For those who don’t know, Alien Day is an annual promotional event by 20th Century Fox dedicated to the Alien franchise, held on April 26 in reference to the moon on which Aliens is set, LV-426. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, here are some awesome facts about the alien movie franchise.
Sigourney Weaver’s audition for Ripley was just 3 seconds long
When Sigourney Weaver attended the audition for the role of Ripley in Alien, she was advised by friends not wear heels and dress conservatively, so as to not intimidate Ridley Scott with her physique. As expected, Weaver completely ignored the advice and instead put on some hot pants, a pair of thigh-high 3-inch heel leather boots, and went for the audition. Ridley Scott took one glance at her and gave her the job. Weaver commented on this by saying, “He loved it. I think he was quite impressed, really.”
The Newborn in Alien: Resurrection originally had a penis and a vagina
According to a documentary about the production of Alien: Resurrection, the Xenomorph-human hybrid, aka The Newborn, seen at the climax of the film, was originally meant to have a penis and a vagina. During the design process, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet insisted that it should have both genitalia. Thankfully, Jeunet saw it and changed his mind. He famously added, “Even for a Frenchman, it’s too much.” The team was then forced to use CGI to remove the genitals.
The original Xenomorph in Alien was played by an unknown actor they found in a bar
6-foot-10 Nigerian student Bolaji Badejo originally played the Xenomorph in the first film. The production crew met the actor in a bar and was drawn to him because of his size and long limbs. Even though this was the only film he ever starred in, Badejo took the part quite seriously and even went for Tai Chi lessons to help with the movement of the creature.
Ripley was supposed to die in the original ending of Alien
In the first treatment for the Alien film, Ellen Ripley’s head gets ripped off by the Xenomorph. Fox intervened and ordered Scott to change it. Thankfully, he complied. As a result, we have had a franchise of good and bad films.
The Xenomorphs have a Queen Mother
The Alien comic books and novels describe various Xenomorph creatures, including the most powerful, the Queen Mother. She is incredibly large, seven hundred feet tall and has psychic abilities. They are protected by Palatines – enlarged, elite Drones. The first Queen Mother was kidnapped by Ellen Ripley, leading to anarchy and chaos on the Hiveworld.
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