Today, in the 21st century, the Ridley Scott project, pioneering for 1979, remains the reference example of cinema, pushing the genre forward not only with refinements in production design. He literally blew up the film industry of the 80s, opening a new page of organic realism in film fiction. The film “Alien” (front-end actors: S. Weaver, T. Skerrit, I. Holm, D. Hurt) showed the whole world the concept of a cosmic future with its enclosed space, costumes and impeccable stylistic solutions. Scott's brainchild quickly became the new standard for an entire generation of artisans, movie directors, video game designers, and comic book artists.
Author's plan
One of the achievements of the film by Ridley Scott, film critics called the unsurpassed game of the cast. The fact is that the actors of the film “Alien” were deliberately not dedicated especially to the filming process. For example, before the shooting of each episode, where one of the characters was a full-sized Alien, the director hid him from the actors involved until the last.
Naturally, the actors really wanted to see the monster with whom they would have to play the scene, but faced with the creator's categorical ban. As a result, all the emotions that the viewer now has a happy opportunity to observe in the frame - surprise and horror are genuine. The actors of the film “Alien” reacted to the monster at least extraordinary.
Under cover of mystery
In the film “Alien”, the actors were selected by a long and picky casting, there were no competitors only for the performer of the role of the Alien. Fortunately, a student-designer Nigerian Bolaji Badeggio was found in a bar by one of the participants in the filming process. The impressive texture of the guy so impressed the experienced filmmaker that he immediately brought him to Ridley Scott.
The director, evaluating Badeggio's height at 218 cm, decided that it was he who would be able to transform into a monster, since his limbs seemed unnaturally elongated and created, in the final analysis, the illusion that under the costume it was definitely not a person. In a number of scenes where the monster pretty much got from the heroine of Sigourney, the Nigerian was replaced by stuntmen Roy Scummell and Eddie Powell.
In the strictest confidence
But even in the most strict secret from the caste of the cast, there was a scenario episode with the "birth" of a monster. The actors of the film “Alien” did not know what would happen in this scene. The only exception was John Hurt, who was reincarnated as a miserable assistant captain who came into close contact with an extraterrestrial life form. Many knew about the fact that she would cling to the performer’s face and lead the hero into a coma, but only Scott and Hurt knew exactly how this would happen.
For example, Veronica Cartwright, who played the role of a navigator, had no idea that she would be generously splattered with blood. Such mystery, as time has shown, was not only justified, but necessary. To some extent, because of her, the film Alien became a cult. Actors and roles, photos of which have been recognized by the public for decades, have served as prototypes for many characters in films and video games.
The ups and downs of the caste
The formation of the acting ensemble of the picture was quite intense, the candidacy of each artist was chosen through long disputes between the producers and the director of the tape. Casting took place simultaneously in London and New York. There were only seven characters in the project, so Scott intended to form a strong team of performers in order to fully concentrate on the visualization process.
Initially, the unfortunate security officer Kane was supposed to play John Finch, but due to health reasons, the actor could not take part in the creation of the tape. Then Scott personally turned to John Hurt, and he began work on the project the very next day. And he did not regret his decision - for participation in the film he received a BAFTA award.
The role of the key character Ripley was also offered first to Veronica Cartwright, but after that she was given to Sigourney Weaver, who played brilliantly, adorning the film Alien with her presence. Actors who starred in the film with two performers noted a lack of hostility or disrespect between women. Although Veronica had an occasion for indignation, because she found out that she does not play the role of a central character only when she arrived to try on costumes.
The main difference from other representatives of the genre
The wise decision to make the protagonist of the picture a woman was made by the producers D. Guiler and W. Hill. They assumed that such a step would distinguish their project from the mass of other paintings of this genre, since only men played the main roles in them. So, Midshipman Ripley became a woman, and the previously little-known Sigourney Weaver was approved for the role. Before participating in the filming of "Alien", the actress worked in Broadway small theaters. During the casting, she was stunned by the scenery of the project. After the tests, she assured that such an authorial approach is extremely useful for demonstrating the full range of talent. The actors of the film “Alien” agreed unanimously with her. The huge rooms with the highest ceilings made the performers feel as if they were really in a spaceship.
On the first day of filming episodes with the participation of cat Jones, the actress appeared a skin rash. The performer did not find a place for herself, thinking that it was an allergy to an animal, and she would simply be removed from production. But the incident was settled when doctors found out that the actress’s allergy was not to cats, but to glycerin, which was used by make-up artists to imitate sweat droplets.
Run of time
Unfortunately, time is ruthless. Currently, the cast of the 1979 film experienced two losses. Actor Harry Dean Stanton, whose creative career lasted 60 years, and Bill Paxton, passed away. Harry Dean Stanton in the project played the role of mechanic Bratt, and Bill Paxton - one of the crew members of Nostromo. The best project on the track record of both performers was Alien. The actors who starred in the film, photos with their colleagues left with pleasure demonstrate in an interview with the media, warmly speaking about their personages and acting gift.