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Aliens

We’ve always insisted this Jamy Cameron effort was better than the first Riddler Scott number and we’re sticking to our guns. We don’t really want to not see the alien, to be honest; we prefer to see hundreds of them leaping across trestle tables and slavering nastily as opposed to just one with shifty eyes lurking around sets made of matt black egg-boxes. And the last sequence with the queen alien and Ripley is better than anything in the first as well (look, don’t argue!). We would like to take the opportunity to point out at this juncture that Alien 3 isn’t that bad either. It has Brian Glover in it for heaven’s sake!

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. richardpd

    September 1, 2020 at 10:26 pm

    Obligatory mention of Newt being the only acting role for Carrie Henn, who was chosen for acting the most natural in auditions, and was bullied for playing Newt, so never wanted to act again. She’s now a teacher.

    Alien 3 has quite a few Creamy Brits in it, including Paul “8th Doctor” McGann, Charles “I’ve looked over 50 for 4 decades” Dance, Pete “Professional Yorkshireman” Postlethwaite, Phil “hire if you can’t get Phil Daniels” Davis, & Christopher “Moxey” Fairbank.

    Also Niall “I’m Henry Sellers” Buggy.

  2. Sidney Balmoral James

    September 1, 2020 at 11:32 pm

    Superb film – not of course even nominated for Best Picture in the Oscars, because they were sniffy about sci-fi/ horror in those days, whereas now they’ll nominate glossy rubbish like Gravity or The Martian at the drop of a hat. Time to trot out two more obligatory mentions: Michael Biehn was replacement for the great James Remar, who had to drop out due to ‘health’ issues, after shooting had begun, and he earned more from allowing them to use his image in Alien3, than he made from Aliens.

  3. richardpd

    September 2, 2020 at 10:47 am

    Michael Biehn seemed to be in most of James Cameron’s early films.

    Supposedly the displays in Aliens used a BBC Micro for the text & graphics, and the plastic back panels from Ferguson TV sets as wall mouldings. Did they hire someone from the BBC Special effects department & not tell them they had a higher budget to work with?

  4. George White

    September 3, 2020 at 10:16 am

    BBC Micros are also used in the school computer room in Supergirl, a giveaway that the whole film, even the exteriors were done in Britain.

  5. richardpd

    September 3, 2020 at 12:13 pm

    Supergirl was made by the same production team as the Christopher Reeve films, using Pinewood studios & Milton Keynes to mixed effect.

    Some amusing things slip through, like British accented kids, & a Hillman Hunter in the background of the scrapyard fight in SMIII.

  6. George White

    September 4, 2020 at 3:14 pm

    Also the whole bingo subplot in Superman III.
    Not to mention the various Brit stalwarts.

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