With Aliens Day just behind us, Sigourney Weaver has been talking about [one of] her most iconic role(s), Ellen Ripley and why she doesn’t think she’ll ever return to the gig.
The actress, best known for iconic action heroine role, along with movies such as Ghostbusters, Gorillas in the Mist and Cabin in the Woods, last played Ripley in 1997’s Alien: Resurrection but her character remains as relevant and as iconic today as it was in the 80s and 90s.
Fans might recall that, back in 2015, we very nearly got a Neil Blomkamp Alien movie with Weaver attached but sadly it never came to fruition.
Now, the actress, aged 73, believes that her time playing Ripley has sadly come to an end.
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“There are all kinds of younger actors taking this kind of role,” she says, “And there was an Alien [film] that I really wanted to do with Neill Blomkamp, and we didn’t get to do that, but, you know, that ship has sailed.
“I’m very happy doing what I’m doing. I put in my time in space!”
Ripley was one of my favourite characters as a kid – yes, I watched Aliens way sooner than I should have – and to many, she’s one of the all-time great female action heroes who, despite what some people might have you believe, we nerdy types love.
She was fully formed, well-written, beautiful, formidable and took no nonsense but she puts that down to original director Ridley Scott: “I think Ridley [Scott] has a lot to do with [the longevity of Ripley and Alien]. They made Ripley a woman, without making her this helpless creature. Because I think I was very lucky. These were men who were creating this woman character, but they liked and respected strong women.”
We live in an era now where so few filmmakers know how to write relatable and believable strong women like Ripely or Sarah Connor, failing to realise that just saying a character is strong is not enough, we need well-written and developed roles, but that’s for another day.
I, for one, would have loved to have seen Weaver back as Ripley one last time but thankfully, we’ll always have Alien and Aliens, tow of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made and we’ll never get tired of seeing her deal with those damned xenomorphs!
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Source: Total Film
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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