To mark the release of Ridley Scotts much-anticipated new film "Prometheus" (our review
HERE), which sees Scott returning to science fiction for the first time in 30 years, here are ten things you (probably) didnt know about "Alien", without which his latest film would not exist.
1. Ian Holm Hated Milk
In one of the creepiest scenes in Alien, the android Ash (Ian Holm) is temporarily resurrected by the surviving crew to reveal the companys hidden desire to bring back the alien alive. During the scene Ash bleeds a white liquid from his mouth and his voice is artificially garbled to make it sound like he is drowning. As chance would have it, Ian Holm hated milk and was reluctant to do the scene. Scott, however, thought that the effect was great, and so the future Bilbo Baggins was forced to sit for hours with his head through a table, holding pint after pint of his least favourite drink in his mouth for take after take. No wonder his character went mad
2. Ridley Scott vs. The Actors
Ridley Scott is often criticised for not being an actors director, i.e. for possessing great technical and visual know-how without knowing how to manage creative talent. While the vast majority of his output has proven this to be untrue, there is the odd story here and there which corroborates this myth. Russell Crowe originally refused to say the I will have my vengeance speech in Gladiator, and Harrison Ford is still reticent about his experiences filming Blade Runner. On Alien, Scott was under immense pressure from executives to deliver on his first truly commercial film. Tempers frayed and the actors often didnt help. After a very low-energy scene of the crew eating, Scott went over to Sigourney Weaver and yelled: I want to give you the motivation to pick up your F***ING TEACUP!. Worse still, Scott found himself at odds with Live and Let Die actor Yaphet Kotto; he would deliberately enter the Nostromo set from a different door to avoid being bombarded with questions about his character.