SVCC 2019: In Conversation with Alexandre O. Philippe (MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN)

Very few films have had the cultural impact of 1979’s ALIEN, directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, with images and tension presented within setting a benchmark for the ‘haunted house’ horror movie for decades to come. But many would also agree that the film also unsettled on a deep, psychological level, stemming from a masculine viewpoint of physical assault and sexual politics.

Those topics are the backbone to a new documentary, MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN, independently produced but picked up at the Sundance festival for distribution by crowd-based entertainment company, Legion M. Both Legion M and the documentary’s filmmaker, Alexandre O. Philippe were exhibiting at this past weekend’s Silicon Valley Comic Con and one of our review correspondents, Samantha Maybe, was lucky enough to talk to Alexandre about the film and its genesis.

Check out the full interview here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/svcc-2019-in-o-29291322?

It ended up developing into quite the fascinating conversation about the influence of art and culture on ALIEN and back again as the film continues to inspire and enthral audiences, forty years later. Samantha and Alexandre also get into some of his upcoming projects (including what sounds to be a brilliant take on the making of THE EXORCIST), as well as the films and pop culture that inspire him.

Thanks to Alexandre for taking the time out of bis busy SVCC to talk to us about MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN, and to Samantha Maybe and Legion M’s Rob Novickas  for arranging the interview.