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ALIEN 3 Script History |
DIRECTORS:
SCRIPTS
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Behind the Scenes... |
Alien 3
went though major changes in its narrative life. After the success of Aliens, there was immediate pre-production on a third Alien movie. One of the first people to pen a new tale was (1) William Gibson. He has written numerous novels, including the cyberpunk classic 'Neuromancer.' His script called for Ripley, Newt and Hicks to survive the trip to earth, but only too......well..read it for yourself.
The first
draft was rejected, and Gibson declined further
involvement due to other commitments.
Eric Red did write another story, which included the Sulaco and a new commando unit, that gets wiped out when it boards Ripley's ship. The Company and the Military hope to use the Alien for their own advantage. Producers Walter Hill and David Giler disliked the script, and he was ousted. Why was it rejected? Read the script here!
The next man with the plan was (3) David Twohy who rewrote / reworked Gibson's Alien 3 script and set it on a prison planet. While Twohy and Giler both liked the script, with the addition of new director Vincent Ward. Should it have been rejected? Decide for yourself!
So, with
that script tossed out, (4) Vincent
Ward entered new ideas of his own, such as a
wooden planet and monks galore. (5) John Fasano helped Ward in creating his writing. The first draft was finished in early 1990, and envisioned the religious aspect with Ripley back in charge. Fox liked the script, but Giler had other plans.
Meanwhile,
Fasano and Ward were falling out, and when Fasano left
production, (6) Gregg Press entered the fray. His plan
called for killing off Ripley, and the producers booted
him off. They then
asked (7) John Fasano Fasano again for a
draft, and this too did not work out. Vincent ward finally left the film. David Fincher was 28 at the time when he was offered to direct, making Alien 3 his first feature film. (8) Larry Ferguson was worked on Fasano's draft, and while he was soon let go by Fox, his contributions to the story were shown when Fox added his name for the movie story credits.
(9) Walter Hill, David Giler continued to
refine the script, as the monastery was ousted and the
prison planet was brought back in.... Fincher
introduced (10) Rex Pickett into the mess, and
cleaned up the paperwork. Due to differences between
himself and the producers, Pickett was canned quickly,
but not without adding some scenes to the movie.
(11) Walter Hill, David Giler. Hill and Giler
continued to refine the new draft, Alien 3 went into
shooting. And, as the stunning introduction to the movie
goes....don't rely on a picture to tell the story.
Remember :
There have been changes made in the script before (and
during) actual shooting.) [Thanks to the numerous sources where I culled this information from, particularly "Cinefantastique - June 1992" which has several excellent, informative Alien 3 stories.] |
Site courtesy of the now-defunct "ALIEN Movies Resource" |