs from the environment around it.
* Do the aliens use their host's DNA to help them adapt to their host's
* environment?
YES:
- An old draft of the _ALIEN_ script had Ash giving an extensive
description of the alien creature. Ash said that the alien that came
from Kane was, in a sense, Kane's child. (this scene suggests that the
aliens use the host's DNA)
- The alien in _ALIEN^3_ was different than other aliens, perhaps this
is because it came from a different host (the dog).
NO:
- A creature that is so different from conventional organic life could
not possibly make sense out of a strand of DNA.
- In the original filmed version of _ALIEN^3_ the alien came from a
cow, not a dog (the entire movie was filmed before they decided to
change the "host" to a dog) Since the alien didn't act like a cow (ie:
this alien was more aggressive, however, a cow would be considered less
aggressive than a human) nor did the film makers originally base the
alien's actions on those of a dog, this works against the DNA theory.
The "cow" scene is also supported by the novel by Alan Dean Foster
[page 58].
* Is there a notion of "soldier" and "worker" aliens?
YES:
- The alien in _ALIEN^3_ seemed to act/look different than the aliens
in the previous movies. This alien could be a "worker" with the task
of protecting the queen until she has a chance to mature.
NO:
- The aliens that were in the "hive" at the end of _ALIENS_ would
likely be classified as "workers" however they stood upright and looked
no different than the rest of the aliens (which would be considered
"soldiers").
* Where do the aliens come from, were they genetically engineered?
- They could have been genetically engineered due to their (seemingly
unnatural) ability to adapt to new environments.
- They could be bio-weapons on the basis of the fact that their
parasitic nature is too violent and unsupportive of the host. An
organism which destroys its habitat (in this case it's host, whatever
kind of organism it is) would very quickly makes itself extinct.
- The aliens could be a parasite of the galaxy. They serve as much
purpose as a mosquito does on earth.
- If we maintain H.R. Giger's original idea of the alien eggs coming
from an infection (a possibility that is explored in the Brett-egg
scene cut from _ALIEN_), then the thousands of eggs on the derelict
space craft in _ALIEN_ could have come from some form of plague.
- It has been suggested (by Dark Horse comics) that the Predators
created the aliens for hunting purposes.
* Why is the alien in _ALIEN^3_ different than the other aliens we've
* seen?
- The alien species is similar to the hymenoptera (the class that ants,
bees and termites belong to). There is a queen who is tended by an
army of female helpers. There are occasional males in these insect
societies, only they are short lived and are only necessary to
fertilize a new queen. The alien in _ALIEN^3_ would be a male alien.
It is definitely different looking -- perhaps a bit smaller (males in
hymenoptera species are smaller.) This makes sense in the context of
_ALIEN^3_ in that Ripley is carrying a queen -- something HAS to
fertilize it before it can reproduce.
- It's possible that the aliens copy some of their host's DNA in order
to help them adapt to the new environment that they'll be born to (this
concept was in an old draft of the script for _ALIEN_). The alien
would be different because it came from a dog.
* How did the eggs get on the Sulaco?
- When Bishop was preparing to crawl down the service tunnel to pilot
the dropship down, he told Ripley that it would take (in total) approx
3 hours. Earlier in the movie, it was established that the place was
going to blow up in approx 4 hours. This left Bishop an extra hour
during which he could have: fetched 2 eggs and hidden them. While
Ripley was rescuing Newt, Bishop could've then returned to pick up the
eggs and put them in the drop ship. He'd then fly back to pick up
Ripley and give some bogus story to cover up why he was late.
- The queen laid eggs in the landing gear prior to getting out and
tearing Bishop in half.
- Yet another theory is that the queen laid eggs on the Sulaco while
Ripley was going to get the cargo lifter. However, it doesn't seem
that the queen's physiology would accommodate this AND it would be
unlikely that she'd be able to lay the eggs in a well concealed place
(such that Ripley wouldn't find them) during the split seconds that the
camera is not on the queen.
- In Gibson's _ALIEN^3_ script, it is suggested that the queen "stings"
Bishop with her tail, thus poisoning him. While Bishop lies in his
hypersleep capsule, the poison genetically combines with his body and
forms an egg. (notice when Ripley tries to repair Bishop, there is
only his one arm and head remaining). It is possible that Bishop
observed the development of two eggs (from his body) then, when
complete, opened the hypersleep chamber and (with his remaining arm)
moved the egg out (so it could infect Ripley).
* In ALIEN^3: Was the human Bishop (that appeared at the end of the
* movie) really human or was he also an android?
YES:
- Some people have witnessed skin hanging down (some say it's his ear).
This would indicate that he's an android. To further the issue, Bishop
II takes a nasty hit in the side of the head, yet remains conscious, it
is unlikely that a human being would be able to shake off such an
injury.
- The credits indicate that the character is named "Bishop II" as if to
say it is just another copy of the same line of androids.
NO:
- "85" hit him in the side of the head and he started bleeding red
blood (around his left ear). Since the androids depicted in the
trilogy have white blood, this Bishop is probably human. (it is too
speculative to theorize that the company has made a red-blooded android
since _ALIENS_)
- Alan Dean Foster's novelization of the movie suggests that he
definitely is human and he bleeds badly when hit).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. MOVIE WATCHING RITUALS
This section is on probation; let's see if it can pick up some
interest. Basically, if you know of any rituals that you or your
friends perform when any one of the ALIEN movies is shown (ie:
screaming things at the movie, acting out different parts, etc...) then
they belong in this section.
- When repeatedly watching this film with friends, we've only really
evolved one tradition when watching the film. When Burke has abandoned
them, and opens the door, just to see the alien there, hissing at him,
it has become somewhat traditional to shout "Let's eat Burke"
repeatedly. Oh yeah, and when Newt falls into the water, it's fairly
obvious that you have to shout "Behind you" fairly loudly.
- ALIEN: deep, impressed silence.
- ALIEN^3: loud, cathartic weeping.
- ALIENS: imitating Hudson's "game over MAN, game over!" as he says it
in the movie. (and even when we're not watching the movie)
[more?]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. WHERE CAN I GET GIBSON'S ALIEN^3 SCRIPT?
What follows is a synopsis of Gibson's _ALIEN^3_ script, due to the
immense effort required to port the text from paper to computer, a
special thanks goes out to Steve Copold, the user who tackled the
tedious and heinous task.
Steve writes:
I've had my hands on a copy of William Gibson's original script for
"Alien III" for quite awhile now and it seems like a good time to
contribute a synopsis which may explain a few things (such as how the
eggs were supposed to have gotten onto the Sulaco), and may just add
more confusion to others. I've been very careful in preparing the
synopsis to include as much detail as is possible, including direct
quotes, and still remain within the bounds of the fair-use doctrine and
copyright laws. (Everything encased in parentheses, except for dialog
notes, is my writing...Everything else is Gibson's.) If you have
questions about specific scenes that I've just outlined, e-mail me
([email protected]) and I'll try to give you more details.
Enjoy!
-Steve Copold
FADE IN:
DEEP SPACE - THE FUTURE
The silent field of stars -- eclipsed by the dark bulk of of an
approaching ship.
CLOSER.
ANGLE ON THE HULL
A towering cliff of metal, Sulaco.
(The script then cuts to an inside tracking shot of the hyper-sleep
vault and the line of open and empty capsules. We finally track across
4 closed capsules - Newt, Ripley, Hicks, and finally Bishop. Bishop's
capsule, however, is covered with a "hothouse" mist and condensation.)
CLOSER
A tear of fluid streaks the condensation.
An alarm sounds.
A monitor begins to scroll data.
(We then hear the computer announcing that Sulaco has experienced a
navagational error and entered the territory of the U.P.P. [Union of
Progressive Peoples - A clear analogy for the late U.S.S.R. - A subplot
which probably contributed to the demise of this script.] We cut to an
exterior shot of the Sulaco and witness the approach of a UPP
interceptor ship carrying commandos. They dock with the Sulaco and
board her. They enter the ship though an airlock near the cargo bay. As
they enter, they find Bishop's twisted and tangled lower torso. They
see the blast damage on the drop ship and exchange knowing looks...It
is apparent these are combat veterans. As the commandos enter the
hyper-sleep vault, the computer announces a security breach. They move
down the line of capsules and stop at Bishop's.)
INTERIOR HYPER-SLEEP VAULT - LEADER"S POV (point of view)
The chilly aisle of capsules.
Commandos move down the line, guns poised. They peer in at Newt,
Ripley, and Hicks, but the lid of Bishop's capsule is pearl white.
(text deleted) The lid rises. A dense pale mist flows out, spilling
over the edges of the capsule, revealing the ovoid of a gray alien egg.
Rooted in the center of Bishop's synthetic entrails, the egg instantly
ejaculates a face-hugger, which strikes the leader's faceplate in a
spray of acid. (lots of text deleted)
(At this point, one of the other commandos, a young Vietnamese woman,
attempts to shoot the facehugger without killing the leader. Things go
wrong and his head is literally destroyed. They throw him out the
airlock and leave with Bishop's remains.)
DISSOLVE TO:
IN DEEP SPACE - VARIOUS ANGLES
A station the size of a small moon, and growing; unfinished sections of
hull are open to vacuum. A vast, irregular structure, the result of of
the shifting goals of succesive administrations.
(This is our introduction to Anchorpoint which serves as the setting
for about 75% of Alien III. I see it as a cross between the Deathstar
and Deep Space 9. It is huge and well-used like the Deathstar, but it
is by run civil administrators and company reps, with only a military
attache and a few troops. Like DSN, it has shopping malls, schools,
and the type of stuff associated with a colony rather than a military
base.
At this time we are introduced to Tully, a civilian lab technician, and
the station's ops officer, Jackson. Tully is written as sort of a
malcontented doctoral student. He's very smart, very good at his job,
and has some degree of contempt for authority. Jackson is a really neat
character. She is a "tough broad," much like Ripley, but carries none
of the baggage that Ripley is saddled with. They have a lengthy
conversation at this point which sort of brings the audience up to
speed. I've included just a small portion.)
JACKSON
The Sulaco. Departed gateway four years ago with a compliment of
fifteen. A dozen marines, an android, a company representative, and the
former warrant officer of a merchant vessel...
TULLY
So?
JACKSON
So, the bio-readout gives us the warrant officer, one -- count him --
marine, and a nine-year-old girl. Makes you wonder what happened out
there, doesn't it?
TULLY
So ask 'em. Wake 'em up and ask 'em. Them not me.
JACKSON
But That's the GOOD news, Tully. Three hours before Sulaco turned up,
we docked a priority shuttle out of Gateway. Two passengers. Milisci,
Tully. Weapons Division.
TULLY
That the bad news?
JACKSON
They want the ship pulled in with full biohazard precautions, by
oh-eight-hundred hours. BioLab techs are priority for the deck squad.
that's you Tully.
The phone screen goes blank.
TULLY
(heartfelt) Shit!
(We are then introduced to Spence, who is I think Tully's girlfriend.
That part's not real clear as events overtake the issue very quickly
from here on out. The next five pages of script are dedicated to a
WONDERFUL sequence of scenes where Tully and other lab techs,
accompanied by marines from Anchorpoint are seen in an enormous docking
bay where they board Sulaco. I'll put in the last page of it here.)
SECOND MARINE
Yessir. Lights on in there.
The officer presses a button.
The door slides open. Bright white. The aisle. Empty. The row of
capsules. Tully's marine is first through the door, gun ready, slow,
careful. Tully steps in after him, raises his instrument, takes a
sample.
INT. HYPER-SLEEP VAULT
The other two marines move past Tully. Soft scuff of their boots on the
deck. Tully doesn't know quite what to do. Lowers his sampler,
hesitates, The first marine reaches Newt's capsule. He lowers his
rifle. (something startled, almost gentle in his voice) They're here...
Eight inches of razor-sharp serrated tail plunges out through the back
of his suit as he's lifted off his feet by something we can't see. Ugly
RIPPING noise as the alien withdraws its stinger (Gibson clearly refers
to the tail as a stinger at several points in the script) -- blood
tidily contained by the translucent membrane of the biohazard envelope.
The stinger of a second alien whips around the neck of one of the other
two marines; the alien is clinging to the ceiling. He screams. Tully's
marine sags against the foot of Ripley's capsule, his arm across the
controls -- the green indicator lights go out -- as the first alien
lunges up into view.
CLOSE
On the jaws.
ANGLE ON RIPLEY
Her eyes snap open
RIPLEY'S POV
As the beast mounts her coffin, terminal nightmare.
ANGLE
RIPLEY
No-ooooooooooooooooooooo!
Her hands claw frantically at the smooth curve of the plastic canopy.
The remaining marine, crazy with adrenaline and terror, unleashes his
flame thrower. The first alien and Ripley's capsule vanish in a napalm
fireball. the marine spins, screaming incoherently, and liquid fire
hoses the second alien, which drops its victim and falls burning into
the deck.
The vault is an inferno. Ripley's capsule is sagging, melting.
DISSOLVE TO:
(We see Ripley's damaged capsule being rolled into a very elaborate
medlab and doctors go to work on her. Then we cut to Hicks sitting on
the edge of a hospital bed in a dressing gown lighting a cigarette.
Spence comes in and has a brief conversation with him. He asks about
Newt and Ripley and Bishop. She tells him that Newt and Ripley are
fine, and that she doesn't know who Bishop is. Newt comes running in
chased by an orderly. He grabs for Newt and Hicks almost assaults him,
but is stopped when Spence calls off the orderly. They demand to see
Ripley. Spence takes them to her room. She is in a deep coma.)
NEWT
Is Ripley DREAMING?
SPENCE
I don't know honey.
NEWT
It's better not to.
CUT TO:
EXT. RODINA, THE U.P.P. STATION - VARIOUS ANGLES
Smaller than Anchorpoint
INT. RODINA - CYBERNETICS LAB
CLOSE on Bishop. He stares straight ahead, the corner of his mouth
twitching mechanically.
(The UPP scientists are downloading all of Bishop's data and are
learning all about the aliens. The young Vietnamese commando is present
and confirms the image of the facehugger -- They all stare in horror at
the image of the adult alien. The young woman shakes her head and says
she has not seen this. The two adults on the Sulaco are never explained
and neither is the fact that the capsules were left alone. There is a
possibility that there may have been live animals, or animals such as
dogs on the Sulaco in hypersleep. This may account for the adults as
well as the dog thread in the screen version. Lab animals are turned
into aliens later in the Gibson script. The egg in Bishop's entrails is
explained in great detail.)
INT SULACO - CARGO LOCK
TECH WITH PROBE
You getting this on tape Miller?
SECOND TECH
You bet your ass. Orders.
TECH WITH PROBE
That's good because I'd swear I just saw a piece of this shit move...
On the monitor, the tip of the probe trembles, brushes one of the
globules. The second tech takes it, inserts it in a plastic tube, seals
the tube in a small metal canister, and writes #17 on the side in red
grease pencil.
SECOND TECH
Since when do androids get diseases?
TECH WITH PROBE
I dunno. Sure looks like something got to this poor bastard...
(This is a key scene in the script as it introduces the alien "spores"
and "DNA" samples which are capable of spreading the species like a
disease. Even androids can act as a host at least to the extent of
producing a viable egg with a facehugger inside. The effects on a
living host are entirely different as we'll see shortly.
At this point in the story, we are introduced to Col. Rosetti, local
commandant of the colonial marine detachment at Anchorpoint. We also
meet Kevin Fox and Susan Welles. They are the Weyland-Yutani
scum-yuppies from the weapons division sent by the company. They are
real knock-offs of Burke, only not so endearing...Yeeech! We also meet
Shuman, the diplomat. He is involved now as the UPP is making a stink
about the Sulaco entering their space. The four of them debrief Hicks
in a "security bubble" and learn what he knows. They do not tell him
about the aliens found on the Sulaco. In the bubble we also meet Trent,
the head bio-geneticist at Anchorpoint. He quizzes Hicks about the
alien's life-cycle. They realize that Hicks doesn't know anything about
the genetic material they have discovered in the hyper-sleep vault.
They also fail to tell him they are experimenting with it and trying to
clone it. They do tell Hicks about the UPP grabbing Bishop.
At this point there is a complex and important scene in the Tissue
Culture Lab with Tully and Spence. It involves lots of high tech
goodies and what would have been some terrific CGI sequences as they
examine the alien samples. It all culminates with them looking #17
under extreme magnification we see the sample brought into focus...)
EXTREME CLOSEUP - MONITOR
As the screen fills with an image that might be a bizzare landscape,
its lines and textures recalling the interior of the derelict ship in
"ALIEN."
(This sequence is followed by a long set of scenes with Newt and Hicks
as Newt prepares to return to earth aboard the Sulaco which has been
sterilized. Ripley is still in a coma and Newt makes her a map of her
Grandparent's home in Oregon so she can find her when she wakes
up...Lot's of cuteness and string-pulling as Newt departs Anchorpoint.
We jump back to Rodina Station and meet a bunch of new characters.
Braun, Rodina's Chief of R&D, Colonel-Doctor Suslov, the Head of the
station, and several military and diplomatic officers. The scene is
basically a discussion of where are we? - where are they? re: the
development of the aliens as a weapon, and what to do about Bishop?
They decide the best course of action is not to overplay their hand,
but to sterilize Bishop and send him back with no traces of the alien
spores or any memory of his time at Rodina. They rebuild him (with
inferior UPP technology - this later becomes a plot element and a
running joke in the script) and return him to Anchorpoint.
CUT TO:
INT. ANCHORPOINT - TISSUE CULTURE LAB
Trent, head of biolab, Rosetti, and Fox wait, seated, as Tully wheels a
holographic Display Module into position. The lights dim. A faint,
ghostly cube shimmers in front of the three men.
TRENT
Initially this was merely routine, you understand. We attempted to
determine its compatibility with terrestial DNA.
FOX
What kind of DNA Doctor?
TRENT
Human, of course.
Something shivers and shakes and takes form in the cube of light: a
double helix threaded with green and red beads of light.
TRENT (continuing)
Watch closey, please.
The alien genetic material looks like a cubist's vision of an art deco
staircase, its asymmetrical segments glowing day-glow green and purple.
ROSETTI
That's a biological structure? More like part of a machine...
The alien form makes contact with the human DNA. The transformation is
shockingly swift, but its stages can still be followed: the thing seems
to pull itself into and THROUGH the coils, and for an instant the two
are meshed, locked, and then the final stage. A new shape glows, a
HYBRID; the green and red beads have been altered beyond recognition.
FOX
Like a high-speed viral takeover...! What's the real-time duration on
this, Trent?
TULLY
(from the shadows beyond the glowing cube) That was it. What you see is
what you get. That's how fast it is...
(Several scenes follow that I'll just encapsulate for you. They are all
important, but only in that they introduce characters or minor plot
elements.
#1 Hicks meets Walker the foreman of the Anchorpoint machine-shop... He
is a tough customer.
#2 Jackson, Shuman, UPP Diplomatic Officer discuss Bishop's return.
#3 Bishops arrives at Anchorpoint.
#4 Hicks meets Tully in a bar on the Mall and Tully reveals that Fox
and Welles have ordered the lab to experiment with the alien DNA.
#5 Rosetti, Fox, Trent, and Welles in the security bubble discussing
the progress of the experiments. Rosetti raises minor objections, but
wimps out when Fox threatens his career.
#6 Bishop being checked out by a medlab tech and jokes about his shitty
UPP polycarbonate knee joints. This is followed by a long scene with
Hicks and Spence where she fully spills the beans about the
"research".
INT. CONSTRUCTION ZONE CHAMBER
(lots of text deleted)
SPENCE
Maybe I don't either. It's just...We've got to tell somebody...Now
there's a rumor somebody came in on a UPP ship today, somebody off
Sulaco...
HICKS
Bishop...
SPENCE
I don't know.
HICKS
Maybe Progressive Peoples'll get their own alien too. Maybe they'll grow
some...
SPENCE
(horrified) Shit! You'd better hope not...
HICKS
Why's that?
SPENCE
Their lab gear's five years behind ours. they'd never be able to
control it
HICKS
Think you can, huh?
SPENCE
I don't know...
(More scenes follow:
#1 Tully complains to Jackson that there are problems with one of the
stasis systems in the lab.
#2 Rodina - BioLab: Braun and Suslov are discussing the alien as a
weapon in front of a large stasis tube. Scene ends with a closeup on
the tube showing a "chestburster suspended like a fetal dolphin."
#3 Long scene where Bishop tells Hicks about Ripley and the queen on
the Sulaco. He also warns Hicks to watch him carefully as the UPP may
have reprogrammed him and he would not know it.
#4 Long scene in the culture lab with Tully and Welles. Ends with the
stasis system failing and the contents spraying all over Welles and
Tully. They are immediately taken to a "de-con" unit. Welles is
seriously pissed off!
#5 Bishop and Hicks sneak into the tissue culture lab and destroy all
of the alien cultures. Ends with both of them in white plastic
restraints as they are placed in separate cells. The next scene is the
beginning of the proverbial shit hitting the fan.)
INT. THE BUBBLE
Meeting of the full Anchorpoint Directorate, including Welles and Fox
and a number of new faces. Welles is white lipped with fury.
(lots of dialog omitted)
FOX
You have no more material to work with, Trent. In any case, it's become
obvious that you aren't the man for the job. We took the precaution of
obtaining our own samples. they're on their way to Gateway. (Wow! Does
this open a lot of possibilities...Like "Earth Hive" for instance.)
WELLES
(with cold satisfaction)...and everything, every move each of you have
made, since our arrival, is going to be gone over with a fine toothed
c-c-c-c-c--
As Welles begins to stammer, her eyes betray a terrible consternation.
She rises from her chair, lurches forward, catching herself on her
hands. The c-c-c-c- phases into a chattering palsy as a thick strand of
blood-streaked drool descends toward the table. Fox, seated to her
left, has instinctively shoved his own chair back, ready to run.
Everyone else is frozen with shock.
As the chittering tooth-burr becomes a shrill SHRIEK of inhuman rage,
the transformation takes place. Segmented biomechanoid tendons squirm
beneath the skin of her arms. Her hands claw at one another, tearing
redundant flesh from alien talons. then the shriek dies. She
straightens up. And, rips her face apart in a single movement, the
glistening claws coming away with skin, eyes, muscle, teeth, and
splinters of bone...The sound of ripping cloth. the new beast sheds its
human skin in a single sinuous, bloody ripple, molting on fast
forward...An instant of utter silence as the featureless mask moves.
From side to side. Scanning.
Trent vomits explosively. the marine guard snatches his pistol from its
holster and fires wildly across the table. Blind screaming chaos.
OVERHEAD SHOT
As the Directorate plunges, like a single panicked organism, to the far
side of the bubble. The thing is on Fox before he can get up from his
chair.
CLOSE
On his scream as the sucking, fanged tongue plunges through the orbit
of his eye.
ANGLE
A marine with a flame thrower bursts through the door, torching Fox and
the new beast, setting fire to the bubble's acoustic foam baffles.
(Clearly, this script was destined to get an "R" rating...From this
point on the script becomes an Aliens-like war movie. Many brief
cutting scenes follow:
#1 Spence finds Tully's contaminated lab badge.
#2 Rosetti gets Hicks and Bishop out of their cells and enlists their
help.
#3 Hicks (in full combat armor) and Walker driving into the
construction zone in a jeep searching for Tully.
#4 Jackson, Spence, and Bishop tracking them on monitors from
operations.
#5 Hicks and Walker find and kill the alien that was Tully.
#6 Closeup of Spence as Tully's locator dot blinks out.
#7 INT. RODINA Mass confusion as we see the commandos fighting their
way through what has obviously become a war-zone. Then we see the
result of Suslov's genetic tinkering: It's a new type of alien -
"bigger, meaner, faster, able to reproduce more rapidly." The commandos
swarm through a hatch and seal the thick steel door. We hear slamming
and pounding as the steel begins to buckle.
All of this is followed by a really long scene with Hicks, Jackson,
Bishop, Shuman, and Rosetti in operations. We find out the closest ship
is the transport Kansas City which is 20 hours away. the following
exchange takes place in the middle of it:)
ROSETTI
We abandon the station.
HICKS
Destroy the station, man! We got nukes?
ROSETTI
Outlawed under the strategic arms reduction treaty.
JACKSON
We can fiddle the overrides on the fusion package. Baby nova.
BISHOP
We're dealing with a new form Colonel. We know nothing of this new mode
of reproduction. Others may have already become hosts.
ROSETTI
What are you suggesting?
BISHOP
In order to be ENTIRELY certain, Colonel, it would be necessary to
override the fusion package now.
Jackson looks up at Bishop; he's suggesting mass suicide.
HICKS
I thought you were programmed to protect human life?
BISHOP
(with android blandness) I'm taking the long view.
(I believe this would have become one of the classic lines of the film.
The scene ends with an incoming message, actually a warning, from
Rodina. A technician explains what they have done and that all
experiments must be terminated as they cannot be contained...No shit!
There is a lot of funny repartee about "the Soviet space brothers" in
this scene. Jackson almost takes on the air of a Hudson, except she's
pretty gutsy. At the very end Jackson gathers everyone near the
monitors as they notice that something huge is blocking the cameras in
the air-scrubber chamber. Many scenes follow:
#1 Spence sitting in the eco-module...Birds begin to sing...The calm
before the storm.
#2 EXT. RODINA - No movement. INT. - We see the Vietnamese commando
sitting on the floor cradling her gun, the acid burned corpse of her
partner is beside her.
#3 A series of very rapidly cut scenes where Hicks puts Ripley in a
lifeboat and launches her into space. Bishop questions him about this
as she might be infected. Hicks replies, "I owe her one."
#4 Great combat sequence as Hicks leads a group of "green" marines to
the scrubber room where they find a huge mutant queen alien. The place
look like the queens chamber on LV-426, only more grotesque. Lots of
the new aliens come crawling out the walls. The marines destroy the new
queen and kill lots of the drones, but as the Queen pulls loose from
the framework that is supporting her, an enormous cloud of spores is
released and then sucked into the air circulation system. Hicks has
Bishop close the vents.
#5 INT. RODINA HUB - The commando works her way through the core of the
station. She discover the almost the entire crew of the station, maybe
a hundred people all cocooned in a multi-story column...A bas-relief of
human bodies and glittering resin. A closeup of Braun and Suslov is
shown.
#6 INT. OPS - Jackson, Rosetti, and Bishop are watching the approach of
the UPP cruiser Nikolai Stoiko at Rodina (How they are doing this is
not explained other than as some form of surveillance system. It's
clear that it's not direct video, but some form of remote imaging).
#7 INT. RODINA - The commando gets into an interceptor and escapes from
the station. We see her blast away.
#8 EXT. RODINA - We see the Stoiko launch a missile and a nuclear blast
destroy the station.
#9 INT. OPS - Jackson says, "I don't believe it! They send for help,
and their own people nuked 'em! Hicks replies, "Maybe they asked for
it."
The following scenes are a real combat-fest.
#1 Walker on the Mall blasting aliens and taking pulls from a jug of
liquor. In the end he becomes an alien.
#2 INT. ECO-MODULE - Spence enters and gasps at what she sees. The
primates have been cocooned in the trees.
#3 Hicks on the Mall...scenes of carnage everywhere.
#4 INT. OPS - Jackson, Hicks, Rosetti, Spence, and Bishop. Hicks wants
to blow the fusion package immediately. Jackson says it doesn't matter
as Hicks has destroyed the scrubber and with all the fires, they'll
only have air for a few more hours anyway. One of the marines falls
down in agony, only he doesn't become an alien. His chest bursts open
and about half a dozen new model chestbursters pop out and run in all
different directions. Hicks evacuates everyone.
#5 INT. CORRIDOR - Bishop heads off to rig the fusion package. Hicks
gathers all the survivors to take them to the lifeboats. A few new
characters are introduced at this point...All minor.
#6 Bishop in the Mall encounters yet another queen and her drones in
the process of cocooning victims. Bishop runs for the elevator with the
queen after him.
#7 Lots of cross-cutting between the group heading for the lifeboats
fighting their way through the aliens and Bishops staving off the queen
in the elevator. Bishop escapes by ripping up the floor of the
elevator showing his android strength. The lifeboat party emerges from
a wall of smoke to find the passage blocked by a wall of resin, human
bones, marine helmets, rifles, etc. What follows is just too complex to
distill and too long to copy and still be fair to Mr. Gibson. Let me
just say that it's an incredible sequence of the lifeboat party taking
alternate routes to the bay as the aliens keep blocking their path.
Lots of explosions, shootouts, mucho violence...Really keen stuff!
#8 Bishop arrives at the fusion package and proceeds to rig it to blow.
#9 We rejoin the lifeboat party at the crew quarters where we see even
more carnage including what's left of a children's preschool. Members
of the party freak out at this point. Spence and Hicks calm everyone
down and they move on.
#10 Bishop exiting the fusion complex...One of his polycarbon knees
gives out. He is now dragging one leg behind him.
#11 Spence is separated in a service shaft and trapped by an alien. She
has a huge flare pistol and kills it. She rejoins Hicks and the others.
#12 Bishop climbing the elevator shaft and checking his watch: 21:40.
They agreed he would set the fusion unit to blow at 22:00.
#13 Hicks and Jackson have it out with Rosetti who is not handling
things very well. Basically, they kick his ass. One of the party,
Tatsumi is bitten, but survives. They dress his wound and move on.
#14 Quick scene of Bishop back on the Mall putting a patch on leg and
then moving to rejoin the others. The queen is no longer there.
#15 Hicks and company arrive at the lifeboat bay. Closeup of Tatsumi's
leg wound leaving a trail of yellow drops. Rosetti opens the door and
the bay is filled with fresh new aliens. Hicks provides cover fire and
they get the door closed again. They all pile into an office. It's
Trent's, and they find him where he's already killed himself. Spence
finds that the back wall of the office is actually an airlock. Sounds
of the aliens throwing themselves against the door to the office. Hicks
checks his watch it's 21:46.
#16 As they prepare to enter the lock, A chestburster crawls out of
Tatsumi's wound and more erupt from his chest. The survivors enter the
airlock. They all suit up and the color of their suits is important.
Rosetti gets in a yellow suit. Shortly after they exit the lock
Rosetti goes through the change inside his suit. He kills a lab tech
and then Hicks kill him. Only Jackson, Hicks, and Spence are left
alive. Hicks looks at his watch 21:59...22:00...Nothing! They move
across the outside surface of Anchorpoint toward the external portion
of the lifeboats.
#17 Outside shot of the lock shows the aliens following them...They are
unaffected by the cold and the vacuum.
#18 Outside the lifeboat, Spence and jackson work on opening the hatch
with a bypass. Hicks continue to kill aliens.
#19 Hicks sees a yellow spacesuit moving across the hull...Rosetti? No,
it's Bishop. he has emerged from another lock. Bishop "greases" all the
aliens that are left on the outside. He tells Hicks that he gave them
an extra half hour of time.
#20 As they are getting in the lifeboat, the second queen emerges and
leads a charge of new aliens toward them. They run out of ammo as the
aliens close in on them.
#21 Cut to the UPP interceptor: shot of a port opening revealing a
"vicious looking gatling style pulse cannon" (I could almost hear the
audience cheering in my head as I read this scene). The interceptor
wipes out the aliens.
#22 The commando lands the interceptor near them and takes them on
board. Jackson is killed by the aliens in this scene. The aliens are
coming up behind the ship. She fires the engines and fries them!
#23 The interceptor streaks away as the reactor overloads and blows.
The last scene is in the interceptor and it's too long for fair-use,
although, I'd love to put up the whole thing. Instead I'll just give
you the gist of it and one very important extract.
INT. INTERCEPTOR
(dialog omitted, but Bishop determines that none of them are infected
or they would have already begun to change. The commando has had a
lethal dose of radiation and will only live a few more hours.)
BISHOP
You're a species again, Hicks. United against a common enemy...
HICKS
Yeah?
BISHOP
The source, Hicks. You'll have to trace them back, find the point of
origin. The first source and destroy it.
HICKS
I don't know, Bishop. Maybe we oughtta just stay out of their way...
BISHOP
You can't, Hicks. This goes far beyond mere inter-species competition.
These creatures are to biological life what antimatter is to matter.
HICKS
How do you mean?
BISHOP
There isn't room for the both of you, Hicks, not in this universe.
HICKS
That's crazy, Bishop...
BISHOP
No. You're already at war, Hicks. War to extermination. The alien knows
no other mode.
HICKS
Hell, man, we been at war all my life. Near enough, anyway. With her
(he looks down at the Vietnamese commando). With all her brothers and
sisters. That's what got us into this shit in the first place!
BISHOP
But now you've seen the enemy, Hicks. So has she. She's not it. Neither
are you. This is a Darwinian universe, Hicks. Will the alien be the
ultimate survivor?
Hicks doesn't answer. He just looks at Bishop. Bishop goes back to
repairing his circuitry.
CLOSE ON:
Spence's sleeping face and the face of the dying commando.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. SPACE
Approach of a large ship.
The PING of homing radar.
ANGLE ON THE HULL
As it slides past, enormous letters: KANSAS CITY
EXT. SPACE - ANGLE UP
>From below Kansas City as a wide bay opens up.
The interceptor comes into frame and is drawn up into the brightly lit
hold.
The bay closes.
EXT. SPACE
Kansas City. Receding. Gone.
The stars.
FADE OUT
THE END
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. REVISION HISTORY
v1.0 - March 22, 1993 - Initial draft. Most information supplied by me alone.
v1.1 - March 31, 1993 - Added countless bits of information supplied by
interested users of the net.
v1.2 - April 14, 1993 - Revision control. Chestburster scene added,
more info on the dog/cow scene of _ALIEN^3_, more _ALIENS_ cut scenes,
added to the alien physiology discussion. Small changes to the
merchandise list. Added more "memorable quotes" and more "trivia".
Added "rituals" section and switched around the order of the sections
to make the FAQ more readable.
v1.3 - May 5, 1993 - Small changes to the "Who is?" section. Removed
the Chestburster scene. Organized the discussion section. Added some
more frequently asked questions. More complete descriptions of the cut
scenes from _ALIEN_ and _ALIENS_ were added as well. More trivia.
v1.4 - June 23, 1993 - Added Gibson's ALIEN^3 script synopsis, James
Cameron's answers to a few questions about ALIENS and vastly improved
the merchandise and FAQ sections.
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