10 Secrets From The Set Of Ridley Scott's Alien
1. Singing That Song Was An Expensive Idea
There's a compelling moment there late on in Alien when Ellen Ripley decides to start mumbling a tune during her climactic showdown with the Xenomorph.
Feeling it would show how her character was trying to concentrate and block out the terrible things that could happen if she wasn't able to get rid of the horrifying creature, this was all actually Sigourney Weaver's idea. However, though it was definitely an interesting detail within the tense sequence, and one that Scott was very much happy to keep in, it was one that ended up costing an irritated 20th Century Fox a lot of money (via FilmSchoolRejects).
You see, to use that famous Singin' in the Rain song in their movie, the studio had to pay for the rights to it, and they were not cheap. Thankfully they did and Weaver's inspired bit of comfort singing wasn't shot out into space... where no one would hear her sing.