Sci-Fi Trivia Real [ A

The screenplay and the novel were written by Kubrick and Clarke at the same time with each sending copies of their work to the other, and incorporating ideas along the way.
Though one of the early drafts for the film had narration it was latter removed, as Clark is reported to have said - If you understand 2001 completely, we failed. We wanted to raise far more questions than we answered.

The shots of the London streets were done in the early hours of the morning to get the deserted look the film makers wanted, but even then they could only close roads for the few minutes that was required for the digital cameras.
The original selection for the role of 'Jim' was Ewan McGregor, though Leonardo DiCaprio was also offered the role before Cillian Murphy was cast.

The movie was originally based of the short story 'Supertoys Last All Summer Long' which Stanley Kubrick had worked on for over a decade before his death with Steven Spielberg who he had asked to direct.

Although the original script stated that any of the characters could be either male or female, the character of Ripley had been sketched in as male, then when the character was changed to be female, Veronica Cartwright was the first choice before the producers decided they wanted Sigourney Weaver.
The main Alien creature itself was designed by conceptual artist H. R. Giger although the smaller face hugger and exploding chest versions were created by Roger Dicken.
The name of the main space ship, 'the Nostromo' comes from the title of a book by Joseph Conrad (author of Heart of Darkness), the name of the shuttle, 'Narcissus' is also taken from a Conrad story.

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

Back in the 1990 'Predator 2' film, it is possible to see a skull from an 'Alien' creature displayed in the Predators space ship trophy chamber.
The Ice Cutter ship featured in the film as the transport for the exploration team is named the 'Piper Maru' which is a name featured in season 3 of the X-Files.
In the first Alien movie the ship was on a mission for 'The Company', which is now identified as the Weyland Yutani Corporation, headed by Lance Henriksens character who played the Bishop series androids.

In early drafts of the film script the time travel device was not a DeLorean car, but rather a refrigerator used in conjunction with an atomic bomb test, but this was scraped as the directors didn't want kidds getting trapped in refrigerators.
At the beginning of the movie Marty and Dr. Brown test the DeLorean outside the 'Twin Pines Mall' but when Marty goes into the past he knocks down a pine tree on the same land, and so at the end of the movie, the name shown on the sign has changed to 'Lone Pine Mall'.

The ending featuring Deckard and Rachael driving through the countryside was added after the initial composition of the movie and used film shot for 'The Shining' but which hadn't been used.
The chess game which Sebastian is seen playing against Tyrell, and which he wins by using the move suggested by Batty is based on the famous 'Immortal Game' played between Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky in 1851.

The film was developed out of the script for a sequel the earlier 'Masters of the Universe' live action movie, but after the poor box office returns on the first film an official sequel was scrapped.

Several of the sets from Dark City were reused for the filming of the opening scenes of the Matrix in which Trinity is chased across a series of roof tops.
The hotel room assigned to John Murdoch at the start of the film is numbered 614, which can be seen as a biblical reference to John 6:14 regarding a saviour coming to bring change.
Kiefer Sutherlands character, Daniel Schreber, is named after a real psychiatric patient who wrote a reasonably famous book on the subject of mental illness.

In the film there is a TV. report showing blizzard conditions in the U.K. which is from a real news report screened in 2002, and not special effects for the movie.
Prior to filming NASA was asked to consult on the film but refused because they considered the events too unrealistic, they also asked their employees not to give comments on the film when it was released.

Gerry Griffin, who appears in the movie as one of the NASA employees, was in real life a NASA flight director who worked on the Apollo 12 missions.

Originally Sylvestor Stallone asked Jackie Chan to appear in the role of Simon Phoenix; although Chan declined he still gets a mention when Bullocks character cites him as inspiration for her moves.
In the movie Stallones character makes a joke at the expense of action movie rival, Arnold Schwarzenegger, referring to him having become president thanks to a constitutional amendment passed due to his popularity allowing him to run for president, since the film Schwarzenegger has gone on to be elected governor of California, and there is a constitutional amendment being proposed that would allow him to run for president.
After Jack Chan declined the movie, Wesley Snipes was a natural choice for the role of martial arts expert Simon Pheonix, given that Snipes is a real life black belt.

Alternative movie history to think about - David Lynch had been offered 'Return of the Jedi' but turned it down to direct 'Dune' instead.
Prior to David Lynch taking on the 'Dune' project it had been in the hands of Ridley Scott who had hired his 'Alien' collaborator H. R. Giger as production designer, could have made for interesting giant sandworms.
David Lynch makes a brief cameo as the radio operator on a mining ship rescued from a sandworm by Duke Leto Atreides.
When the extended TV cut of the movie was released the name 'Judas Booth' is listed as screenwriter, something indicative of Lynchs relationship with the studio regarding the film.
Some of the scenes for Dune were filmed at the same time and location as sections for 'Conan the Destroyer'.