Sigourney Weaver on Alien (franchise)

“I felt that Ripley was going to become a burden to the story ... There are only so many aspects to that character you can do.”

“Had we done a fifth one, I don't doubt that her humanity would have prevailed. I do feel like there is more story to tell. I feel a longing from fans for the story to be finished. I could imagine a situation where we finish telling the story.”

“I don't think Alien belongs on Earth popping out of a haystack, which is where I was afraid it was going to go. I feel it should take place in the far reaches of the universe where no one in their right mind would go. There are very few filmmakers that I can think of that I would want to entrust this to.”

“When Weaver made Alien for director Scott in England (with a script by Dan O'Bannon and extra-terrestrials designed by surrealist H. R. Geiger), she was 30 years old. She has grown with Warrant Officer Ripley - and she has tried to exorcise Ripley from her life as well. By the time Aliens 3 came around (Aliens was directed by Titanic helmer James Cameron), she felt the story was tired. 'That was one of the reasons I died,' she says. 'They wanted to make a dumb Alien vs Predator and I didn't want to be any part of it. So I just set it free.””

“Q: What’s your personal favorite of the four films? Weaver: That would be really hard for me. Because each one had, at the helm, such an original visionary. Ridley transformed the idea of space from this sterile, cerebral place to a place where people actually got up and had breakfast and swore and griped and carried on like regular people. Then Jim [Cameron] took it to a whole other scale of story and emotional resonance. Each director has put his own emotional stamp on it and I think they’re all legit. It was kind of dizzying to go from one to another, even though there were some years between. But I think it was fun for me to come back every few years knowing a little more about what I do and having more confidence and more experience in life. So I felt that that was an extraordinary opportunity for me. Q: We do tend to focus on the first two, though. What are your thoughts on that stamp of David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet? Weaver: I think that, with “The Social Network,” everyone now is going to be able to recognize Fincher for being one of the great directors of our day. Certainly that was true after “Fight Club” as well. What I love about each of these directors is that they’re really unsentimental. I think it got harder for Jean-Pierre because the story is much more about the science and the corporations. It’s difficult for us to watch the fourth one because it seems like yesterday or tomorrow. It’s not happening far away. It seems like something we read about in the papers. Cloning and BP and all this stuff. I think it makes people more uncomfortable. But I think they all really stand up. I’ve heard people arguing over their favorites, though, and three and four have a lot of fans.”