Sigourney Weaver, displeased with the original script of “Alien”, convinced Ridley Scott to remove a sex scene

“Alien, the eighth passenger” was a hit at its premiere in 1979 and continues to be today, 43 years later. Many were responsible for the prestige achieved by the feature film: Ridley Scott, the first on the list for the role of director, together with the artist HR Giger, responsible for the design of the iconic monster that would open an entire franchise based on this strange being and the screenwriter Dan O’Bannon. In addition, a great cast led by Sigourney Weaver, who gave birth to Ellen Ripley, one of the greatest heroines in the history of cinema.

During a recent WTF interview with Marc Maron, the actress reflected on this role and how it changed her life, with one of her first films leading her to stardom. wEaver admitted she had complications when she started in the film industry, however, this didn’t bother her much as she was happy doing theater. In fact, Weaver revealed that when he read the script for “Alien, the Eighth Passenger”, “I wasn’t very interested.”

Originally, the script had ten male characters, but was rewritten with the intention that the survivor was a woman since, according to the actress, “No one in his wildest dreams would think they would end up being a girl”. However, she was selected for the role of her, even though she thinks Fox didn’t want her in the film: “I was a stranger. I think there were big names trying to get that role.” Also, she remembers meeting Scott wearing a pair “prostitute boots” and a look that I don’t remember at all. What he remembers is that he turned down parts of the script as soon as he met the director: “We had a nice conversation about the script, which I was pretty critical of. I said, ‘Hey, it’s pretty depressing, I don’t know what to think about this love scene, would you really do it while this thing is around?’ Anyway, we had a good conversation. “

The result was quite positive for the actress, not only because she was cast as the lead, but also because the sex scene was eliminated, tilting the studio in her favor. Even so, at the beginning of the recording, he did not feel that the film would become a blockbuster and a reference in cinema. Therefore, he pretended it was an off-Broadway project: “I was doing it all the time because I was like, ‘Look, it’s not a really legitimate movie. It’s like a little dark movie.’ So I’m still in my world. “

Riley’s journey

Despite all of the above, Weaver took the journey taken by her character, Ellen Ripley, very seriously, in fact, having a conversation about her performance with her co-star Ian Holm. “I remember saying to him, ‘Hey, do you think Ripley knows what she’s doing? Do you think you think you’re right?’ And he said, ‘Yes. I think you know you’re right.’ he thinks so. I think it’s a stupid bet, and she knows it. She knows she has to go on, wait, because I think that’s the story. “recalled the actress.

“It’s the story of a normal person, someone who believes the journey will go in one direction and has a manual on how things should go. She’s a young ensign and she has to give up on all of that and suck it. whole world. Especially when it comes to a woman, because she doesn’t just whine in the corner for help, she has to do it herself.. That’s why I’m an actress, that’s what I think women do. We do difficult things all the time. And I love telling that story. “ Weaver finished with pride.