Every legendary film director is at one point or another the subject of rumored stories that may or may not be true, but all add to the almost mythological status they hold in the movie industry. For almost forty years,James Cameronhas created some of the most memorable blockbuster movies of a generation, fromThe Terminator, toTitanicandAvatarand its several planned sequels, and naturally that has led to plenty of tales about how certain films came to be made, how Cameron coaxed studios into working with him and how he pitched some of his biggest movies. One such story around the director’s pitch forAlienshas recently been confirmed by Cameron himself.
WithThe Terminatorhaving created a stir and set Cameron on a course that would see him become one of the most bankable directors in the business, but the story around the young filmmaker’s pitch for the sequel to Ridley Scott’s atmospheric sci-fi horrorAlienis one that also suggests that Cameron wasn’t short of confidence in his abilities and propositions. The tale suggests that while facing a panel of 20th Century Fox executives, Cameron wrote the word “Aliens” and then drew two lines down the letter “s” to make a dollar symbol. This story is one that has been heard many times, but never received confirmation until the 67 year-old spoke of it himself during an interview withCinemaBlend. He said:
“Yeah, it’s true. It just popped into my mind in the moment. It was actually on the back of a script, or some kind of presentation document. It might’ve been the treatment. I can’t remember. I was sitting with the three producers, and we were in the office of the then-head of 20th Century Fox. And I said, ‘Guys, I got an idea for the title. And it goes like this.’ And I wrote, ‘Alien’ in large block letters. And I put an S on the end.
I showed it to them. I said, ‘I want to call itAliens, because we’re not dealing with one. Now we’re dealing with an army, and that’s the big distinction. And it’s very simple and very graphic.’ And I said, ‘But here’s what it’s going to translate to.’ And then I drew the two lines through it to make it a dollar sign. And that was my pitch. And apparently, it worked! Because they went with the title. They never questioned it.”
Alienswould go on to be regarded as one of the greatest sequels ever made alongside the likes ofThe Godfather Part IIandThe Empire Strikes Back, turning its $18.5 million budget into around $180 million at the box office (around $300 million adjusted for inflation). What Ridley Scott did with a single Xenomorph was terrifying, but what Cameron did with his army and the formidable Alien Queen was nothing short of spectacular. With special effects that still hold up thirty-five years later,Aliensstill stands as one of the most iconic sci-fi blockbusters ever madeand it seems it all started with the vision and tenacity of its director.
