Sigourney Weaver Breaks Down Her Career, from 'Alien' to 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'

I am actually really an English major nerd,

and when I meet a director and I've read the script,

if I like it, I'm obviously,

I'm gonna meet the director.

I often have a lot to suggest to him to make it stronger.

You can't get out of the room without hearing what I think.

[mellow music]

Hi, I'm Sigourney Weaver,

and this is the timeline of my career.

[tense music]

[Alien screaming]

Originally, the script of Alien,

written by Ron Shusett and Dan O'Bannon,

was a group of 10 men on this island,

and the chestburster scene was probably

the one scene that Walter Hill and David Giler retained.

The survivor was a man, so it wasn't

so much a feminist statement as let's do the,

you know, what people don't expect.

So I was very fortunate to benefit from that.

I think Ridley and those guys all loved strong women.

So again, I was very lucky to be working with these guys,

and I knew it.

I knew that Ridley and our cinematographer, Derek Vanlint,

were, you know,

we were often in these tiny spaces,

and they were coming up with camera angles,

camera positions that had never been done before,

and Ridley operated throughout.

So it was kind of a wild improvisation on everybody's part,

and I think that adds to the danger of the scene,

because it was scary for us.

No one ever said the lines that were written on the script,

which for me, from the theatre,

was like, what?

But you know, you gotta roll with it.

And I think again, it helped the movie,

that unpredictability.

We had an amazing ensemble of actors

Before they...

Are you choking, what's wrong?

[Kane coughing]

What, what?

[Kane spluttering]

Hey, what's wrong?

[Kane screaming]

I remember, of course,

the day we shot the chestburster scene,

because you got down to the set

and everyone was wearing a poncho,

you know, a raincoat.

And Dan O'Bannon and Ron Shusett were over on the side,

they were there sort of the whole time,

and they were going, they were so excited.

It was like Christmas morning.

We had an amazing special effects team.

I mean, with a bunch of little hoses and things,

tubes and stuff, they really,

in about not many takes,

they had this thing happen to John Hurt's chest

where the blood flooded all around,

and then almost the next shot was the creature

jumping out and being on the table,

going, [squeals],

and then took off and we're all like, what was that?

Because honestly, we didn't expect anything like that.

We expected hours where they had

to move a little puppet or something.

What I remember about that day was John Hurt was,

you know, he played this very admirable,

brave guy.

So this thing had happened to him,

and we were all having breakfast

and then he just started to choke.

It was so realistic that I was almost in tears.

I could not believe he was doing this

each time as the things start to push through,

it was like watching him get in an accident time after time.

It was all for the first part where the blood flooded.

But I mean, that's what I'll always,

I was very glad that no one pointed the blood at me

as they did at Veronica Cartwright,

because I would've screamed,

and it probably wouldn't have been

a good idea for a Ripley to scream.

You didn't have to act at all.

You were just, oh shit

you know, what was that?

Kane, who went into that ship,

said he saw thousands of eggs there.

Thousands.

Thank you, that will be all.

Goddammit, that's not all!

Because if one of those things gets down here,

then that will be all,

and all this, this bullshit that you think is so important,

you can just kiss all that goodbye.

I love the fact that each time they chose a completely

different director who wanted to outdo the guy before.

Even before I worked with Jim on Aliens,

I remember I got this script,

and there was the character of Ripley on every single page.

And I was like, whoa!

And I couldn't understand why Fox would put that

in development without mentioning it to me,

but of course they didn't.

And then after I finished the French film I was doing,

I went to LA to meet Jim, and he's so gracious,

'cause he said, I really wanted to meet you

because I want to know what you think of the script.

And I was, you know,

that's such a humble thing to say.

I said, Are you kidding?

This is such an amazing script.

It's nonstop action.

You believe in the characters, you believe in everything.

I thought he was just such an amazing writer.

It was a tough movie for him 'cause

the British crew was like, who is this guy?

Every time he set up a screening of

Terminator, they wouldn't show up.

They wanted Ridley Scott to be directing the second one.

So it took a while to set them

straight, which Jim finally did.

That's really when our friendship began.

Also, when you've done a movie like Aliens together,

you're really bonded with everyone

who was part of it for life.

And I've always been grateful to him,

because he took the role of Ripley

and just expanded it into this,

God, almost operatic role and experience,

and it's many people's favorite movie.

[tense music]

Get away from her, you bitch!

[alien roaring]

I was very devoted to each director.

I think they all did a great job.

But I have to say that at the end of the fourth one,

I was really ready to move on and do other things.

And I had been doing other things,

but it's a great luxury to come back

to a character like Ripley.

And I miss her sometimes.

She was good company, you know,

she was so interesting.

Even now she feels very modern.

[tense music]

[thunder booming]

[dog roaring]

Okay, so she's a dog.

I remember reading the script,

which I just found delightful and very moving.

It had a lot of heart.

When I got to the audition, Ivan was filming it,

I'd just met him, and I'd never been filmed before.

I thought, wow,

that's really serious.

But I was sitting on the couch,

and after Dana's sort of last line, I kind of,

it just didn't occur to me that they would then

move to a special effect to play the dog.

I just assumed being a theatre person

that I was gonna play all of it.

Why would they go to a dog puppet or something

like that when they could have me do it?

So I sort of started growling

and kind of jumping around on the couch,

and I picked up a cushion and I shook it,

and I went [groans], and I was howling,

howling and snarling.

And Ivan shut off the camera and he said,

Don't ever do that again.

An editor will look at that,

and even though it's completely

grotesque, they'll wanna print it.

And I said,

Oh, thank you.

But I did say to him at that meeting,

I said, you should definitely have the actor

playing Zuul turn into the dog in front of us.

And I guess after I left,

he called up Harold Ramis and said,

There's an actress in here who made a very good point.

And so they changed the whole script.

I am actually really an English major nerd,

and when I meet a director and I've read the script,

if I like it, I'm obviously,

I'm gonna meet the director.

I often have a lot to suggest to him to make it stronger,

especially in terms of structure and character.

You can't get out of the room without hearing what I think.

And I think actually I've been hired a little bit for that,

because they know that you're gonna

take care of that area, that character.

There aren't gonna be inconsistencies,

that I'm gonna fix all of, I'm gonna at least point it out.

And I love that responsibility.

The more you can strengthen the structure of the script

so that it's almost just unbeatable,

the better chance you have of making a good movie.

I mean, I was a very quiet actor,

because I was just so busy enjoying them working together.

And every now and then Ivan would go,

Come on, Bill,

we need something.

And that's how the little piano bit started.

They hate that.

That's just something he did.

[piano keys twinkling]

They hate this.

I like to torture them.

Bill Murray used to come over and tickle me

and shake me because he thought I was so serious.

I was always preparing, you know?

If I had a to do over again,

I would much prefer the background of improv

as a way of being in this business.

Break off one of those stems and pretend to eat.

Act submissive.

I've never been so submissive in my life.

Well, I'd read the book and I remember thinking,

God, what a wonderful movie that would make.

Unfortunately they can't do it

because they would compromise the gorillas,

the wild gorillas in some way.

So when Arne Glimcher came to me and offered me the part,

and there were actually two gorillas in the Mist

movies going at the same time,

we ended up joining forces, thank goodness.

It was really unknown territory.

It was very important to anyone filming those groups

that we were as respectful as possible.

They sent me over early to,

I guess now I realize, to see what,

you know, what I'd do with wild gorillas moving around me.

And I was with Diane's study group five.

I was brought up there by the amazing trackers.

They have the Rwanda trackers.

I was sitting there, and a little gorilla

named Josie came over and kind of sat down right next to me,

and kind of went, and put her arm against my arm.

And it was the most incredible feeling.

It was so hot.

Her engine was so strong, and it was so dear.

I had some pretty hairy things happen.

I was knocked down by a charging silverback gorilla,

and my husband arrived in Rwanda

that day and saw the dailies.

I guess it was the next night.

And he saw this huge gorilla first of all come around me.

There was one there where he was just peeing all around me,

and I'm just sitting there,

and then this big charge up the hill.

It was really my POV that was the most exciting.

And then, woosh,

and I remember just lying there very still

while I could hear him displaying above me,

pulling little trees out and shaking them,

you know, 'cause they do display a lot.

But I never felt in danger.

I never felt like they wanted to hurt me.

I just kept a respectful distance

that they could move around me.

Their children were all over me all the time,

pulling my hair, and peeing on me,

and eating my food.

But I never touched them,

'cause I knew if I did this to a baby,

the mother would be right there.

And that would put me in danger and everyone else.

It's still one of the,

obviously one of the most amazing experiences in my life.

I miss the gorillas.

I consider us a team, Tess.

And as such, we have a uniform.

Simple, elegant,

impeccable.

Dress shabbily, they notice the dress.

Dress impeccably, they notice the woman.

Coco Chanel.

Well, it was Mike Nichols.

If Mike Nichols calls, you go,

sure, I'll play a waste basket.

Yeah, that's fine with me.

I thought it was a good part.

I'm actually sort of astonished how well it works.

She's such an awful character.

And Mike Nichols and I both knew

a kind of person who was like this.

So we were having fun,

not making fun of her 'cause we liked her,

but we were having fun just sort

of letting her be herself.

And it was just such an honor to work with Mike.

He would have his editor come each morning, Sam O'Steen,

and they'd walk through the scene and Sam would say,

'cause Mike was from the theatre too,

he'd say, You need this shot,

you need this shot, and you need that shot,

but you don't need that shot or that shot.

And so Mike would finish his day by five.

You know, he knew what he needed to get,

and once they got the scene from those angles,

you know, we went home.

It was fabulous.

We worked at Ann Roth too as the costume designer,

Melanie and Harrison.

It was just an amazing ensemble.

For years, I've had women come up to me,

like at the airport, and go,

She was so wronged, you know?

Melanie's character borrowed

your clothes and took your man.

And they were like, Go Catherine!

And I'm like, Okay!

But you know, it's so funny,

when I finally got to that scene where I really lose,

I was so shocked.

This is a simple misunderstanding and I, you cannot.

I can and I will.

Now get your, what did you call it?

Bony ass.

Right.

Bony ass out of my sight.

I'm sorry, but I simply won't stand for that kind of talk.

In the back of my mind, I thought

Mike will make sure that Catherine wins.

And so I went in there with so much confidence.

And of course, that's not the story.

I never felt like a villain.

I felt maybe a little more mischievous.

And I never felt like a loser

until the very end when I lost,

and then I was shattered.

You're boring me.

I have a husband.

I don't particularly feel the need for another.

You have a point there.

I think I heard about it at a birthday party

for my husband from Kevin Klein,

who said he'd been sent this script.

I remember asking for the script,

getting the script, and to me it was Chekhov,

And I wanted to play the Masha character.

So I was actually asked, which character do you wanna play?

And I said, Janie.

And meanwhile they populated the film

with the most incredible actors

who were all working in the theatre.

And it was shot on a shoestring.

It was such a pleasure to work with Kevin again.

He was always saying things like,

I think I have to use a fake nose for this.

And I'd say, A fake nose?

I said,

Kevin, this is you.

This character is you.

You don't need to put on a fake nose.

This is just you!

But he always wanted to put on a fake nose for something.

And just the whole amazing cast,

it just felt like such a wonderful,

like a theatre production that bloomed into a movie.

We had the great Joan Allen, Kate Burton,

Young Christina Ricci, young Katie Holmes,

Elijah Wood, I mean,

just, hello!

It was very easy for us to just do several scenes

during the day in the glass house where we were shooting.

You know, I'm surprised that they,

the directors, didn't make more use of such

a great ensemble of sort of the same age of actor,

'cause it was a really good idea,

and I think that the film really benefited from that.

And Ang, you know,

is just a wonderful man,

and literally would look at you across the set

and send you a direction without speaking.

I don't quite understand how he did it,

but he would just sort of look at you and you'd go,

Oh, huh,

and just sort of intuit something,

like when I was gonna reach out,

open the door of my son's room at the end

to see if they were alright.

I knew he wanted to say something to me,

and he ended up saying, Too ashamed.

A great pleasure to work with Ang.

I've always wanted to work with him again.

You get spoils working with directors like that.

[Host] My personal favorite, Gwen DeMarco!

Yeah!

I had wanted to play Gwen,

because Gwen is much closer to me than Ripley is.

I wanted to play a young woman in that world of stardom,

who wants so much to be a star,

and who, because she's beautiful,

and bosomy, and blonde,

no one takes very seriously, not even the commander.

And I felt great compassion and sisterhood

with Gwen and Tawny, you know?

Again, I've been so fortunate

to work with these great ensembles,

you know, Tony Shalhoub and Alan Rickman.

I mean, it was just an amazing group.

And I actually, I wish they'd put out

a director's cut of the movie,

because at the last minute,

Dreamworks decided to release the movie with all the,

some of the more sophisticated scenes cut that Alan was in,

because it needed a kid's movie

to go up against Stuart Little.

And you know,

why they don't put out the movie again

with more of his very, very strange and wonderful scenes?

And I remember Bob Gordon had written a second one,

and he wouldn't give it to Dreamworks

because he just felt they'd missed the boat on ours.

And we we always meant to do a sequel.

And then with Alan passing away, we just lost heart.

But it was great privilege to do this love letter to actors.

Caveman, you come over here please.

Go over there.

Boy, come on over.

Come on over.

Now did you by any chance take a drink

since you filled your canteen?

Oh no, I'm fine.

I have plenty.

Excuse me?

I might have drank some.

Thank you.

May I have your canteen please?

Holes is funny because my daughter, who's about eight,

was given Holes to read in school.

One day she came up to me and she said,

Mom, there's this really awful woman in my book,

and you should play her.

I remember being very proud of her

that she was able to separate from the book,

and be able to say to me, there's a really awful person,

and you should play her, Mom,

'cause I think she knew I would enjoy it.

But it was incredible to me to actually end up in the movie,

you know, directed and I think produced by Andy Davis

with Louis Sachar writing the script,

and such an amazing young cast.

And of course the Warden is quite a creation.

I mean, really nightmarish,

I think, from a children's point of view.

But what I found so unexpectedly touching

about the Warden was that she had spent

her childhood looking for that treasure,

doing what she had the boys doing nonstop.

The idea that she was so damaged,

probably had some PTSD that was still active in her,

so she was driven to continue to look.

And that's why I, when I,

in the last scene, I think before she's taken away,

I said to Andy, you have to let her see

what they found and then she can rest.

And so I did get to see it in the back of the car.

What we seem to have amongst us

is a predator of some type,

most likely a coyote or a wolf.

So The Village scared me to death.

I just so believed in those we don't speak of.

I didn't realize they weren't real until I got on the set

and then it became clear that they were sort of manufactured

by the village to keep people in the neighborhood.

I totally believed in them.

It gave me nightmares.

And again, wow,

what an incredible ensemble.

I was reunited with Bill Hurt,

and I got to work with Judy Greer,

I got to work with Bryce Dallas Howard.

It was just an amazing group of people,

and we all lived in the same house.

And just from the dinner conversation,

no matter what happened that day,

an actor would somehow find a neurotic way of looking at it.

Like, you know,

they'd worked so hard on this

presentation too in the schoolhouse,

and then the whole thing was shot on the kids.

You know, there would always be an element

of tragedy in our dinner conversations,

which was also very funny.

I mean, you could make a very funny

movie about actors living together.

And I love The Village.

I haven't seen it in a while,

but I think that, you know,

Bryce and Joaquin are amazing,

and you know, it's just a great cast.

How much lab training have you had?

I dissected a frog once.

You see?

You see?

I mean, they're just pissing on us without

even the courtesy of calling it rain.

I'm going to Selfridge.

No Grace, no-

No man, this is such bullshit!

Somehow Jim picks people who will absolutely

go the limit to serve the film.

I remember him calling me saying he was

delivering this script to me personally,

you know, like I think John Landau had his son

bring it on a plane and hand it to me,

and I got to read it for two hours,

and I quickly let him know that two hours

was not long enough to read this script,

'cause every page was so filled

with things you couldn't believe,

flying, this and that.

I mean, it's just like,

how are you gonna shoot any of this stuff?

This is impossible.

He's very demanding, but he demands the most of himself.

Like, he really wants all the props to be practical.

He doesn't want something that represents something

because it's not gonna be, they're not gonna film that,

that's gonna be transformed by, what,

a digital into the real thing?

No, he wants Brad,

the prop guy, to come with something

that the cast can really hold and use.

I'm sure it's one of the reasons

he cast me as a 14-year-old,

because we kind of bring that out

in each other, that immature part.

But I was very grateful to go back into my adolescence

where I was quite miserable and revisit that time.

It was actually very healing for me,

and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do that.

Hi Mom.

[ethereal music]

Playing Grace and Kiri at the same time

is exactly my repertory theatre.

Ideal.

And in fact, Grace has a lot more to do

in two and three than I think Jim realized.

That relationship between the mother and the child is,

to me, so moving.

It's in the script, but again,

Grace is a larger presence,

and so I really did get to do that.

I really did get to play the scamp and the scientist,

and that's so satisfying.

[dramatic music]

[Fighter] Open fire, open fire!

[animal roaring]

Brother!

[indistinct yelling]

I hope that Fire and Ash does well.

Oona Chaplin is amazing as Varang, and so is Zoe.

Everyone in it is so great.

It's such an amazing story.

I mean, it's really,

I mean, it absolutely is the most amazing

e-ride with the 3D and everything.

And yet it's about these huge,

huge themes of family, and home,

and planet, and community,

war and refuge, and you know,

being a refugee, it's about all these big things.

But if it does well, we'll get to do four and five,

which are even more amazing.

And I just reread them all.

He wrote these all in 2013.

They hang together like nobody's business.

So many jokes, character jokes.

And he was writing this before

we'd ever set foot on the stage.

He knew who these people were intimately.

So, I mean,

I just doff my hat to him.

He's just amazing.

I really find it so moving to do these movies,

I feel like they're about all of us.

Yeah, we may have ears and tails,

et cetera, and we may be blue,

but these are all things that are important to humans,

and he's encouraging us also to protect our planet

as the Na'vi tried to protect theirs.

I don't think my job could ever be boring.

I don't repeat myself as far as I'm concerned,

unless I'm actually playing the same part.

And even then, it's quite different.

I love the theatre, but most of

the repertory theatres are gone.

And that was what I wanted to be,

was an actor in a repertory company out in the regionals.

That to me was like the best life possible.

Play the maid one month, and then

play the Queen the next month,

and do comedy one month, and then do tragedy the next.

I just thought that was,

and I've tried to do that in my film career,

leaping from Ghostbusters to Ice Storm,

to whatever it is.

That's been very satisfying to me.

[mellow music]