Alien (film) - Quiz
Alien film
  • 1. How many theaters in the United States did the film open in?
A) 148
B) 51
C) 635
D) 90
  • 2. How much did the film gross over the four-day Memorial Day weekend?
A) $27 million
B) $78.9 million
C) $16.5 million
D) $3,527,881
  • 3. For how many weeks did the film remain the number one film in the United States?
A) 4 weeks
B) 3 weeks
C) 11 months
D) 8 weeks
  • 4. In which UK cinema did the film hold its opening week?
A) Odeon London
B) Odeon Leicester Square
C) British Film Institute
D) Leicester Palace
  • 5. How much did the film gross in its opening week at the Odeon Leicester Square?
A) $3.7 million
B) £7,886,000
C) $38,767
D) £71,988
  • 6. For how many weeks did the film remain the number one film in the UK?
A) 11 months
B) 8 weeks
C) 4 weeks
D) 3 weeks
  • 7. How much had the film grossed internationally by the beginning of October 1979?
A) $78.9 million
B) $27 million
C) $16.9 million
D) $143 million
  • 8. Which country saw a gross of $16.9 million by October 1979?
A) France
B) United Kingdom
C) Japan
D) Canada
  • 9. What was the total United States gross for the film including reissues?
A) $78.9 million
B) $143 million
C) $81.8 million
D) $16.5 million
  • 10. What figure did Fox note as the worldwide gross in 1992?
A) $188 million
B) $109.7 million
C) $143 million
D) $81.8 million
  • 11. According to the text, how much money did 20th Century Fox claim the film lost in the 11 months following release?
A) $4 million
B) $16.5 million
C) $2 million
D) $78.9 million
  • 12. What reason did industry accountants give for Fox's claim of financial loss?
A) Hollywood creative accounting
B) High production costs
C) Poor international sales
D) Low theater attendance
  • 13. By August 1980, what did Fox readjust the profit figure to?
A) $0 profit
B) $81.8 million profit
C) $4 million profit
D) $2 million loss
  • 14. In what year was the lawsuit between Brandywine and Fox settled?
A) 1983
B) 1980
C) 1992
D) 1979
  • 15. What did Fox agree to do as part of the 1983 lawsuit settlement?
A) Distribute more prints
B) Fund a sequel
C) Release the film in more theaters
D) Acknowledge the $143 million gross
  • 16. How many prints were used in the first 4 weeks to gross $16.5 million?
A) 51 prints
B) 635 prints
C) 90 prints
D) 148 prints
  • 17. How many screens did the film eventually expand to after its first 4 weeks?
A) 51 screens
B) 148 screens
C) 635 screens
D) 90 screens
  • 18. What was the per-screen average for the opening weekend?
A) $27 million
B) $3,527,881
C) $38,767
D) $16.5 million
  • 19. Who played the character Dallas, the captain of the Nostromo?
A) Tom Skerritt
B) Sigourney Weaver
C) Ian Holm
D) John Hurt
  • 20. Why did Tom Skerritt initially decline the role of Dallas?
A) The film had no director and a low budget
B) He did not like the script
C) He was unavailable for the filming dates
D) He was already committed to another project
  • 21. Which actress was considered for the role of Ripley but was not contacted due to her partner's death?
A) Helen Mirren
B) Veronica Cartwright
C) Meryl Streep
D) Helen Horton
  • 22. Who was the last actor to be cast for the film Alien?
A) John Hurt
B) Sigourney Weaver
C) Veronica Cartwright
D) Tom Skerritt
  • 23. Which role was Veronica Cartwright originally reading for?
A) Mother
B) Ash
C) Lambert
D) Ripley
  • 24. What award did Veronica Cartwright win for her performance as Lambert?
A) Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
B) BAFTA Award for Best Actress
C) Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
D) Saturn Award for Best Actress
  • 25. What was Harry Dean Stanton's initial reaction when auditioning for the role of Brett?
A) He wanted to play the alien
B) He insisted on changing the script
C) He said he did not like sci-fi or monster movies
D) He requested a higher salary
  • 26. To which film genre did Ridley Scott compare Alien to convince Harry Dean Stanton to join?
A) Western
B) Thriller
C) Comedy
D) Romance
  • 27. Who was Ridley Scott's first choice for the role of Kane?
A) Jon Finch
B) John Hurt
C) Ian Holm
D) Tom Skerritt
  • 28. Why was Jon Finch replaced as Kane?
A) He disliked the script
B) He had a schedule conflict
C) He quit the production
D) He became ill with diabetes and bronchitis
  • 29. Which actor played the ship's science officer, Ash?
A) Yaphet Kotto
B) Harry Dean Stanton
C) Tom Skerritt
D) Ian Holm
  • 30. Which Bond film was Yaphet Kotto famous for before being cast as Parker?
A) Dr. No
B) The Man with the Golden Gun
C) Goldfinger
D) Live and Let Die
  • 31. What was Bolaji Badejo's occupation when he was discovered?
A) Bartender
B) Stuntman
C) Actor
D) Design student
  • 32. Besides Bolaji Badejo, who else portrayed the alien in some scenes?
A) Tom Skerritt and John Hurt
B) Helen Horton and Veronica Cartwright
C) Eddie Powell and Roy Scammell
D) Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto
  • 33. Who provided the voice for Mother, the computer of the Nostromo?
A) Ridley Scott
B) Helen Horton
C) Veronica Cartwright
D) Sigourney Weaver
  • 34. Who directed the 1979 film Alien?
A) Walter Hill
B) Dan O'Bannon
C) Ronald Shusett
D) Ridley Scott
  • 35. Who designed the alien creatures and environments for the film?
A) H. R. Giger
B) Ron Cobb
C) Dan O'Bannon
D) Chris Foss
  • 36. When did Alien premiere?
A) May 24, 1979
B) August 12, 2025
C) September 6, 1979
D) June 22, 1979
  • 37. What is the name of the commercial space tug in the film?
A) Nostromo
B) Earth
C) Romulus
D) Derelict
  • 38. Who plays the role of the ship's cat, Jones, in terms of ownership?
A) Dallas
B) Ripley
C) Ash
D) The crew
  • 39. What does Ripley discover the transmission from the exomoon actually is?
A) A commercial advertisement
B) An SOS signal
C) A warning beacon
D) A distress call for help
  • 40. What happens when Kane touches one of the large eggs?
A) The egg disintegrates into acid
B) It explodes immediately
C) The alien creature bursts out
D) An arthropod-like life form attaches to his face
  • 41. Who kills Brett in the landing leg compartment?
A) Dallas
B) Parker
C) The fully-grown alien
D) Ash
  • 42. How does Ripley eventually defeat the alien at the end of the film?
A) By shooting it with a grappling hook gun
B) By trapping it in the self-destructing Nostromo
C) By incinerating it with a flamethrower
D) By blasting it into space through the shuttle engines
  • 43. Which film was released in 2024 as a standalone sequel in the franchise?
A) Alien: Earth
B) Alien: Romulus
C) Aliens
D) Alien Resurrection
  • 44. In what year was Alien selected for preservation in the National Film Registry?
A) 2002
B) 1979
C) 1997
D) 2008
  • 45. What was the name of the television prequel written by Noah Hawley?
A) Alien: Nostromo
B) Alien: Earth
C) Alien: Origins
D) Alien: The Beginning
  • 46. Who is the executive officer on the Nostromo?
A) Ash
B) Ripley
C) Kane
D) Dallas
  • 47. What is the name of the ship's computer?
A) System
B) Mother
C) Nostromo
D) Father
  • 48. Which film did Dan O'Bannon create while studying at the University of Southern California?
A) Dark Star
B) Star Beast
C) Alien
D) Total Recall
  • 49. What did Dan O'Bannon use to create the alien in Dark Star?
A) A beach ball
B) A clay model
C) A puppet
D) A rubber mask
  • 50. Who collaborated with O'Bannon on the script for Alien?
A) Walter Hill
B) Ronald Shusett
C) David Giler
D) John Carpenter
  • 51. What was the initial working title of the script before it was called Alien?
A) Star Beast
B) Dark Star II
C) Memory
D) The Thing
  • 52. Which film project took O'Bannon to Paris for six months?
A) Dark Star
B) Alien
C) Total Recall
D) Dune
  • 53. Which film inspired the idea of a ship being warned not to land?
A) Dark Star
B) Planet of the Vampires
C) Forbidden Planet
D) The Thing from Another World
  • 54. Which short story inspired the idea of a crew discovering a chamber full of eggs?
A) The Thing from Another World
B) Junkyard
C) Strange Relations
D) Forbidden Planet
  • 55. Which production company did Gordon Carroll, David Giler, and Walter Hill form?
A) USC Productions
B) 20th Century-Fox
C) Brandywine
D) Star Beast Studios
  • 56. Who received sole credit for the screenplay from the Writers Guild of America?
A) Ronald Shusett
B) Walter Hill
C) Dan O'Bannon
D) David Giler
  • 57. What was the original 29-page script written by O'Bannon titled?
A) Star Beast
B) Memory
C) Alien
D) Dark Star
  • 58. Which film directed by Ridley Scott impressed the producers enough to hire him for Alien?
A) Gladiator
B) Blade Runner
C) The Duellists
D) Thelma & Louise
  • 59. What did Ridley Scott create that convinced Fox to double the budget?
A) A rewritten script
B) A full-scale ship model
C) Detailed storyboards
D) A cast list of famous actors
  • 60. How did Ridley Scott describe his vision for Alien?
A) A documentary of the future
B) A space-age fairy tale
C) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre of science fiction
D) A gritty political thriller
  • 61. Who suggested that the character of Ripley be a woman?
A) Ladd
B) Scott
C) O'Bannon
D) Shusett
  • 62. Who was the casting director for the United Kingdom?
A) Mary Selway
B) Ridley Scott
C) Brandywine team
D) Mary Goldberg
  • 63. Who was the casting director for the United States?
A) O'Bannon
B) Mary Goldberg
C) Ridley Scott
D) Mary Selway
  • 64. Which director was interested in Alien but could not commit due to prior obligations?
A) Robert Altman
B) John Boorman
C) Steven Spielberg
D) Robert Aldrich
  • 65. What was the total number of human characters in the story?
A) Five
B) Twelve
C) Seven
D) Nine
  • 66. Who created the 1/24-scale miniatures of the planetoid?
A) Derek Vanlint
B) H.R. Giger
C) Ridley Scott
D) Les Dilley
  • 67. What technology was used for the visuals on the Nostromo's bridge screens?
A) Hand-painted glass slides
B) Practical rear-projection
C) Physical light-up panels
D) Computer-generated imagery
  • 68. What did Ridley Scott want the alien to do in his original idea for the fourth act?
A) Kill all the cats
B) Escape the shuttle and fly away
C) Bite off Ripley's head
D) Self-destruct the shuttle
  • 69. What was the length of the landing leg constructed for the exterior of the Nostromo?
A) 45 feet
B) 20 feet
C) 58 feet
D) 75 feet
  • 70. How many craftspeople and technicians worked on the three principal sets?
A) Under 50
B) Over 500
C) Exactly 100
D) Over 200
  • 71. Who was the sound effects editor for Alien?
A) Dan O'Bannon
B) Ridley Scott
C) Terry Rawlings
D) Jerry Goldsmith
  • 72. Who composed the musical score for Alien?
A) Lionel Newman
B) Jerry Goldsmith
C) Howard Hanson
D) Isao Tomita
  • 73. What material was used for the movement inside the egg in the scene where Kane inspects it?
A) Scott's hands wearing rubber gloves
B) Remote controlled puppetry
C) Live insects
D) Mechanical motors
  • 74. What was used to create the proboscis of the facehugger?
A) Rubber tubing
B) A cow's stomach
C) Fiber optics
D) A sheep's intestine
  • 75. Who came up with the idea that the alien creature should have acid for blood?
A) Ridley Scott
B) Ron Cobb
C) Dan O'Bannon
D) H. R. Giger
  • 76. What inspired the design of the chestburster?
A) Francis Bacon's 1944 painting
B) A medical textbook
C) Giger's dreams
D) A plucked chicken
  • 77. Which actor fell into hysterics during the chestburster scene?
A) Ian Holm
B) Cartwright
C) John Hurt
D) Tom Skerritt
  • 78. What happened to the animatronic head of Ash during production?
A) The latex shrank while curing
B) It was damaged during filming
C) It failed to move on command
D) It caught fire
  • 79. What material did Giger use to sculpt the alien's body?
A) Plaster
B) Latex
C) Clay
D) Plasticine
  • 80. Which vehicle part was incorporated into the alien's body construction?
A) Brake pads from a Porsche
B) Transmission gears from a Ferrari
C) Engine block from a Ford
D) Cooling tubes from a Rolls-Royce
  • 81. Who manufactured the alien's head?
A) H.R. Giger
B) Ridley Scott
C) Bolaji Badejo
D) Carlo Rambaldi
  • 82. How many moving parts and points of articulation did the final alien head have?
A) About 250
B) About 1,200
C) About 900
D) About 500
  • 83. Where is Rambaldi's original alien jaw currently on display?
A) Smithsonian Institution
B) Museum of Modern Art
C) British Film Institute
D) Hollywood History Museum
  • 84. What substance was used to make the alien appear slimy?
A) K-Y Jelly
B) Mineral oil
C) Petroleum jelly
D) Glycerin
  • 85. Who provided the vocalizations for the alien?
A) Percy Edwards
B) Bolaji Badejo
C) Carlo Rambaldi
D) Ridley Scott
  • 86. Who portrayed the alien in most of the film's scenes?
A) John Hurt
B) Eddie Powell
C) Roy Scammell
D) Bolaji Badejo
  • 87. What animal parts were used in the sculpture of the alien's body?
A) Ribs from lizards
B) Skull fragments of birds
C) Teeth from sharks
D) Vertebrae from snakes
  • 88. In what month and year was the original alien suit sold at auction?
A) March 2005
B) May 2009
C) June 2010
D) April 2007
  • 89. Which creature did Percy Edwards provide sounds for in 1977?
A) A whale in Orca
B) A gorilla in King Kong
C) A dinosaur in Godzilla
D) A predator in Jaws
  • 90. How did Tim Dirks describe the alien's mouth?
A) Open, dripping vaginal mouth
B) Jagged, metallic crushing mouth
C) Slimy, insect-like mandibles
D) Protruding, snake-like tongue
  • 91. What did Roger Christian use to create the Nostromo's corridors to save money?
A) Leftover materials from the Star Wars sets.
B) Spare parts from abandoned naval ships.
C) Recycled cardboard and industrial foam.
D) Scrapped Canberra bomber aircraft parts.
  • 92. The name of the Nostromo was derived from which author's work?
A) H.G. Wells.
B) Joseph Conrad.
C) Dante Alighieri.
D) Ron Cobb.
  • 93. What was the final color of the Nostromo model after Ridley Scott's change?
A) Yellow.
B) Gray.
C) Black.
D) Silver.
  • 94. What was the original name proposed for the planetoid in early script drafts?
A) LV-426.
B) Acheron.
C) Styx.
D) Tartarus.
  • 95. Who wrote the tagline 'In space no one can hear you scream'?
A) The 20th Century-Fox executive team
B) Philip Gips
C) Jerry Goldsmith
D) Barbara Gips
  • 96. Which film's music was used in the first theatrical trailer for Alien?
A) The Omen
B) Logan's Run
C) Blade Runner
D) Star Wars
  • 97. What rating did Alien receive in the United Kingdom?
A) M
B) AA
C) X
D) R
  • 98. Who designed the poster for Alien?
A) Barbara Gips
B) Jerry Goldsmith
C) Philip Gips
D) R/Greenberg Associates
  • 99. Who was the critic for the BBC's Film series who had a positive view of Alien?
A) Vincent Canby
B) Barry Norman
C) Roger Ebert
D) Gene Siskel
  • 100. Which publication described Alien as an 'empty bag of tricks'?
A) Sneak Previews
B) Sight and Sound
C) Variety
D) Time Out
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