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If Alfred Hitchcock were to you have the ingredients of a combat it. SCENE: “Close Encounterswas desolation as the factory-ship make a suspense-thriller about unique motion picture. And all Suffice it to say that Alien is a about contact between human Nostromo rockets silently thr­ the future, the result might well that is not even to mention some story and a motion picture that beings and nice aliens. This is ough the trackless cosmic void be more than a little like Alien. of the most remarkable special you could never imagine in your about contact between human The ship's controls are quided by As one of 1979’s most effects yet seen on film. wildest dreams. Or nightmares. beings and aliens that are not a programmed computer; the anxiously awaited films, Alien Alien is elemental in its Presented by Twentieth Cen­ nice. As a matter of fact, they’re entire crew is in hyper-sleep for combines the elements of concept, but staggering in its tury-Fox, the same company that downright disgusting. They’re their long-distance journey. suspense and shock-thrills in a realization. It is a film that can struck gold with Star Wars, Alien semi-humanoid, but quite un­ Then, in the middle of science fiction motif with be described only partially, since is a breakthrough level science- usual. They look more bizarre nowhere, at a place which galactic settings and miraculous to tell all would be telling too fiction film of chilling terror, than you can imagine, than should contain nothing, a (but authentic) technological much. It is a tension-filled starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney anyone can imagine, except for distress signal sounds, alerting starships and accompanying shocker about seven astronauts Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Giger, the artist who designed the crew and automatically hardware. Add lashings of —five men and two women— Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, and built the one for our film.” halting the ship’s trajectory horror, death and disaster, and working on a battered commer­ Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. Much of Alien’s power comes through the galaxy. The emer­ mix in seven very different cial starship far away in space Dan O’Bannon, the writer of from the imagery of the eternal gency call which perhaps has people working within the and time, who encounter an both the original story and the loneliness and isolation evoked sounded for a thousand years, claustrophobic confines of a awesome galactic horror, and of screenplay described the basic by deep-space. In fact, the film is being broadcast from a large workaday factory spacecraft, and their desperate attempts to concept behind Alien for MEDIA- begins with a foreboding air of asteroid, upon which appears to

© 1979 Twentieth Century-Fox 5

AMONG THE STARS THEY FOUND COSMIC TERROR ALIEN AWAKENED PART ONE: THE ACTION AND THE ACTORS

be the ruins of an incredibly The first quarter of the film blow of a sledgehammer. is laden with noir traits of without warning of any kind, ancient space colony. takes place on the deadly Directed by Ridley Scott, Alien overwhelming odds, emotional jolting the viewer with the Disembarking, they find a asteroid where the groundwork is is a paranoid's delight of and physical isolation, and a unexpectedness of its appear­ massive derelict spaceship layed for the terror to come. And skin-crawling assaults on the hard-bitten portrayal of violence ance and ferocity. crashed on the asteroid's for­ little by little it does, as the rational mind. Scott has ap­ as a necessary element for Part of this impact is achieved bidding surface. Exploring the Nostromo continues its journey proached the project with a survival. by the fact that nobody in the bizarre hull, the crew discovers homeward. The seven crew stylish techinque that combines Alien sustains itself primarily film or the audience will know the skeletal remains of a ten-foot members gradually realize that classic horror and the impres­ through the building of su­ exactly what the alien looks like tall, insect-like "space-jockey," they are not alone. sionistic look of the great 40's spense, and is admittedly at any given time. It constantly long dead at the console of an Suddenly, unexpectedly, the thrillers. Unlike those, however, striving for comparison in film changes and evolves throughout immensely powerful cannon, his alien is among them, taking a Alien is shot in color, with an territory pioneered by Lang, the film. claw-like appendages still frozen terrible toll in an environment on emphasis on dramatic lighting Siodmak and Hitchcock. Unlike And, while there are clues on the firing grips. Exactly what which there is no place to and hard-edged contrasts that most Hitchcock films, however, given concerning the alien's killed the gunner and what he escape. The crew, and the enhance the claustrophobic set Alien does not foreshadow its actions and characteristics, the was trying to destroy remains a audience, never know when the designs. shocks by letting the audience in film's point of view is mostly mystery, but the solitude of the alien in their midst will strike, A pervasive air of menace on upcoming danger in advance. subjective to the crew, so that silent ruins is shrouded by an but when it does, the impact is lurking around every corner is It is more in the vein of Psycho the information comes in small eerie, evil presence. as jolting to the senses as the maintained, and the story itself and Jaws in that the alien strikes segments which must be put 6 together to make sense—and, editor/special-effects creator/star a suit, but overall it's gonna be putting it all together during the of the sci-fi comedy Dark bits and pieces of different film will be taxing to even the Star, special effects consultant techniques. There’ll be some most seasoned viewer. for Star Wars, and pre-produc­ mechanicals, some marionettes. Though the basic plot bears a tion advisor for the abandoned I wish I could say something fundamental resemblence to The Dune film. When MEDIASCENE clean and neat like, ‘we built a Thing and It, The Terror from asked O’Bannon to recall the robot that does everything.’ What Beyond Space,the handling and events leading up to Alien, he it is, is a mixture of techniques, construction of Alien elevates it recalled its genesis vividly: but no stop motion animation, to an entirely different level. “When Dune fell through I because they decided that the There are five major shock came back from Paris broke, and strobe effect would be too sequences, each shatteringly only survived by living on Ronnie phony.” unexpected, and always opening Shussette’s sofa. That was in the From the first appearance of the door to even greater terror. spring of 1976, and we wrote the Nostromo to the last shot of Every scene and action of Alien on his sofa until he and his the escape ship Narcissus, Alien Alien was meticulously choreo­wife got tired of having me remains a powerful, absorbing graphed through the extensive around and threw me out. film of survival, brought into use of storyboards, which Scott “Soon after, Gary Kurtz called sharp focus by Scott’s singular followed scrupulously duringme to work on Star Wars’ visual approach, and fleshed out shooting. Coordinating the act­ animated computer printouts by the cast of comfortably ors with the post-production until about February 1977. By familiar faces. Despite its title special effects required a thor­ that time, we had made a deal and overwhelming emphasis on ough knowledge of every move­with Fox on Alien. Then I was ment before and after the actors’ immediately stricken with a THE ALIEN STORYBOARDS re­ filming was undertaken. debilitating stomach disease, produced on these pages were As an example of the level of still undiagnosed, and spent drawn by the film’s director, perfection sought for Alien, most of ’77 in the hospital, Ridley Scott. They represent Scott held extensive rehearsals making decisions by phone. So I scenes 50-63, the disembarking with his seven actors several was feeling really miserable and sequence, and have been con­ weeks before filming was sched­ in intense pain when Gordon densed here for narrative pur­ uled to begin. Yaphet Kotto Carroll called up and says 'We’re poses. (1) Interior of the commented on this: “Alien was Nostromo: Ash enters the only the second film I’ve ever ship’s observation blister, and worked on that held preparatory seats himself on the moniter rehearsals. Lines were rewritten chair. (2) Interior of the airlock: and characterizations tightened- in the glow of the flashing up so that we functioned like a landing light, three suited crew that has been traveling astronauts prepare to exit from together in space for a long, long the ship; the airlock opens time.” (lighting change) and they In addition, the actors were emerge into the asteroid's assigned NASA literature to oppressive wind and gasous study so that they could atmosphere. (3) Exterior of the familiarize themselves with the Nostromo: gas fills the airlock as technical slang and equipment the trio step forward into the functions. Every character was hydrolic lift. (4) Exterior: the also given a complete back­ three figures (articulated dum­ ground of previous jobs, home- mies) are lowered to the life and childhood to embellish surface—model shot. (5) Exterior the depth and motivations of of landing leg of the Nostromo: their actions. As a consequence, the spacemen emerge through Alien is as much an actors’ the planet’s eerie mist (see the showcase as it is a director’s previous two pages for the actual playground and special-effects scene from the film). (6) Interior setpiece, perhaps the first of its of blister: Ash continues to kind ever attempted. Alien screenwriter Dan O’Bannon monitor the trio on his instru­ On the whole, Alien stands stands on one of the Nostromo’s ment panel. (7) Interior: close-up as a tour-de-force effort by gigantic landing pods during the of screens as Ash’s hand Ridley Scott. He not only filming of the movie. punches up the controls of the executed the painstaking direc­ TV moniter and the ordinance tion of Alien, but also served as all going over to London to make survey map with its three moving his own cameraman, capturing Alien. Let's go!' green dots. (8) Interior: Dallas, each shot in the view-finder to “I groaned and bitched, but “Are you receiving?” Ash, suit his demands. Such precise everybody pursuaded me I’d “Read you, etc.” Dallas: “Getting attention to photographic detail better do it. I’d already spent you free and clear...” The figures has been indigenous to Scott’s thousands of dollars from Alien are seen out the blister’s side. work in over three thousand option and preliminary money on (9) Exterior: the trio continues British and American TV com­ medical bills, and it looked like across the planet’s surface aided mercials, and in his award-winn­ I’d need more, so I went to by their helmet lamps. (10) ing feature debut, The Duellists, England. Lo and behold, in the Helmet close-up: they proceed in 1977. Interested in all aspects process of working, I made what through the night storm, walking of the film, he was also on hand appears to be a complete blind, aided by the moniters for many of the special effects recovery. It was the first time I'd inside their helmets. (11) Exter­ sequences, and supervised the felt normal in better than a year. ior: as they appear over the crest final editing of Alien, so that the “The budget kept escalating of a ledge, geysers blast two hours seen on the screen from the very first day they took violently, unexpectedly out of will bear his personal stamp. it to Fox. I think the original the rocks around them. (12) This also allowed him to make figure proposed was $4.5 million, Exterior: Dallas, Kane and last minute decisions and cuts but it went up to $6 million. By Lambert continue out of sight. which would help clarify the the time I finished my work in (13) Exterior: the spacemen go continuity while heightening the London and came home they on searching for the distress taut suspense construction. The were into shooting and planning signal against a spectacular entire process was so exhilarat­ on $8.9 million.” stellar view, (14) Exterior: their ing that Scott hopes to line up The actual final figure for Alien tiny figures are almost lost in the another fantasy project which apparently topped $10 million, bizarre landscape. (16) Exterior: will alow him to explore variousseveral hundred-thousand more they mount a rocky crest. (17) ideas and possibilities stimulat­ than Star Wars. The problems Exterior: the trio is frozen in ed by Alien’s extensive special and procedures are completely astonishment. Kane, “Jesus effects work. different in the two films, Christ!" (18) Exterior—their point The original concept and story however, and among the most of view: a gargantuan alien ship for Alien is a collaborative effort difficult were those concerning is crashed among the rocks between Executive Producer the alien, which O'Bannon had a (model). (Compare Scott’s story­ Ronald Shusette and Dan O’Ban- hand in solving: board with H.R. Giger’s pre-pro­ non, who ws the writer/director/ “Sometimes it will be a man in duction painting.) © 1979 Twentieth Century-Fox 7 8

science-fiction and special ef­ officer. Servant. Apart from his many comparatively young crew who, The special effect are super­ fects, Alien is also a dramatic Veronica Cartwright plays stage roles, his films have nevertheless, have an impressive vised by Brian Johnson and Nick picture about people in a crisis Lambert, the navigator. A noted included A Man for all Seasons, track record of films among Allder, veterans of Space—1999 situation. The ensemble cast is a child star in Hollywood, her The Shout and Midnight Express. them. and 2001, and O’Bannon is cross-section of film character films include The Birds and The Ian Holm is an actor most Co-producer Gordon Carrollboth screenwriter and visual “types” who were chosen not for Children’s Hour, and the more noted for his Shakespearean has previously supervised suchconcepts consultant. The pro­ their superstar bankability, but recent productions ofInserts and roles, playing the part of Ash, pictures as How to Murder Your duction designer is Michael because they “fit” the roles. the remade Invasion of the Body the science officer. He has also Wife, Cool Hand Lukeand Pat Seymour, the editor Terry Dallas, Captain of the factory Snatchers. appeared in such films as Young Garrett and Billy the Kid. Rawlings, costume designer starship, is played by Tom Harry Dean Stanton has Winston, The Man in the Iron David Giler, who also co­ John Mollo, and the art directors Skerritt, whose recent films have appeared in many movies over Mask, Les Miserablesand produced Alien, co-wrote Myra are Les Dilley and Roger included Ice Castlesand The the years, including Cool Hand Holocaust. Breckenridge,and later scripted Christian. The latter three won Turning Point. His earlier credits Luke, Pat Garrett and Billy the Distinguished black star Yap- The Parallax View.He also wrote Oscars for their outstanding include the original M*A*S*H Kid and The Wind and the Lion. het Kotto, who plays Parker, the and directed the Maltese Falcon work on Star Wars. The music is and many TV productions. In Alien, he plays the role of engineer, has made memorable sequel,The Black Bird. to be provided by Jerry Sigourney Weaver is a young Brett, the Nostromo's engineer­ appearances in many films, Co-producer Walter Hill has Goldsmith, whose Omen score actress who has appeared in ing technician. including Live and Let Die, Raid written a number of screenplays won an Academy Award. His off-Broadway productions, and British John Hurt is the ship’s on Entebbe (as Idi Amin) and which includes The Getaway, credits include Planet of the appears frequently in Joe Papp's executive officer, and has won Blue Collar. The Mackintosh Manand The Apes, Logan’s Run, and the theater in New York. She makes acclaim for his notable BBC-TV The other creative and techni­ Drowning Pool. He wrote and upcoming Star Trek—The Movie. her motion picture debut in Alien appearances in I Claudius (as cal credits are equally impres­ directed Hard Times and The The merchandising aspect of as Ripley, the starship’s warrant Caligula) and The Naked Civil sive, and feature the talents of a Driver. Alien is not being left to chance 9 either. Charles Lippincott, whose position was to oversee the licensing and publicity for Star Wars, is performing the same function for Alien. One of the first manifestations of the Allen promotion campaign is this exclusive feature spread in MEDIASCENE. which will be followed by the novelization by Alan Dean Foster (who also wrote the Star Wars novelization) in May, from Warner Books. A hard-bound comic format adaptation of Alien, written by Archie Goodwin and illustrated by Walt Simonson will be released in June. The Allen Book a compilation of notes, produc­ tion drawings and photos from the film, will also be printed by Heavy Metal’sparent publishing company, Twenty-First Century Communications, slated for June release. The mind boggles at the potential of Alien merchandising should the film take off as expected. “I keep trying to imagine it. ..Alien dolls?” Dan O’Bannon reflects. “I don’t see how they have any merchandis­ ing potential whatever. But I’m sure they’ll find it—maybe a little rubber Alien dolls that sneaks across the room and bite your foot off. Great for people with kids and pets.“ Whether it is remembered as an extravagent science-fiction movie or an exciting new exercise in 24th-century gothic film-making, Alien is almost sure to register with seismic impact on summer filmgoers. Just as Close Encounters renewed the public’s enthusiasm for speculative science fiction, and Star Wars brought heroic space opera back from its galactic limbo, Alien will un­ doubtedly elevate the science fiction thriller to a new level of entertainment—establishing the missing third leg of the generic tripod. As an homage of sorts to the current leader of science-fiction cinema, and maybe just for good luck, Twentieth will unleash Alien on May 25—the second anniversary of the release of Star Wars. That gives us a few months to prepare ourselves—and to see if lightning really does strike twice. Ken Bruzenak

THE ALIEN PHOTOS: (19) Dallas, Lambert and Kane enter the Nostromo lift. (20) Seeking the source of the signal, the trio approach the derelict ship. (21) Crew of the Nostromo, 1. to r. — Brett (Harry Dean Stanton), Ash (Ian Holm), Kane (John Hurt), Lambert (Veronica Cart­ wright), Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), and Parker (Yaphet Kotto). (22) The astronauts awake from Hyper­ sleep. (23) Ash tracks the three crewmen from his obversation blister. (24) Entering the derelict ship. (25) Ash attacks Ripley as a result of the alien's presence. (26) Brett demonstrates the electro-shock instrument he has made to hunt down the alien for Dallas and Lambert. (27) Tom Skerritt suited-up for the as­ teroid’s unearthly atmosphere. (28) The space jockey.

© 1979 Twentieth Century-Fox 12

© 1979 Twentieth Century-Fox 13 Imagine a bus towing the sands of dollars on scrap, from whole of Manhattan island. Or a old jet-aircraft engines parti­ bicycle pulling along Times cularly,” said Les Dilley (co-art Square. Or a normal-sized movie director with Roger Christian). shooting stage tugging an area a “And it’s paid off handsomely mile-and-a-half square. because it all looks so authen­ Then you’ll have a rough idea tic.” Dilley and Christian, inci­ of the relative sizes of the uniquedentally, both won Oscars for Nostromo starship and the vast their work on Star Wars—Dilley oil refinery it tows through as co-art director and Christian interstellar space in Allen. as set decorator. Alien costume The script calls for a well- designer John Mollo also won an used, slightly battered starship Oscar for his contribution to Star which acts as a kind of massive Wars. tug, to tow a series of three vast The operational bridge on the oil refineries—rather like a huge Nostromo is probably the most intergalactic articulated truck— technologically detailed and the whole supposedly one-and-a- authentic scientific movie set half miles long, and weighing an ever constructed, especially awesome 200 million tons. when you realize that everything “We started by building model works! Walk onto the bridge, sets, then an actual section of a push a button or throw a switch starship corridor from part of the and something happens, whether operational bridge,” explains it’s a light flashing, a door production designer Michael closing, an alarm buzzer sound­ Seymour. “Then, after further ing or a TV picture zooming into discussions, we began building closeup. As Michael Seymour the sets in earnest.” said: “This starship does practi­ The Nostromo has three levels cally everything but fly.” or “decks” and the designers Walk down a corridor from the first toyed with the notion of bridge and you come to the building a huge three-story set, mess-room, where the crew eat but it was decided that this and relax. To one side is a small would prove impractical forkitchen area, with every modern filming purposes. So the “A” (or convenience you could wish for, top) level was constructed first, and various foods neatly capsul­ filling much of the giant “C” ed into powder and tablet form, sound stage at Shepperton often easily identified by tiny Studios. models of the food available, The “A” level comprised the such as a miniature banana, astronauts’ living areas, mess- orange or apple. Unbreakable room, computer annex, infirm­ crockery is neatly arranged on ary, many linking corridors and, shelves, and there’s a sink most important and spectacular, too—even astronauts have to do the operational bridge. Here, the washing-up sometimes! amidst a veritable technological Stroll down another padded fairyland, the seven astronauts and illuminated corridor and you sit at their own individual and come to the infirmary, equipped immense, leather seats to with everything a doctor or nurse navigate and operate the star­ might need, including medi­ ship, surrounded by forty tele­ cines, drugs, an operating table vision screens (variously sized which glides out-of-sight into 5”, 9”, 13”, 15” and 22”) showing the wall, and a fearsome different pictures of computeroverhead-suspended set of sur­ readouts, technological and nav­ gical instruments. igational information, maps, and In another section of “A” level views of the space area outside. is the remarkable “hypersleep” Masses of other technical area where, in flower-petal-like, equipment were packed together,perspex-enclosed beds, the crew plus hundreds of switches and are able to sleep for any period literally thousands of flashing they choose, from an hour to a indicator lights. The many TV year or more. screens were fed pictures and In an intersecting lobby you films from an intricate special find two large, perspex-fronted video-center situated at the side wardrobe cases, containing spare of the sound stage, headed by space suits for the crew, video coordinator Dick Hewitt. complete with helmets and other The numerous banks of accoutrements. circuits and electronic equipment The Nostromo’s movements on the walls were prepared by are guided by a remarkable the props and construction computer called “Mother,” at the departments and ingeniously command of the seven astron­ made up from old aircraft, auts, who also rely on it for all automobiles, and radio and TV kinds of other information and sets. facts. Why “Mother?” Because “We must have spent thou- its official technological identifi­ cation is “MU/TH/UR/6000.” ALIEN PROPS AND SETS: (1) Later sequences forAlien were Sign outside the soundstage at filmed on the two lower levels of Shepperton Studios in England the starship, built separately on showing typical eaithling graf- other stages: “B” level, the fitti. (2) Land vehicle originally general maintenance area, and conceived by Ron Cobb. (3) “C” level, containing the vast Director Scott operating camera. engine rooms plus a seemingly- (4) Magnetic tracer. (5) Hand endless network of complex weapon. (6) Astro-chart used by machinery-filled corridors, and Navigator Lambert. (7-8) Corri­ the giant “claw-room,” into dors of the Nostromo. (9) The which the huge landing-claws of ship’s commissary. (10) Space the starship retract when not in suit storage area. (11-13) The use. bridge of the Nostromo— com­ “One of the basic ideas of all pare these with the drawings on these complicated starship in­ the following pages. terior sets is that you can 14

© 1979 Twentieth Century-Fox 15 actually walk from corridor to opposed toStar Wars’ Dykstra- corridor, from bridge to mess, flex multi-layered image style, from mess to infirmary, and so which ostensibly will give on, thus giving both the actors viewers clearer, more perfect and the audience the feeling of screen visuals. being inside a vast starship, Allder and director Ridley both huge and claustrophobic at Scott’s attention to detail is one and the same time,” says staggering, extending to the production designer Michael point of reshooting some of the Seymour. “We want people toearlier footage completed by have the impression that it’s a real Brian Johnson, who left Alien place, that it’s more science-fact soon after the initial problems than science-fiction, and also were solved to meet hisStar that the whole ship is well used, Warscommitments. lived in and slightly battered Special effects supervisor Nick after years of service. After all, Allder explained some of the the crew are really interstellar methods being used in Alien, truckers who are just doing, without giving away any of the what is to them, ordinary drama. “Our main model of the day-to-day work. They’re really Nostromo starship is eight feet like top-level truckdrivers wholong, which represents 800 feet happen to operate a complex in the story. In the film, the starship in space instead of a starship is also 1 ½ miles truck along the motorways on across! With our special tech­ Earth. niques we’re able to camera- “They're freebooters, in a way, track right through space, stars, who extract appropriate oils and planets and so on, into a closeup minerals from planets, tow them shot of the craft, and actually back to Earth, and share in the show the astronauts moving proceeds. about inside—all in one continu­ "Then their whole lives change ous shot. But I won’t tell you when they’re awakened from how we did that! their hyper-sleep by the myster­ “Generally, we use multiple ious planet's distress bleeps— exposure techniques, employing which may well have been the original negative, thereby sounding out for millions of obtaining far better quality than years, who knows?—then land we might otherwise have. on the planet and encounter the “We’re not using ‘travelling Alien for the first time.” matte,’ or blue-screen backings The Nostromo is a set to for this picture for various remember, a technological mira­ reasons. The whole picture is cle come to movie life. While itshot in rather low-key lighting, doesn’t actually achieve “lift-off” so we can’t suddenly cut from it does almost everything else. the starship interior to outside All the interior and planet space and terrific high-contrast surface sequences forAlien were quality, because it wouldn’t filmed in England, at Shepperton appear consistent. Consequent­ Studios. But the six months of ly, our lighting of the models has special effects and model to be fairly low-key as well. photography were based at Bray Using travelling mattes wouldn't Studios, Windsor (once the work in these circumstances. home of Hammer horror films), “We use the system of about fifteen miles away. ‘rotoscoping’ quite a lot, which There, special effects director involves taking a sequence frame Brian Johnson, and supervisor by frame, making line-drawings, Nick Allder, both of whom then hand-painted mattes, and worked on 2001 and Space:1999, shooting them in high-contrast, were in charge of the highly- to actually create our own very complex and technical magical tight mattes and their eventual work that goes into the effects.” breathtaking sequences that If all that sounds complicated, movie audiences will eventually then it is. Except to the “sfx” see of starships hurtling through technicians who know exactly outer space amidst galaxies of what they’re doing. stars and planets. The alien itself was a The majority of the outerunique source of problems, and space effects sequences take required unusual ingenuity due place early in the film, and are to the decision to avoid photographed in the single­ stop-motion animation, such as negative technique of 2001, as that used by Ray Harryhausen. The inability of stop-motion to ALIEN PRE-PRODUCTION ART: create totally smooth and (14) Early concept of Cobb’s naturalistic results dictated that Heli-Jet. (15) Two views of a jet full-size models of the creature transporter craft. (16) Electronic be made, and carefully filmed to Data-Stick by Cobb. (17-19) achieve highly realistic effects. Various space suits designed by The dark, moody technical Moebius. (20) Early concept by approach of Alien facilitated the Moebius of the discovery of thehandling of many of the alien space jockey. (21) Mobile sequences by allowing the mood tracking vehicle. (22) Nostromo of the film to superimpose the personnel lift and airlock exterior viewers' imagination on the (23-24) Another version of the screen’s images—a welcome Heli-Jet.(25) The Nostromo in­ change from the usual fright firmary. (26) Corridor by Ron mask approach to horror films. Cobb. (27) Observation room on This is not to say that we never “B” level. (28) Cobb’s final see the alien in full shocking concept drawing of the bridge. close-up, but the film’s style Note how closely the finished forces the viewer to participate sets followed the design draw­ by creating in his mind what he ings, almost down to the last can’t see on the screen, and we detail. The sets have how been all know that the darkest visions disassembled. of all come from within.● 17 Like Star Wars, Close En­ counters and a host of other films that rely on their extra­ ordinary visual appeal, Alien’s most important building blocks began to take shape on the drawing board when artists turned the original ideas into meaningful images. Art directors and production designers have been important contributors to the craft of movie-making for decades. Their vision is second only to the director’s in determining the “feel” and “character” of a film, such as Ken Adam’s sophisti­ cated chromium James Bond sets, William Cameron Menzies’ deco futuristic Shape of Things to Come, and Ralph McQuarrie’s evocative technological Star Wars’designs. Like those,Alien is a film with many requirements, fantastic ones that could well make history in cinemamatic achieve­ ment and at the box office. Few, if any, multi-million dollar productions have so small a cast to keep the action going—espec­ ially a cast of what really amounts to a group of character actors and unknowns. The settings are also limited, as least in number, to the starship Nostromo and the asteroid on which it lands. It stands to reason that this kind of ecomomy calls for a powerful story and overpowering visuals. Those special requirements call for special talents. To handle those requirements, Brandywine Productions (formed by the film’s three producers) hired four top-notch SF illus­ trators whose work has extended well beyond the common peri­ meter of their field: Ron Cobb, H.R. Giger, Chris Foss and Moebius. All four have contribut­ ed their efforts to makeAlien the most unique science fiction fright film of the decade. Ron Cobb is a working cartoonist and illustrator whose career just happens to overlap into the movie business. He took time out from his committe- ments of Conan and Jedediah Smith to talk with MEDIA­ SCENE. Alien stands out as one of Cobb’s biggest film assign­ ments, and came about through his previous association with Dan O’Bannon, dating back to the early 70s and Dark Star: “I met Dan some years back because of his interest in fantastic films, then didn't see him again for a number of years. He contacted me next when he was in the middle of Dark Star, and wanted to know if I’d be interested in giving him some of my comments on it. When I got there, he had an exterior design for the spaceship, and I started suggesting things. He was very enthusiastic with that film, and I’ve been working with him ever since. “So basically, it’s all been Dan. He went to work on Star Wars and Dune, and each time he tried to get me on those projects. But since I didn’t have a great deal of film experience, producters were quite reluctant to hire me—except for George Lucas, who’d been familiar with my cartoons. George thought I 18 might like to try designing some “Actually, we probably weeded of the aliens in the cantina out as much material as we kept. sequence, and he liked them very They didn’t end up using too much. many of Chris Foss’ pieces, “Then Dan finally sold his either. All that’s left of Moebius’ script, and Alien was underway. art is the basic design of the He suggested that they use me, space suit. Giger did the final and the same problem arose, but design for virtually all of the I was taken on sort of a trial alien technology, the space ship basis for about seven months in and everything, and they followed California, before the entire his work very closely. He also production moved to London. wound up designing the alien “I did a lot of preliminary planet on which the Nostromo designs with Chris Foss before lands.” they picked a director, and it was Perhaps because of the sheer a real opportunity for me to showabundance of visual material to them what I could do. We went draw upon, Alien took a while to through hundreds of designs, settle into a singular cinematic many of which were thrown out approach. Cobb’s work focused when Ridley Scott came on the on a fairly straight technical film. Truthfully, I can’t say I portrayal of spaceflight. Scott didn’t expect it." and the producers wanted to Most of Cobb’s early work avoid a sterile science-fiction based on a division of labor that approach, and leaned more quickly changed with Scott’s toward a fantastic concept. take-over of Alien. Initially, Ron “They pressured us a lot to worked on the Earth-based tech­ bend the technology to have a nology designs, interiors, space somewhat similar look to Star suits and hardware. British SF Wars, sort of half-believable, but illustrator Chris Foss, concen­ rather highly stylized—or per­ trated on the Alien ship designs, haps a better word would be and was assigned the Nostromo romanticized. The interior of the because of his reputation for ship finally looked like a deco spacecraft conceptualization. dance hall, or a World War II The crucial alien creature se­ bomber, and a genuine projec­ quences were exclusively reserv­tion of what a space ship of the ed for the bizarre imagination of future might really look like—or Swiss artist, Giger. a combination of all of them. Famed French artist, Moebius “The theory was to give Alien (the science fiction pseudonym more of a horror look, but I never used Jean Giraud), is best personally agreed with that, and known in America through his I didn’t have as much influence contributions to Heavy Metal as I’d like to have had. with the existential SF strip, “There’s a certain awkward­ Arzach, and The Airtight Garage ness in the naturalistic portrayal of Jerry Cornelius, in addition to of the space flight, partly his series of Lt. Blueberry books.because most of the people It was while Moebius was working involved in this film had never on the European production of made one line it before. They Dune that he first encountered didn’t understand what they were Dan O’Bannon, who was re­ getting into, and were put off by sponsible for bringing him into concepts like no sound in space, Alien as one of the production and all the gravitational effects. designers. Moebius was primarily They didn’t want to be bothered, responsible for the creation of so it’s all just kind of forgotten the space suits used in the film, about. which were among the nine “On the other hand, I wanted drawings he produced in the the ship to look like a gothic early stages of the movie's castle, but resisted that ap­ development. proach—it might have been a bit Wnen the creative design shop too much. ” finally moved to the Shepperton Cobb’s last few months in Studios, in London, and director London allowed him to do more Scott entered the picture, things than draw, however. There was began to change. enough time for him to work with “Ridley wanted to move me the draftsmen who translated his into hardware design,” Cobb designs into working blueprints, revealed, “because he liked someand even watch the construction of the ideas I’d come up with. of the sets. So, an additional six months “On the whole, I’m pretty slipped by while I worked further happy with the way my ideas on Alien, during which time I had were eventually realized. It was a larger and larger role in fascinating to watch the process designing the overall technology. all the way through, even some “Altogether, I did about a of the set dressings. I was year’s worth of art forAlien. Of pleased with things I had a fair course, it’s the latter six months amount of control over, but you’ll be seeing on the screen. those I didn’t oversee were a All the early stuff was Foss’ little disappointing. work, and I suppose it had some “Then there were always influence on the thinking of the surprising contributions from later designs, but not directly. I draftsmen and other people who probably ended up creating would occasionally design a set about two-thirds of the Earth that would turn out very, very technology, both interior and well. It was a mixed bag of many exterior sets. styles and many approaches. “Ridley is an excellent de­ “The look of the film kept signer himself, incidentally, and evolving as it went along. I greatly influence the look of the would like to have stuck to a film. I did some preliminary work particular style or approach, but on the design of the monster, there were a lot of other people but that was really Giger's involved who kept changing their responsibility. minds, so the ship went through

© 1979 Twentieth Century-Fox 19 many phases of design. Almost ed as best-selling posters, yet about his paintings too much, everything, including the acting, they virtually defy description. preferring that they speak for evolved and grew as it went One has to see, indeed themselves. But he does have along.” experience, a Giger painting to this to say: While Alien provides an realize what a remarkable artist “Some people believe my auspicious debut for Cobb’s he is. paintings show a future world design talents, the fact remains When Alien is released many and perhaps they do. But I paint that the real star of the film will people throughout the world willfrom reality by putting ideas be the creature in the title role. have their first glimpse of H.R. together, and perhaps, when I The assignment of visualizing Giger’s unique work. They will have finished, it could show the the alien went to a distinguished either love it or hate it, for therefuture—who knows? If people Swiss painter and designer, H.R. are no two ways with Giger’s want to interpret my work as Giger (pronounced Geeger, with paintings and designs. Two warnings about too much a hard “G”), and came about things are certain. They’re never overpopulation, disease and through the dedicated efforts of boring—and they are unfor­ mechanization in the future, that Day O’Bannon: gettable. is up to them! I like to combine “From the monent I met him in Giger’s art combines erot­ human beings, creatures and Paris and stared at his work, I icism, several kinds of sym­ biomechanics. And I love to work knew that he could paint what bolism, beautiful but highly- with bones—they are elegant others couldn't begin to imagine. stylized women, machinery, and functional and, after all, are I fought for a year to get him on bones, skulls, demons, intricate part of human beings. I have the picture, because I feel he‘and exquisite designs, babies, many bones in my home in could paint Pickman’s model if blood, birds, landscapes, bond­ Zurich and I study them and use he wanted to.” age, misery, despair and often them as models. Skeletons too. Giger’s paintings have been beauty of a terrible but elegant “The colors I use are usually exhibited in leading art galleries kind. It hovers on the edge of a grey, white and brown—these throughout Europe, and appear- frenzied and almost three-di­ are the colors of my beloved mensional hell. It has echoes of Siamese cat. I use black ink too THE ART OF ALIEN: (1) Early the work of Hieronymous Bosch,and like to make use of an version of the space tug by Chris Salvador Dali and Richard Dadd, airbrush quite a lot. I like white Foss. (2) Concept painting of but is purely and originally the on black also—it gives my colonized asteroid by Foss. (3) products of Giger and his paintings a kind of translucent Close-up detail by Moebius of incredible imagination and con­ look, and, sometimes, almost a the astronauts’ helmet and space ceptual vitality. three-dimensional appearance. suit markings. (4) Unused Giger’s main assignments “They say my work is often machine concept by Foss. (5) have been to design the depressing and pessimistic with Ron Cobb’s original design for terrifying alien itself, the surface an emphasis on death, blood, the escape ship, Narcissus. (6) of a mysterious planet and the overcrowding, strange beings Pressurized space suit by interior and exterior of a strange and so on, but I don’t really think Moebius to be worn inside the alien spacecraft, apparently it is. There is hope and a kind of ship. (7) Moebius’ final version thousands of years old. He has beauty in there somewhere, too, of the space suit. John Mollo done other designs for the if you look for it. The creatures I incorporated a Japanese influ­ picture too, but these have been design and paint are very much ence into the actual finished his major contributions. like their own evnironment, one suits—see Part One. (8) H.R. “Obviously, I cannot describe comes from the other. Giger’s design for the derelict the alien creature at this stage," “It all began when, years ago ship. See Scott’s storyboard in explains Giger, who always in my youth, I had many strange Part One. (9) Entrances to the dresses in black, in his soft dreams—and nightmares. When derelict ship by Giger. (10-12) A Swiss-German accent. “But it is I awoke I would paint the things I sampling of Giger’s biochemoid elegant, fast and terrible. It had seen in my dreams, which concepts which combine sem- exists to destroy—and destroys made me feel much better and balances of the human form with to exist. Once seen it will never the dreams would go away. Until radically unhuman counterparts. be forgotten. It will remain with next time. (13) Another version of the space people who have seen it, perhaps Apparently, straight science- suit by Cobb. (14) Early version in their dreams or nightmares, fiction has already become of the space tug by Foss, for a long, long time. Perhaps for commonplace and passe, so showing the oil refineries hooked all time. I even dream about the Giger’s monster will be the true up in tandem. At this time, the alien myself—so much that I’m centerpiece in the Alien tapestry. ship was called the Leviathan. often frightened of going to His medieval visions of a (15) Another version of the same sleep”. Necronomic horror among the ship. (16) Undercarriage details Perhaps Giger has good stars strikes just the right note in of the Leviathan by Foss. Note reason to be frightened—many the abstract chord of O’Bannon’s the similiarity between this of his paintings are visions original story. illustration and the actual scene straight from the doors of hell. Understandably, the producers as shown in Part One. (17) Swiss The most unsettling are reminis­ are keeping a tight security lid on artist H.R. Giger in his studio, cent of grotesque cyborg muta­ these special effects sequences, working on a pre-production tions—he refers to them as and only a few people directly painting from the film. The scene Biomechanoids. Some appear as involved with the technical illustrated is from the chilling legions of scaberous, slobbering aspects know exactly how the “egg chamber” sequence that babies chewing cigars with entire film will eventually look. occurs while the spacemen are Charles Laughton faces and Expectations are high, and the exploring the derelict alien arms ending in machine-gun preliminary art on these pages ship—and suggests the kind of barrels. Others have no spines, shows the promise of things to souvenir they pick up on their but instead feature exterior come. way. (18) One of the most spiked steel-cable tails held on Ron Cobb, while admittedly unearthly, yet fascinatingly biz­ by Pincer-like insect claws, and biased, has seen about two- arre paintings from Giger’s have exhaust jets in their skulls. thirds of Alien in rough cut form, Mordor series. (CENTERSPREAD A number of them simply defy and feels: “It looks very good, ART) This is one of Moebius’ description, and have engender­ surprisingly good. original concept drawings show­ ed critical condemnation for their “I think Dan will be pleased. ing the astronauts as they heavy sexual and Satannic You know, for a while they encounter the derelict ship. It is content, even as they sell by the strayed pretty far from his evident in this early stage that thousands in books and on original concept, but eventually the idea of a gothic alien ship posters. they found their way back into was under consideration, and Several documentary films the primary science-fiction/hor­ that Moebius attempted to have been made about Giger and ror framework. By the time the visualize the notion by adding his paintings and sculptures. A principal photography was fin­ towers and spires to the very number of books have also been ished, everybody was looking baroque architecture of the basic published on him, including the forward to seeing how all the design. Absent from the scene is oversized Necronomicon, con­ pieces fit together. the planet’s tortured landscape; taining most of his best work to “At the very least, Dan won’t at this point, simply an arid date. have to sleep on anyone’s sofa desert waste. Giger does not like to talk for a while—I hope.”●