The great masters of cinema inspire each other, sometimes in unexpected ways. While the new film in the Alien franchise, entitled Romulus, has just been released in theaters, Ridley Scott reveals the improbable link that exists between his work and that of George Lucas, Star Wars.
without Star Wars, no Alien!
Star Wars: A New Hope is a major work of cinema. Almost 50 years after its release in theaters in 1977, George Lucas' galactic myth has lost none of its aura. This space opera, often copied but never equaled, has influenced dozens of films after him, and will undoubtedly influence dozens more. Even among his most talented contemporaries, the director of Star Wars has made followers, who do not hesitate to publicly recognize the importance of the saga on their own careers. During an interview with Letterboxd, Ridley Scott cites his 4 bedside films: War for Fire, 2001: A Space Odyssey, his own Blade Runner,and Star Wars.
I came to attend; the premiere of Star Wars,and I sat there depressed for three months. How can I do Tristan and Ysolute when this guy does this? I backtracked and I came up with Alien within six weeks.
Unlike most people, when Ridley Scott is depressed he doesn't crawl under the covers, he creates a masterpiece. While he was planning to adapt the legend of Tristan and Isolde, the grandiose spectacle of lightsabers and space battles by George Lucas inspired him to make Alien, which has since become a science fiction classic. Soon to be at the helm of the sequel to his epic epic, Gladiator, the director can boast of having also left his indelible mark on the Seventh Art!