Description
Aliens is a 1986 American science-fiction action horror film written and directed by James Cameron, produced by his then-wife Gale Anne Hurd, and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton. It is the sequel to the 1979 film Alien and the second installment of the Alien franchise. The film follows Weaver’s character Ellen Ripley as she returns to the planet where her crew encountered the hostile Alien creature, this time accompanied by a unit of space marines.
Brandywine Productions was interested in a follow-up to Alien as soon as its 1979 release, but the new management at 20th Century Fox postponed those plans until 1983. That year Brandywine picked Cameron to write after reading his script for The Terminator, and once that film became a hit in 1984, Fox greenlit Aliens, that would also be directed by Cameron, with a budget of approximately $18 million. The script was written with a war film tone influenced by the Vietnam War to contrast the horror motifs of the original Alien. It was filmed in England at Pinewood Studios and at a decommissioned power plant in Acton, London.
Aliens was a critical and commercial success, with positive reviews that considered it an entertaining film that despite the tonal shift still served as a worthy sequel to Alien, and grossed $180 million worldwide. The movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including a Best Actress nomination for Sigourney Weaver, winning both Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects. It won eight Saturn Awards, including Best Science Fiction Film, Best Actress for Weaver and Best Direction and Best Writing for Cameron. Aliens is frequently considered one of the best action films ever released.
Cameron drew inspiration for the Aliens story from the Vietnam War, a situation in which a technologically superior force was mired in a hostile foreign environment: “Their training and technology are inappropriate for the specifics, and that can be seen as analogous to the inability of superior American firepower to conquer the unseen enemy in Vietnam: a lot of firepower and very little wisdom, and it didn’t work.” The attitude of the space marines was influenced by the Vietnam War; they are portrayed as cocky and confident of their inevitable victory, but when they find themselves facing a less technologically advanced but more determined enemy, the outcome is not what they expect. Cameron listed Robert A. Heinlein’s novel Starship Troopers as a major influence that lead to the incorporation of various themes and phrases, such as the terms “the drop” and “bug hunt”, as well as the cargo-loader exoskeleton.
Cameron opted to hire actors who had, or could imitate, American accents. After over 3,000 individuals in the United Kingdom were unsuccessfully auditioned, American actors were chosen instead, including three who had previously worked with Cameron on The Terminator: Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, and Michael Biehn. Actors who played Marines were asked to read Starship Troopers and undergo military training, which included running, lifting weights, learning salutes, marches, deployments, and maneuvers, for two weeks. Cameron wanted the Marines to train together so that they would form bonds that would show on-screen.
Jenette Elise Goldstein (born February 4, 1960) is an American actress, known for her Saturn Award–winning role in the 1986 science fiction action film Aliens.
Her first film role was in James Cameron’s Aliens (1986), as the Hispanic character PFC Jenette Vasquez. Due to its title, she initially thought the film was about immigration and arrived at her audition for the part of a tough-as-nails space marine in a short skirt and high heels.
“LET’S ROCK!” ?Pvt. Vasquez.
Private First Class Jenette Vasquez was a Smartgun operator with the United States Colonial Marine Corps, part of 2nd Battalion Bravo Team. She was a member of the combat unit deployed to LV-426 aboard the USS Sulaco in 2179, to investigate the sudden loss of contact with the colony of Hadley’s Hope. She was subsequently involved in combating the Xenomorph infestation at the colony.
Vasquez was part of First Squad’s gun team, along with Private Hudson. She was among the last to perish in the incident, committing suicide with Lieutenant Gorman rather than be captured by the Xenomorphs for impregnation. Vasquez also had a long history with fellow Smartgun operator Private Mark Drake, and the two shared a close, possibly romantic relationship.
Vasquez was outfitted with an M56 Smartgun, customised with the word “ADIOS” (“Goodbye”) painted on the right side forward of the charging handle, as well as the associated M56 combat harness and Head Mounted Sight. On her harness’ chest plate she had painted the phrase “El riesgo siempre vive”, roughly translated as “The risk always lives”, while on the back of her tunic she had scrawled “LOCO”. Additionally, she had drawn what appeared to be an abandoned attempt at a skull on her tank top.
After losing her Smartgun during the Hive ambush, Vasquez switched instead to a standard issue M41A Pulse Rifle, with which she was very proficient. As a sidearm, she carried a non-standard Smith & Wesson Model 39 with ivory grips in a cross-draw holster, which consisted of a leather case attached to a belt system. She was also equipped with an ME3 Hand Welder frequently used for fortifying barricades or cutting through obstacles, and was qualified to use the standard M314 Motion Tracker.
“I only need to know one thing: where they are.” ?Vasquez to Ripley.
Vasquez actress Jenette Goldstein also appeared as Janelle Voight in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, which was directed by Aliens director James Cameron.
Frame is shrinkwrapped until time of purchase. Ships boxed with packing peanuts.
THE PERFECT GIFT!