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Alien (film): the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Origins And Development History —
Alien (film).
~9 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Dan O'Bannon sat on Ronald Shusett's couch in Los Angeles during the early 1970s, broke and homeless after a failed project. He had just finished writing twenty-nine pages of a script titled Memory while studying cinema at the University of Southern California. The story featured astronauts awaking to find their voyage interrupted by a signal from a mysterious planetoid. O'Bannon did not yet know what the alien antagonist would be, but he knew he wanted to make a scary movie on a spaceship with a small number of astronauts. He later recalled that Dark Star was his comedy version of this idea, and now he wanted horror instead. Shusett suggested using one of his other film ideas about gremlins infiltrating a B-17 bomber during World War II as the second half of the story. They changed the working title to Alien after noting how many times the word appeared in the script. O'Bannon found inspiration in Planet of the Vampires, which contained a scene where heroes discover a giant alien skeleton inside a derelict spacecraft. He also drew from Strange Relations by Philip José Farmer, which covered alien reproduction, and various EC Comics horror titles. Shusett came up with the idea that one crew member could be implanted with an alien embryo that would burst out of him. This plot device allowed the alien to board the ship secretly. O'Bannon and Shusett pitched the script to several studios, calling it Jaws in space. They were on the verge of signing a deal with Roger Corman's studio when a friend passed the script to Gordon Carroll, David Giler, and Walter Hill. These three had formed Brandywine Productions with ties to 20th Century-Fox. Hill and Giler made numerous rewrites and revisions to the script, causing tension with the original writers. They added the android character Ash, which O'Bannon felt was unnecessary but Shusett later called one of the best things in the movie. The Writers Guild of America eventually awarded O'Bannon sole credit for the screenplay despite eight drafts written by others.
Visual Design And Creature Effects
H.R. Giger flew to Zürich to meet Ridley Scott after Dan O'Bannon introduced them. Both men felt his painting Necronom IV represented exactly what they wanted for the film's antagonist. Fox initially believed Giger's work was too ghastly for audiences, but the team persisted until they won out. Scott described the biggest design problem as solved the moment he saw Giger's art. Giger designed all four forms of the alien from egg to adult, plus the surface of the planetoid and the derelict spacecraft. He sculpted the body using plasticine, incorporating vertebrae from snakes and cooling tubes from a Rolls-Royce. The head was manufactured separately by Carlo Rambaldi, who had worked on Close Encounters of the Third Kind. A system of hinges and cables operated the rigid tongue, which protruded from the mouth and featured a second mouth at its tip with movable teeth. The final head contained about 900 moving parts and points of articulation. Part of a human skull served as the face, hidden under a smooth translucent cover. Copious amounts of K-Y Jelly simulated saliva to give the alien a slimy appearance. Percy Edwards provided the vocalizations, having supplied bird sounds for British television throughout the 1960s and whale sounds for Orca: Killer Whale in 1977. Bolaji Badejo, a twenty-six-year-old design student discovered in a bar, wore a latex costume made from a full-body plaster cast. Badejo attended tai chi and mime classes to create convincing movements. For some scenes, stuntmen Eddie Powell and Roy Scammell portrayed the creature. Powell was suspended on wires and lowered in an unfurling motion when killing Brett. Scott chose not to show the full alien for most of the film, keeping much of its body in shadow to create terror. He said the most important thing was not what you see but the effect of what you think you saw. Roger Ebert noted that Alien uses a tricky device to keep the alien fresh by evolving its nature and appearance so viewers never know exactly what it looks like.
Production Challenges And Filming Process
Principal photography ran from July 5 to the 21st of October 1978 at Pinewood Studios and Shepperton Studios near London. A crew of over two hundred craftspeople constructed three principal sets including the planetoid surface and interiors of both spacecraft. Art director Les Dilley created scale miniatures based on Giger's designs before scaling them up as diagrams for wood and fiberglass forms. Tons of sand, plaster, fiberglass, rock, and gravel were shipped into the studio to sculpt a desert landscape. The space suits were thick, bulky, lined with nylon, had no cooling systems, and initially lacked venting for exhaled carbon dioxide. Combined with a heat wave, these conditions nearly caused actors to pass out. Nurses stayed on hand with oxygen tanks to help them breathe. All computer screen visuals used CGI because it was easier than any alternative available at the time. Scott had his two young sons and the son of cinematographer Derek Vanlint stand in for regular actors wearing smaller space suits to make set pieces seem larger. These children nearly collapsed due to the heat of the suits until oxygen systems were added. Four identical cats portrayed Jones, the crew's pet. Weaver discovered she was allergic to cat hair combined with glycerin placed on actors' skin to simulate sweat. By removing the glycerin she could continue working with the animals. The production schedule was short due to the film's low budget and pressure from 20th Century-Fox to finish on time. Scott conceived a fourth act where Ripley confronts the alien on the shuttle Narcissus. He negotiated an increase in budget to film this over several extra days. Producers vetoed his idea that the alien bite off Ripley's head and make the final log entry in her voice because they believed the creature should die at the end.
Cast Selection And Character Portrayal
Casting calls occurred in New York City and London with Mary Selway heading UK casting and Mary Goldberg handling US casting. Scott initially envisioned Ripley as male but changed the character to female after Ladd asked why it couldn't be a woman. Shusett and O'Bannon had intentionally written all roles generically, noting explicitly in the script that the crew is unisex and parts are interchangeable for men or women. This freedom allowed them to cast accordingly while aiming for working astronauts in a realistic environment summarized as truckers in space. Sigourney Weaver impressed Scott, Giler, and Hill with her audition despite having Broadway experience but being relatively unknown in film. She performed most screen tests in-studio as sets were being built. The role became Weaver's first leading part in a motion picture earning nominations for Saturn Award and BAFTA award for Most Promising Newcomer. Veronica Cartwright originally read for Ripley and was not informed she would play Lambert until arriving in London for wardrobe. She disliked the character's emotional weakness but accepted the role saying they convinced her she represented audience fears. Harry Dean Stanton's first words to Scott during his audition were I don't like sci fi or monster movies. Scott amused him by convincing him Alien would actually be a thriller more akin to Ten Little Indians. John Hurt replaced Jon Finch who fell ill on day one of shooting with type 1 diabetes exacerbating bronchitis. Hurt quickly took over the role from London where his South African project had fallen through. His performance earned him a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Ian Holm played Ash, an android science officer who had already appeared in twenty films by 1979. Yaphet Kotto received the script after success as villain Dr. Kananga in Live and Let Die in 1973. He rejected a lucrative offer hoping to be cast in Alien instead.
Release Strategy And Box Office Performance
Alien premiered the 25th of May 1979 at the Seattle International Film Festival before wide release June 22. It opened in limited American theaters that same day while moviegoers lined up blocks to see it at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Models, sets, and props displayed outside promoted the film during its first run. The film started international release in Japan July 20 then Brazil August 20. In the UK it premiered September 1 at Edinburgh International Film Festival before exclusive run October 6 at Odeon Leicester Square expanding slowly until opening wide October 1 in 180 theaters. The film opened in France and Spain in September before expanding to other markets in October 1979. It grossed $3,527,881 over four days Memorial Day weekend setting fifty-one house records with per-screen average of $38,767. Daily Variety suggested this may have been biggest per-screen opening in history. It remained number one film in United States for three weeks. By beginning of October 1979 it had grossed $27 million internationally including $16.9 million in Japan, $4.8 million in France, and $3.7 million in UK. Final US gross reached $78.9 million while UK total hit £7,886,000 during first run. Including reissues worldwide gross listed between $104.9 million and $188 million. Fox claimed Alien lost $2 million following release though industry accountants called this creative accounting used to disguise revenue. By August 1980 Fox readjusted figure to $4 million profit which was similarly refuted. Brandywine sued Fox over profit distribution tactics settling in 1983 when Fox agreed to fund sequel.
Critical Reception And Cultural Legacy
Initial critical reaction to Alien was mixed with some positive reviews from Barry Norman of BBC Film series alongside negative assessments by Vincent Canby and Leonard Maltin. Time Out called the film an empty bag of tricks whose production values cannot disguise imaginative poverty. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave two yes votes on Sneak Previews though Siskel listed final shape of alien as least scary form. Despite mixed initial reception the film won Academy Award for Best Visual Effects plus three Saturn Awards including Best Science Fiction Film and Best Direction for Ridley Scott. It also won Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. In subsequent years critics reassessed Alien describing it as one of greatest and most influential science fiction horror films ever made. Library of Congress deemed it culturally historically or aesthetically significant in 2002 selecting it for preservation in United States National Film Registry. American Film Institute ranked seventh-best science fiction film in 2008 while Empire placed thirty-third-greatest film of all time. The success spawned media franchise including films books video games and toys propelling Sigourney Weaver's acting career forward. Her character's encounters became thematic core of sequels Aliens released 1986, Alien 3 released 1992, and Alien Resurrection released 1997. A crossover with Predator franchise produced Alien vs Predator films while prequel series directed by Scott included Alien: Romulus released 2024. Television prequel written by Noah Hawley and produced by Scott aired the 12th of August 2025 on FX on Hulu.
Dan O'Bannon received sole credit for writing the screenplay despite eight drafts written by others. The Writers Guild of America awarded him this recognition after he and Ronald Shusett developed the initial story.
When did principal photography occur for Alien 1979 film?
Principal photography ran from July 5 to the 21st of October 1978 at Pinewood Studios and Shepperton Studios near London. A crew of over two hundred craftspeople constructed three principal sets during this period.
What date did Alien 1979 film premiere in Seattle?
Alien premiered on the 25th of May 1979 at the Seattle International Film Festival before its wide release. It opened in limited American theaters on the 22nd of June 1979 while moviegoers lined up blocks to see it at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
How much money did Alien 1979 film gross worldwide?
The final US gross reached $78.9 million while UK total hit £7,886,000 during first run. Including reissues worldwide gross listed between $104.9 million and $188 million according to industry records.
Which awards did Alien 1979 film win upon release?
The film won Academy Award for Best Visual Effects plus three Saturn Awards including Best Science Fiction Film and Best Direction for Ridley Scott. It also won Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and was selected for preservation in United States National Film Registry in 2002.