The legend has it that when Ridley Scott was trying to secure funding for Alien, he was required to provide a 10 second pitch to bored producers with attention deficit disorder. He won them over with his understanding of foundational narratives: “Alien? it’s Jaws in space”.

Alien and Jaws are clearly founded on a narrative of overcoming the Monster. In the case of Alien, the foundation was strong enough to lead Ridley Scott all the way down to sequel 8!

Christophe Abensour