145-507: William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He starred in films such as Aliens (1986), Near Dark (1987), Tombstone (1993), True Lies (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Twister (1996), Titanic (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and A Simple Plan (1998). He had supporting roles in Weird Science (1985), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and Nightcrawler (2014). Paxton starred in
290-454: A Reagan Republican worldview. In response to this, P. J. O'Rourke wrote that: I have no idea how, or if, John voted ... John and I never bothered to talk much about our politics. What we did talk about was the 20th century's dominant scrambled egghead bien pensant buttinski parlor pinko righty-tighty lefty-loosey nutfudge notion that middle-class American culture was junk, that middle-class Americans were passive dimbulbs, that America itself
435-556: A stroke on February 25 at the age of 61. He was cremated and his ashes were buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park of Hollywood Hills . One year after Paxton's death, his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Ali Khoynezhad, the surgeon who performed his operation, alleging that Khoynezhad used "high-risk and unconventional" methods and that he was not present in the operating room when Paxton developed complications such as ventricular dysfunction, tachycardia , and
580-512: A western frontier town. It featured a makeshift construction from cargo containers, broken filming equipment, and beer crates. The alien nest scene was one of the earliest filmed; Weaver's participation was delayed by three weeks because of production issues on her previous film Half Moon Street (1986), and the scene was one of the few not involving her. The Acton Power Station location was filled with decaying asbestos and three weeks were spent having it professionally cleaned, during which time
725-560: A 42-page film treatment for Alien II —written in three days—based on Giler and Hill's suggestion of "Ripley and soldiers". The studio had a mixed reaction, one executive calling it a constant stream of horror without character development. Negotiations to sell the sequel rights to Rambo 's developers Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna failed and the project stalled again. By July 1984, Lawrence Gordon had replaced Wizan. With few projects in development, Gordon looked at sequels to Fox's existing properties and came across
870-554: A Baby , and Uncle Buck ; and wrote the films National Lampoon's Vacation , Mr. Mom , Pretty in Pink , The Great Outdoors , National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation , Home Alone , Dutch , and Beethoven . Most of Hughes' works were set in Chicago at the fictional Shermer High School and were coming-of-age teen comedy films. Many of his most enduring characters from these years were written for Molly Ringwald . While out on
1015-406: A backstory for the character, in which he was trained on simulators. Henn found it hard to act afraid of the aliens (since she was fond of the actors in the suits) and imagined a dog was chasing her. Other cast members spent time with Henn between scenes, including Weaver and Paxton (who would color or craft things with her). Biehn said he and Paxton spent much of their free time together. Despite
1160-445: A body harness, was used to show more of the tail moving through Bishop, and Henriksen was levered upward as if he was being lifted by the tail. To complete the effect, a dummy of Bishop was constructed with a spring-loaded mechanism that forcibly separated his upper and lower body, as if the queen had ripped him in half. Once separated, Henriksen's upper body was below the set and a fake torso attached up to his shoulders. The android blood
1305-553: A cameo appearance as Ripley's elderly daughter Amanda. The success of Alien (1979) led to immediate discussions of a sequel, but the production company Brandywine Productions struggled to convince 20th Century Fox to make it. Studio president Alan Ladd Jr. was supportive of the project but left Fox to found the Ladd Company , and his replacement, Norman Levy, was concerned about the cost of producing an Alien II . Brandywine co-founder David Giler said Levy believed
1450-671: A character in both Spy Kids 2 and Spy Kids 3-D . Paxton starred in “A Bright Shining Lie” (HBO 1998), an American war drama television film written and directed by Terry George, based on Neil Sheehan's 1988 book of the same name and the true story of John Paul Vann's experience in the Vietnam War. His highest-profile television performances received much positive attention, including his lead role in HBO 's Big Love (2006–2011), for which Paxton received three Golden Globe Award nominations. He also received positive reviews for his performance in
1595-530: A child, was "Vacation '58", later to become the basis for the film National Lampoon's Vacation . Among his other contributions to the Lampoon , the April Fools' Day stories "My Penis" and "My Vagina" gave an early indication of Hughes's ear for the particular rhythm of teenspeak, as well as for the various indignities of teenage life in general. His first credited screenplay, National Lampoon's Class Reunion ,
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#17330858338171740-457: A colonist's chest, rousing several adult aliens who ambush the Marines, killing or capturing many of them. When the inexperienced Gorman panics, Ripley assumes command, takes control of their armored personnel carrier , and rams the nest to rescue Corporal Dwayne Hicks and Privates Hudson and Vasquez. Hicks orders the dropship to recover the survivors, but a stowaway alien kills the pilots, causing
1885-515: A combination of a praying mantis and Tyrannosaurus rex influenced by the alien warrior design. Cameron said dinosaur influences were unintentional as he considered them "boring"; his goal was to extrapolate on Giger's warrior designs to create a large and powerful creature that was also swift and overtly female, describing it as "hideous and beautiful at the same time, like a black widow spider". The queen has elongated, large forelimbs, with smaller secondary ones underneath, but Winston redesigned
2030-628: A compromised right coronary artery, which they claim contributed to the coronary artery damage that necessitated a second surgery and ultimately led to Paxton's death. The case was set for trial in Los Angeles Superior Court in March 2022. In February 2022, Paxton's family reached a partial settlement with General Anesthesia Specialists Partnership for $ 1 million. In August 2022, the case was settled against Cedars-Sinai and Khoynezhad under undisclosed terms. Many dozens of filmmakers and actors across
2175-475: A cover of " Don't You (Forget About Me) ." The One Tree Hill episode titled "Don't You Forget About Me," broadcast on February 1, 2010, ended with a scene similar to the ending scene of Sixteen Candles. It also contained references to other Hughes movies such as Home Alone . The 2011 Bob's Burgers episode " Sheesh! Cab, Bob? " also paid homage to Sixteen Candles. The teen comedy Easy A (2010) starring Emma Stone paid tribute to Hughes and his films at
2320-479: A damaged aortic heart valve , resulting from rheumatic fever that he contracted as a child. On February 14, 2017, he underwent open-heart surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to repair the damaged valve and correct an aortic aneurysm . A day later, he underwent an emergency second surgery to repair a damaged coronary artery . His condition deteriorated over the following 10 days, and he died of
2465-473: A director was 1991's Curly Sue . By that time, in 1991, his John Hughes Entertainment production company had signed various deals with 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Actor John Candy created many memorable roles in films written, directed or produced by Hughes, including National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), The Great Outdoors (1988), Uncle Buck (1989), Home Alone (1990), Career Opportunities and Only
2610-533: A film he wrote and produced about a child accidentally left behind when his family goes away for Christmas, forcing him to protect himself and his house from a pair of inept burglars. Hughes completed the first draft of Home Alone in just 9 days. Home Alone was the top-grossing film of 1990, and remains the most successful live-action family comedy of all time. He followed up with the sequels Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in 1992 and Home Alone 3 in 1997. Some of
2755-465: A financial loss despite its earnings of over $ 100 million against a $ 9–$ 11 million budget. Brandywine's lawsuit was settled by early 1983, the result being that Fox would finance the development of Alien II , but was not required to distribute the film. Levy's eventual replacement, Joe Wizan , was receptive to a sequel, and although other executives remained noncommittal, Giler's development executive, Larry Wilson, began looking for
2900-554: A heart attack. He was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital , where he was pronounced dead at age 59. Hughes's funeral was held on August 11 in Chicago; he was buried at Lake Forest Cemetery . It was attended by his wife, his two children, and his grandchildren. The pilot episode of the NBC comedy Community , broadcast on September 17, 2009, was dedicated to Hughes. The episode included several references to The Breakfast Club and ended with
3045-621: A lack of enthusiasm from 20th Century Fox , and repeated management changes. Although relatively inexperienced, Cameron was hired to write a story for Aliens in 1983 on the strength of his scripts for The Terminator (1984) and Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985). The project stalled again until new Fox executive Lawrence Gordon pursued a sequel. On an approximately $ 18.5 million budget, Aliens began principal photography in September 1985 and concluded in January 1986. The film's development
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#17330858338173190-406: A large sphere with antennae, but Cameron wanted it to be flatter; the full craft had to pass the camera, and a sphere would not work with the aspect ratio . Mead designed the craft as a commercial freighter carrying a military unit. Its exterior was designed with a row of loading doors, a crane, and large gun fixtures to defend against threats. Mirrors were used as a cost-cutting measure to increase
3335-400: A laser cutting Ripley free from her hypersleep chamber. According to Henriksen, Paxton was unaware he would be involved in the knife-trick scene until it was filmed; Henriksen nicked Paxton's finger during the reshoot. Some of the early establishing scenes were filmed near the end of principal photography to capture the bond that had developed between cast and characters. Some improvisation
3480-439: A learning experience. They were essential for moving larger parts of the queen puppet, including the head, and a foot pedal in the body could hydraulically move the tail up and down. Shane Mahan took several weeks to sculpt the head by sight, based on a maquette ; computer technology to scale up the model's design did not yet exist. Two heads were built: a lightweight, fragile one; and another that could survive some damage. Each
3625-703: A lot (...) She [Marion] would be critical of what John would want to do". Hughes was a fan of the Beatles, and allegedly knew a lot about movies and the Rat Pack . After dropping out of the University of Arizona , Hughes began selling jokes to well-established performers such as Rodney Dangerfield and Joan Rivers . Hughes used his jokes to get an entry-level job at Needham, Harper & Steers as an advertising copywriter in Chicago in 1970 and later in 1974 at Leo Burnett Worldwide . During this period, he created what became
3770-445: A low-budget, independent horror film, and the studio was reluctant to grant his request. His credibility was elevated following the surprise financial and critical success of The Terminator in late 1984, and Gordon gave him the job. Cameron's associates tried to persuade him to reject the offer, believing anything good about the film would be attributed to Alien director Ridley Scott and anything negative to Cameron. Scott said he
3915-456: A maker of only teen movies, Hughes branched out in 1987 by writing, directing, and producing the hit comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles starring Steve Martin and John Candy . His later output was not so well received critically, with films like Dutch (1991), written and produced by Hughes, performing poorly at the box office. Films like Uncle Buck and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation , however, proved popular. His final film as
4060-682: A minor role as a punk in The Terminator (1984), a minor role as a bartender in Streets of Fire , a supporting role as the lead protagonist's bullying older brother Chet Donnelly in John Hughes 's Weird Science (1985), and Private William Hudson in Aliens (1986). He directed several short films, including the music video for Barnes & Barnes 's novelty song " Fish Heads ", which aired during Saturday Night Live ' s low-rated 1980–81 season and
4205-416: A power-loader suit. Because of his low expectations for The Terminator , Cameron had spent much of his free time during its production developing and trying out ideas for Alien II . This script was better received by Fox executives and Gordon, but Cameron also wanted to direct the project. Cameron was a relatively new director, his only directing credit being Piranha II: The Spawning (1982),
4350-500: A really big high school, and I didn't know anybody. But then The Beatles came along and changed my whole life. And then Bob Dylan 's Bringing It All Back Home came out and really changed me. Thursday I was one person, and Friday I was another. My heroes were Dylan, John Lennon and Picasso , because they each moved their particular medium forward, and when they got to the point where they were comfortable, they always moved on. In 1963, Hughes's family moved to Northbrook, Illinois ,
4495-411: A scriptwriter by mid-1983. Wilson came across the script for the in-development science fiction film, The Terminator (1984), written by James Cameron . With Cameron's collaborative scriptwriting efforts alongside Sylvester Stallone on Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Wilson was convinced to show the script for The Terminator to Giler, Hill, and Carroll. In November 1983, Cameron submitted
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4640-443: A sequel would be a "disaster". Fox executives believed Alien ' s success was a fluke, and that it had not generated enough profit or audience interest to warrant a sequel. Box-office returns for horror films were also declining. Progress was further slowed when Giler and Brandywine co-founders Walter Hill and Gordon Carroll sued Fox for unpaid profits from Alien . Using Hollywood accounting methods, Fox had declared Alien
4785-416: A spring that caused it to snap back and forth. Winston added arms to the chestburster alien form (since the adult form had arms), explaining how it could drag itself out of a host's chest. Two chestburster puppets were used: a reinforced one, and an articulated one for movement. A puppeteer punched the former through a fabricated latex-foam chest; the scene took several takes to film because it could not pierce
4930-448: A suburb of Chicago. There, his father found work selling roofing materials. Hughes attended Grove Middle School, later going on to Glenbrook North High School , which gave him inspiration for the films that eventually made his reputation. He met Nancy Ludwig, a cheerleader and his future wife, in high school. As a teenager, Hughes turned to movies as an escape. According to childhood friend Jackson Peterson, "His mom and dad criticized him
5075-763: A three-film deal with Universal Pictures . Hughes's directorial debut, Sixteen Candles (1984), won almost unanimous praise when it was released in 1984, due in no small part to its more honest depiction of navigating adolescence and the social dynamics of high school life in stark contrast to the Porky's -inspired comedies made at the time. It was the first in a string of efforts about teenage life set in or around high school, including The Breakfast Club (1985), Weird Science (1985), and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), all of which he wrote and directed, and Pretty in Pink (1986) and Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), which he wrote and produced. To avoid being pigeonholed as
5220-408: A time when the science-fiction genre was generally overlooked. It earned $ 131.1–183.3 million during its theatrical run, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1986 worldwide. Aliens is now considered among the greatest films of the 1980s , and among the best science fiction, action, and sequel films ever made, arguably equal to or better than Alien . It is credited with expanding
5365-435: A traumatized young girl nicknamed Newt. The team locates the colonists beneath the fusion-powered atmosphere processing station and heads to their location, descending into corridors covered in alien secretions. At the station's center, the Marines find opened eggs and dead facehuggers alongside the cocooned colonists, now serving as incubators for the creatures' offspring. The Marines kill an infant alien after it bursts from
5510-767: A tribute to Hughes's work. A retrospective of clips from Hughes's films was followed by cast members from several of them, including Molly Ringwald, Matthew Broderick, Macaulay Culkin , Judd Nelson , Ally Sheedy , Anthony Michael Hall and Jon Cryer , gathering on stage to commemorate Hughes and his contributions to the film industry. Hughes's work has also influenced a new generation of millennial filmmakers, including M. H. Murray of Teenagers fame, who has cited Hughes as one of his main influences. In interviews, Murray stated, "I loved how John Hughes wrote teens ... They were flawed in this genuine sort of way." Kelly Fremon Craig , who wrote and directed The Edge of Seventeen , also cited Hughes as an influence. Hughes
5655-509: A walk one morning in New York City in the summer of 2009, Hughes suffered a fatal heart attack. After his death, his legacy was honored by many, including at the 82nd Academy Awards by actors he had worked with such as Ringwald, Matthew Broderick , Anthony Michael Hall , Chevy Chase , and Macaulay Culkin among others. Actors whose careers Hughes helped launch include Michael Keaton , Hall, Bill Paxton , Broderick, Culkin, and members of
5800-581: A wide release in the United States (U.S.) and Canada on July 18, 1986. During its opening weekend, the film earned $ 10.1 million from 1,437 theaters—an average of $ 6,995 per theater. It was the weekend's number-one film, ahead of the martial-arts drama The Karate Kid Part II ($ 5.6 million in its fifth weekend) and the black comedy Ruthless People ($ 4.5 million in its fourth weekend). Based on its opening-five-day total ($ 13.4 million), Aliens exceeded Fox's expectations and
5945-420: Is referenced in the song "Hello Chicago" by the collaborative project between Jesu and Sun Kil Moon , and appears on the album 30 Seconds To The Decline Of Planet Earth . Mark Kozelek recalls a phone conversation with Hughes in which Kozelek asked him for $ 15,000 in order to release his album Songs for a Blue Guitar (released by his band The Red House Painters). Hughes agreed, stating "You're young and on
Bill Paxton - Misplaced Pages Continue
6090-523: The Alien II treatment; he said he was surprised that no one had pursued it. Production of The Terminator was delayed for nine months because Arnold Schwarzenegger was contractually obligated to film Conan the Destroyer (1984). Cameron used the time to develop his treatment, expanding it to ninety pages. He drew ideas from "Mother", one of his story concepts about an alien on a space station involving
6235-576: The Brat Pack group. Hughes was born on February 18, 1950, in Lansing, Michigan , to Marion Crawford, who volunteered in charity work, and John Hughes Sr., who worked in sales. He was the only boy, and had three sisters. He spent the first twelve years of his life in Grosse Pointe, Michigan , where he was a fan of Detroit Red Wings right winger Gordie Howe . One of Howe's #9 jerseys, sent by Howe himself,
6380-739: The Confederate Army during the Civil War who was killed commanding the Stonewall Brigade at the Battle of Chancellorsville . Paxton is distantly related to actress Sara Paxton and was the great-nephew of Mary Paxton Keeley , a prominent journalist and close friend of Bess Truman . At the age of eight, he was in the crowd when President John F. Kennedy emerged from the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth on
6525-571: The HBO drama series Big Love (2006–2011), for which he earned three Golden Globe Award nominations during the show's run. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for portraying Randall McCoy in the History Channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys (2012). Paxton was born in Fort Worth, Texas , on May 17, 1955, the son of Mary Lou ( née Gray; 1926–2016) and John Lane Paxton (1920–2011). His mother
6670-542: The History Channel 's miniseries Hatfields & McCoys (2012), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award alongside co-star, Kevin Costner . In 2014, he played the role of the villainous John Garrett in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , and a supporting role in Edge of Tomorrow (2014). He starred alongside Jon Bernthal , Rose McGowan and John Malkovich as a playable character in
6815-642: The Nostromo , to escape an alien creature that slaughtered the rest of the crew. She is rescued and debriefed by her employers at the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, who are skeptical of her claim about alien eggs in a derelict ship on the exomoon LV-426, now the site of a terraforming colony. After contact is lost with the colony, Weyland-Yutani representative Carter Burke and Colonial Marine Lieutenant Gorman ask Ripley to accompany them to investigate. Still traumatized by her alien encounter, she agrees on
6960-486: The 2014 video game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (downloadable "Exo Zombies" mode). Paxton starred as General Sam Houston in the Western miniseries Texas Rising for The History Channel in 2015. In February 2016, Paxton was cast as Detective Frank Rourke for Training Day , a crime-thriller television series set 15 years after the events of the eponymous 2001 movie . It premiered a year later. His final film appearance
7105-484: The British Special Air Service (SAS). Vietnam War veteran Al Matthews (Apone) helped to train the actors, teaching them how to handle firearms properly because their blanks were still hazardous. Before he left, Remar accidentally shot a hole through the set of Frank Oz 's Little Shop of Horrors on an adjacent stage. The training was intended to help the marine cast develop camaraderie and treat
7250-517: The Dantes nom de plume include Maid in Manhattan , Drillbit Taylor and Beethoven . In 1994, Hughes retired from the public eye and moved back to the Chicago area. The following year, Hughes and Ricardo Mestres, both of whom had production deals with Walt Disney Pictures , formed the short-lived joint venture production studio Great Oaks Entertainment. Hughes worked in Chicago, while Mestres
7395-460: The Lonely (both 1991). Over the years, Hughes and Candy developed a close friendship. Hughes was greatly shaken by Candy's sudden death from a heart attack in 1994. "He talked a lot about how much he loved Candy—if Candy had lived longer, I think John would have made more films as a director", says Vince Vaughn , a friend of Hughes. Hughes's greatest commercial success came with Home Alone (1990),
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#17330858338177540-464: The Pinewood crew walked out in the middle of the day. Cameron called Fox for advice and was determined to move the production out of England until Hurd convinced him otherwise. The situation was tumultuous because the number of films simultaneously in production meant the crew could not be easily replaced. Cameron and Hurd gathered the crew to discuss their grievances; Cameron explained the importance of
7685-428: The actors' heads, and carefully blended into the larger set. After Remar was replaced, Cameron wanted to reshoot the scene, but the miniature had been destroyed; he was able to edit the scene to conceal Remar. The marines' smart guns weighed 65 to 70 pounds (29 to 32 kg), and were constructed from German MG 42 machine guns attached to a steadicam and augmented with motorcycle parts. Since getting in and out of
7830-487: The alien hive brightly (counter to Cameron's request), and was eventually replaced with Adrian Biddle . First assistant director Derek Cracknell also ignored Cameron's requests. Gale described the situation: "[Cameron] would ask him to set up a shot one way and [Cracknell] would say, 'Oh no no no, I know what you want,' ... Then he'd do it wrong and the whole set would have to be broken down." The situation deteriorated until Cameron and Hurd fired Cracknell and
7975-404: The alien hive was fabricated in clay spawning hundreds of fiberglass and vacuum-formed castings that were installed at the station over a further three weeks. Cameron wanted to vertically pan as the marines entered the hive, but disguising the area above the marines would be time-intensive. A hanging miniature, about 12-foot (3.7 m) square, was made from plywood and styrofoam, hung just above
8120-855: The band's single "Reach" was directed by James Cameron. In 2018, his performances as Peter "Coconut Pete" Wabash in Broken Lizard's Club Dread were released posthumously on the album Take Another Hit: The Best of Coconut Pete . Paxton married Kelly Rowan in 1979 and they divorced a year later. He later met Louise Newbury on the Number 37 bus in Twickenham, London , where she was a student, and they were married in 1987. They lived in Ojai, California , and had two children: son James (b. 1994), who also became an actor, and daughter Lydia (b. 1997). In early 2017, Paxton stated in an interview on WTF with Marc Maron that he had
8265-642: The cast; Fox did not want Weaver to return because they expected her to demand a high salary. Cameron and Hurd were insistent Weaver return as the solo star; Fox refused, saying they would damage the studio's negotiating power with Weaver's agent. Cameron and Hurd again left the project, marrying and going on a honeymoon. When they returned, the Aliens project was ready to move forward. Cameron credited Gordon with Aliens ' being greenlit . Weaver rejected initial offers to return and despite being interested after reading Cameron's script, she had to be convinced Aliens
8410-483: The character would annoy audiences until he realized he was comic relief for the tense scenes. Henriksen was concerned about portraying Bishop after other recent successful portrayals of android characters, such as Ian Holm in Alien and Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner (1982). He played Bishop as an innocent child who pities the short-lived humans. He suggested wearing distinctive contact lenses to convey when Bishop
8555-454: The clothing. A deleted scene in Alien established a life cycle for the alien creatures in which a lifeform would be cocooned and transformed into an egg that birthed a facehugger. Inspired by a beehive -like hierarchy, Cameron believed the vast field of eggs on the derelict alien craft would come from a much larger creature, the queen, with the other alien creatures serving as her drones. Winston described Cameron's initial queen design as
8700-403: The colony, apart from the main entrance used by the marines, was constructed in scale miniature form. The set was about 80-foot (24 m) long to accommodate the sixth-scale APC replica. The set was so large it had to be laid out diagonally across the stage, and forced perspective was used to add in buildings that would otherwise not fit. Cobb used a stylized design for the colony, resembling
8845-536: The condition that they exterminate the creatures. Ripley is introduced to the Colonial Marines on the spaceship Sulaco but is distrustful of their android , Bishop , because the android aboard the Nostromo had betrayed its crew to protect the alien on company orders. A dropship delivers the expedition to the surface of LV-426, where they find the battle-ravaged colony and two live alien facehuggers in containment tanks, but no bodies or colonists, except for
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#17330858338178990-494: The creatures. Ripley brings Hicks to Bishop in the second dropship, but she refuses to abandon Newt and arms herself before descending into the processing station hive alone to rescue her. During their escape, they encounter the alien queen surrounded by dozens of eggs, and when one begins to open, Ripley uses her weapons to destroy them all and the queen's ovipositor . Pursued by the enraged queen, Ripley and Newt join Bishop and Hicks on
9135-424: The creatures. She accuses Burke of releasing the facehuggers to implant her and Newt with alien embryos, allowing him to smuggle them through Earth's quarantine. The power is suddenly cut, and aliens attack through the ceiling. In the ensuing firefight, the aliens kill Burke, subdue Hudson, and injure Hicks; the cornered Gorman and Vasquez sacrifice themselves to avoid capture. Newt is separated from Ripley and taken by
9280-425: The crew. The situation was exacerbated by Cameron's hands-on approach, often modifying setups such as lighting himself to fit his vision without involving the unionized crew. The crew was dismissive of Cameron for his relative inexperience, thinking he had not done enough to earn such a prominent position, and that Hurd had her job only because she was his partner. Cinematographer Dick Bush insisted on lighting
9425-414: The difficulties, Fox was satisfied with the daily footage , and principal photography concluded in January 1986, on time and on budget. Post-production began in late April 1986. Several scenes were removed from Aliens ' theatrical release, including Ripley learning about her daughter's death and a cocooned Burke begging her for death. Fox and Hurd suggested removing a long opening scene detailing
9570-824: The dropship and escape moments before the station explodes, consuming the colony in a nuclear blast. Aboard the Sulaco , the group is ambushed by the queen, who stowed away in the dropship's landing gear. The queen tears Bishop in half and advances on Newt, but Ripley fights the creature with an exosuit cargo loader and expels it through an airlock into space while the damaged Bishop keeps Newt safe. Ripley, Newt, Hicks, and Bishop then enter hypersleep for their return trip to Earth. The Colonial Marine cast includes privates Vasquez ( Jenette Goldstein ), Drake ( Mark Rolston ), Spunkmeyer ( Daniel Kash ), Crowe ( Tip Tipping ), and Wierzbowski ( Trevor Steedman ), and corporals Dietrich (Cynthia Dale Scott) and Ferro ( Colette Hiller ). In addition to
9715-407: The dropship to crash into the station. Almost out of ammunition and resources, the survivors barricade themselves inside the colony. Ripley discovers that Burke ordered the colonists to investigate the derelict spaceship containing the alien eggs, intending to profit by recovering them for biological weapon research. Before she can expose him, Bishop informs the group that the dropship crash damaged
9860-498: The entertainment spectrum paid tribute to Paxton in the aftermath of his death. On February 26, 2017, while introducing the annual In Memoriam segment at the 89th Academy Awards the day after Paxton's death, a visibly emotional Jennifer Aniston paid tribute to him. His Big Love co-star Chloë Sevigny remembered him as "one of the less cynical, jaded people [she'd] ever met in the business" and said, "He believed in entertainment being transportive and transformative. He believed in
10005-613: The famous Edge "Credit Card Shaving Test" ad campaign. Hughes's work on the Virginia Slims account frequently took him to the Philip Morris headquarters in New York City, which allowed him to visit the offices of National Lampoon magazine. Soon thereafter, Hughes became a regular contributor; editor P. J. O'Rourke recalled that "John wrote so fast and so well that it was hard for a monthly magazine to keep up with him." One of Hughes's first stories, inspired by his family trips as
10150-564: The feature films Frailty (2001), in which he also starred, and The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005). Four years after appearing in Titanic , he joined Cameron on an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic . A film about this trip, Ghosts of the Abyss , was released in 2003. He also appeared in the music video for Limp Bizkit 's 2003 song " Eat You Alive " as a sheriff. In addition, Paxton also played
10295-443: The film, there were only 12 alien suits: simple black leotards covered in molded foam were used for faster-moving shots, and detailed models with articulated upper bodies and mouths for closeups. When the aliens were shot and destroyed, puppets were hung up and detonated. The aliens' acidic blood was a combination of titanium tetrachloride , cyclohexylamine , acetic acid and yellow dye. The facehugger design remained faithful to
10440-624: The film. Unused portions of Horner's Aliens score were repurposed for Die Hard (1988). Development of the special effects for Aliens began in May 1985, with John Richardson supervising a 40-person team at Stan Winston Studio . L.A. Effects Group created miniatures and optical effects. Cameron lacked contacts at the more established special effects studios and avoided using them because he believed his hands-on approach would not be welcomed. He also did not rehire many Alien crew members because he did not want to be restricted by their loyalties to
10585-490: The film. The only mandate was that they be laceless so one could easily slide off of Weaver's foot during the finale. H. R. Giger , who designed the alien creature, was reportedly disappointed that he could not be involved in Aliens . According to Hurd, Giger was contractually obligated to Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and Fox was not allowed to negotiate with him. Giger was replaced by special-effects creator Stan Winston . Cameron also contributed to designs but
10730-436: The first film. Those who returned were often given a higher status (such as Crispian Sallis , Alien focus puller and Aliens set decorator). Cameron had enjoyed returning artist Ron Cobb 's work on Alien , and conceptual artist Syd Mead was recruited because Cameron was a fan of his work on films such as 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984). Mead designed the Sulaco , the marines' spaceship. He conceived it as
10875-413: The floor that activated a gear inside it, causing the appendages to move as it was pulled along. Several rubber facehuggers were made to be thrown or blown up. Manipulating the facehugger inside a water tank was also difficult as the tank had to be watertight, limiting the use of control cables. A method was developed that required fewer cables to move the facehugger around the tank; the tail was fitted with
11020-497: The former two films. Cameron had hoped to cast Paxton in the Avatar sequels before his death. Aliens (film) Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film written and directed by James Cameron . It is the sequel to the 1979 science fiction horror film Alien , and the second film in the Alien franchise . Set in the far future, it stars Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley ,
11165-422: The franchise's scope with additions to the series' backstory and factions such as the Colonial Marines. It inspired a variety of merchandise, including video games, comic books and toys. It was followed by two sequels: Alien 3 (1992) and Alien Resurrection (1997) and a prequel film, Alien: Romulus (2024). Ellen Ripley has been in stasis for 57 years aboard an escape shuttle after destroying her ship,
11310-400: The heat generated in the barrel. A cast was made of Henn's upper body and her stunt double's legs to construct a lightweight dummy for Weaver to hold when carrying a gun; Henn's weight plus a gun would have been too heavy. Goldstein had never handled a gun, and held her weapon incorrectly in closeups, so Hurd stood in for her. The flamethrowers were functional. The art department had covered
11455-421: The horror of Alien with the action of The Terminator . According to Hill, Cameron said if the first film could be compared to a haunted attraction , Aliens should be like a roller coaster . Cameron believed in having a strong female heroine to distinguish his films from typical Hollywood action fare and wrote the script with a picture of Weaver on his desk. He referred to The Terminator , and how he removed
11600-575: The latter film as Private Hudson earned him the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor . He also appeared in Weird Science (1985). In 1987, Paxton played the most psychotic of the vampires, Severen, in Kathryn Bigelow 's critically acclaimed neo-Western horror film, Near Dark . In 1990, Paxton appeared in Predator 2 (1990). He collaborated with James Cameron again on Titanic (1997), which
11745-404: The legs by adding a double joint to make it more inhuman. Cameron and Winston worked on several concepts to vivify the queen, including large puppets, miniatures, and costumes with several people inside. A frame was built large enough to hold two people, covered in black polythene bags, and hung on a crane. The prototype was a success, and Cameron wrote the alien-queen scene. The final alien queen
11890-613: The lives of the colonists, Newt's family discovering the derelict alien ship, and her father being attacked by a facehugger, because it ruined the pacing and sense of mystery. Two scenes with James Remar as Hicks (shown from the back) were used in the film. Ray Lovejoy was responsible for editing the final two hours, 17 minutes cut of Aliens . Fox wanted the film to be under two hours so it could be shown more times per day in theaters, increasing its revenue potential. Fox production president Scott Rudin flew to England to ask Cameron and Hurd if they could cut another 12 minutes, but Cameron
12035-466: The lower cost of filming in England. Filming was difficult as Cameron, a Canadian, had little familiarity with British film-industry traditions such as tea breaks , which interrupted production for up to an hour each weekday, and was frustrated at losing hours of filming every week. In his book The Making of Aliens , J. W. Rinzler described Cameron as aggressive and certain of what he wanted, which irked
12180-598: The magic of what we can bring to people. That was really a gift that he gave to me." The television show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. paid tribute at the end of its season-four episode " What If... ", and a number of storm chasers paid tribute to his role in Twister by spelling out his initials "BP" via the Spotter Network . The 2017 film Call Me by Your Name was dedicated to Paxton's memory. The film's producer, Peter Spears , explained that his husband Brian Swardstrom, who
12325-653: The main cast, Aliens features Paul Maxwell as Van Leuwen (a member of the board reviewing Ripley's competence) and Barbara Coles as the cocooned colonist killed when an alien bursts from her chest. Carl Toop and Eddie Powell portray alien warriors. Some scenes removed from Aliens ' s theatrical version were restored in subsequent releases. Additional credits for these scenes include Newt's father, Russ Jorden ( Jay Benedict ), and her mother Anne (Holly de Jong). Henn's brother, Christopher, plays her brother Timmy, Mac McDonald portrays colony administrator Al Simpson, and Weaver's mother, Elizabeth Inglis , makes
12470-691: The media, save a select few in 1999 to promote the soundtrack album of Reach the Rock . The album was compiled by Hughes's son, John Hughes III, and released on his son's Chicago-based record label Hefty Records . He also recorded an audio commentary for the 1999 DVD release of Ferris Bueller's Day Off . In 1970, the then-20-year old Hughes married Nancy Ludwig, whom he had met in high school. Together they had two children: John Hughes III (born in 1976) and James Hughes (born in 1979). They were together until his death in 2009. Nancy Hughes died on September 15, 2019. Michael Weiss argued that Hughes's films expressed
12615-754: The morning of his assassination on November 22, 1963. Photographs of Paxton being lifted above the crowd are on display at the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas . He later co-produced the film Parkland about the assassination. He graduated from Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth in 1973, after which he studied at Richmond College in London , alongside his old high-school friend Danny Martin. There, they met fellow Texas native Tom Huckabee, with whom they made Super 8 short films for which they built their own sets. One of Paxton's first lead roles
12760-577: The normal protective forces from Sarah Connor so she had to fend for herself. Cameron had also always wanted to make a film about space infantry . The final script was well received, but Fox executives (including chairman Barry Diller ) were concerned about the budget. Fox estimated the cost as close to $ 35 million, but Hurd said it would be closer to $ 15.5 million. Diller offered $ 12 million, prompting Cameron and Hurd to quit. Gordon negotiated with Diller until he relented, and Cameron and Hurd returned. In April 1985, conflict turned to
12905-504: The number of sleeping pods and add a power loader. Cobb designed the dropship, the armored personnel carrier (APC), and exteriors of the colony and its vehicles. The Sulaco ' s dropship was designed to be life-size, for use on the Sulaco set, but a smaller replica was used for some shots. The APC was a disguised pushback tug for a Boeing 747 . The derelict alien spacecraft used in Aliens had been in historian Bob Burns III 's driveway since its appearance in Alien . Most of
13050-513: The number-one film of its third weekend with a gross of $ 7.1 million, ahead of the debuts of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives ($ 6.8 million) and the Howard the Duck ($ 5.1 million). The film fell to third place in its fifth weekend with a gross of $ 4.30 million, behind the debuts of The Fly ($ 7 million) and Armed and Dangerous ($ 4.33 million). Aliens
13195-413: The original Alien design, but the overall appearance was made to appear more organic, and its eight legs were made more finger-like, enhancing the detail on the knuckles and adding fingernails. Unlike in Alien , which only involved one substantial jumping scene, the facehugger models used in Aliens featured full articulation for their tongue, legs, and tail, allowing for more action set pieces. The tail
13340-407: The other actors (Weaver, Reiser, and Hope) as outsiders. Biehn's late casting caused him to miss the training, and he said he regretted being unable to customize his armor like the other actors (since he inherited Remar's). Cameron created a distinct backstory for each marine and instructed the actors to read Starship Troopers so they would understand the space marine archetype. Vasquez
13485-432: The power plant's cooling system, and the plant will soon overheat and explode, destroying the colony. He volunteers to travel to the colony transmitter and remotely pilot the Sulaco 's remaining dropship to the surface. After falling asleep in the medical laboratory, Ripley and Newt awaken to find themselves trapped with the two released facehuggers. Ripley triggers a fire alarm to alert the Marines, who rescue them and kill
13630-440: The production, and that any member of the crew who could not support it should volunteer to be replaced. The crew agreed to support Cameron if he supported their scheduled working hours. The relationship between filmmakers and crew remained cool; when filming concluded at Pinewood, Cameron told the crew: "This has been a long and difficult shoot, fraught by many problems ... but the one thing that kept me going, through it all,
13775-402: The queen and power loader was extensively choreographed, as Weaver risked serious injury battling a large, unwieldy animatronic. The camera was sometimes moved to simulate subjects moving faster. The scene of the queen running at Ripley was one of the more difficult shots; the wires and rods had to be concealed, since they could not be removed in post-production. Miniatures were used for parts of
13920-402: The scene with go motion , a version of stop motion with motion blur added. The 1986 summer film season began in mid-May. The season had been starting earlier each year as studios attempted to beat each other with their biggest films. Fifty-five films were scheduled for release between May and September, including the action drama Top Gun and the comedic Sweet Liberty , but the season
14065-437: The score up, using pieces where he believed they fit best, and inserted pieces of Jerry Goldsmith 's Alien score and hired unknown composers to fill gaps. The director said in a later interview he thought the music was good, but did not fit the scenes he had filmed. Horner's "alien sting " sound was initially used only once, during the scene with the cocooned woman, as Cameron disliked it, but he eventually used it throughout
14210-457: The sets in an unspecified substance to artificially age them; the flamethrowers vaporized it, causing fire and heavy smoke. Goldstein struggled to breathe and, since improvisation was encouraged, Paxton thought she was acting until he also became breathless. The nuclear explosion of the colony in the finale was created by shining a light bulb through cotton. Reebok designer Taun Le was commissioned to design custom sneakers for Weaver to wear in
14355-418: The sets were left in place until Tim Burton redressed the sets into interiors for Axis Chemicals during the filming of his 1989 film Batman . While filming the dropship descent from the Sulaco , shaking collapsed the set roof onto the cast and crew. Most of the cast were unharmed, but a large piece of debris hit Cameron in the head. Because of the tight budget, Hurd made Cameron pay for an early scene of
14500-461: The smart-gun rig was difficult, the actors kept them on when not filming. The pulse rifle was made from a Thompson submachine gun and a Franchi SPAS-12 pump-action shotgun in a futuristic shell. Weaver was opposed to weapons in general, but Cameron explained weapons were secondary to the core narrative of Ripley bonding with and protecting Newt. Weaver found using the weapons strange and difficult, due to their weight and her concern about pulling
14645-435: The sole survivor of an alien attack on her ship. When communications are lost with a human colony on the moon where her crew first encountered the alien creatures, Ripley agrees to return to the site with a unit of Colonial Marines to investigate. Michael Biehn , Paul Reiser , Lance Henriksen , and Carrie Henn are featured in supporting roles. Despite the success of Alien , its sequel took years to develop due to lawsuits,
14790-470: The studio , minus the theaters' share, was $ 42.5 million. Box office figures outside the U.S. and Canada are inconsistent and not available for all 1986 films. According to the box-office tracking websites Box Office Mojo and the Numbers , Aliens earned from $ 45.9 million to $ 98.1 million. This gives Aliens a worldwide gross of $ 131.1 million to $ 183.3 million, making it
14935-501: The subsequent films he wrote and produced during this time also contained elements of the Home Alone formula, including the successful Dennis the Menace (1993) and the box office flop Baby's Day Out (1994). He also wrote screenplays under the pseudonym Edmond Dantes (or Dantès), after the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas 's novel The Count of Monte Cristo . Screenplays credited to
15080-419: The very end, where Stone's character states she wishes her life were a John Hughes movie, by showing various clips of Sixteen Candles , The Breakfast Club , and Ferris Bueller's Day Off . After Hughes's death, many of those who knew him commented on the impact Hughes had on their lives and on the film industry. Molly Ringwald said, "I was stunned and incredibly sad to hear about the death of John Hughes. He
15225-421: The wrong trigger. Automated sentry guns were also constructed for Aliens , although they do not appear in the theatrical cut. Real machine guns were positioned atop remote-controlled hydraulic tripods that allowed them to pivot horizontally or vertically. The guns were capable of firing up to 600 wooden-blank rounds per minute that were shattered into small splinters by baffles in the muzzle and incinerated by
15370-496: The year's fourth-highest-grossing film, behind Platoon ($ 138 million), Crocodile Dundee ($ 328.2 million), and Top Gun ($ 356.8 million), or the third-highest-grossing film behind Crocodile Dundee and Top Gun . According to Fox's 1992 estimate, Aliens had earned $ 157 million worldwide. The New York Times described the film as "extremely successful." John Hughes (filmmaker) John Wilden Hughes Jr. (February 18, 1950 – August 6, 2009)
15515-523: Was Daniel Kash's (Spunkmeyer) debut film role. He offered Cameron his coat if he got the part and also auditioned for Hudson. The actors stayed at the Holiday Inn in Langley, Berkshire , during filming. Paxton described the actors' time outside work positively: "God, we had the best time ... We all hung very hard together. That's where I first met [Henriksen], who I fell in love with. [Matthews] ...
15660-422: Was Goldstein's first feature-film role. She credited her physique to spending hours at the gym while unemployed, gaining 10 pounds (4.5 kg) at Cameron's request. Goldstein wore dark contact lenses and underwent an hour of makeup to cover her freckles and darken her white skin to portray a " Chicano " character; she studied Mexican-American gang interviews to develop her demeanor and accent. Ricco Ross (Frost)
15805-501: Was a Catholic who raised him and his siblings in her faith. His father was a businessman, lumber wholesaler, museum executive, and (during his son's career) an occasional actor, notably appearing in Sam Raimi 's Spider-Man films as Bernard Houseman and alongside Paxton in A Simple Plan (1998). His great-great-grandfather was Elisha Franklin Paxton (1828–1863), a brigadier general in
15950-478: Was a 14-foot (4.3 m) puppet made of lightweight polyurethane foam. Two people sat inside to control the arms; the legs were controlled by rods connected at the ankles, and a separate person whipped the tail around with fishing line. The head was manipulated with a combination of servomotors and hydraulics controlled by up to four people. The effect was hidden by lighting, steam, slime, and smoke. The Stan Winston Studio had not used hydraulics and considered them
16095-413: Was a flop and that America's suburbs were a living hell almost beyond the power of John Cheever 's words to describe ... We were becoming conservatives—in the most conservational sense. There were things that others before us had achieved and these were worth conserving ... Family was the most conservative thing about John. Walking across the family room in your stocking feet and stepping on a Lego (ouch!)
16240-535: Was a really good spirit to have around, with a great voice. And all these hilarious British characters, like [Steedman], the stuntman, who used to grab my bicep and go, 'Blimey, more meat on a cat's cock! ' " Principal photography began in September 1985, on a 75-day schedule, and an $ 18.5 million budget, not including film prints and marketing. Filming took place mainly at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire near London , because of its large sets and
16385-436: Was alerted to danger, but Cameron believed they would make the character appear more frightening than the aliens. Biehn, Paxton, and Henriksen had worked with Cameron on The Terminator . Aliens was Reiser's first major theatrical role, following small parts in films like Beverly Hills Cop (1984). The Colonial Marines cast features a mix of British and American actors who underwent three weeks of intensive training with
16530-527: Was also Paxton's best friend and agent, once visited the set with Paxton during filming and befriended the film's director Luca Guadagnino , who ultimately decided to dedicate the film "in loving memory of Bill Paxton". Close friend and frequent collaborator James Cameron wrote a tribute in an article for Vanity Fair , detailing their 36-year friendship and expressing regret over the projects they would not be able to make together. The 2019 John Travolta film The Fanatic , which co-starred Paxton's son James ,
16675-401: Was also lengthened about 6 in (15 cm) to give it more functions such as a whip-like action. Nine operators were required for the fully articulated facehugger; other less-detailed variants were used for simple actions such as scurrying across the floor. The design team struggled with making it scuttle believably while moving the appendages; they eventually developing a control wire along
16820-574: Was an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He began his career in 1970 as an author of humorous essays and stories for the National Lampoon magazine. He went on in Hollywood to write, produce and direct some of the most successful live-action-comedy films of the 1980s and 1990s. He directed such films as Sixteen Candles , The Breakfast Club , Weird Science , Ferris Bueller's Day Off , Planes, Trains and Automobiles , She's Having
16965-438: Was and will always be such an important part of my life. ... He will be missed – by me and by everyone that he has touched. My heart and all my thoughts are with his family now." Matthew Broderick also released his own statement, saying, "I am truly shocked and saddened by the news about my old friend John Hughes. He was a wonderful, very talented guy and my heart goes out to his family." The 82nd Academy Awards (2010) included
17110-454: Was anticipated to become the summer's top film, surpassing The Karate Kid Part II , Back to School , and Top Gun . The Los Angeles Times reported long lines to see Aliens , even on weekday afternoons. The film retained the number-one position in its second weekend with an additional gross of $ 8.6 million, ahead of the debuting Heartburn ($ 5.8 million) and The Karate Kid Part II ($ 5 million). Aliens remained
17255-414: Was articulated with hydraulics and cables to control the queen's mouth and lips. To create the effect of the queen piercing Bishop's chest with her tail, Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis constructed a chestplate for Henriksen with a rubber segment of the queen's tail flattened against it. The tail was pulled forward by wire, apparently exploding through Bishop's torso. A rigid piece of tail, attached to
17400-459: Was at school in Lakenheath , England, and though she lacked acting experience, Cameron said she had a "great face and expressive eyes". Stephen Lang auditioned for the role of Hicks, but James Remar secured the role on the recommendation of Hill, his close friend. Remar left shortly into filming, ostensibly due to urgent family matters or creative differences with Cameron, but he later admitted he
17545-496: Was based in Los Angeles. The company produced the films Jack , 101 Dalmatians , and Flubber , but Hughes and Mestres ended their partnership in 1997. The 1998 film Reach the Rock , which was produced as part of the partnership between Hughes and Mestres, was subsequently credited as "a Gramercy Pictures release of a John Hughes and Ricardo Mestres production". In the following years, Hughes rarely granted interviews to
17690-724: Was booked to begin scoring The Name of the Rose (1986) shortly afterwards. Horner recorded the score at Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra . His schedule was so tight that the music for the climactic battle between Ripley and the queen was written overnight. Cameron first heard the score while it was being recorded by the orchestra and did not like it, but it was too late to make changes. Brad Fiedel 's synth-inspired tracks for The Terminator had allowed changes to be made quickly based on feedback, but Cameron had no experience managing orchestral music. Cameron cut
17835-434: Was cast as Hudson before Cameron and Hurd decided to take the character in a different direction. Cynthia Dale Scott (Dietrich) was an aspiring singer when she was cast. Colette Hiller (Ferro) was upset she had to cut her hair short for the role because she was getting married shortly afterward, and made the filmmakers buy her a long, blonde wig. Trevor Steedman (Wierzbowski) was a stuntman rather than an actor, and Aliens
17980-455: Was committed to Full Metal Jacket (1987), whose filming schedule overlapped for a week with Aliens ' . Although Cameron offered to let Ross join the filming later, Ross was concerned that Stanley Kubrick 's projects often overran, and opted for Aliens instead. Rolston misled the filmmakers to get his part; he had finished filming Revolution (1985), and implied he was its most prominent actor after Al Pacino . William Hope (Gorman)
18125-564: Was concerned further cuts would make it nonsensical, and Rudin relented. James Horner met Cameron early in their careers, when they worked for director Roger Corman . Aliens was Horner and Cameron's first collaboration; Horner called it a "nightmare". He arrived in London to compose, expecting a six-week schedule. There was nothing for him to score, as Cameron was still filming and editing, and Horner had only three weeks to compose. The producers were unwilling to give him any more time, and he
18270-424: Was dedicated to Paxton. James would later play a younger version of Paxton's S.H.I.E.L.D. character in the final season , which served as a tribute to his role in the show. Cameron's 2022 film, Avatar: The Way of Water was dedicated to the memory of Paxton as well as to James Horner , who previously worked with Cameron on Aliens , Titanic and the first Avatar . Paxton worked with both Cameron and Horner on
18415-465: Was encouraged. Weaver discussed tweaks to her character with Cameron on set, believing she understood how Ripley would act. Her line "Get away from her, you bitch!" had to be filmed in one take due to the tight schedule remaining, and the actress thought she had messed it up. Paxton believed he was not good at improvisation and discussed ideas with Cameron before filming. Hudson's signature line "Game over, man; game over!" originated from Paxton developing
18560-406: Was fired after being arrested for drug possession. Hurd hired Michael Biehn the following Friday. Paxton credited his casting as Hudson to a chance encounter with Cameron at Los Angeles International Airport , during which he mentioned he would be interested in a role. Fox supported Paxton's casting because of positive feedback for his performance in Weird Science (1985). Paxton was worried
18705-454: Was in The Circle (2017), released two months after his death. In 1982, Paxton and his friend Andrew Todd Rosenthal formed a new wave musical band called Martini Ranch . The band released its only full-length album, Holy Cow , in 1988 on Sire Records . The album was produced by Devo member Bob Casale , and featured guest appearances by two other members of that band. The music video for
18850-626: Was in Huckabee's experimental film Taking Tiger Mountain . Paxton subsequently moved to Los Angeles , where he worked in props and art departments and as a parking valet at the Beverly Hills Hotel . After being rejected by film schools in Southern California , he switched his ambitions from directing to acting. Among Paxton's earliest roles were as a mortuary assistant in Mortuary (1983),
18995-779: Was in heavy rotation during the early days of Canadian music channel MuchMusic . He was cast in a music video for the 1982 Pat Benatar song " Shadows of the Night " in which he appeared as a Nazi radio officer. In 1981, Paxton worked in the movie Stripes as a soldier, in the bar scene with John Candy and Bill Murray . He worked alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984) and in Commando (1985), as well as in True Lies (1994), which reunited him with James Cameron . He reunited with Cameron on Aliens (1986). His performance in
19140-489: Was later prominently featured in Hughes's 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off . Hughes described himself as "kind of quiet": I grew up in a neighborhood that was mostly girls and old people. There weren't any boys my age, so I spent a lot of time by myself, imagining things. And every time we would get established somewhere, we would move. Life just started to get good in seventh grade, and then we moved to Chicago. I ended up in
19285-426: Was milk, and after several days of filming, it was sour and foul-smelling. John Richardson designed the mechanical power loader exosuit, with input from Mead. As with the queen, a prototype was built out of wood and polythene bags stuffed with newspaper to see how the movement would work. The finished design was so cumbersome that stuntman John Lees, in a black skinsuit, operated it from behind. The battle between
19430-457: Was never offered the chance to direct the sequel, possibly because he was difficult to work with on the original. The title Aliens reportedly came from Cameron writing "Alien" on a whiteboard during a pitch meeting and adding a "$ " suffix. Cameron also wanted his collaborative partner and girlfriend, Gale Anne Hurd , to serve as the producer, but Fox did not take the request seriously, believing she could not stand up to Cameron, who believed she
19575-671: Was not as concerned with the warrior aliens because they were on screen only briefly. In redesigning the alien warriors, Cameron remained faithful to Giger's work while building on it. Conscious that the creatures would be seen by audiences as people in costumes, he enhanced the designs by extending their arms and often filmed them hung from wires or from atypical positions to make them appear more inhuman. The aliens were played by dancers and stuntmen in lightweight costumes that allowed them to move quickly. Several 8-foot (2.4 m) mannequins were used for aliens that were contorted into inhuman poses. Although hordes of alien creatures appear to be in
19720-519: Was not being made exclusively for financial reasons. Weaver received a $ 1 million (equivalent to $ 2.78 million in 2023) salary and a percentage of the box-office profits, the highest salary of her career at the time. Negotiations were so lengthy that Cameron and Hurd told Schwarzenegger's agent they intended to write Ripley out of the movie (knowing Weaver's agent would be told); terms were reached shortly afterward. Cameron wanted an unknown actor to portray Newt. Agents scouted Henn while she
19865-671: Was not expected to break financial records due to fewer sequels, anticipated blockbusters , and films by Steven Spielberg or starring popular comedians that had dominated the earlier half of the decade. Some industry experts also blamed the burgeoning home-video market, which had grown from 7 million rentals in 1983 to 58 million by 1985. Films expected to do well were aimed at younger audiences and featured comedy or horror, such as Back to School , Ferris Bueller's Day Off , and SpaceCamp . Some films targeted at adults were also seen as potential successes, including Legal Eagles , Ruthless People , and Cobra . Aliens
20010-574: Was one of the top ten highest-grossing films for 11 weeks. By the end of its theatrical run, Aliens had grossed about $ 85.1 million. This figure made it the year's seventh highest-grossing film , behind Back to School ($ 91.3 million), science-fiction film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ($ 109.6 million), The Karate Kid Part II ($ 115.1 million), war film Platoon (138.5 million), action comedy Crocodile Dundee ($ 174.8 million) and Top Gun ($ 176.8 million). Aliens ' box-office returns to
20155-404: Was seen by industry professionals as a potential sleeper hit based on positive industry word-of-mouth during filming, enthusiastic industry screenings, and favorable pre-release reviews. The film's success was considered dependent on its ability to attract audiences outside the young males and blue-collar workers typical for the genre. The tagline was, "This time, it's war". Aliens began
20300-502: Was the certain knowledge that one day I would drive out the gate of Pinewood and never come back, and that you sorry bastards would still be here". He described most of the crew as "lazy, insolent, and arrogant". Paxton called the crew's work impeccable, but their attitude more relaxed than the American crews to which he was accustomed. The power plant and alien nest were filmed in the decommissioned Acton Lane Power Station in London, and
20445-405: Was the fundamental building block of society. On August 5, 2009, Hughes and his wife traveled to New York City to visit their son James and their new grandson. James said his father appeared to be in good health that night and that the family had made plans for the next day. On the morning of August 6, Hughes was taking a walk close to his hotel on West 55th Street in Manhattan when he suffered
20590-940: Was the highest-grossing film of all time at its release. In his other roles, Paxton played Morgan Earp in Tombstone (1993), Fred Haise in Apollo 13 (1995), Bill Harding in Twister (1996), and lead roles in dark dramas such as One False Move (1992) and A Simple Plan (1998). In 1990, he co-starred with Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn in Navy Seals . Paxton also appeared in Indian Summer (1993) and Mighty Joe Young (1998). After 2000, he appeared in U-571 (2000), Vertical Limit (2000), Frailty (2001), Broken Lizard's Club Dread (2004), Thunderbirds (2004), Edge of Tomorrow (2014) and Nightcrawler (2014). Paxton directed
20735-489: Was the only person who would. Hurd had several industry associates contact Fox executives to convince them she was a legitimate producer. Cameron turned in the finished script in February 1985, hours before a Hollywood writer's strike . Cameron recalled the audience reactions while seeing Alien in the theater and believed it would be difficult to recreate the emotion and novelty of the original. He and Hurd agreed to combine
20880-627: Was tumultuous and rife with conflicts between Cameron and the British crew at Pinewood Studios . The difficult shoot affected the composer, James Horner , who was given little time to record the music. Aliens was released on July 18, 1986, to critical acclaim. Reviewers praised its action, but some criticized the intensity of some scenes. Weaver's performance garnered consistent praise along with those of Bill Paxton and Jenette Goldstein . The film received several awards and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Weaver at
21025-414: Was written while he was still on staff at the magazine. The resulting film became the second disastrous attempt by the flagship to duplicate the runaway success of National Lampoon's Animal House . Hughes's next screenplay for the imprint, however, National Lampoon's Vacation , would become a major hit in 1983. This, along with the success of another Hughes script that same year, Mr. Mom , earned him
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