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

Ridley Scott is 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 Alien movie, were shocked by how gross the film was. The sci-fi story follows 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 cast includes 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 sнιт 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


Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the xenomorph from Alien 1979
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

Related Posts

Tolkien Made A Good Point About The Return Of The King’s тιтle, But His Complaint Isn’t As Relevant Today

Tolkien Made A Good Point About The Return Of The King’s тιтle, But His Complaint Isn’t As Relevant Today

J.R.R. Tolkien had an excellent point about The Return of the King’s тιтle, but this perspective behind the third volume of The Lord of the Rings no…

10 Years Later, Re-Reading The First Court Of Thorns & Roses Book Makes Me Want A Long Overdue Story In Book 6 Even More

10 Years Later, Re-Reading The First Court Of Thorns & Roses Book Makes Me Want A Long Overdue Story In Book 6 Even More

A Court of Thorns and Roses turns 10 years old in May, and that makes it the perfect time to revisit the first book in Sarah J….

I’m Convinced James Gunn’s Superman Movie Is Basically Smallville Season 11

I’m Convinced James Gunn’s Superman Movie Is Basically Smallville Season 11

I’m realizing that James Gunn’s Superman has a pretty good chance of being the closest thing we might ever get to Smallville season 11 in live-action. The…

Predator: Badlands Is Still Hiding Another Major Elle Fanning Character Twist Beyond The Android Reveal

Predator: Badlands Is Still Hiding Another Major Elle Fanning Character Twist Beyond The Android Reveal

The upcoming movie Predator: Badlands will add another exciting new movie to the popular action franchise, but the film promises a big twist from past installments thanks…

Havoc Ending Explained (In Detail)

Havoc Ending Explained (In Detail)

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Havoc. The ending of Gareth Evans’ gun-fu action thriller Havoc finds Tom Hardy’s crooked cop Walker on a long and blood-soaked journey…

I Still Can’t Get Over Just How Awful The Reviews Are For Marvel’s Lowest-Rated Live-Action Movie That Scores Worse Than Morbius, Madame Web, & Kraven The Hunter

I Still Can’t Get Over Just How Awful The Reviews Are For Marvel’s Lowest-Rated Live-Action Movie That Scores Worse Than Morbius, Madame Web, & Kraven The Hunter

I’m astounded by the appalling reviews for Marvel’s lowest-rated live-action movie, which scored even lower than Morbius, Madame Web, Kraven the Hunter. While the greatest Marvel movies…