Can you imagine the movie industry without the work of David Fincher? The director has delivered unforgettable films such as Fight Club, Gone Girl, and Zodiac, and even expanded his influence to television with projects like Mindhunter, which had a brief run, and Love, Death & Robots, an animated anthology.
Yet, despite his later successes, Fincher’s directing career almost ended early due to his experience making Alien 3 in 1992. Widely considered the most controversial film in the Alien franchise, Alien 3 was such a difficult project that Fincher nearly gave up filmmaking altogether.
Fincher does not give interviews often, but when he opened up about his experience with Alien 3 in a conversation with Sight and Sound, he didn’t hold back on how tough the production was. He described it as a nightmare that left him questioning his future in the industry.
“The movie I set out to do, the one in my head, was so different from what got made. I got hired for a personal vision and was railroaded into something else,” he said. “I didn’t read a script for a year and a half after that, I thought I’d rather die of colon cancer than do another movie.”
Fincher’s frustrations came from a series of challenges, including filming without a complete script, conflicting visions from multiple writers, and final decisions being made without his input.
The Troubled Production of Alien 3: Multiple Writers and Directors Were Involved
Alien 3, like many sequels, was created with the intention of capitalizing on the success of its predecessor, James Cameron’s Aliens. However, the road to its completion was filled with obstacles. Brandywine Productions, which had worked on the first two Alien films, wanted to avoid simply repeating the same formula.
To add to the tension, Sigourney Weaver had a strained relationship with 20th Century Fox at the time. She disagreed with the studio’s decision to cut significant scenes from Aliens, scenes she felt were important for her character, Ellen Ripley. When Alien 3 was given the green light, several different writers were brought in to work on the project.
Among them, Renny Harlin and William Gibson wrote a version of the script that involved Xenomorphs taking over Earth. Unfortunately, the project stalled due to the Writers’ Guild of America strike in 1988. Although this version was never filmed, it was later adapted into a comic book series and a novel.
David Twohy also contributed a draft that introduced the concept of a prison planet, an idea that eventually made it into the final film. However, Twohy’s version of the story removed Ripley from the plot, a decision that did not sit well with then-president of Fox, Eric Roth.
Fincher was not the first director to step onto the set of Alien 3. Initially, that role went to Vincent Ward. Ward and screenwriter John Fasano created a unique storyline where Ripley would crash-land on a wooden planet filled with monks.
These monks, who believed that the Xenomorph attack was a divine test, gave the story a philosophical twist. However, Ward’s vision was never realized because Fox demanded multiple changes that he wasn’t willing to make. At that point, Fincher was brought in to salvage the production.
He ended up rewriting much of the script alongside Rex Pickett, whom he secretly brought to the set without Fox’s approval. Pickett later discussed his involvement with the project on AVP Galaxy, a fan site.
He explained that his work on the film was cut short when Walter Hill and David Giler, who had also contributed to the screenplay, found out. They insisted that Fincher use their version of the script or risk being removed from the project.
Pickett recalled Fincher’s risk-taking approach with a sense of pride. “He took a real risk with me, and it really paid off because I can tell you right now, it’s a way better screenplay than that Hill-Giler script, and everyone knows it to this day. They know it and I’m not saying that out of any arrogance,” Pickett said.
Despite his efforts, the film continued to be plagued by creative disagreements, and Fincher’s vision for Alien 3 was never fully realized.
The Discontent Surrounding Alien 3 Was Shared by Others
Fincher’s dissatisfaction with Alien 3 is well-known, but he wasn’t the only one left disappointed. James Cameron, who directed Aliens, and Michael Biehn, who played Corporal Hicks in the same film, both had strong reactions to Alien 3.
Cameron, in particular, was upset with the movie’s decision to kill off several key characters from Aliens, including Bishop (played by Lance Henriksen), Dwayne Hicks (played by Biehn), and Newt (played by Carrie Henn).
In a particularly shocking scene, Newt’s body is cut open and burned after Ripley suspects she might have been infected by a Xenomorph. Cameron expressed his frustration in an interview with io9, saying:
“I thought it was a huge slap in the face to the fans. David Fincher is a friend of mine, and he’s an amazing filmmaker, unquestionably.
That was kind of his first big gig, and he was getting vectored around by the studio, and he dropped into the production late, and they had a horrible script, and they were re-writing it on the fly. It was just a mess. I think it was a big mistake.”
Biehn’s dissatisfaction was even more personal. Initially, the plan was to have Hicks’ body infested with a Xenomorph, which greatly disturbed him. After receiving a call from a friend alerting him to this plot point, Biehn contacted his agent and successfully negotiated a payment equal to what he had earned on Aliens.
Instead of using a puppet to represent Hicks’ body, the final cut of Alien 3 simply used a photograph of him.
Fincher Finds Satisfaction in One Memorable Shot from Alien 3
Even though Fincher is largely unhappy with how Alien 3 turned out, there is one scene he remains proud of. The shot in question shows Ripley shrinking back in terror as a Xenomorph moves toward her, its mouth wide open.
This terrifying moment captures the full menace of the creature, especially as its prehensile tongue extends. Fincher discussed this shot in an interview with Empire Magazine:
“The one shot that Fox was happy to put in the trailer: the Alien’s filing-cabinet drawer opening on Sigourney [Weaver]’s face. I always knew we wanted to do it and it never looked the way I wanted it to. I wanted to light all behind her.
It should have been two shapes in silhouette, we should have had more coverage of it, and we didn’t – mostly because we were spending all our f**king time trying to shoot plates for the rod puppet side of the thing. I think we had an hour-and-a-half to get that. But it’s powerful, because it’s a powerful idea.”
Fincher went on to direct more films after this experience, including Seven, thanks to Andrew Kevin Walker’s compelling script.
However, the stress and frustration from Alien 3 clearly left their mark on him, making it understandable why he considered leaving filmmaking altogether. His struggle with the studio’s demands and constant script changes during Alien 3 would have frustrated any director.
Hopefully, Fede Álvarez, the latest director to tackle the franchise with Alien: Romulus, had a smoother experience with the Xenomorphs than Fincher did during his time with Alien 3.
For those interested, Alien 3 is currently available for streaming on Disney+ in the U.S.
