Alien Explorations

Alien Resurrection: Calling Sigourney

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By Alien 3, Sigourney was quite keen to leave the Alien series behind, set it free and let other people discover what it was about, and so she allowed Ripley to die in Alien 3, but looking at the way Hollywood worked, the end of Ripley was never as certain as that

In 1995 she received a call "Hi Sigourney, have I got an offer for you"

"Huh" replies Sigourney, the voice sounded familiar, she recognised it as Fox executive Peter Chernin.

"Is that you Peter?"

"Yup sure is, and guess what. I've got this script. This great script. This great script. And, you remember that Ripley is dead? Well?"


Peter Chernin


Perhaps she burst out laughing, and perhaps she said "Bring me back? No way. It's a nightmare.

He said, "You are going to be very surprised when we send you the script."

"Gee," replied Sigourney "I hope so." 

She remained skeptical , curiously they didn't send her the script for six months and didn't give it any further thought. Later they sent her the script and she was bowled over

She appreciated the setup, that most people know that she is cloned but mistakes happen. There was also a bunch of brigands with what seemed like an unthinkable cargo. Also, now there was the fact that even if people thought they could check out permanently, now the fact was that they could be brought back by cloning. The liberty to die didn't exist and she was curious to play someone who could be brought back against her will

  1. Her phone, "Hi,  Sigourney," reverberates the executive trill all the way from homebase Los Angeles. "have I got an offer for you." "Huh?" returns Sigourney Weaver blinking against the sharp light of her luxury New York apartment. "Is that you, Peter?" "Yup, sure is," tantalises Peter Chernin, honcho of 20th Century Fox, "and guess what. I've got this script. This great script. And, well, you remember that Ripley is dead? Well?"(Empire Classics #4 2018, p67) 
  2. "Well, I laughed," laughs Sigourney Weaver recalling the moment - give or take a bit of artistic licence - Fox first approached her with the idea of scifi's hardest femme prospect, given her recent swan song - a swan dive into a molten surface in mid-air at the close of Alien 3, which, one would assume, put paid to just such a suggestions.(Empire December 1997 and Empire Classics #4 2018, p67)
  3. "He said, 'You are going to be very surprised when we send you the script.' 'Gee,' I said 'I hope so.' I was pretty skeptical and then they didn't send me the script for six months.  So I thought, '`Well, that idea didn't work out' and I didn't give it any thought. Then when they actually showed me the script I was bowled over. Then it was pretty easy."(Empire December 1997 and Empire Classics #4 2018, p67)
  4. "The thing is, they bring me back but it goes wrong?" teases Weaver on the delicious moral implosion Whedon's excellent script presented her with. "Everyone thinks that if things got really bad, in the back of their mind, there is this idea that they can check out permanently. But the fact is now they can bring you back, clone you or what have you. That sort of final liberty no longer exists and I was very curious to play someone who is brought back against her will."(Empire December 1997 and Empire Classics #4 2018, p67)
  5. Weaver knew the series had hit a dead end. She could foresee endless episodes of Ripley awakening to big bug jeopardy in godforsaken grungy dungeon scenarios. The formula was tired.(Empire December 1997 and Empire Classics #4 2018, p67)
  6. "That's one of the reasons I died," she opines" And if they were going to make a dumb Alien vs Predator, they I didn't want to be any part of it. So I just set it free. Let other people discover what it is about"(Empire December 1997 and Empire Classics #4 2018, p67)
  7. "It was a very juicy set-up from the beginning," sneaks the sheepish Weaver unwilling to tread too close to the revelatory edge, "I think most people known I'm cloned and mistakes do happen.  And then this bunch of brigands arrive with this unthinkable cargo. The situation is incredibly juicy, I think it is the best one we've had. It's so sinister at the beginning of the film, it'll make your hair stand on end."(Empire December 1997 and Empire Classics #4 2018, p67)
  8. "Two years ago, she received her wake up call. "Bring me back? No way. It's a nightmare," she told Fox supremo, Peter Chernin.(https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/never-say-never-again-1295193.html)
  9. "It's different because I no longer have to be some kind of hero saving the day," says Weaver. "They bring me back, but it goes wrong so I become a sort of anarchist. While we're alive, we believe that if things get really bad, we can check-out permanently, but now that cloning is possible, the ultimate escape no longer exists. I wanted to explore how it would feel to come back against your will."(https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/never-say-never-again-1295193.html)

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