Transmission
Alien: Romulus is here, and I suppose it’s time to shake off the dust. I know it’s been still waters here at Strange Shapes over the last few years, but there’s been a lot going on under the surface. Here’s Continue reading
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In Memoriam: Les Barany
I want to take a moment on Strange Shapes to say goodbye to one of the site’s greatest friends and supporters, Mr. Leslie Barany. A proud New Yorker hailing from Hungary, Les straddled America and Europe throughout his life, investing Continue reading
Alien$
One rather pervasive story concerning Aliens is how writer/director James Cameron convinced Brandywine Productions to green light the sequel. One version that has become popular lately is better known as Alien$ , and the story—allegedly related by series producer Gordon Carroll—often Continue reading
Casting Ripley
May 1978, and production, with all its attendant problems, was well underway at Shepperton Studios. Though sets were being mapped out and constructed, some were being hotly debated; the Alien had been committed to canvas, if not rubber (Giger had Continue reading
Alien Reviews From Yesteryear
As we pointed out in the snippets provided throughout Bad Alien Reviews and the letters from Fan Reaction to Alien, 1979, the critical reception that Alien received upon release in 1979 was somewhat mixed: though some prophesied, somewhat understatingly, that the film Continue reading
Alien 3: I Was There!
From Empire magazine, September 1992. Among the many British crew members working on Alien 3 was a highly experienced special effects technician from London. Understandably wishing to remain anonymous, here he gives an exclusive behind-the-scenes report on the complex, challenging Continue reading
Fan Reaction to Alien, 1979.
In sharp contrast to the reviews and retrospectives of today, the critical reaction towards Alien upon its release in 1979 was somewhat mixed. “Alien is a very annoying film,” is how Starburst writer John Brosnan began his review in issue #14. “On Continue reading
Alien: the 1978 Scripts
Alien s script, much like the creature itself, was an ever-evolving beast. That Dan O Bannon s original screenplay was rewritten by Walter Hill and David Giler is pub trivia; but what shapes the script took between its first incarnation in 1976 and Continue reading
Alien Resurrection: Hybrid Theory
It was important to me to restore the Aliens superiority, their elegance and ability to sense what people are going to do even before they did. I really wanted to bring back what the Aliens were about in the first Continue reading
Writing Aliens
In 1983 Dan O Bannon sat with Starlog magazine to talk about his career, including a customary overview of the Alien production and a poke at the possibilities of a sequel. Also extraordinary, the article read, in this age of sequelmania, is the Continue reading