Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley holding a flamethrower in Aliens.
James Cameron might be an iconic director now, but in the early '80s, he was a little-known creator just starting. His first film, 1982's Piranha II: The Spawning, wasn't great, to put it mildly. However, Cameron kept going.
In 1984, he co-wrote the script for Rambo: First Blood Part II with Sylvester Stallone, then worked on a screenplay of his own about a killer cyborg called The Terminator. A few lucky moments then led to Cameron being hired to direct Aliens, but more than once, the film seemed like it would never get made. Thankfully, Aliens survived, and in 1986, James Cameron's directing career stepped up to the next level. He hasn't looked back since. An Executive Found James Cameron's Unmade Script for 'The Terminator' In the summer of 1986, as Aliens was conquering the box office, on its way to becoming the fifth highest-grossing movie of the year, David T. Friendly wrote a look back at how the movie came to be for the Los Angeles Times. In 1983, after settling a lawsuit with the producers of 1979's Alien, Fox started developing a follow-up to Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror masterpiece. Development executive Larry Wilson was looking for potential writers when he found the script for the unmade The Terminator by James Cameron. He was so impressed by what he read that he went straight to producer David Giler and told him,"This is the guy." After reading The Terminator, everyone in charge agreed, and Cameron was hired to write a treatment, which he turned in only three days later. Unfortunately, Cameron's 42-page treatment was rejected, with Cameron saying an exec didn't like it because"it was wall-to-wall horror and it needed more character development.” It looked like James Cameron's sequel idea wasn't meant to be, but then came a change in leadership at Fox. In July 1984, Larry Gordon was the studio production head when he found the file for Cameron's Aliens. Shocked that it was never made, Gordon watched The Terminator, then hired the now hit director to write and helm the sequel to Alien. James Cameron Quit 'Aliens' Over Budget Issues This wouldn't be the last battle on Alien's path from page to screen. The screenplay was finished with just hours to spare before a potential writer's strike, and then came what so many directors hate most: studio interference. Fox loved the script, but wanted the price tag to be no more than $12 million. After all, Alien had been made for only $11 million. Cameron's movie was a different beast, with not only more sets, more characters, and more explosions, but more monsters, as one alien became dozens. The price tag for Aliens was going to be triple the expectations at $35 million. Related James Cameron and Ridley Scott Almost Teamed Up for an Unmade Alien Movie And instead we got AvP?! Posts 1 By Logan Kelly When Fox refused to back down on their budget demands, James Cameron said he quit. “We walked out and said, ‘Thanks, we’ll do something else.’ ” Knowing that they had a potential huge blockbuster, Larry Gordon fought for Cameron's vision, getting him the money he wanted, leading to the director's return. They now had a script and a budget, yet the most head-scratching fight was to come. Fox Was Willing to Let Another Actress Play Ellen Ripley Ridley Scott's Alien was a success for many reasons. Scott's direction was flawless, Dan O'Bannon's script was simple and terrifying, and H.R. Giger's design for the xenomorph was chilling, but the film doesn't work without compelling human characters. Leading the way was Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, the badass last survivor of the Nostromo, who takes the fight to the murderous monster. Originally, Scott was going to have Ripley die at the end of Alien, only for an intrusive producer to make the right call this time and talk him out of it. Still, when it came time for Aliens, Fox wasn't set on Weaver. If Ellen Ripley returned, they would be willing to have someone else play the already iconic character. For Fox, the idea made sense. If it was known that they really wanted Sigourney Weaver back, then her agent could raise her salary demands, so as a way of negotiating, they refused to publicly say they wanted her. That was a no-go for James Cameron and his collaborator and future wife, Gale Anne Hurd, who insisted that Weaver was the only option and refused to budge. According to Hurd,"We thought the movie was off." Not too long after, Fox execs caved and paid Sigourney Weaver $1 million to reprise the Ripley role. Now, certainly, it would all be smooth sailing, right? Not quite. Fox had one last fight in them. With the finished Aliens coming in at 2 hours and 17 minutes, the studio thought it was too long and asked Cameron to cut 12 minutes so they could squeeze in more showings at theaters. Cameron once more refused to alter his art, this time saying"the movie wouldn’t make sense.” Fox relented, and Aliens was a huge box office hit despite being shown less because of its longer runtime. Subscribe for more insider film-making stories Want more inside looks at how films are made? Subscribe to our newsletter for in-depth behind-the-scenes reporting on production decisions, director-studio battles, and broader film and culture coverage that extends beyond this story. Subscribe Subscribe for more insider film-making stories Want more inside looks at how films are made? Subscribe to our newsletter for in-depth behind-the-scenes reporting on production decisions, director-studio battles, and broader film and culture coverage that extends beyond this story. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Perhaps it was a stroke of luck that got James Cameron noticed for Aliens when The Terminator hadn't even been made yet, but the success of the latter changed everything. Now the director had immense power to stand up to a giant studio and get his way. Can you imagine Aliens with a third of the budget, crucial scenes removed, and someone else playing Ellen Ripley?! Without his perseverance and courage to stick up for his vision, Aliens would have flopped, and it may have taken Cameron's career along with it. 8 10 Aliens Like Follow Followed R Action Thriller Science Fiction Release Date July 18, 1986 Runtime 137 minutes Director James Cameron Writers James Cameron Producers Gale Anne Hurd Prequel Alien Sequel Alien 3, Alien Resurrection, Prometheus, Alien: Covenant, Alien: Romulus Franchise Alien Cast See All
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