Sigourney in Aliens Direct TV Ad
Sigourney Weaver reprises one of the classic scenes from Aliens in order to shill DirectTV, claiming that she wishes she could see it in High-Def because it's better than cable. See the ad on You Tube.
DirectTV has produced similar ads with William Shatner/Captain Kirk and Charlie Sheen/Rick of Major League. However clever, it's painful to see our fondest scenes from our favorite movies sold like cheap tricks on the tube.
I expected more from Sigourney Weaver.
I'd be less riled up if she were doing this for Ghostbusters or Dave, but this scene in Aliens works on so many levels; it has an emotional purpose, it's the big climax of the movie, and it's also a brilliant piece of filmmaking, seamlessly piecing together large scale sets, models, and FX shots to make for a classic scene. And it's not like she's affectionately poking fun at it like she did on Saturday Night Live.
I understand that actors get paid a lot to do these ads, but shouldn't they be a little more thoughtful about what kinds of ads they do? This isn't just Sigourney's most popular role, it's her defining role. It's one of her best performances for which she received an Oscar nomination (and a place on the cover of Time). People complain about the other Alien sequels cheapening the quality of the first two films, but this, to me, is far, far worse.
I really hate those ads, sort of can't believe they exist, but I guess it's revenge for not caring when my parents got upset about 60's music being used in commercials when I was a kid.
Maybe next they'll have the Ghostbusters shoot Diet Coke out of their guns.
A little part of my soul dies every time I see it.
Powerful iconic images, like this from Aliens, do not "belong" to the actors or any company that has money to "buy" them. These scenes live in the minds of the people who watched them and replayed them and loved them.
Direct TV's new advertising campaign is uninspired AND DELIBERATELY offensive. Turning memorable moments into advertisements that mock the original and offending their fans seems... counter-productive.
I does not make me want to buy Direct TV.
It does make me want wipe them off the face of the earth.
It's a bit over-the-top to suggest that DirectTV is deliberately trying to offend potential subscribers. It's just a marketing idea that sounded great on the drawing board ("Hey! Let's get celebrities who appeared in really famous movie scenes to appear in new footage telling fans that they could see those scenes in better quality with DirectTV!") and nobody thought about the downside ("So, people who really enjoyed those movies and really got caught up in the magic and the spectacle in those iconic moments will enjoy being interrupted for a fourth-wall-breaking pitch?") Really no need to get "wipe them off the face of the earth" upset over it.
However, I thought you might be amused by cartoonist David Willis' take on these commercials at http://shortpacked.com/d/20070207.html .
heh. When I first saw it, before I realized it was a commercial, I thought it was really the movie. My only thought upon seeing it was, "damn, I wish I looked half as good at 25 as Sigourney does at almost 58." Then I was depressed. But it didn't make me want to blow up DirectTV or anything.
I think this ad was great! I admire how well-done this was. Aliens is my all-time favorite movie. Today ads need to be creative and reach down into our culture. I get more concerned when the Cubs put ads inside the Wrigley Field.
I love those ads. They are so cool. I love them so much I had to get on line to find out how the hell they did that. I love the Shatner one best, though.
You guys are nuts. What real fan doesn't want to see their favorite movie scenes and characters being relived for 30 seconds in a creative and fun way. You didn't chuckle at the fact that Sigourney Weaver was talking about DirectTV during the scene where she was fighting off the queen alien? Get a sense of humor. Honestly, anyone who takes films like ALIEN as serious as to make comments like the ones above are just weird.
hahaha
Don't give them any ideas Amanda!
These "actors" are digital figures, possibly Image Metrics images. Some of their clothing is altered (Sheen's shirt?) and possibly other things in the original scene; and, language issues have been cleaned up (no "bitch" useage as in original Aliens). Direct TV paid for rights of some kind alright, but they did not pay these actors for "being in" their ads!