In the seven years since
its release, Ridley
Scott's
Alien has endured as the quintessential science fiction
horror film - a stylish thriller and box-office favorite that spawned a
rash of forgettable clones but somehow defied legitimate efforts to generate
a worthy sequel. A fresh approach was clearly in order, but that approach
proved evasive until writer-director James
Cameron was afforded the opportunity to develop his own scenaro - an
action-packed roller coaster ride that succeeded admirably in retaining
the essential elements of the original without being fettered by them.
Despite a studio analyst's estimate that Cameron's Aliens script
would cost $35 million, producer Gale
Anne Hurd mounted the ambitious sequel in England - bringing it in
for a remarkably frugal $18 million. Of crucial importance to the cost
curtailment effort was the need to keep the film's extensive special effects
from spiraling out of control. Striving for high-quality work with low-level
technology, Cameron and Hurd assembled a team of professionals that included
conceptual designers Syd
Mead and Ron
Cobb, production designer Peter Lamont, visual effects supervisors
Robert
Skotak and Dennis
Skotak, postproduction supervisor Brian
Johnson, alien effects creator Stan
Winston and physical effects supervisor John
Richardson. These and other effects artisans discuss in detail their
work on the film and the time-pressured campaign to bring Aliens
into being.
Article by
Don Shay
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