“Alien 3” holds an odd status in the beloved franchise. Following what are regarded as two incredible films, in “Alien” and “Aliens,” the third film had so much hype that it was almost going to be impossible to please fans. However, the film wasn’t nearly as well-received as the first two films and derailed what was one of sci-fi’s greatest franchises at the time. Of course, “Alien 3” was followed by some terrible sequels, which sort of made the David Fincher-helmed third film seem almost…good?
However, even though the merits of “Alien 3” can be debated, what can’t be is the drama that happened behind the scenes. And thanks to an interview with HN Entertainment, special effects wizard Alec Gillis details his experience on the film and why he thinks it ultimately failed, as well as telling perhaps one of the best David Fincher stories ever.
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“Well, my attitude towards ‘Aliens’ was always that kind of [James] Cameron kind of leaped forward like two sequels down the line which set the bar so high, right?” said Gillis.
He continued, “Cameron made vast numbers of aliens and a Queen alien, and to balance out the power of the Queen alien and Ripley with the power loader, not to mention spaceships and marines, smart-weapons and all this stuff that was just such an amazing build on everything, even the tennis shoes…So he did an amazing job but he made it very difficult for every other filmmaker after him.”
The effects master then chalked up the problem with “Alien 3” to a very interesting problem – you can’t get lightning in a bottle three times in a row. “[Having Ridley Scott] was its own lightning-in-a-bottle. Cameron then on ‘Aliens’ had lightning-in-a-bottle. There wasn’t that lightning-in-a-bottle on ‘Alien 3,’” said Gillis.
Alas, Fox wasn’t going to let the franchise die. So the studio turned to a first-time director by the name of David Fincher to helm the three-quel. At the time, Fincher was not Fincher and didn’t command the same respect he does now, which Gillis surmises is why Fox hired him in the first place.
“You know I’ve seen this with studio films where a first-time director is brought in so they can push him around, you know,” he said.
“Whereas if you pick a director who does have the talent and the vision if you can find a guy like Cameron and you actually give that person the reins your chances are better of having a successful product,” continued Gillis. “But if it doesn’t happen you’re the studio executive that let that first time director run amok and fuck up the franchise. It becomes this fear-based mentality.”
But Fincher’s lack of experience wasn’t going to step the filmmaker from putting his foot down and stand up for what he believed, which according to Gillis, led to some very uncomfortable phone calls between the director and studio.
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“We go in and there is first time director 27 years old David Fincher with his feet up on the desk and he’s going ‘then ship me home right now and take my name off this fucking piece of shit,’” said Gillis. “This was before we started shooting, ‘take my name off this piece of shit’ and he hangs up the phone and we go ‘wow! who were you talking to?’ And he said ‘the head of Fox, what do you got what do you have to show me?’. So we showed him a bunch of stuff and we’re like ‘this guy is unbelievable, he’s amazing.’”
Of course, we know how that relationship ended, with Fincher basically disavowing himself from the franchise. Ultimately, “Alien 3” is widely regarded as one of the lesser entries in the franchise. However, in hindsight, compared to some of the later sequels, Fincher’s entry into the ‘Alien’ universe isn’t so terrible. And if anything, at least we got some great stories out of the film!