Aliens (1986 film)

James Cameron's sequel sends Ripley back with the Colonial Marines.

Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film written and directed by James Cameron, the sequel to Alien. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), sole survivor of the alien attack on her ship, agrees to return to the moon where her crew met the creatures after contact is lost with a human colony there, travelling with a unit of Colonial Marines. Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen and Carrie Henn co-star.

Quick Facts

Director

James Cameron

Producer

Gale Anne Hurd

Story

James Cameron
David Giler
Walter Hill

Based on

Characters
Dan O'Bannon
Ronald Shusett

Starring

Sigourney Weaver

Music

James Horner

Cinematography

Adrian Biddle

Editing

Ray Lovejoy

Facts from the source article.

Background

Lawsuits, a lukewarm 20th Century Fox and management changes held the sequel up for years. Cameron was hired to write a story in 1983 on the strength of his scripts for The Terminator and Rambo: First Blood Part II, and the project moved once new Fox executive Lawrence Gordon pushed for it. Shot at Pinewood Studios from September 1985 to January 1986 on about $18.5 million, the production was marked by friction between Cameron and the British crew, and composer James Horner had little time to record his score.