25 Things You Didn't Know About Alien

3. The Space Jockey Model Was Vandalised At The Film's Premiere

Space Jockey Close
20th Century Fox

Alien's opening weekend event was quite the sight to behold. Entering Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, moviegoers were treated to props from the film such as Alien eggs and even the full-sized Space Jockey set piece, and walked through a portion of The Nostromo's corridors to get to the cinema screen.

Sadly, on the second or third night, the Space Jockey was destroyed. Religious zealots set it ablaze, believing the horror to be the work of the devil. Worse was the fact this was the very same prop seen in the film's iconic scene. A tragic end for one of Alien's most memorable and impressive pieces of imagery.

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A self-taught video editor with nearly 25 years of experience, Joe worked in freelance videography for many years before joining WhatCulture in 2018. During that time, he has expanded his work to include both writing and presenting, and has been at the forefront of several new channel launches including WhatCulture Horror and WhatCulture Star Wars, largely defining their visual identity through the design and curation of their bespoke assets. As a dedicated WhatCulture Gaming staff member, he has spearheaded numerous new content strategies and formats, and has taken the lead on various charitable projects that have raised large sums of money for charities close to his heart. Bluesky and Instagram: @jjpinwheel