The director Sigourney Weaver felt sorry for: “To not support the guy was idiotic”
When your first film role is Woody Allen’s iconic romantic comedy Annie Hall, you’re clearly being set up for big things. That was the case for Sigourney Weaver, who went on to work with some of cinema’s most acclaimed directors, including Mike Nichols on Working Girl, Ang Lee on The Ice Storm, and Paul Schrader on Master Gardener. She also appeared in a film by Roman Polanski—so perhaps that “less controversial” part deserves an asterisk.
Weaver’s most famous contribution to cinema is undoubtedly Ellen Ripley from the Alien series. This legendary franchise has enjoyed a revolving door of great directors; Ridley Scott famously kicked things off with Alien, then James Cameron took things in a more action-oriented direction for Aliens; Jean-Pierre Jeunet tried his hand at Alien: Resurrection four years before he gave the world Amélie, and then there’s the curious case of ALIEN3.
Released six years after Cameron’s instalment, ALIEN3 is widely regarded as the moment the series went off the rails. A darker, much less fun approach than had previously been attempted, the movie notably kills off Hicks, Bishop, and Newt in the opening scene. This enraged fans of the previous entry, who felt short-changed by their abrupt and pointless deaths. Much of the blame for the film’s poor reception fell at the feet of its director, a young man making his feature debut by the name David Fincher.
Prior to his big-screen career, Fincher had made a name for himself by making music videos for the likes of Madonna and Aerosmith and advertising, including the infamous ‘smoking foetus’ promo video for the American Cancer Society. He was hired to direct ALIEN3 after Vincent Ward, who contributed the story and left the project. Unfortunately, he couldn’t have asked for a worse introduction to Hollywood. Fincher has gone on record saying he “regrets” making the film, but its star doesn’t think it’s that simple.
During an interview with Bloody Disgusting, Weaver recalled the troubled process behind the making of the trilogy-ender. “I could feel that David had to get on the phone and fight every day for us to shoot what he wanted to the next day,” she remembered. “They had the great idea to put David Fincher aboard for his first film, but then not to support the guy was very idiotic… I heard recently that David has disowned the project, and I’m sorry about that because I loved working with him, and I think we made a good film.”
The Ghostbusters actor isn’t the only person who looks back on ALIEN3 with a degree of fondness. The film has undergone a reevaluation in recent years. Christopher Nolan once called it his favourite David Fincher film, which is an absolutely insane statement. It has been praised for taking the series back to its roots, pitting one unstoppable creature against a group of helpless civilians in a confined location. Though not all of the darker elements work, it was a big risk to try something like this, which should be commended.
Things might not have gone exactly the way he would have hoped while making the third ‘Alien’ movie, but Fincher can rest easier knowing that one of the biggest names involved in the project thought he did a good job. Also, his career turned out just fine off the back of it.
