When Alien came in 1979, it destroyed established Hollywood stereotypes. A woman was in the lead role of a high value project. Sigourney Weaver became an action movie icon. The movie pioneered the sci-fi/horror-slasher genre. More than four decades later, the movie still astounds us.
Those Were Ridley Scott’s Kids In front Of The Space Jockey
Ridley Scott wanted to make the audience know the scale and magnitude of the discovery of an extraterrestrial ship. So he made his kids come to the studio and gave them costumes to wear. The people wearing space suits trying to ride up the Space Jockey’s dashboard are actually Ridley Scott’s very own children.
The Chestburster Scene Used Real Animal Organs
One particular reason why the scene looked so gory was because of the use of actual animal parts and organs. the blood you see is real. The meat flying around the room is also real. As real animal parts were used to film the scene, there was no luxury of multiple takes. The actors were instructed to not screw it up since animal innards for movie scenes are actually pretty expensive.
Ripley Was Originally Supposed To Be a Man. When Weaver Took On The Role, No Lines Were Changed
Ridley Scott originally hoped the role of Ripley would go to a man. But when he found Sigourney Weaver, he gender swapped the character. But to everyone’s surprise, not a single line of the script was changed. Ripley stayed Ripley and delivered the same lines as originally planned. And this thing happened decades ago so such events can be considered extremely rare.
The Alien Eggs Were Created Using Real Animal Entrails
Everything about the movie looks so real and creepy. That is because most of them really are. back in the 1970’s, the use of polycarbonate, polyethylene and rubber props was not as prevalent. So film makers had to get creative. Ridley Scott is a fan of authenticity. He chose to take the high road and go for real animal entrails for most of the Alien scenes. The inside of the egg was created by stuffing sheep intestines into a cast made out of the stomach lining of cows. When not in use, the props were stored in freezers.
Rotten Shellfish Were Used To Make The Face Hugger’s Innards
Everything from scallops to oysters were used to make the gnarly innards of the face hugger. Ridley Scott intentionally hand-picked the shellfish for creating the prop’s innards. He only chose rotten and old shellfish from the fish market to illicit a genuine sense of disgust from the cast members. And boy did it work. The smell was unbearable according to Weaver.
The Xenomorphs Do Have Eye Sockets. It’s Just Extremely Hard To Find
The design of the Xenomorphs had changed over the years. But the original alien in the 1979 movie had a unique facial feature. It did have eye sockets hidden underneath a slightly translucent and extraordinarily long forehead. If you look closely during some scenes, the eye sockets would be visible under a strong light.
The Movie Created Its Own Interstellar Standard For Signs And Labels
The man who was in charge of the Nostromo set was a former Navy man. So he knew there is an standard for signs and measures on every sea-going vessel. Every label on the ship should have a clear meaning and purpose. Since the Nostromo set did not have any, he created one out of scratch. This made the movie look even more authentic and genuine.
The Grappling Gun At The End Of Alien Is Still There In Aliens
At the end of Alien, Ripley dispatches the creature out of the shuttle’s airlock with a grappling gun. The airlock closes right before the gun is about to hit the vacuum of space. Only a part of the gun remains erect and visible at the climactic conclusion. In Aliens, we see the grappling gun is still there lodged within the airlock. That’s some crazy attention to detail.
The Xenomorph Jaws Were Made Out Of Shredded Condoms
We can never forget those menacing, drooling jaws of death. The tendons for the jaws were made out of shredded condoms. The drool and slime was made out of K-Y Jelly.
The Alien Appeared Very Early On In The Movie. We All Missed It.
The Alien makes a brief appearance early on. When Brett goes to look for the cat, the Xenomorph is hiding between the chains. It was a blink and you will miss it moment. Since none of us knew what the alien looked like that early on in the movie, we all thought it was just some piece of equipment.
The Alien’s Design Was Based On The Works Of A Crazy Swiss Surrealist Artist
Dan O’Bannon, who worked on the Alien’s concept art for Ridley Scott’s 1979 movie, suggested Scott hire H.R Giger. Giger was a Swiss artist whose surrealist paintings were subject of intense controversy in Europe. Scott chose ‘Nerconom IV’ as the basis for the Xenomorph. The artwork was part of Giger’s book “Necronomicon”.
Jones The Cat Was Played By Four Different Felines
Before Goose stole our hearts in Captain Marvel, it was Jones the Cat that did the trick. But how many of you knew that the cat was played by four different animals? One was trained in hissing. One was trained in scampering. One was brought in just for holding. The last one specialized in still shots.
The Iconic Alien Poster Is Actually The Shot Of An Actual Chicken Egg
The iconic and famous poster for Alien shows an alien egg with green light radiating from the inside as it cracks open. The egg is actually just a chicken egg. It was decorated with a bulb in the inside and clever camera work for latter movie posters.
The Cat is called Jones Because Everyone In The Ship Is Referred To by Last name
Every member of the crew was called by their last name. So the practice was carried forward for four-legged creatures as well. Jones is the cat’s surname. This makes us think – did the cat have a first name too?
The Robot Blood Was Perfectly Edible
The white gooey robot blood you see in Alien is just a mixture of milk and yoghurt. It was actually pretty tasty. Actors ate the stuff between shoots while the movie was being filmed.
