igourney Weaver, who became an SF icon playing Warrant Officer Ellen
Ripley in the four Alien movies, once again goes into space in
Galaxy Quest, the SF comedy that opened on Christmas Day. But her dual
role--as actress Gwen DeMarco and Galaxy Quest crew member Lt. Tawny Madison--is the polar opposite of the self-reliant Ripley. A buxom blonde
TV actress whose function was to repeat statements of the ship's computer,
DeMarco is helpless, ditzy and worried about being taken seriously by her
colleagues.
The role was a welcome change for Weaver, who has established herself as
both a serious actress (with three Academy Award nominations) and a fixture
in SF and fantasy (her genre films include Ghostbusters and
Showtime's Snow White: A Tale of Terror). She's also worked with
top-tier directors, including Ridley Scott on Alien and
James Cameron on Aliens. Recently, Weaver took a few minutes to
speak with Science Fiction Weekly about her experiences on Galaxy Quest and the Aliens films.
First of all, congratulations on getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Weaver: Thank you. Jim Cameron introduced me. It was really sweet of
him.
The character Gwen DeMarco is sort of the anti-Ripley for you, isn't she?
Exactly right. It was actually a relief for me to play an actor who was
scared, who didn't know where everything was, who didn't know what buttons
to push, and for me to be able to play all that. I love the role of Ripley,
but certainly when I started out, and Ridley Scott would say, "You can't
even use your console. Just push buttons in the air and say your lines," it
was like, "Oh gosh!" So suddenly to be in a real-life situation,
theoretically, [playing that role] as an actor, I just adored it.
How does it feel to be associated with science fiction as a genre, first
with the Alien movies, and now with the very different Galaxy Quest?
Weaver: It's terrific. I still can't believe it actually. I'm so
lucky that we've made these four wonderful [Alien] films. I don't
think there are Alien conventions. But it was very interesting to
read about all the SF conventions. We have a couple of scenes in [Galaxy
Quest] where there are these people who are so passionate about these
things; they show up and really believe in you. It was an education to me.
Are you a fan of science fiction yourself? Had you watched Star
Trek at all?
Weaver: I had. But I have to say that I don't really see science
fiction as fiction. I can imagine colonies on Mars and everything. My
father [NBC broadcasting pioneer Pat Weaver] was always very interested in
space. I watch Star Trek and all those things, but I always had a
different picture in my mind of what [the future] would look like.... Maybe
closer to Alien. I don't see it in space as much as I do see it in
different planets, with each having its own strange characters.
Alien: Resurrection wasn't as well received as some of the other
Alien movies. How did you feel about that?
Weaver: Gosh. My information is that it was received very well in
terms of box office. And people seem to really love it. They're all so
different. And I know people have different favorites. So I wasn't aware of
that.... I don't think I have a favorite. I love each of them for whatever
that director's vision was. Personally, as an actor, I found it most
enjoyable to play in the last one, because I had to play these two
different parts of myself. To be cloned, to be brought back against your
will, as it were, was a very interesting jumping-off point, I thought.... If
you come back from the dead, you don't have the same value system, I think.
To suddenly be playing a Ripley who didn't feel she had to save everybody,
sort of detached and watching everything with a kind of sardonic humor, I
just thought it was really exciting to go in that direction.
Would you do another Alien film?
Weaver: I don't know that there are any plans to do another one. It
wouldn't surprise me if some time in the next 20 years or so, you see a
white-haired Ripley hobbling around out there. [laughs] But I haven't heard
of anything. I've always wanted to do one where we go back to the planet
from which the alien originally came. But it's never been a serious
discussion.
What's next for you?
Weaver: I have this movie I did, which is a real change of pace from
Galaxy Quest, called A Map of the World, which I really loved
doing and am very proud of. That's opening nationwide Jan. 21. And then I have
another comedy [Company Man], about the Bay of Pigs, where we have a lot of spy stuff that doesn't work. And that comes out in the spring. And then, I'm not sure.
