By the end of 1979's Alien, Ridley Scott's harrowing interstellar horror classic, the crew of the Nostromo had been decimated, leaving only Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley alive to tell the tale. The end of the road for Ripley's crewmates, however, was the launching pad for Sigourney Weaver's career, one that has reflected Weaver's depth and range in both lead and character roles, drama and comedy. Three Academy Award nods have confirmed Weaver's intelligence and craft, but the enduring impact of Ripley--an action heroine who became a new archetype in American movies--has led to three more Alien features.
That heroic legacy makes Sigourney Weaver's presence in the new science fiction action-comedy, Galaxy Quest, both a nod to contemporary sci-fi mythology and a savvy surprise for Alien aficionados, who may blink at the actress's transformation: in contrast to Ripley's distinctly gritty, unadorned presence, Weaver's GQ alter ego, TV actress Gwen DeMarco, is a blonde bombshell. Amazon.com's Sam Sutherland reached Weaver at her home in Manhattan, where she helped shed light on her latest feature's mixture of comedy, action, and sci-fi.
Amazon.com: Many moviegoers first met you in your debut as Alien's action heroine, Ellen Ripley. Now, for Galaxy Quest, you're a TV actress whose character, Tawny Madison, is the archetypal "babe." Would that make her the Anti-Ripley?
Sigourney Weaver: This is the Anti-Ripley, because I decided to make her blond with huge breasts. I thought with a name like "Tawny," I should at least try to look tawny. I wanted to be the quintessential TV girl on the show, inspired by seeing countless babes on TV shows over the years. And realizing what a difficult part it is, actually, to play the babe. I mean, what if you're cranky that day?
Amazon.com: As an actress, it's a challenge in that you've got to really dumb yourself down.
Sigourney Weaver: Well, I'm afraid that wasn't that difficult
Amazon.com: Why not?
Sigourney Weaver: Toward the end of the shoot, we were supposed to say our lines for episodes of the original TV show in the script.. For the back story I gave Gwen DeMarco, who plays Tawny, I felt that she was from Vegas and really had the movement thing down, but was still working on her speech, working really hard in acting classes, and studying, maybe not with Sandy Meisner, but the best people she could find.
[For one scene] I was supposed to start upstage and then make my way down to my console and say, "All systems are working, Commander," to Tim's character. And I worked it out that I would walk, then get to my console, and give the line to end all lines, the way you do when you're first starting out. So I walked and walked, and then I got to my console and I said, "All systems are working, Commander," and Dean, the director, said "Sigourney, do you think you could move and say the line at the same time?" And I said, "But Dean, I haven't rehearsed it that way. You mean you want me to say the line as I walk? I don't think I can do that." And he said, "Are you listening to yourself?" [laughter] It was so hard! I tell you, I couldn't do the walk and say the line at the same time; I was overwhelmed. It was really difficult for me. I was glad that I only had two weeks to go. Maybe the wig had cut off the circulation to my brain.
Amazon.com: Are there any crucial differences between Gwen, the actress, and Tawny, the role Gwen plays?
Sigourney Weaver: Gwen is in love with Tim's character. They sort of dated on the show, and I think she expected something would develop. And he's one of those Peter Pan types who don't want to commit. So it's difficult. We all know each other almost too well, you know, all of us in the [fictional] cast.
Amazon.com: Apart from the romantic frustrations of the character, was playing a "babe" fun? More to the point, since this is the first time we've seen you as a blonde, did you have more fun?
Sigourney Weaver: I certainly made more friends. I tell you, it's a very friendly look. If you're blonde and showing off your figure, rather than being some East Coast brunette type, it's a real magnet for making friends. So I was exactly the same, but I think people were just... really nice. It was really nice because people would just smile, sort of, when they see... [laughter] What can I say?
Amazon.com: Galaxy Quest's sci-fi trappings may invite comparisons to the Alien films, but it also belongs to a relatively new subgenre of bigger budget, effects-laden comedies, something that was rare until another film you appeared in, Ghostbusters.
Sigourney Weaver: This did remind me of the experience of Ghostbusters, very much so, although with a completely different group of people. I mean, Tim Allen is so funny that it was all we could do to keep working on this thing, we were laughing so hard. If he got going it was just, forget it! You just had to surrender. Because he's so funny and the things he says are so true, and they make you laugh so hard tears run down your cheeks. So it was also like Ghostbusters in that sense, which was a great experience with lots of laughter, and a great deal of affection among the cast members.
Amazon.com: I gather that behind the visual gags and punch lines, Galaxy Quest allows for some real suspense and touches on some real issues--as Tim confirmed, this isn't Spaceballs. And the director, Dean Parisot, reportedly took pains to treat the story and cast sympathetically.
Sigourney Weaver: Dean's a wonderful director and a lovely guy to work with. He said to me at the beginning of the film, "This is like The Wizard of Oz. Each of these people lacks something important, and they can only get it by sticking with each other and going through this adventure." And I think he told that to all of us. I hope that what works in the movie is the heart of the movie.
Amazon.com: Which sounds distinct from the fashionably cynical route. This project seems to have higher aspirations in terms of story and character.
Sigourney Weaver: Yeah, I think that's true. I think we all, as characters, experience a total awakening of ourselves. I start the movie complaining that no one will take me seriously, as I stand there in my skintight costume. And by the end I have affected the plot. That's Gwen's goal--to affect the plot.
Amazon.com: Rather than simply repeat what the spaceship's computer says?
Sigourney Weaver: Exactly.
Amazon.com: This year marked the 20th anniversary for the original Alien, including the release of all four features as an entity. Beyond starring in all of them, you also took a production role on the last two. Do you see this as closure, or can you envision returning to science fiction in general, or to the Alien franchise in particular?
Sigourney Weaver: I've always felt terribly fulfilled as Ripley, which is why I died. I found the fourth one actually very interesting because I got to play a sort of demi-human role. But I feel like if I could never do one again, that would be fine. On the other hand, if they wanted to bring me back when I'm 75 as the white-haired Ripley, at that point I'll really need a jump!
Would I do another science fiction picture? Science fiction is anything that involves outer space, our world, our universe, and to me that's so much the canvas of the next century. If it were a really good story and happened to take place on Mars or something, I might do it. I don't have many rules about these things. I take what comes up if it's a good director, a good story.
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