Sigourney Weaver ‘Wasn’t Thrilled’ About ‘All the Guns’ on ‘Aliens,’ but James Cameron Convinced Her: Ripley ‘Needs to Defend Herself’
Sigourney Weaver delivered a career-spanning masterclass at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, and of course touched on her time leading the “Alien” franchise as Ellen Ripley.
Ridley Scott directed the first film in 1979 before James Cameron came on board to helm sequel “Aliens” seven years later. This marked Weaver’s first time meeting Cameron, who would go on to also direct her in the “Avatar” films. The two immediately hit it off, except for one thing: Weaver didn’t realize how many guns Cameron had written into the script.
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“He was just so open to any thoughts that I might have, and I just felt his instincts were amazing,” Weaver said of Cameron. “The one thing, of course, I wasn’t thrilled about was all the guns. I read very quickly because I’m trying to experience the story and I had left out reading a lot of the stage directions, which had a lot of guns in them.”
Weaver said that one day, Cameron brought a bunch of guns to set. “I said, ‘What are those for?’ and he said, ‘Well, what do you mean?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m for gun control and I’m really not going to be picking up a gun and doing anything with it,'” she recalled. “He said, ‘Well, you haven’t read the script.’ I said, ‘I have, but I haven’t read all those paragraphs about guns.'”
To convince her, Cameron took Weaver “out into the back field and had me shoot off a couple hundred rounds of this machine gun.” Weaver found the experience “unfortunately very addictive.” She then remembers Cameron saying, “I want you to see what happens to her,” referring to Ripley’s transformation after she begins to use guns.
“I think, of course, she needs to defend herself, but also I understood why he wanted to use guns,” she said. “It wasn’t my first choice.”
Weaver was honored on Wednesday night at the fest’s opening ceremony with the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.
“I’m sure I’m dreaming,” she said while receiving the award. “Thank you for this jet fuel of encouragement.”
The “Alien” and “Avatar” star also gave a press conference earlier on Wednesday, during which she got emotional when a reporter suggested that her performances have helped pave the way for Kamala Harris to be the first woman U.S. president.
“To think for one moment that my work would have anything to do with her rise makes me very happy, actually, because it’s true,” she said. “I have so many women who come and thank me.”
Other big names giving masterclasses at Venice include Peter Weir, who is also receiving a Golden Lion, and Ethan Hawke. The festival runs through Sept. 7.
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