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nightmareonfilmstreet · 6 years ago

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The Fraught and Remarkable Production of James Cameron’s ALIENS

In 1979, director Ridley Scott took the genres of horror and science fiction by storm with his groundbreaking film Alien. As is often the case with runaway successes such as this, a sequel followed. However, unlike Alien – Aliens was to be an altogether different kind of beast.

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Aliens Conception

After the success of Alien, producer David Giler declared in 1979 that production house Brandywine were intent on making a sequel. Initially having the full support of 20th Century Fox’s president Alan Ladd Jr, that year Ladd left amid Fox’s transition to new owners. The new management at Fox had no interest in the sequel. In the meantime, Giler and partners Walter Hill and Gordon Carroll sued Fox regarding the disbursement of the Alien profits after reneging on Ladd’s promise. The subsequent lawsuit would not be settled until 1983. By this time, Fox had once again acquired new executives that were more interested in continuing Alien as a franchise. Giler pitched the project to the new management as a cross between Hill’s Southern Comfort and The Magnificent Seven.

Enter James Cameron

While the producers sought a writer for the proposed sequel, Development executive Larry Wilson came across James Cameron’s screenplay for The Terminator. The screenplay was passed on to Giler, the general feeling was that Cameron was the man for the job. Giler approached Cameron, who was completing pre-production of The Terminator at this time. A fan of Alien, Cameron was interested in helming the proposed sequel and began work on a concept for Aliens. Cameron produced a 45-page treatment in just 4 days. Fox management once again put the film on hiatus. The pitch was met with mixed feelings and cold feet that Alien had not generated enough profit to warrant a sequel.

Filming of Cameron’s The Terminator was also delayed by nine months at this time. Due to its star, Arnold Schwarzenegger filming Conan the Destroyer, production was delayed. This was a serendipitous turn of events allowing Cameron additional time to write a script for Aliens. While still filming The Terminator, Cameron wrote 90 pages for Aliens. Even in its unfinished state, the work piqued the interest of Fox’s new president Larry Gordon. Cameron was told that if The Terminator was a success, he would be able to direct Aliens. Bringing aboard Gale Ann Hurd to produce, The rest, as they say, is history.

Express Elevator To Hell: A Change Of Approach

Where as the original Alien is oft quoted as being a “haunted house in space”, Cameron’s approach for the sequel was to be something entirely different. The extra time Cameron had been afforded to work on his treatment for Aliens had been well utilised. The story he came up with took the series in a brave new direction.

Ellen Ripley has been drifting in space for some time after the events of the first movie. To be more precise, Ripley has drifted through space for 57 years. Picked up in her EEV by Wayland-Yutani, the ever-present, shadowy “Company”, Ripley’s tasked with returning to LV-426, now a terraformed colony. All communication with LV-426 and its inhabitants has been lost. Accompanying a squad of kick-ass colonial marines, they need to establish why contact has broken down.

Aliens is Bigger, bolder, and much more action oriented than its predecessor. Where as the original was more a traditional thriller, Aliens was to be all out war. Perfectly pacing exposition, slow building suspense and intense action, Cameron certainly knew what he wanted to deliver. From its bombastic James Horner score, to its groundbreaking Stan Winston effects, This is how a sequel is done right.

Hard Times

Cameron now had his film and a $18 million budget, he now needed to secure his leading lady. Sigourney Weaver was reticent about the project. Weaver met Cameron who explained his ideas, piquing the actors interest in revisiting her character. Fox, however, refused to sign Weaver over a payment dispute and asked Cameron to write a story excluding her character. Cameron refused on the grounds that Fox had indicated that Weaver’s involvement when he began writing his treatment for Aliens. Cameron doggedly insisted in Weaver’s involvement and Fox signed the contract. Weaver obtained a salary of $1 million, a sum 30 times what she was paid for Alien.

Bringing together the likes of Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton, who had all worked with Cameron on The Terminator. They were joined by Paul Reiser, Janette Goldstein, William Hope and newcomer, Carrie Henn to round off the principal cast.

Us & Them

Filmed over the best part of a year at Pinewood studios in the U.K., the production was notoriously fraught. The U.S & U.K crews would frequently butt heads. Notoriously tensions strained over, of all things, was the Great British ‘tea break’ frequently bringing production to a halt. A very much ‘us & them’ attitude punctuated the production. Many of the experienced crew had worked under Ridley Scott on the original film and believed Cameron to be too young and inexperienced to carry so large a film. Tensions reached their peak when Cameron fired D.O.P Dick Bush over negative approaches to schedule and difference of opinion, causing the crew to walk out on the production. Hurd, working her production magic, managed to coax the crew back. With such a pervasive atmosphere, it is a wonder the film turned out as well as it did.

Praise has to be given on the magnificent sets that were built. Production converted part of a disused power station in Acton to become the alien nest. An interesting piece of trivia, the set that was used for the atmosphere processor was reused a few years later as The Axis chemical factory in Tim Burton’s Batman. I was never aware of this until recently and must confess to geeking out a little.

Building A Better Movie

Robert and Dennis Skotak were hired to supervise the visual effects for Aliens. Two stages were utilised to construct the colony on LV-426. Cameron used these miniatures and several effects to make scenes look larger than they really were. Namely through methods including forced perspective, rear projection, mirrors and foreground miniatures. Practical effects supervisor John Richardson (who earned the Oscar for Best Visual Effects for the film in 1987) declared his biggest challenge was creating the power loader. Requiring three months work, The model could not stand on its own, requiring either wires dangling from the shoulders or a pole through the back attached to a crane. While Sigourney Weaver was stood inside the loader, a stunt man standing behind it would move the arms and legs.

Aliens Reborn

Stan Winston designed alien suits were made more flexible and durable than the ones used in Alien to allow more freedom of movement. This new suit allowed the Xeno’s to crawl and jump. Dancers, gymnasts, and stunt men were hired to portray the aliens. 8-foot-tall mannequins we’re constructed to make aliens that stood could have charges detonated to simulate gunshot wounds. Winston’s team also created fully articulated facehuggers that could move their fingers; these were moved by wires hidden on the scenery or the actors’ clothing. This was a remarkably simple trick that allowed the facehuggers to appear more real than ever.

The Queen Lives!

The alien queen provided one of the most difficult challenges to film. A life-sized mockup was created by Winston in the U.S. to act as a dry run to see how it would operate on set. Once the testing was complete, the crew working on the queen flew to England and began work creating the final version.

Standing at 14 feet tall, it was a phenomenal physical creation. The Queen was operated using a mixture of puppeteers, control rods, hydraulics, cables, and a crane above to support it. Two puppeteers inside the suit operated its arms, and 16 additional were required to move it. All sequences involving the full-size queen were filmed in-camera with no post-production manipulation. Let’s just consider that for a moment. The majority of the queens shots, excluding some minimal miniature work, all happened on set. Even by today’s standards, that is remarkable.

Now That Sounds Like A Franchise: The Success Of Aliens

Aliens was released in North America on July 18, 1986. In North America, the film opened in 1,437 theaters with an opening weekend gross of $10,052,042. It was #1 at the North American box office for four consecutive weeks, grossing $85.1 million. The film’s worldwide total gross has been stated as high as $180 million, making Aliens one of the highest-grossing R-rated films at the time. Due to its resounding success, the Xenomorphs would return to our screens again in 1992 for Alien3, helmed by first time director David Fincher. In the subsequent years that followed their would be another 3 Alien movies and a further 2 Alien vs. Predator spin-offs.

The Alien series has proved to be a franchise that refuses to lay down and die. Arguably its real turning point came with the leap of faith taken by James Cameron in taking the series in a bold new direction and expanding upon the mythos of the Xenomorph race in such an inventive and breathlessly engaging way.

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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Lower Merion Police Officer's Gesture Leaves Lasting Impression With Family Whose 4-Year-Old Was Having Seizure LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) — A Montgomery County mother is sharing how a police officer went above and beyond the call of duty during her child’s medical emergency. “We were having a normal day. We were playing dress-up, we were dancing. We were playing with Magna Tiles,” mother Maggie Corrado said. It was supposed to be a normal girls’ day, snowed in at the house. But things quickly took a turn for the worse Monday when Corrado’s 4-year-old daughter Mason said she wasn’t feeling well. “She went to the bathroom and a couple of minutes later, my husband called me in because he said she was talking funny,” Corrado said. And as a parent, things only got more frightening from there. Mason was having a seizure. “I was saying ‘Mason, Mason!’ I kind of shook her and I said ‘look at me, look at me,’ and she just wouldn’t. When she did look at me she had just such a far-off look and she just wasn’t there,” Corrado said. That’s when she called 911. Multiple Lower Merion officers showed up at her home, but one officer left a lasting impression on the family. “I said to him thank you, just through my hysterics. He just looked at me and he said ‘I have five daughters,’ and I just knew with him saying that, that it meant I understand,” Corrado said. But the officer’s work didn’t stop there. Ultimately, Mason was transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where doctors say the 4-year-old will be fine. The family got home Tuesday with a surprise visit from a man in blue. “He brought over a gift bag of different unicorn things — a unicorn stuffed animal, a unicorn bathrobe and some candy,” Corrado said. It’s a simple gesture that brought some light to a family in one of their darkest hours. “Having a stranger do something like that really just shows that there is this kindness out there that we forget sometimes,” Corrado said. Unfortunately, Officer Aluise was not able to join us for tonight’s piece. Corrado wanted to again thank him for his kindness and being there for her family. MORE ON CBSPHILLY.COM EXCLUSIVE: Lawsuit Alleges Ridley Township Top Cop Scott Willoughby Conspired With Elected Township Officials In Interfering With FBI Investigation Police: 66-Year-Old Man Stabbed 16 Times In Custody After Woman Stabbed 9 Times In North Philly Rooming Home Philadelphia Opens Doors To Reorganized Vaccine Clinic At Pennsylvania Convention Center Source link Orbem News #4yearold #Family #gesture #Impression #Lasting #Leaves #lowermerion #lowermerionpolice #Merion #officers #Police #seizure

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thatsnotcanonpodcasts · 5 years ago

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Machines, Steam & Godzilla

Hello, Ni hao, G’day, welcome to another episode of rambunctious fun and games from those Nerds we all love. We wish to say an especially warm welcome to our friends in China, and thank you for listening, you are awesome. Now this week we have Buck up first with news about the rise of the machines. Now please note we said rise, not uprising, two totally different things which we explain in the show. We discuss the different attitudes between countries like Japan who are excited to see advancement in AI and robotics; compared to the sad grumpy people in Hollywood who think Robots are going to take over the world in a violent revolution. But honestly, if the robots are going to take over can they hurry up, I mean have you looked at what those apes we call politicians are doing to the place? Things are so bad we have idiots somehow gluing themselves to the road, we all learned about glue in at 5 years of age making arts and craft. Even then we never managed to glue ourselves to the floor.

Next up we look at France and the judgement against Steam finally coming down. Now this is going to be an interesting topic as we look at some of the ramifications. Plus we ask the real hard hitting question that really defines the situation. That’s right folks, you will hear it here first, are the French gamers really going to care what the courts and government say? Are Valve really going to be concerned about this? If in space no one can hear you scream are all farts silent but violent? Um, yes, well if anyone can answer those let us know, these are truly hard hitting facts that we wish to know.

This week we have a review from the DJ on the anime trilogy of Godzilla movies, and wow these are looking really cool. Spoiler, they rock and you should really take the time to go and watch them some time soon. While it is cgi animation it still works well and is a whole lot of fun with the usual Japanese drama that makes Anime so much fun. These movies are Godzilla: Planet of the monsters, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle, and the last movie Godzilla: The Planet Eater. Check them out and let us know what you think in the Nerds Amalgamated group page on Facebook.

As usual we have the games being played, shout out, remembrances, birthdays, and special events. Once again thank you for listening and we hope you enjoyed the episode. Take care of yourselves, look out for each other and stay hydrated.

EPISODE NOTES:

Rise of the machines - https://techxplore.com/news/2019-09-japan-roboticists-machines.html

The case of Steam vs France & China

– France - https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/d6baej/french_court_rules_out_10_clauses_of_the_steam/

- China - https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-china-will-be-almost-entirely-independent-of-steam/

Godzilla anime trilogy review - https://asianmoviepulse.com/2018/05/anime-review-godzilla-planet-of-the-monsters/

Games currently playing

– Warframe - https://store.steampowered.com/app/230410/Warframe/

Rating – 3.5/5

Professor

– Creeper World 2 : Anniversary Edition - https://store.steampowered.com/app/422920/Creeper_World_2_Anniversary_Edition/

Rating – 8/10

Buck

– New Frontier - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1104640/New_Frontier/

Rating – 4/5

Other topics discussed

Blade Runner (1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner

Elon Musk warns governors about AI

- https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/17/537686649/elon-musk-warns-governors-artificial-intelligence-poses-existential-risk

AI Takeover (hypothetical scenario in which artificial intelligence (AI) becomes the dominant form of intelligence on Earth, with computers or robots effectively taking control of the planet away from the human species)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_takeover

Facebook AI chatbots shutdown

- https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-artificial-intelligence-ai-chatbot-new-language-research-openai-google-a7869706.html

Microsoft AI shutdown thanks to trolls

- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/03/24/the-internet-turned-tay-microsofts-fun-millennial-ai-bot-into-a-genocidal-maniac/

Sophia the intelligent robot: Destroy all humans

- https://metro.co.uk/2016/03/29/i-will-destroy-humans-intelligent-robot-gives-a-very-creepy-answer-in-tv-interview-5783373/

- https://www.businessinsider.com.au/interview-with-sophia-ai-robot-hanson-said-it-would-destroy-humans-2017-11?r=US&IR=T

Three Laws of Robotics by Isaac Asimov

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics

Back Orifice (computer program designed for remote system administration)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_Orifice

Stuxnet (malicious computer worm, first uncovered in 2010, thought to have been in development since at least 2005.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet

Galileo Galilei (astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath from Pisa.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

Boeing 737 crashes (Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737_MAX_groundings#Crashes

Germanwings Flight 9525 crash

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanwings_Flight_9525

Epic games store exclusives

- https://www.techradar.com/news/epic-games-store-exclusives-early-access-and-how-it-could-take-on-steam

Epic Games store paid 10.45 million for Control

- https://screenrant.com/epic-games-10-million-control-exclusive-remedy/

France’s games market in 2018

- https://newzoo.com/insights/infographics/france-games-market-2018/

European Union vs Google Antitrust Lawsuit

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_vs._Google

UFC-Que Choisir (French consumers group)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC-Que_Choisir

G2A controversy

- https://www.polygon.com/2019/7/5/20683026/g2a-controversy-audit-petition

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) : Federal Court of Australia confirm valve misled gamers

- https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/full-federal-court-confirms-that-valve-misled-gamers

Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior codenamed Opération Satanique carried out on 10 July 1985

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_Rainbow_Warrior

Other Godzilla anime movies featured in the trilogy

- Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (Second movie in the Godzilla anime trilogy) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla:_City_on_the_Edge_of_Battle

- Godzilla: The Planet Eater (Third movie in the Godzilla anime trilogy) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla:_The_Planet_Eater

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion also known as Code Geass (2006 Japanese animeseries created by Sunrise)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Geass

Terror in Resonance also known as Terror in Tokyo (2014 Japanese anime television series produced by MAPPA)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_in_Resonance

Haruo Sakaki (Main Protagonist in the Godzilla anime trilogy)

- https://godzilla.fandom.com/wiki/Haruo_Sakaki

PAYDAY 2

- https://store.steampowered.com/app/218620/PAYDAY_2/

Best selling manga of all time

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_manga

- https://moneyinc.com/10-best-selling-manga-time/

Off with The Fairies (TNC Podcast)

- https://thatsnotcanon.com/offwiththefairiespodcast

Shoutouts

21 Sept 2019 – Naruto manga turns 20 years old as it debuted on this day in 1999, Naruto was serialized in Shueisha's magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1999 to 2014, and released in tankōbon (book) form in 72 volumes. Naruto is the fourth best-selling manga series in history, selling 235 million copies worldwide in 35 countries. - https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2019/09/21/naruto-turns-20-how-its-worldbuilding-remains-unmatched

23 Sept 2002 – The first public version of the web browser Mozilla Firefox ("Phoenix 0.1") is released. It was created by theMozilla community members who desired a standalone browser, rather than the Mozilla Application Suite bundle. During its beta phase, Firefox proved to be popular with its testers and was praised for its speed, security, and add-ons compared to Microsoft's then-dominant Internet Explorer 6. Firefox is the spiritual successor of Netscape Navigator, as the Mozilla community was created by Netscape in 1998 before their acquisition by AOL. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox

23 Sept 2019 – Nintendo turns 130 years old. Nintendo Koppai (Later Nintendo Company, Limited) was founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce and market the playing card game Hanafuda. - https://www.vg247.com/2019/09/23/nintendo-turns-130-years-old-today-significant-milestones-figures/

Remembrances

21 Sept 2019 - Aron Eisenberg, American actor who played Nog, a Ferengi, through all seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Although the part called for him to appear under heavy makeup, he appeared without makeup as a news vendor in the episode "Far Beyond the Stars". He later guest-starred as a Kazon called Kar in "Initiations", an episode of Star Trek Voyager, and was a host and producer of the Star Trek themed podcast The 7th Rule. He died at the age of 50 in Los Angeles, California - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aron_Eisenberg

21 Sept 2019 - Sigmund Jähn, Germancosmonaut and pilot who in 1978 became the first German to fly into space as part of the Soviet Union's Interkosmos programme. He flew on board Soyuz 31, launched 26 August 1978 to the Soviet space station Salyut 6, where he conducted experiments in remote sensing of the earth, medicine, biology, materials science, and geophysics. After 124 orbits he returned on Soyuz 29 and landed on 3 September 1978, having spent 7 days, 20 hours, and 49 minutes in space. Because the Soviet and American space programs maintain distinctive vocabularies, he was a cosmonaut rather than an astronaut. During and after the flight, the socialist authorities of the GDR acclaimed him as "the first German in space", emphasizing an East German victory over West Germany. Upon his return he headed the East Germany Army's Cosmonaut Training Center near Moscow until German unification in 1990, when he left the East German military with the rank of major general. Jähn was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 3 September 1978. He died at the age of 82 in Strausberg,Brandenburg - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_J%C3%A4hn

23 Sept 1939 - Sigmund Freud born Sigismund Schlomo Freud, Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst. In founding psychoanalysis, Freud developed therapeutic techniques such as the use of free association and discovered transference, establishing its central role in the analytic process. Freud's redefinition of sexuality to include its infantile forms led him to formulate the Oedipus complex as the central tenet of psychoanalytical theory. Nonetheless, Freud's work has suffused contemporary Western thought and popular culture. In the words of W. H. Auden's 1940 poetic tribute to Freud, he had created "a whole climate of opinion / under whom we conduct our different lives." He died from a drug overdose at the age of 83 in Hampstead, London - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud

Famous Birthdays

23 Sept 1869 - Mary Mallon, also known as Typhoid Mary, was an Irish-American cook. She was the first person in the United States identified as an asymptomatic carrier of the pathogen associated with typhoid fever. She was presumed to have infected 51 people, three of whom died, over the course of her career as a cook. She was twice forcibly isolated by public health authorities and died after a total of nearly three decades in isolation. She was born in Cookstown,County Tyrone - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mallon

23 Sept 1897 – Walter Pidgeon, Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in Mrs. Miniver and Madame Curie. Pidgeon also starred in many films such as most famously Forbidden Planet which he played as Dr. Morbius. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1975. He was born in Saint John, New Brunswick - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Pidgeon

23 Sept 1917 - Asima Chatterjee, Indian organic chemist noted for her work in the fields of organic chemistry and phytomedicine. Her most notable work includes research on vinca alkaloids, the development of anti-epileptic drugs, and development of anti-malarial drugs. She also authored a considerable volume of work on medicinal plants of the Indian subcontinent. She was the first woman to receive a Doctorate of Science from an Indian university. Chatterjee also wrote around 400 papers which were published in both national and international journals. She was born Calcutta now known as Kolkata - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asima_Chatterjee

Events of Interest

23 Sept 1846 – Astronomers Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier, John Couch Adams and Johann Gottfried Galle collaborate on the discovery of Neptune. The planet Neptune was mathematically predicted before it was directly observed. With a prediction by Urbain Le Verrier, telescopic observations confirming the existence of a major planet were made. It was a sensational moment of 19th-century science, and dramatic confirmation of Newtonian gravitational theory. In François Arago's apt phrase, Le Verrier had discovered a planet "with the point of his pen". The discovery of Neptune led to the discovery of its moon Triton by William Lassell just seventeen days later. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_of_Neptune

23 Sept 1962 – The Jetsons premiered in prime time with its very first episode, a little bit of lunacy entitled "Rosey the Robot.", it was Hanna-Barbera's Space Age counterpart to The Flintstones. While the Flintstones lived in a world which was a comical version of the "stone age", with machines powered by birds and dinosaurs, the Jetsons live in a comical version of a century in the future, with elaborate robotic contraptions, aliens, holograms, and whimsical inventions. The original series comprised 24 episodes and aired on Sunday nights on ABC America. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jetsons

24 Sept 1957 - In 1954, the US Supreme Court ruled in the famous Brown v Board of Education case that segregation of schools in the American South was unconstitutional. Despite this ruling, integrating the schools was not a simple act. The conflict over segregation in schools reached its height at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. Nine black students attempted to enroll in 1957, prompting a fierce backlash from the pro-segregation state government of governor Orval Faubus. On September 4, 1957, the Arkansas National Guard were mobilized by Faubus to prevent the integration of the students. The intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower proved decisive: he ordered the National Guard be federalized, taking them out of the Governor's control, and ordered the US Army to support the integration of the school. The students were successfully integrated on September 23, 1957. The photo was taken on the 24th of Sept 1957. - https://www.onthisday.com/photos/little-rock-crisis

Intro

Artist – Goblins from Mars

Song Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)

Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamated

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrS

iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094

RSS - http://www.thatsnotcanonproductions.com/topshelfnerdspodcast?format=rss

General Enquiries

Email - [email protected]

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amateurfan227 · 8 years ago

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Shitlist Reviews - Aliens - 1986

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m Amateur Fan 2.27 and welcome to the Shitlist, where bad movies (eventually) burn, seeing the arrival of Alien Covenant is literally around the corner, I thought it was about time to review the rest of the series which leads to the following sequel from the first film in 1979.

So today’s review I’ll be looking over the 1986 sequel directed by Terminator creator, James Cameron (yes I will be diving into Terminator 2 soon) Aliens, though this was probably set more on Action-Horror like Predator than it was Science-Horror such as its original film, it still holds itself as a pretty decent film at that with more Xenomorphs as well as more expansion towards the Alien franchise.

As usual we’ll dive into the production history first as which will be a lot more interesting towards both the franchise’s direction as well as the fan-base as well as direction of James Cameron’s career as a director.

David Giler declared that Brandywine Productions were immediately making a sequel to the 1979 success with full support from 20th Century Fox’s president Alan Ladd Jr though problems rose as Ladd left due to new owners Marc Rich and Marvin Davis stating that they had no interest in the sequel, claiming it would be too costly to make.

Though through a lawsuit for Alien Profits towards Fox, Giler won with ideas from executives to cross between movies like Walter Hill’s Southern Comfort and The Magnificent Seven; Whilst producer and development executive Larry Wilson looked for a writer for Alien II, Wilson came across James Cameron’s screenplay for The Terminator and passed it towards Giler feeling that Cameron was acceptable for the job.

As a fan of the first movie Cameron accepted the position and created a 45 page screen play though the movie was in hiatus as well as people disliking the pitch as it felt that the original movie didn’t have the budget to warrant a sequel.

Scheduling conflicts arose towards Arnold Schwarzenegger caused the Terminator to be delayed in 9 months which other issues arose towards that but that’s for another time, though during his time on the Terminator, Cameron wrote a 90 page script for Aliens though it wasn’t finished but Fox’s new president was heavily impressed with the Terminator being a success stating that Cameron would direct the sequel to Aliens.

Following the success of the Terminator, Cameron and producing partner Gale Anne Herd, were given approval to direct and produce the sequel with a 1986 release with Cameron having the opportunity of creating a new world which wasn’t to follow the same formula as the first movie; but it had the chance of bringing a combat style movie focusing on the terror and less more on the horror.

Sigourney Weaver (who portrayed Ripley) had major doubts in reprising her character after meeting Cameron after learning that her payment would be worth less than she originally had in the first movie, though through some negotiations with Fox, Fox signed a contract stating that Weaver would get $1 million for the role, which they agreed with.

Cameron drew inspiration for the story from the Vietnam War which had a similar situation using a technologically advanced force in a hostile environment, the attitude also works for the Space Marines as well which they were portrayed as cocky and confident towards their victories, another inspiration was Starship Troopers which involved the drop and the bug hunt.

Aliens was filmed in over 10 months on a $18 million budget at Pinewood Studios in England, Cameron (bound on a low budget and a deadline) found it difficult to work alongside the English staff whom work feature tea breaks causing production to a complete halt. Aside from being admirers of Ridley Scott, the crew mocked Cameron for his youth and his experience to direct as well as Gale Anne Hurd for her marriage to Cameron at the time.

Cameron often clashed with director of photography, Dick Bush when the schedule couldn’t be met or lighting on sets leading Bush to be fired along with the crew, fortunately replacements were found in Adrian Biddle, Some of the Alien nest scenes were shot at the abandoned Acton Lane Power Station in Acton London, leading it to be the perfect place to film for its grilled walkways as well as corridors.

The release was heavily given due to fans of the successful predecessor, Aliens was released in July 18th of 1986 in the U.S.A. and August 29th in the UK, though it opened in 1,437 theatres with an average gross of $6,995 but after a few short weeks in the box office, it reached an astonishing $183 million dollars back.

Criticism on the movie was heavily promoting the film stating that it was better than the original giving a more approaching look towards the mythology of the franchise as well as how the Alien operates towards hostiles towards their home-world.

Now seeing that this movie is set a few years after the first movie (through movie time at least), I’ve re-watched the first movie to get into the knowledge of what’s happening through the side stories when it comes to Wayland-Yutani Corporation. The things I do for you guys.

This is one movie that I’m looking forward to watching especially as it’s one of the most successful movies of 1986. So without a doubt, let’s dive into the movie and see if it’s worth hating or loving.

This is Aliens.

The movie begins in Space as we see the space ship released from the Nostromo has been captured by Wayland-Yutani scientists to recover the damage that was given prior the first movie, but with a turn of events, the passenger inside (Ellen Ripley) has been placed into a deep hyper-sleep through the years of being stranded in space with the Nostromo’s cat Jonesy.

After being awoken by in a hospital bed on the nearby space ship known as Gateway Station by Wayland Yutani Corporation, Ripley is greeted by the cat from the first movie as well as Executive Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) whom seems friendly at first though Ripley has questions over her Hyper-sleep, only to find out that she’s been in sleeping for over 50 years.

This causes her to panic and have a heart attack of sorts only to reveal that she is in fact infected with a xenomorph which prepares to jump out of her stomach, this turns out to be one of her reoccurring nightmares however. Good starting point but a bit of a useless effect to spook the audience if you ask me.

A few days later as Carter prepares for a hearing that Wayland-Yutani have organised to talk about the incident over USCSS Nostromo, but Ripley has other ideas concerning her Daughter in the moment leading him to inform her that she is has died 2 years before her awakening, which surprisingly looks like Sigourney Weaver now... no offence Ms Weaver.

At the hearing, the Chairmen confirm that some of the incidents at the Nostromo were officially confirmed such as landing at the planet LV-426 for unknown reasons aside from leaving on the right course as well as being set on self-destruct by Ripley though Ripley intervenes that it was the life-form which they refuse to believe.

This raises a bunch of questions such as looking at the mother-drive that was loosely connected to the main ship from Nostromo which would give a lot more detail into why they landed, or maybe referencing a distress beacon given off at the same location or more possibly looking over the programming that was in Ash’s Circuits... just pointing that out is all.

One of the chairmen request whether there was life found on LV-426 leading to a female member to state that is was just a rock leading to no indigenous life, which raises the question of a HUGE FREAKING SHIP IN ONE OF THE MOUNTAINS... or possibly is that they probably didn’t have the attention on looking to begin which.

This raises another question that if they did manage to find the spacecraft then surely they would look under the origins of the space-craft or the xenomorph to begin with... ah that’s when Prometheus comes to play... smart move there Ridley.... smart move.

Ripley refuses to believe that they will close the case over her mental health leading them to remove her flying licence as well as giving her psychological health evaluations. Ripley then requests on searching the planetoid again in search for the eggs though is put down when the main Chairmen Van Leuwen states that human has started living there for 20 years only to find nothing aside from terraforming the planet to a breathable atmosphere.

This is gonna bite you back in the ass if something major happens at that Colony (which is known as Hadley’s Hope) isn’t is Van... and guess what happens, a family at LV426 arrive at the spaceship from the first movie, only to be attacked by the face-huggers leading to a single surviving child.... told you about them not looking hard enough...

At Gateway Station however Ripley is met by Burke only for him to give her valuable information on the Colony having trouble with communications, leading him to request her for advice, they also state that they will send marines to search the Colony for survivors in case something major comes around.

Though Ripley refuses to give them advice but through some persuasion Carter manages to get her licence reinstated, let me just inform you that she only defeated the first Xenomorph through LUCK that doesn’t make her a freaking expert on killing them. After some nightmares, Ripley reluctantly agrees with Burke’s idea only for her idea to destroy them and not to research them.

This attention is given to the Marines Spaceship known as the USS Sulaco where we first meet the Colonial Marines, Corporal Dwayne Hicks (played by Terminator star Michael Biehn), Private Hudson (played by the late great Bill Paxton) Private Vasquez (played by Jenette Goldstein), Sergeant Apone (played by Al Matthews), Executive Officer Bishop (played by legendary Lance Henriksen).

Commanding Officer Lieutenant Gorman (played by William Hope), Privates Drake, Frost, Spunkmeyer, Crowe and Wierzbowski (played by Mark Rolston, Ricco Ross, Daniel Kash, Tip Tipping and Trevor Steedman), Corporals Ferro and Dietrich (played by Colette Hiller and Cynthia Dale Scott... Christ that’s a lotta people.

After being introduced to the Marines, Bishop is heavily requested by the marines to play five finger fillet with a knife by Hudson leading him to place his hands on Hudson to do the task... I’d like to mention that that was not relating to the script or the movie, it was just placed in the movie via a skill that was incredibly well done.

Anyway this reveals Bishop to be a synthetic also known as an Android to you Alien fans out there, leading to Ripley’s instant distrust when he states that Ash was an older model due to the glitches in his system. Shortly after breakfast, the team are briefed about what the threat is leading to some iconic scenes from the movie especially the ‘chicken shit outfit line’.

We also get a chance to see the outlook of the space dock as well as the infamous cargo-loader as the Marines prepare for their descent into LV-426.I have to admit one thing, they look freaking awesome with the pulse rifles as well as the looks of the armour, very science fiction looking.

They arrive at the Colony only to find that no-one is around, but the power is still online, as they enter the main complex of the building the interior design has clearly been destroyed with wires hanging from the corridor ceilings, I have to admit, this is a pretty good atmosphere for an Alien movie.

They set their motion sensors only to find nothing aside from structural damage from the inside, though with Hudson a life form is seen moving, only to find out that is was in fact a gerbil, the building looks mainly secure as the Marines have searched through the majority of the complex leading Ripley, Burke, Bishop and Gorman to gain entry to search the CPU units to find information.

They search through a med-lab and manage to come across Facehuggers trapped in vials only to find that 2 are still left alive, though they manage to find some information on the Facehuggers, movement is found nearby only to be revealed to be a survivor, a young girl named Newt; whom quickly runs from them only for Ripley to use her mother’s intuition to calm her down.

Fortunately Newt manages to talk as Bishop does some research on the dead Facehuggers leading to Hudson to find the colonists through the main CPU, good news is that he’s found all of them but the bad news is that they are all together; the marines manage to track them down leading to a cooling tunnel of the main colony.

They enter the cooling tunnels only for interference to hit their cameras leading them to enter the Alien Hive which is looks pretty awesome with the setting and all... kudos to the set designers, Ripley finds a problem stating that if their weaponry is involving explosives, they would cause a rupture in the cooling system leading the station to be a fusion reactor.

On the Brightside they manage to find the remaining colonists, the bad news they are all dead from the Xenomorphs, to make matters worse, movements are still detected on the motion trackers leading them to come closer and closer to the Marines, this causes the Xenomorphs to attack leading to a bloodbath.

This leads Ripley to drive the military tank to the Marines location causing damage to the Hive causing what’s left of the soldiers to fall in, and to leave the facility. As they pull up in the wastelands of LV-426 they have a talk on what’s going to happen leading options whether to leave the planet or to return to exterminate them.

Burke on the other hand has other ideas on using them for funding as well as stating that he hasn’t got the authority to perform extinction on the Xenomorphs, the survivors, Hicks, Hudson and Vasquez are in shock of what’s to happen and even though the task is under MILITARY JURISIDICTION, Hicks is placed to the task on returning to the ship and nuking the planet from orbit.

This leads to another surprises as the Xenomorphs have entered the space-ship that sent them only for them to be attacked causing the ship to crash...err plot twist? Anyway with no escape from the planet, they rejoin Bishop in the main complex leading for them to prepare to defend themselves, but another problem arises however as it would take nearly 3 weeks for rescue to find them.

They manage to prepare themselves for one night after going blueprints of the main complex, during their preparation, Hicks gives Ripley a locator in-case she gets into trouble or lost, I can see the positives in that but I can see more negatives, such as what happens if it doesn’t work? Ripley takes Newt into bed to make sure she’s secure and also gives her the locator that Hicks gave her for safety.

Shortly after discussing over how the Xenomorphs operate, they discuss on how they were originally produced believing that they are in fact formed from eggs believing that there might be a larger Xenomorph or an Alien Queen, this raises a bunch of questions on how the Queen can perform on a hive mind level but that’s gonna raise a bunch more questions on Nature itself and as Jurassic Park has told all of us, Nature finds a way...

Though something comes up when Bishop refuses Ripley’s request to destroy the Facehuggers as Burke wants them alive, Burke wants to use them for profit (as all corporations do, here’s looking at you Umbrella) which raises the most ridiculous question I’ve heard when Ripley mentions to getting it past quarantine, How are they going to Impound it if they don’t know about it?.... Ladies and gentlemen please slap your forehead with the palm your hand in confusion on how stupid that question is.

Hell I’m not even going to answer that bloody question due to his incompetence, the best thing about it is that Ripley has way more dirt on him as he does on her as She looked into the history of the colony and discovering that all the colony missions towards the space ship were organised by Burke himself.

After a brief argument, the Xenomorphs begin their attack leading the sentry turrets in the tunnels to begin their thing leading multiple dead monsters by their doorstep, another problem arises as the crash from the cooling tunnels as damaged the ventilation system which could lead to a nuclear bomb on their hands.

Though a solution is at hand though as the colony transmitters for communications can be repaired manually which Bishop volunteers for, the team however manage to return to see the Turrets returning fire against them leading to the Aliens to run in defeat. Hudson and Vasquez are given the perimeter walk as Hicks trains Ripley with the Pulse Rifle; I have to admit this is the turning point towards her character making her the first female action hero.

In the meantime, Bishop manages to fix the transmitter for the Colony and requested an immediate ship for support as Gorman awakens from a concussion, leading Ripley to leave him for some sleep in the Med-Lab only to discover that Burke has locked her in with the living Facehuggers, as well as sabotaging the camera in the Med-lab.

Ripley does manage to get their attention by setting the fire alarm causing Hicks, and the marines to intervene killing them instantly causing the whole team (aside from Bishop obviously) to interrogate him, via the interrogation the Aliens cut the power and prepare to attack in full force via the ceiling vents.

Burke manages to slip away through the fight only to get himself killed in the process, this also leads to Hudson’s death as well which is more harsh than I can think of, during the fight, Ripley and the remaining escape through the vents which leads to Vasquez and Gorman to pass as well, Newt gets Separated from leading to one of the Xenomorphs to grab her in a sewage system.

Now both alone, Hicks and Ripley escape the facility with some casualties leading for the secondary Drop-ship to pick them up thanks to Bishop’s help, they enter the drop-ship and Ripley prepares for a suicide mission to fly back into the fusion reactor in hope to find Newt, she arms herself with a pulse rifle as well as a flame-thrower, she manages to enter the Alien Hive, torching the place as she looks for Newt, only to save her before a Facehugger performs the procedure.

Though something big stands in her way as Ripley looks for an exit, The Alien Queen, I have to admit the designers for her made a very good job especially making her way bigger than all the others, Ripley decides it’s a bright idea to start setting the eggs on fire as well killing the Xenomorphs that stand in her way, pissing of the Queen.

Ripley does escape with the Queen in hot pursuit following her in the elevator which raises how the Queen has human intellect but that’s for another day leading Ripley to await for Bishop to fly them out of the Fusion Reactor before it destroys the Colony, believing that they have fled the queen along with it.

At the Sulaco, they dock the ship believing the nightmare is officially over only for it to return as the Queen somehow managed to stay with them by holding onto the Ships landing gear. Leading to Bishop’s demise, Christ Henriksen, first the Terminator now this? What next becoming a demon in the form of a pumpkin? Well technically Bishop is still active aside from being literally torn in half.

Ripley orders Newt to hide so she can prepare for one final battle, she uses one of the Cargo Loaders and says the classic line ‘get away from her, you bitch’ and prepares a fight, she forces it towards the Airlock and traps it with the Cargo Holder (or as I call it the Loader Bot (sorry Borderlands) leading her to force it out into space, killing the Queen once and for all.

Ripley places the rest of the surviving crew into the Hyper-sleep chambers and prepares for another long sleep knowing that the Nightmare is officially over.... that’s until I review Alien 3 at least.

And that was Aliens

Possibly still one of the best Action movies by far relating to a horror franchise, granted it had more iconic scenes from the first movie but the story is still there when it comes to action/horror, especially with corny one-liners as well as signature scenes that no-one will forget.

The acting though is something I need to address first, the main villainous route is just bizarre as well when it comes over to Carter Burke, I mean come on everyone knew he was going to be the obvious bad guy towards it, you could practically smell the smugness of him.

Though the character development in Ripley was something I was fond of, especially as she grew more of a survivor as well as an Alien Killer, I have to admit one thing that James Cameron can do is making weak characters to stronger personalities such as Sarah Connor in the Terminator series (not Lena Headey nor Emilia Clarke for that matter as they are non cannon).

The movie though is something I must address first, mainly towards the logic in following the previous movie towards this one, I admire the ideas towards changing the setting to a more open area but there wasn’t enough moments of science fiction which was relating towards the action, after all the movie is set in the future.

The logic towards Wayland-Yutani’s plans for the Xenomorphs make no sense as well, such as if they have managed to find the ship were the Alien came from or possibly knew of the Aliens existing then why don’t they do something simple such as send some scientists to discover it rather than a mining colony.

Granted the terraforming idea was cool but that was only mentioned which raises more questions than answers on how exactly did they make the atmosphere breathable in the span of 57 years or how did they manage to find natural energy to supply them with food rations or water or another question how did they manage to find energy to create the Fusion Reactor?

Aside from the logic the movie is possibly a step down its direction from the points I made out during the review, the main problem I can think of is the consistency between the characters as the Marines are supposed to be hardened bad-asses only to find out that they are cowards (Hudson for example).

Aside from the negatives the positives easily overpower it, such as the design for the sets which were exceeding the original designs, as well as the Alien Queen included, though there were some things I would change about the Queen’s official design on reveal, it’s still an impressive idea nevertheless.

The score is mostly forgettable as I was more focused on the action as well as the visionary direction Cameron took on, which he’s known for (well done Cameron).

The official rating for this movie would be Hitlist due to the set design and the action sequences, though if it wasn’t for the action then I would have serious doubts on my final judgement, this movie is possibly one of the best all round, I highly recommend it.

I’m Amateur Fan 2.27 and join me next time as I dive into the sequel to well... the sequel.... I’ll see you guys later.

0 notes

thatsnotcanonpodcasts · 5 years ago

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Nintendo America, Comic-Con 2019, Microrobots

Yes, it is that time at last; the latest episode from the Nerds is here, so everyone can relax, the wait is over. Once again, we bring you an awesome show that is jam packed full of the topics that are crossing our desks. First up we bring you news that many of us will find refreshing, Buck does. Now hold tight to your pencils as we tell you about how the all-powerful Nintendo are being sued in a class action because of faulty equipment involved in the Switch. Want to know more to see if this can help you with that dodgy gadget playing up? Well it is the first topic and there is some truly interesting developments arising from this.

Next we have a brief news update from San Diego Comic Con, with the talk from Marvel and also some from DC. No, we still aren’t getting paid by them, contrary to the way it appears. But there are some really cool things coming up to look forward to from both groups. We hear about the Marvel Phase 4 universe and the various upcoming movies. DJ is excited about these and is quite eager to see these unfold. There is the news about the various DC series with some shows seeing a possible end and others announcing the latest seasons.

Next up we need to go grab our magnifying glasses as we look at micro bots. That’s right micro bots, tiny little robots that are going to help change the world. One operates in response to specific frequencies and is called a Bristle bot, totally cool. The other is even smaller and is operated by optoelectronic tweezers (OET), which use light patterns to directly interact with the bots. That’s right – LIGHT FEAKING TWEEZERS!!! Sorry about that, but that is so cool, these bots are so small normal tweezers are too big. Would you like to know more? Well then, you are going to love this, listen to the episode and you will hear a lot more.

As normal we have the Shout outs, Remembrances, Birthdays and Special Events for the week. What do you me and a poltergeist have in common, probably more than you would realise, to find out more head over to our friends at the great new podcast from TNC by that very name (You, me and a poltergeist). Now that is a Segway, now it is time for me to go, time for this to end, but before I vanish let me just say this last little thing. Look after yourselves and take care of each other, stay hydrated and keep Nerdy. Catch you all next time.

EPISODE NOTES:

Nintendo America being Sued

-http://chimicles.com/cskd-files-class-action-lawsuit-against-nintendo-of-america-inc-relating-to-joy-con-drifting-issues/

-http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/07/class_action_lawsuit_officially_filed_against_nintendo_for_switch_joy-con_drifting_issues

-https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/07/nintendo-responds-to-sufferers-of-joy-con-drift/

Comic-con Announcements - https://comicbook.com/marvel/2019/07/21/marvel-phase-4-schedule-complete-kevin-feige-comic-con/

Microrobots in cells

- https://www.scienceandtechnologyresearchnews.com/these-u-of-t-researchers-use-tiny-microrobots-to-scoop-up-transport-and-deliver-cell-material/

- https://www.scienceandtechnologyresearchnews.com/tiny-vibration-powered-robots-are-the-size-of-the-worlds-smallest-ant/

Games currently playing

Professor

– They Are Billions - https://store.steampowered.com/app/644930/They_Are_Billions/

Buck

– Company of Heroes - https://store.steampowered.com/app/228200/Company_of_Heroes/

– Dawn of War 40,000 : Dawn of War - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4570/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War__Game_of_the_Year_Edition/