During a recent interview with Sky News, Ridley Scott delivered his belief that not only are aliens real, but they would wipe us out if they ever came to Earth. Here are highlights form that interview:
On extraterrestrial life: “I believe in superior beings. I think it is certainly likely. An expert I was talking to at NASA said to me ‘have you ever looked in the sky at night? You mean to tell me we are it?’ That’s ridiculous. The experts have now put a number on it having assessed what is out there. They say that there are between 100 and 200 entities that could be having a similar evolution to us right now. So when you see a big thing in the sky, run for it. Because they are a lot smarter than we are, and if you are stupid enough to challenge them you will be taken out in three seconds.”
On scaring audiences: “When I did the first Alien I had to get a sense of responsibility because the reaction to the kitchen (‘chestbuster’) scene with John Hurt was beyond anything I expected – and it was not good. “But the film was very successful because people are perverse. Everybody was half underneath the seat watching by the time you get to the kitchen scene. There was a woman underneath the seat with her husband holding her.”
On if he gets scared: “Nothing scares me. I have a 9mm (pistol). If there is a problem I tend to close down into calm. When you walk in in the morning on a film and 600 people turn and all look at you, that is scary.”