Another glorious day in the Corps! A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune! Every formation a parade! I LOVE the Corps!

October 20, 2010 12:13 PM

Empire magazine tracks down where the Colonial Marines from Aliens are now.
posted by fearfulsymmetry (66 comments total)

They're all dead, silly.
posted by Burhanistan at 12:20 PM on October 20, 2010 [5 favorites]

Interesting. I watched True Lies a few weeks ago, and don't remember Bill Paxton in it at all. And I didn't know the Sarge was actually a military vet.
posted by Old'n'Busted at 12:22 PM on October 20, 2010

For those about to rush in with quotes from the movie, remember: Short, controlled bursts.
posted by Artw at 12:24 PM on October 20, 2010 [18 favorites]

They're all dead, silly.

No way, man, Wierzbowski lives!
posted by dersins at 12:24 PM on October 20, 2010

Heh.

Carter Burke
Actor: Paul Rieser
Rank: Weyland-Yutani suit and total bastard

He chuckles at the idea that everything in Aliens is his fault. "I was just following the corporate manifest, but at the premiere my sister punched me in the stomach. I thought, 'This doesn't bode well for the public.'"
posted by Artw at 12:30 PM on October 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

Jenette Goldstein - "Vasquez" - has opened a bra store for the buxom woman.
posted by Joe Beese at 12:42 PM on October 20, 2010

> Jenette Goldstein - "Vasquez" - has opened a bra store for the buxom woman.

That's kind of awesome. I can only hope that some of the bras she sells also have machine gun securing straps.
posted by Burhanistan at 12:48 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

"I've done 85 movies, and Aliens is the only one people give a crap about."

True. I know Daniel Kash slightly, and it was only through tremendous force of will I did not ask him about it when I first met him. I figure people in genre movies and TV shows get asked the same dumb-ass questions all the time, so why be dull?

On a related note, I once spoke Robert Picardo (from Voyager) at a convention and figured that I would try to avoid the banalities he usually hears. Minutes before, he had been speaking onstage and he gave way to Jeri Ryan, who came out, waved to fans, and greeted her colleague warmly.

I asked him, given his many years as character actor before Star Trek came calling, if he had any reservations when he took the role. After all, here is a job that will guarantee you a degree of fame and acclaim, but you will likely never escape the role: it will be mentioned in the first line of your obituary.

He told me that the cast had gotten together ahead of the start of production and talked about that very thing and all felt -- obviously -- that it was worth doing (although there were other actors who had passed on some roles because they wanted to avoid this very problem). "On the one hand," he said, "being typecast can cramp your career as an actor. On the other hand, what other job is there where a 46-year-old bald man who looks like a shoe salesman can have Jeri Ryan run into a room and kiss him?"
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:50 PM on October 20, 2010 [20 favorites]

Meanwhile.

Hudson's ready to get it on
and Hicks is ready to get it on
but Ripley's not ready to get it on
till Vasquez gets those big black boots on

Apone's ready to get it on
and Bishop maybe sorta could get it on
but Newt's not old enough to get it on
so Ripley's gotta wait till Vasquez gets those boots on

When the Company's ready to get it on
then Burke is ready to get it on
but Ripley's not ready to get it on
till Vasquez gets those big black boots on.

posted by kipmanley at 12:58 PM on October 20, 2010 [7 favorites]

Is this gonna be a stand up fight, sir, or another bug hunt?

Most. Favorite. SciFi. Quote.

Evah!

Metafilter
posted by mmrtnt at 12:59 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Surprised I never rnoticed Tip Tipping was in the cast. He turned up a lot in old skool Who in the 80s as a stunt man and it's a name you remember. His death was bitterly ironic.

Died after his parachute failed to open while reenacting a sky-diving accident for the BBC television show "999" (1990), which dramatically reconstructs real-life accidents, mishaps and near-misses.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:03 PM on October 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

What I loved about Aliens was that there were memorable characters on screen - they might have been painted with broad, rough strokes, but that also meant that they were recognizable, something that is essential in every movie where the characters exist mostly to die one after another. Even if you don't remember their names, they need to be memorable enough that you immediately think "That's Big Bad Sarge" "That's Tough Chick" "Oh no, Whiny Guy is at it again" when they show up; this is something I really miss in most newer movies.
Plus, most of the characters had some redeeming quality or cool lines apart from their cliché traits, something that made me root for them, whereas most recent Ten-Little-Indian-style movies had me cheering the monsters each time they killed one of the faceless annoying pricks we were supposed to empathize with.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 1:07 PM on October 20, 2010 [5 favorites]

Newt is a teacher now isn't she? Didn't we have an FPP on her? I think now that imust have imagined it.
posted by Artw at 1:07 PM on October 20, 2010

Jenette Goldstein - "Vasquez" - has opened a bra store for the buxom woman.

That's kind of awesome. I can only hope that some of the bras she sells also have machine gun securing straps.

Has she ever been mistaken for a...

look, I just can't help myself in this, okay? It's an automatic response.
posted by Artw at 1:10 PM on October 20, 2010

Newt is a teacher now isn't she? Didn't we have an FPP on her? I think now that imust have imagined it.

They mostly post in the thread. Mostly.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:13 PM on October 20, 2010 [3 favorites]

Most underrated Aliens quote:

"They can bill me!"
posted by Rangeboy at 1:24 PM on October 20, 2010 [5 favorites]

I remember being very sad when all them Marines died. They were so cool. That may not have been how we were in the Corps but it's how we liked to be seen.
posted by zzazazz at 1:33 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Most underrated Aliens quote: "They can bill me!"

Not bad... for a human.
posted by Artw at 1:38 PM on October 20, 2010

I've always thought Ferro, the dropship pilot, was the most underrated Marine. She was pretty badass in those aviators.
posted by fryman at 1:47 PM on October 20, 2010 [6 favorites]

The pilot's lines also got used in Starcraft.

We're in the pipe, five by five
posted by utsutsu at 1:48 PM on October 20, 2010

but it's how we liked to be seen.

Blaze of glory. I will never forget Bill Paxton screaming hysterically, "You want some of this??? Come and get some of this!!!", firing away with some Large Ass Gun, ripping shit up, until they finally came and got some of it.

This was the first sci-fi flick I saw that portrayed space exploration in a somewhat realistic light.

After four years in the Navy, I remember watching Star Trek and thinking, "No way in hell the first people on an unknown planet are going to be the Captain, First Mate and Chief Medical Officer.   The Marines will go in first and find out whether or not the air is poison and if the aliens have a taste for human flesh"
posted by mmrtnt at 1:50 PM on October 20, 2010 [5 favorites]

Not only does she run a bra store, but the copy is hilarious:

"HEY PAL, MY EYES ARE UP HERE

Listen, why don’t you relax with a magazine, Gent or High Life, while one of the gals selects a few items your honey will go wild over.

Maybe you’d like to get her something special? Something that’s really for both of you, if you know what I mean. We can help with that. We’ve got her measurements, and we noticed the way she was looking at that sheer teddy last week, when she picked up that practical T-shirt bra.

Personal shopping service gratis for the gents. Advice discreetly given over the phone, through email or in house by appointment.

You lucky, lucky boy."
posted by Relay at 1:53 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

What I loved about Aliens was that there were memorable characters on screen - they might have been painted with broad, rough strokes, but that also meant that they were recognizable, something that is essential in every movie where the characters exist mostly to die one after another.

I don't want to get tarred as anti-Aliens, because I'm not, exactly, but the characters in the first one all existed mostly to die one after another and yet managed to be memorable without sounding like what I imagine James Cameron had his action figures yelling at each other when he was eleven.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:55 PM on October 20, 2010 [5 favorites]

firing away with some Large Ass Gun

I think you mean a M41-A Pulse Rifle firing 10mm caseless rounds.
posted by Artw at 2:01 PM on October 20, 2010 [3 favorites]

> I think you mean a M41-A Pulse Rifle firing 10mm caseless rounds.

Even if you don't like guns in the house, don't tell me you would say no to one of these.
posted by Burhanistan at 2:03 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

It has it's own site!

(Also is basically a Thomson M1 with SPAS 12 parts glued on)
posted by Artw at 2:08 PM on October 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

How to make a pulse rifle
posted by Artw at 2:09 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Okay someone help me drag Artw from the thread. Buddy, you're gonna hurt yourself.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:10 PM on October 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

When our girl whippet is in bed with us, laying on its back, flaunting its belly tuck as it stretches out its spindly hind legs. Mrs. Beese likes to say, "There may be a xenomorph involved."
posted by Joe Beese at 2:11 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

/makes a run for where the steadicams and MG42s are stored.
posted by Artw at 2:16 PM on October 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

I think you mean a M41-A Pulse Rifle firing 10mm caseless rounds.

If I knew a damn thing about Large Ass Guns, that's exactly what I would have said!

Thank you, sir...
posted by mmrtnt at 2:18 PM on October 20, 2010

Jenette Goldstein's also quite memorable as Diamondback in Near Dark, directed by Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow. She was so hot in these two films I'm shocked she didn't do more ... well, action/horror/ANYTHING for awhile until I noticed her playing the foster mom in Terminator 2.

Seems like James Cameron used her in several different roles, but man... I was 14 when this movie came out and it really made me want to get buff and kick people's asses.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 2:20 PM on October 20, 2010

Near Dark shares so much with Aliens it's basically the same film except the Marines are Vampires, the Aliens are hillbillies and the APC is a van with blacked out windows.
posted by Artw at 2:29 PM on October 20, 2010

I think you mean a M41-A Pulse Rifle firing 10mm caseless rounds.

10mm EXPLOSIVE TIPPED caseless, standard light armor piercing round. Not the regular 10mm caseless. I mean, geez. You wanna get us killed?

Also, would the Army or Corps ever label a weapon M41A? Wouldn't it either be just an M41, or an M41A1, M41A2, etc, if it was a revised version?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:44 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

The "A" is for "ass kicking", of course.
posted by Burhanistan at 2:45 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Not only does she run a bra store, but the copy is hilarious:

So she does sell stuff that would be handy for some close encounters?
posted by never used baby shoes at 3:01 PM on October 20, 2010 [4 favorites]

It has it's own site!

oh my god what kind of sick twisted pervert uses GODDAMN FUCKING PAPYRUS on a site about an awesome gun like that.
posted by elizardbits at 3:06 PM on October 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

You know why I love Bill "Hudson sir, he's Hicks" Paxton? Prior to Twister, the man made a career dying in interesting ways (hell, he's even got a death scene in True Lies though it turns out to be a over-in-a-flash fantasy, it still counts in my mind.)

He's also the only actor to have been killed by an Alien, a Predator, and a Terminator.

That's bad ass.
posted by quin at 3:23 PM on October 20, 2010 [6 favorites]

Awesome article. :D
posted by zarq at 3:44 PM on October 20, 2010

If you're a Bill Paxton fan, absolutely do not miss Frailty with him, Powers Boothe, and Matthew McConaughey. Really stellar movie.
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:51 PM on October 20, 2010 [3 favorites]

Is this gonna be a stand up fight, sir, or another bug hunt?

What I love about this quote -- "another bug hunt" -- is that in just three words in a single throwaway line, the writer created an entire universe of potential stories. What do you mean another bug hunt? You've fought aliens before? Where? What were they like? Were they sentient bugs? Wait, these are Marines. That means there are entire groups devoted to and trained for fighting bugs.

I wish I could write that well, and that economical.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:14 PM on October 20, 2010 [12 favorites]

He's also the only actor to have been killed by an Alien, a Predator, and a Terminator.

He also gets turned into an alien in "Weird Science"

And, for some reason, I've always thought of Bill Paxton as a bad-ass version of Rick Moranis.
posted by mmrtnt at 4:18 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Cool Papa Bell: "Is this gonna be a stand up fight, sir, or another bug hunt?

What I love about this quote -- "another bug hunt" -- is that in just three words in a single throwaway line, the writer created an entire universe of potential stories. What do you mean another bug hunt? You've fought aliens before? Where? What were they like? Were they sentient bugs? Wait, these are Marines. That means there are entire groups devoted to and trained for fighting bugs.

I wish I could write that well, and that economical."

c.f. Dark Horse's extended Aliens: Colonial Marines comics, which covered many of those other bug hunts.

I also briefly had a copy of the Colonial Marines Technical Manual (but loaned it to someone and never got it back) that now go for £132 new. Awesome book.
posted by Happy Dave at 4:21 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

He's also the only actor to have been killed by an Alien, a Predator, and a Terminator.

I believe that Lance Henriksen shares that honor. (Though I stopped watching after Alien 4. The only Alien v. Predator story that I acknowledge is a few of the first comics by Dark Horse in 1991.)
posted by asfuller at 4:30 PM on October 20, 2010

I believe that Lance Henriksen shares that honor.

Nope. He "survived" Aliens and was "killed" in A3... by Ripley.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:37 PM on October 20, 2010

That's true, Bishop was really just impaled and torn in half by an Alien. The honor goes to Bill.
posted by asfuller at 5:12 PM on October 20, 2010

Shout out to Crowe; we share a last name. Great to hear it bellowed by Apone in the locker room. The Aliens novelization fleshed Crowe out a little; he once got in trouble for having his girlfriend's image laser-scanned on his armor. And while Ripley watching the monitors cut out as the marines die, she notes that she liked Crowe...
posted by JDC8 at 5:35 PM on October 20, 2010

No way, man, Wierzbowski lives!

As is mentioned in the article, there is a website dedicated to the mythology of Wierzbowski.

This is why I love the Internet. Bravo, you nerd warriors.

*sheds tears*
posted by zardoz at 6:10 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

I watched True Lies a few weeks ago, and don't remember Bill Paxton in it at all.

Hint.

It is hard to recognize him, I'll admit. But he's so great playing off Schwarzenegger. The thing I love about Arnold is that he knows at some level he's a cartoon, and is willing to humiliate himself on screen in various ways that exploit that. In their scenes together Paxton helps bring out some of Schwarzenegger's best cartoonishness.

Another thing about that movie I liked was Tom Arnold. I thought it had primed him for a solid career as a comic sidekick. In TL he's actually grounding the story somewhat, which is a neat trick.

What I loved about Aliens was that there were memorable characters on screen - they might have been painted with broad, rough strokes, but that also meant that they were recognizable, something that is essential in every movie where the characters exist mostly to die one after another.... Plus, most of the characters had some redeeming quality or cool lines apart from their cliché traits, something that made me root for them

You can also see this in other Cameron films such as The Abyss, although honestly I don't know how much of it is screenwriters. Giler and Hill did a similarly good job in the original Alien, although they had fewer characters with more screen time and were able to achieve more depth. I definitely feel this quality was lacking in Alien³ and Alien Resurrection. Many of the characters literally blend together and not only can't you tell them apart, you can't care about any of them (especially surprising since many of the actors are distinctive personalities). So I tend to feel that the success of Aliens is largely Cameron's.

Speaking of The Abyss, though, of course that's Biehn's other great Cameron role. You're left wondering whether he pulled some Dustin Hoffman Method trick to seem so on-the-brink-of-unhinged. Similarly to Aliens, so many of the characterizations are so effective with minimal screen time I'm surprised the actors never had solid careers (like Adam Nelson, who has the crucial role of Monk, or Todd Graff, who has a Buscemi-like turn as Hippy).

The many-characters-broad-brush technique was appropriated quite effectively by Jerry Bruckheimer for movies like Armageddon and Con Air. And pace shakespeherian, we're talking blockbuster summer action fare. You do want it fast and loud (maybe not always as fast and loud and wearying as Armageddon gets, I admit). But adding little touches to characters and Tarantino-esque dialog snippets makes summer movies more enjoyable than they often are. I like a good indie film, but I also have appreciation for good storytelling and narrative structure in pure entertainment. When it's done well, it looks effortless.
posted by dhartung at 8:26 PM on October 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

I know Daniel Kash slightly

Oh wow, I did not know:

i> He was in Aliens
ii> He's Linda Kash's brother
iii> They're Maureen Forrester's kids

I did know he is very good in Canadian TV shows, which in the '80s/'90s were basically 'Hey, it's that guy!' marathons.

After all, here is a job that will guarantee you a degree of fame and acclaim, but you will likely never escape the role: it will be mentioned in the first line of your obituary.

He'll always be Coach Cutlip to me.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:48 PM on October 20, 2010

"Check those corners."
posted by bardic at 12:30 AM on October 21, 2010

I hope none of you are attending a pub quiz in North London next month, cause that Bill Paxton trivia was the bonus question I was convinced only I had the answer to!
posted by Molesome at 4:16 AM on October 21, 2010

I'm glad that I have something real to say here, because I'll be damned if I'ma let an Aliens thread go by without comment. It's nice to see so many regulars in attendance here today, and a few new faces.

Anyway: Drake. Mark Rolston. I've seen Aliens, oh, maybe 20 million times, and although I've only seen Shawshank Redemption maybe 5 million times, it was in my most recent weekly viewing of Aliens last week that I realized that Drake is Bogs! Kind of blew my mind. I can't believe it never occurred to me before before. I guess it goes to show how completely he sells himself as Bogs, that the good guy Drake is literally invisible in his performance.
posted by dirtdirt at 6:29 AM on October 21, 2010

Mark Rolston also put in a good turn as one of the ** SPOILARZ ** police moles **/SPOILARZ** in The Departed. Drake will always be the role I remember him for though, in support of the article's thesis.
posted by Happy Dave at 6:42 AM on October 21, 2010

You're left wondering whether he pulled some Dustin Hoffman Method trick to seem so on-the-brink-of-unhinged.

Not to minimize his acting skill, but there is actually a very good little camera trick involved there. In the first scene where Biehn's character has been captured and is being watched over by the crew surrounding him, there is a closeup a few seconds long of his face as he is quietly scanning the surroundings, looking for an opportunity to escape. The shot is unsettling for reasons that it is hard to pin down, unless you realize that the film is being run backwards for that one shot. It gives him a twitchy, jagged wrongness that bypasses your critical evaluation of his performance and hits you in your limbic system.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:55 AM on October 21, 2010 [4 favorites]

What I love about this quote -- "another bug hunt" -- is that in just three words in a single throwaway line, the writer created an entire universe of potential stories. What do you mean another bug hunt? You've fought aliens before?

I was also impressed by that line, but I read it differently. I took it to mean that there was still no public knowledge of any aliens existing anywhere, but that marines were routinely sent on missions to check out the possibility, and they considered it a stupid assignment.
posted by Zed at 8:12 AM on October 21, 2010

What I love about this quote -- "another bug hunt" -- is that in just three words in a single throwaway line, the writer created an entire universe of potential stories. What do you mean another bug hunt? You've fought aliens before? Where? What were they like? Were they sentient bugs? Wait, these are Marines. That means there are entire groups devoted to and trained for fighting bugs.

My take-away from this line was kind of the opposite... I imagine loads of Colonial Marines going to all sorts of different locations, looking for these so-called bugs, and finding nothing. Or a few different life forms, none of which put up much of a fight. So they've grown a bit complacent. Makes their final meeting up with the real bugs that much more painful.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 8:15 AM on October 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

Anyway: Drake. Mark Rolston. I've seen Aliens, oh, maybe 20 million times, and although I've only seen Shawshank Redemption maybe 5 million times, it was in my most recent weekly viewing of Aliens last week that I realized that Drake is Bogs! Kind of blew my mind. I can't believe it never occurred to me before before. I guess it goes to show how completely he sells himself as Bogs, that the good guy Drake is literally invisible in his performance.

WHAT!?

Holy shit. I mean, HOLY SHIT.

How did I not see that?!

I own both movies. Have also seen them millions of times. Never, ever made that connection.

*speechless*
posted by zarq at 8:23 AM on October 21, 2010

Alien voted #4 in the Guardian's top 25 sf & fantasy films. Story of a scene.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:54 AM on October 21, 2010

I was also impressed by that line, but I read it differently. I took it to mean that there was still no public knowledge of any aliens existing anywhere, but that marines were routinely sent on missions to check out the possibility, and they considered it a stupid assignment.

The nose art on the (first) drop-ship says "BUG STOMPER" and "WE ENDANGER SPECIES."

Which makes it sound like alien life is pretty common and that annoying or dangerous organisms are routinely exterminated.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:38 AM on October 21, 2010

The Marines have, before the xenomorph, at least run into some 'Arcturian poontang'.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:10 PM on October 21, 2010

Also an Arcturian male.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:57 AM on October 22, 2010

It doesn't matter when its Arcturian, Pope Guilty.
posted by never used baby shoes at 1:51 PM on October 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

>Drake. Mark Rolston. I've seen Aliens, oh, maybe 20 million times, and although I've only seen Shawshank Redemption maybe 5 million times, it was in my most recent weekly viewing of Aliens last week that I realized that Drake is Bogs! Kind of blew my mind. I can't believe it never occurred to me before before. I guess it goes to show how completely he sells himself as Bogs, that the good guy Drake is literally invisible in his performance.

WHAT!?

Holy shit. I mean, HOLY SHIT.

In bed with the laptop, 20 seconds ago. Look up at the episode of Criminal Minds on the teevee.

The tough sheriff liaising with the team?


MARK
FUCKING
ROLSTON

*Starting to get scared now*
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:22 PM on October 22, 2010

From Hello He Lied by Linda Obst. Story told by Gordon Caroll, Executive Producer, Aliens:

Cameron was young. He had just directed Terminator. Cameron had called a meeting to discuss his “next project.” Everyone knew Cameron had written a treatment for Alien 2 that nobody would touch because Alien was not a massive financial success. Alien 2 was not on the table. We expected a professional pitch from Cameron, an outline and a treatment of what he had in mind with a cursory budget; perhaps a couple assistants to run a slide show.

Instead Cameron walked in the room without so much as a piece of paper. He went to the chalk board in the room and simply wrote the word ALIEN. Then he added an ‘S’ to make ALIENS. Dramatically, he drew two vertical lines through the ‘S’, ALIEN$. He turned around and grinned. We greenlit the project that day for $18 million.
posted by sharkfu at 10:32 PM on October 22, 2010

In bed with the laptop, 20 seconds ago. Look up at the episode of Criminal Minds on the teevee.

The tough sheriff liaising with the team?


MARK
FUCKING
ROLSTON

That can't be! That's inside the room!
posted by zarq at 11:07 PM on October 22, 2010