Star Wars and Jaws defined the 1970s so much they directly paved the way for Alien . Alien was even pitched as a knock-off of one of those movies. Interestingly, Alien ‘s impact on cinema was comparable to that of Star Wars .
‘Star Wars’ caused the director of ‘Alien’ to completely rethink his creative direction It might be difficult for modern viewers to understand the impact of the original Star Wars . Prior to George Lucas’ magnum opus , big-budget Hollywood science fiction films like The War of the Worlds and 2001: A Space Odyssey were rare. Once Star Wars premiered in 1977, Hollywood became much more comfortable with science fiction.
By 1979, several expensive space movies were blasting off into theaters including Alien . During a 2024 interview with Wired , director Ridley Scott revealed what he thought when he saw Star Wars . “I was stunned,” he recalled.
“ Star Wars just turned my head about completely. So much so that when I walked out of the theater, I thought, ‘Why the hell am I doing [an adaptation of] Tristan and Isolde ?!’ Things are changing! It’s time to get down to business!” Everything changed for Scott. “Six weeks later, I was offered Alien ,” he said.
“I was the studio’s fifth choice.” After Alien , Scott went on to direct other popular films like Blade Runner , Thelma & Louise , and Gladiator , as well as a bunch of historical epics nobody liked such as Kingdom of Heaven , Robin Hood , and Exodus: Gods and Kings . Ridle.