Actress Sigourney Weaver gave a comprehensive talk about her career at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, and of course she talked about her time leading the “Alien” franchise as Ellen Ripley.
Ridley Scott directed the first film in 1979 before James Cameron took over the sequel, “Aliens,” seven years later. This was Weaver’s first encounter with Cameron, who would also direct her on the “Avatar” films. The two quickly became friends, except for one thing: Weaver didn’t realize how many guns Cameron had written into the script.
“He was very open to any ideas I had, and I felt his instincts were amazing,” Weaver said of Cameron. “The one thing I didn’t like, of course, was all the guns. I read so quickly because I was trying to experience the story and I forgot to read a lot of the stage directions, which had a lot of guns in them.”
One day, Weaver said, Cameron brought in a bunch of firearms. “I asked him, ‘What are these for?’ And he said, ‘Well, what do you mean?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m all for gun control and I’m not going to pick up a gun and do anything with it,’” she recalled. “He said, ‘Well, you didn’t read the text.’ I said, ‘I did read it, but I didn’t read all those paragraphs about guns.’”
To convince her, Cameron “took her out to the backyard and asked me to shoot a few hundred rounds out of this machine gun.” Weaver found the experience “unfortunately addictive.” She recalls Cameron telling her, “I want you to see what happens to her,” referring to Ripley's transformation after she began using firearms.
“I certainly think she needed to defend herself, but I also understand why he wanted to use firearms,” she said. “It wasn’t my first choice.”
Weaver was honored with the Golden Lion for his lifetime achievement at the festival's opening ceremony on Wednesday evening.
“I'm sure I'm dreaming. Thank you for this fuel of encouragement,” she said as she accepted the award.
The “Alien” and “Avatar” star also held a press conference earlier Wednesday, where she became emotional when a reporter suggested her performances helped pave the way for Kamala Harris to become the first female president of the United States.
“To think for a moment that my work might have had anything to do with her rise makes me so happy, actually, because it is true,” she said. “There are so many women who come up to thank me.”
Other big names giving masterclasses in Venice include Peter Weir, who also won the Golden Lion, and Ethan Hawke. The festival runs until September 7.
