How Star Wars Changed Sci-Fi Horror Movies Forever
For anyone that considers themselves an artist, you’d know that inspiration can strike at just about any moment or any place imaginable. For acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott, his greatest moment of inspiration just so happened to come after watching Star Wars for the very first time. After being amazed by Luke Skywalker destroying the Death Star, Scott realized that he needed to be focused on the future, not the past, and films like Alien and Blade Runner were the result.
The Duellists
In 1977, Scott earned high praise for his feature film debut, The Duellists. Set in 1801, the film tells the story of an intense duel between two men following a perceived slight, which sets off a chain reaction of successive duels. The movie even earned Scott his first Palme d’ Or nomination at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival.
After the release of The Duellists, Scott began work on developing his second feature film. The leading contender for his next project was a film adaptation of the classic romance story Tristan and Isolde. However, a sliver of doubt began to show itself in the back of Scott’s mind.
Star Wars Changed Ridley Scott
That all changed one day, while Scott was working in his Los Angeles office at his advertising firm. Somebody came in and told him about a sci-fi film that was the world’s hottest movie.
Scott hadn’t heard about Star Wars before, but in just a few hours, he’d soon understand everything about it.
Deciding to find out what all the buzz was about, Scott headed to the nearby Mann’s Chinese Theater. When he got there, he was amazed that there was a line stretching around the block.
“It was extraordinary. I’d never seen anything like it, that sense of mass excitement, before or since,” Scott told Wired. “It was palpable.”
He Hardly Blinked
Once inside the theater, Scott noticed that the packed crowd was filled with a mixture of both kids and adults. But when the opening crawl for the film hit the screen, Scott kept his attention on the sci-fi epic. He admits that he hardly blinked throughout the film’s runtime.
According to Scott, Star Wars changed everything he knew about filmmaking. “I was stunned. Star Wars just turned my head about completely,” he says. “So much so that when I walked out of the theater, I thought, ‘Why the hell am I doing Tristan and Isolde?! Things are changing! It’s time to get down to business!’”
The Beginning Of Alien
After abandoning his Tristan and Isolde project, it didn’t take long for Scott to head into a new direction in his career. Just six weeks after seeing Star Wars, Scott was offered the chance to direct Alien. He may have been the studio’s fifth choice to helm the film, but Scott knew he was the perfect choice.
Equipped with a script from Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusset, Scott wasted little time getting to work. The director decided to create detailed storyboards to outline his take on the sci-fi horror film. This move proved to be fortuitous for the filmmaker.
A Blockbuster Franchise Was Born
After showing his storyboards to executives at Fox, the budget for Alien was increased to $4.2 million. With a specific vision in mind, Scott set out to make a film that may have been inspired by Star Wars, but it couldn’t be any more different.
Despite originally collecting mixed reviews from critics following its release, Alien became one of the most popular movies in 1979. Almost half a century later, the movie continues to be considered the pinnacle of sci-fi horror and one of Ridley Scott’s greatest films.
Source: Wired
