"I'm Paid To Be Gross:" Ridley Scott Recalls The Studio's Surprising Reaction To His $108 Million Sci-Fi Horror Movie

Ridley Scottis one of the most accomplished filmmakers of all time. Even though he didn't direct his first feature film until he was 40 years old, which is older than most filmmakers, he has directed an impressive 29 films. His debut feature, The Duelists, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, which set the stage for his incredibly successful career. Some of Ridley Scott's best movies include Blade Runner, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, Gladiator, and its recently released sequel, Gladiator II.

These films prove that Scott is one of the most talented directors of his generation. Most of his movies are incredibly ambitious, large-scale genre films. He has made several historical epics but has also continuously shown interest in the science fiction genre. Scott's first two sci-fi films are actually commonly recognized as two of the best science-fiction movies of all time. His second film and first foray into the sci-fi genre has an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $108 million at the worldwide box office.

The Studio Couldn't Believe How Gross Alien Was

Scott Knew Alien Had To Be Gross

Scott recalled that representatives from 20th Century Fox, the production company behind the first Alienmovie, were shocked by how gross the film was. The sci-fi storyfollows the crew of a starship in deep space who are terrorized by a seemingly unstoppable alien creature. Alien is the movie that turned Sigourney Weaver into a star and eventually turned into a franchise. In addition to Weaver, the castincludes Tom Skerrit, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, and Ian Holm.

In an interview with GQ, Scott claimed that the studio continuously called him gross when he was making Alien. The director claimed that he figured if he made the movie as scary and gross as possible, then he was doing his job. Therefore, he was constantly surprised that the studio was shocked by how gross he was making the film. Read Scott's full comment below:

"How could I scare the living shit out of you?" That was the job. And I did. The studio kept saying, "My God, you’re gross." I said, "I’m paid to be gross. This is a horror movie, dude."

Our Take On The Studio's Reaction To Alien

Scott Masterfully Directed Alien

Custom image by Yeider Chacon

Alien is one of the most influential science fiction movies of all time and further proves that Scott was an extremely talented director very early in his career. Therefore, Alien was an extremely important movie for his career.

It's interesting to learn how the studio reacted to the classic movie since it has many scenes that could be deemed as gross, such as the first time a Facehugger latches onto someone's head. These moments may be gross, but they are the reason Alien is as influential as it is today.

Source: GQ