Ridley Scott salutes James Cameron, but he thinks Alien 3 and 4 buried the franchise

The filmmaker regrets not having better managed the rights to “his” horrific saga.

While Gladiator II has just arrived in theaters, Ridley Scott takes stock in the pages of Hollywood Reporter. Almost 87 years old, the filmmaker touches everything (he loves sci-fi as much as historical films, thrillers as well as intimate dramas), notably looks back on one of his first films, Alien: The Eighth Passenger (1979), which gave life to a huge horror franchise… which surpassed it a little, he admits.

“When I started in Hollywood, says Scott in the preamble, I was 40 years old. (Steven) Spielberg was 19, George (Lucas) had 20. I think Francis (Ford Coppola) had 22? They all came out of film schools, very excited, while I simply had a good presentation of my commercials.”

Then explaining that he had little relationship with his fellow directors (“Cameron always has a kind word for me. (…) Tarantino got along well with my brother, but I don’t think I’ve ever met him? (…) The last time I really interacted with Steven was was at the time of Munich…”), he reveals that the only American director with whom he shares working notes is Michael Mann, since he advised him to meet Russell Crowe, while he was preparing Revelationsa year before Gladiator. Which does not prevent Ridley from sometimes taking other directors/producers as a model.

Ridley Scott says he was never offered to direct Alien and Blade Runner sequels

Asked about his works Alien And Blade Runnerhe details that he should have better ensured their rights, as Spielberg and Cameron were able to do with their own successes: Jurassic Park Or Terminatorfor example, available as franchises. If they sometimes left the hand to other directors for sequels or reboots, they remained involved in their production as producers. Scott thus regrets the turn taken by Alien in the 3rd and 4th opus, before he can come back to do Prometheus And Covenant.

“I did Alien And Blade Runnerthen I moved on. I would have done better to secure the rights, as Spielberg did on Jurassic Park or all his other projects, or as Cameron can do it. When studios pay to make a film, there is always a way to ensure, during negotiations, that you keep control over it. When I saw Alien 2, 3 And 4I said to myself: 'Oh, you've really worn the concept out.'. Then I thought about it and went to see the Tom (Rothman, the head of 20th Century Fox, at the time) and I said to him: 'Look, there is a way out of this impasse. We should be resurrected Alien with Prometheus.'“

“They made half a billion dollars from this movie, he continues. Maybe even a billion today, with his sales. I'm not talking about the box office, but its viewing after the box office. I also came back for Alien: Covenantand it was a huge, ambitious project, but perhaps too intellectual to do so well. This film still generated 250 million in revenue, and there too, I was stupid enough not to secure the rights correctly. I don't blame myself, though. It was the work of other people, with whom I stopped collaborating.”

Asked to say more about the negotiations that led to Alien 2, 3 And 4sequels which were not received in the same way by the public (James Cameron's film is generally appreciated, those by David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet had more mixed reviews), Ridley Scott adds:

“Jim told me: 'I've seen Alien 19 times, and it'll never be that scary again. We saw the monster, now we have to do things differently. I would like to propose a more military film.' And that's what he did. He was kind to present things to me like that. And Aliens was fun. But after that, #3 and #4… they just evaporated. Ironically, this evaporation coincided with the'help' digital special effects. While in the first Alienthere was nothing digital. It was just a guy in a suit. That's why it's the best of all. Viewers can feel it’s real.”

Alien: Romulus, Attack of the Clone [critique]

Finally asked about the possibilities of continuing the saga today by following up Covenantor to Romulusby Fede Alvarez, which was released this summer in theaters and which did well with the public, Scott considers that Fox (today run by Disney) should instead pursue his own story:

“Covenantthis is the best starting point for a sequel, since we left the girl sleeping, David the android has Alien eggs, and there are also 2000 people waiting to colonize a planet. It’s truly a perfect start.”

Among the handful of films he plans to direct in the future, will Scott bank on Alien: Covenant 2 ? For the moment, he is completing the promotion of Gladiator IIwhich has just been released in theaters. Here is its trailer:

Ridley Scott recounts Gladiator II: “I thought a sequel could have been atrocious”