The Alien 20th Anniversary Event

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Site created 12/15/97.

page created: 6/3/99

The Alien 20th Anniversary Event
The Egyptian Theater - Hollywood, CA - 6/2/99

20 years ago, the original Alien premiered at Hollywood's Egyptian theater. And in honor of this anniversary, 20th Century Fox last night hosted a gala screening of the film at the same, newly-restored venue. My wife Sarah and I were fortunate enough to be invited as guests to the event, and it was quite a wonderful experience.

Among the many celebrity guests on hand, were Bill Paxton, Home Improvement's Tim Allen, Don Cheadle, Usual Suspects director Bryan Singer, X-Files regular Dean Haglund, and much of the cast of the original Alien: John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Tom Skerritt, and of course, Sigourney Weaver. Director Ridley Scott was sadly unable to attend, as he's still in Europe working on his latest film, Gladiator. Sill, the production team of the film was well represented, with both director of photography Derek Vanlint and conceptual designer Ron Cobb in attendance. Even Aliens director James Cameron popped in to chat with old friends.

I must say, it's been many years since I had last seen this film projected in a theater, and I had forgotten the impact it can have. Despite the fact that the crowd was mostly industry, audience reaction was terrific, with great applause at each of the thrills, and even a scream or two. Even I felt myself getting a little uneasy as the infamous "chestburster" scene played out - it was quite a thrill. The film looked terrific - a brand new print from the negative was used for the event. And I have to say, that having freshly had the opportunity to compare a good theater viewing of Alien with the new DVD, the DVD captures the experience of the film quite well.

I was also very happy to meet some of the senior staff of Fox Home Video in person - I talk to them so often that it's nice to finally be able put faces to the names and voices. They were all quite gracious, and very welcoming. So let me just take a moment to thank the folks at Fox, and at Ridley and Tony Scott's production company, Scott Free, for their kindness and the opportunity to attend.

Sarah wisely thought to bring the digital camera along, and while I chatted with the Who's Who, she joined the gallery of entertainment press photographers and snapped lots of pictures as stars came down the red carpet. So here are two pages worth of the best of the lot - enjoy!