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''Alien'' is a science-fiction horror film franchise centered on a film series that depicts Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and her battles with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien". Produced by 20th Century Fox, the series began with ''Alien'' (1979), directed by Ridley Scott. It was followed by three sequels, released in 1986, 1993 and 1997. A planned prequel trilogy directed by Scott is in development, beginning with the 2012 release of ''Prometheus''. The series has led to numerous books, comics and video game spin-offs. Related to the franchise is the two-part ''Alien vs. Predator'' series, which combines the continuities of Aliens with the Predators from the ''Predator'' film series. ==Background== After completion of the film ''Dark Star'' (1974), writer Dan O'Bannon thought to develop some of the ideas (especially the theme of "alien hunts crew through a spaceship") and create a science-fiction horror film. Provisionally called ''Memory'', screenwriter Ronald Shusett collaborated with O'Bannon on the project, adding elements from a previous O'Bannon script, ''Gremlins'', which featured gremlins causing mayhem aboard a World War II bomber and wreaking havoc with the crew. The duo finished the script, initially entitled ''Star Beast'', which was later changed to ''Alien'' after O'Bannon noticed the number of times the word "alien" occurred in the script.〔David A. McIntee, "Beautiful Monsters: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Alien and Predator Films", ''Telos'' 2005, pp. 19-28 & p. 39.9〕 Their script was sold to Brandywine Productions, a company formed by producers Gordon Carroll, David Giler, and Walter Hill that had a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox. The writers imagined a low-budget film, but the success of ''Star Wars'' inclined 20th Century Fox to invest millions on the production.〔"Star Beast: Developing the Story", ''The Beast Within: The Making of Alien''.〕 In the original script, the ship has an all-male crew (though the script's 'Cast of Characters' section explicitly states that "The crew is unisex and all parts are interchangeable for men or women"), including the Ripley character, who would be played by actor Tom Skerritt. Later, when Fox president Alan Ladd, Jr. and the producers at Brandywine heard rumors of Fox working on other titles with strong female leads,〔 Sigourney Weaver was cast as Ripley〔"Truckers in Space: Casting", ''The Beast Within: The Making of Alien''〕 and Skerritt became Captain Dallas. Shortly before filming began, Veronica Cartwright was set for the Ripley role, but Ridley Scott opted for Weaver following screentests. Cartwright played Navigator Lambert in the movie, the final crew member to be killed. Swiss painter and sculptor H. R. Giger designed the alien creature's adult form and the derelict ship,〔Lina Badley, ''Film, Horror, and the Body Fantastic: Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture'', Greenwood Press 1995〕 while French artist Mœbius created the look of the spacesuits〔 and Ron Cobb provided most of the on-set design.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 R0BTRAIN's Bad Ass Cinema: Alien ) 〕 While the first film of the series, directed by Ridley Scott, was successful, Fox did not consider a sequel until 1983, when James Cameron expressed his interest to producer David Giler in continuing the ''Alien'' story. After Cameron's ''The Terminator'' became a box office hit, Cameron and partner Gale Anne Hurd were given approval to direct and produce the sequel to ''Alien'', scheduled for a 1986 release. Cameron wrote the screenplay from a story he developed with Giler and Walter Hill. Following the second film, ''Aliens'', Weaver was not interested in returning to the series and so producers David Giler and Walter Hill commissioned a third ''Alien'' film without the Ripley character. The premise was to return Ripley in a fourth installment, but Fox's president Joe Roth did not agree with Ripley's removal and Weaver was offered a $5 million salary and a producer credit to make ''Alien 3''. Released in 1992, the film was troubled from the start, with production beginning without even a finished script. Having already spent $1 million, music video director David Fincher, the third director considered for the film, was hired to helm the project. Giler, Hill and Larry Ferguson wrote the screenplay, based on a story from an earlier script by Vincent Ward. After production was completed in late 1991, the studio reworked the film without Fincher's involvement or consent. The death of Ripley was designed to bring closure to the ''Alien'' franchise by killing off the main heroine. While fans and critics initially did not receive ''Alien 3'' well, the film still did well at the box office worldwide and piqued Fox's interest in continuing the franchise. In 1996, production on the fourth Alien film, ''Alien: Resurrection'', began. Ripley was not in the script's first draft, and Weaver was not interested in reprising the role, although she later joined the project after being given a reported $11 million salary and more creative control, including being able to approve director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The script, set 200 years after ''Alien 3'', resurrected the Ripley character via human cloning. The film, released in 1997, experienced an extended production and was described by screenwriter Joss Whedon as having done "everything wrong" with his script. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Alien (franchise)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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