Reality is Another Kind of Fiction

scienceetfiction:

Alien (1979)

Behind the scenes: Fox wanted to cut the discovery of what the crew nicknamed “the space jockey,” claiming it was an extravagant expense for a single scene. Ridley Scott eventually won the battle, and was keen to make the most of it: to emphasize the scale of the set, Scott put his pre-teen kids, Jake and Luke (who both grew up to be directors), as well as the child of one of the cameramen in smaller version of the space suits, also using the same technique for the exteriors of the Nostromo (the suits themselves were the bane of the production: they were lined with nylon, and had no venting or cooling system. The film shot during a heatwave, so the actors regularly passed out, and an oxygen tank had to be kept on hand).

When the film was released, props and costumes were displayed outside the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, and religious types set fire to the space jockey, believing it to be the work of the devil.

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