James Cameron garnered a lot of acclaim for directing the 1986 movie Aliens, but he's admitted he's not a fan of the third installment — which he handed over to another director.
During a recent episode of the Just Foolin' About with Michael Biehn podcast, Cameron was asked about the 1992 movie, specifically the decision to kill off Newt, an orphan child played by Carrie Henn who would become the surrogate daughter of Alien protagonist Ellen Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver).
The 71-year-old filmmaker didn't hold back, calling Newt's death "the stupidest fucking thing." Newt isn't the only character who perishes in the movie. Ripley and android character, Bishop (Lance Henriksen), also die.
“So, you build a lot of goodwill around the characters of Hicks, Newt and Bishop, and then the first thing they do in the in the next film is kill them all off, right?" Cameron said (around the 58:00 mark of the video below). "Really smart guys, you know, and replace them with a bunch of fucking convicts that you hate. And want to see die. Really clever."
Despite his disappointment, Cameron said he's a "big fan" of the film's director, David Fincher. "And that was his first feature film, and he was getting vectored around by a lot of other voices and all that. So, I give him a free pass on that one," Cameron said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Cameron complimented the latest adaptations of Alien, Alien: Earth and Alien: Romulus, but he admitted that he's disinterested in returning to the franchise. "You couldn’t pay me enough money to go back to that franchise. It’s sort of, almost become fan-driven," he said.
Meanwhile, in another recent interview, the director took some time to reflect on a joke Amy Poehler made at the 2013 Golden Globes about his marriage to director Kathryn Bigelow.
"Amy Poehler's remark was an ignorant dig at an event which is supposed to be a celebration of cinema and filmmakers, not a roast," Cameron told The New York Times. "I'm pretty thick-skinned, and happy to be the butt of a good-natured joke, but that went too far. The fact that people found it funny shows exactly what they think of me, even though they have no idea who I am or how I work."