Students at North Bergen High School recently went viral for putting on an amazingly intricate stage production of the 1979 horror classic Alien. With a small cast, intricate props, and a detailed recreation of a Xenomorph suit, the students were able to make a successful adaptation from mostly donated and recycled materials and a $3,500 budget.
Ripley actress Sigourney Weaver recorded a video message for the cast and crew, congratulating them and sending the regards of others involved in the making of the 1979 original and the 1986 sequel Aliens.
“I saw a bit of your production of Alien, [and] I just want to say, it looked incredible,” Weaver said. “You put so much heart and soul into that, and the alien – I must say – looked very real to me.”
She continued, sharing the regards from other creators in the Alien and Aliens films.
“I just want to send our compliments. Not only from me, but from James Cameron and the original screenwriter Walter Hill,” she said. “We all say bravo, well done.”
Weaver closed the video with a bit of advice for the students.
“You know, the alien might still be around, so…when you’re opening your locker, just do it very slowly.”
Alien director Ridley Scott also sent along an official endorsement to the school’s play director Perfecto Cuervo, offering his own bit of praise and advice to the students.
“This may be the biggest lesson for ALL OF YOU, and your future plans – stay with this determination, and this spirit in everything you do, and you will succeed – let nothing put you off – or set you back,” Scott said.
Cuervo took about a month and a half to adapt the play from the film, while art director Steven Defendini oversaw the play’s look and prop creation.
For more on Alien, you can read up on the TV miniseries recently shot down by Fox, or check out the full digital series based on Alien: Isolation here on IGN.
Cassidee is IGN’s social editor and still gets queasy when watching Alien’s iconic chestburster scene. You can chat with her over on Twitter.