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Topic: ALIEN Makers Documentary (Read 169395 times)
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Dennis Lowe
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Denys Ayling (Lighting Cameraman) used to get teased by the focus puller Terry Pearce, he did the old trick of blacking the eyepiece on the Mitchell camera so that when Denys had a look through he would have this huge ring surrounding his eye (of course no one said a thing about it)and he would walk around for hours looking like a panda wondering why we were all sniggering.
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Jon Sorensen
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It was certainly a time that you knew would end soon and the best resort would be to have a good time while working while it was possible.
Correct! I suppose we're just trying to convey that here, guys.
My Grandmother, bless her, used to call up the studio from the Scottish Highlands where I had come from, asking for me, and saying she had found one of my old airfix kits still in the box and asking "Would that be any good to you, will I send it down?"A human time. Well, I guess you guys will regret having us on this forum. It'll turn into the Dennis and Jon Show...the Abbott and Costello of ALIEN reminscinces as we try share our times for you. We did get quite a lot of work done on ALIEN too. It's all up there on the screen! Been a pleasure, tonight. Remember, guys, to laugh and cherish the good and the ridiculous. We don't get today back on this go-round! Stay Sunny! |
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« Last Edit: June 21, 2009, 03:17:51 PM by Jon Sorensen »
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BlackWatch
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Denys Ayling (Lighting Cameraman) used to get teased by the focus puller Terry Pearce, he did the old trick of blacking the eyepiece on the Mitchell camera so that when Denys had a look through he would have this huge ring surrounding his eye (of course no one said a thing about it)and he would walk around for hours looking like a panda wondering why we were all sniggering.
Classic!  Well, I guess you guys will regret having us on this forum. It'll turn into the Dennis and Jon Show...the Abbott and Costello of ALIEN reminscinces as we try share our times for you. No worries here! It's quite interesting. Carry on! |
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wmmvrrvrrmm
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well, if I could go back in time and become a fly on the wall around the studio where the Alien movie was being made, I would be trying to record everything that everyone was experiencing and everything that went on in the minutest detail. The making of this movie and the lives of all involved in the movie during the time of the making is an important period in modern creative history maybe like the early days of the Rolling Stones, the life of Salvador Dali or even the world of Monty Python, but the world of the Alien production has not had as much coverage in the past as I would want.
I've spent the last twenty plus years finding everything that I could get my hands on to read about the making of the movie so maybe I could feel that I was an "Alien" historian and maybe one day write a book about it and I am someone who could overwhelm or bash a lot of people's brains in across the planet with knowledge about the movie but I have never had the opportunity to talk to anyone who was actually involved in the movie in some way and there are others here with as much enthusiasm as myself. It inspires me very much to read about the day to day reality during the production of the movie. Thanks
Also I keep thinking about how the Nostromo model when it went through it's yellow paint scheme reminds me of Chris Foss' paintings, he has been known to paint yellow spacecrafts. I wonder if the paint scheme was inspired by his work
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« Last Edit: June 21, 2009, 05:14:19 PM by wmmvrrvrrmm »
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Thedus
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Well, I guess you guys will regret having us on this forum. It'll turn into the Dennis and Jon Show...the Abbott and Costello of ALIEN reminscinces as we try share our times for you. ..Are you kidding? Please, by all means share! We love to hear about this stuff. ...It's not like we get tired of hearing about ALIEN around here.   Remember, guys, to laugh and cherish the good and the ridiculous.
We don't get today back on this go-round!
Stay Sunny! I agree whole heartedly! |
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BlackWatch
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..Are you kidding? Please, by all means share! We love to hear about this stuff. ...It's not like we get tired of hearing about ALIEN around here. Yep, we hate talking about Alien so much we made a website for it! |
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maledoro
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I've got my Quiet Eye on you...
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What is this "Alien" you speak of?
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BlackWatch
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Some B movie flick from the 70s, I think...  It wasn't very popular. |
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Hunter
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Must watch doumentary. Now.
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Dennis Lowe
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I remember the first time we got the script of Alien (we were all finishing off on 'Pink Panther' and Nick Allder was developing the flame thrower in advance) and the next day we were all quiet after reading it.
To tell the truth we all thought it was a terrible movie, it read like a 'B' movie and we all imagined it looking like a dreadful mistake. Guy Hudson was really suspicious about it and would constantly be making jokes about us all having nightmares twenty years on, nightmares about our reputations that is.
Eventually we got to hear that Ridley would be doing the movie and a new wave of optimism suddenly went through the crew, that was the turning point because to carry this thing off it had to be visual, there weren't many people at that time that could carry it off, it was a very fine line to walk on. As soon as we saw the concept artwork what doubts remained were wiped out and I remember well the feeling that there was something of substance finally to get the teeth in. It reminded me when I first heard the Beatles in the early sixties - somehow the culture had changed and the best thing to do was enjoy it while it lasted.
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BlackWatch
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Well the difference between Alien being a A or B class film was the execution. As you say on paper the idea seemed silly, but with Giger's creature design, Ridley's directing, the great acting performances and all of the attention to detail in the props, models, sets and costumes it was taken to a new level.
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maledoro
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I've got my Quiet Eye on you...
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Bill Pearson tells a funny story of when Giger came to the model workshop with his wife Mia (both dressed in tight black leather gear). Mia was shooting the occasion on video (this was used in the film Giger's Alien) and was wearing a huge belt buckle made in chrome. The modellers became fascinated by the buckle and it seemed to attract a lot of attention, on close inspection the design was of a bat doing naughty things to a naked lady. I just found this pendant based on that design:  |
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montezillo
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Fascinating documentary. Really enjoyed the insights from the various technicians. That 80 minutes went by fast.
Cool to read Dennis and Jon's recollections in this thread. I'd known about the use of The Who's stage laser for the egg chamber sequence. But, I'd never heard these tidbits about Townshend, Daltrey and Moon at Shepperton before. The Who are my favorite band. Alien is my favorite film. I've always viewed this as a cool intersection between two totally different things.
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beckmen
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*Waits patiently for the ISO*
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