I wouldn’t know, as I have not seen Alien3 since it came out in the theater and, not being a masochist, don’t plan to see it again. I don’t know what Biehn does or doesn’t say on the DVD, I only know what has been repeated in print and in interviews since the movie came out—that Biehn refused to appear in it and this led to them killing him off in the first five minutes.
Well, his interview was also in the Alien Legacy VHS when the the first box set came out a long time back. He was originally told they were planning a script with Hicks as the hero, but that script sucked (BIG time), so they came up with another one in which Hicks died off in the beginning. He didn’t find this out till either his girlfriend or agent (I forget which one) saw the mock up of his corpse with the rib cage torn open, and his thinking is “No way are they going to kill me off and have that fucking thing come out of me!”, so he refused to let them use his likeness thinking he’s screw them. They just mashed in Hicks’ face with the support beam 
But, they still needed his photo, so they paid him anyway (more money than he got for working in Aliens, too, so he really has no room to bitch).
If he went on other interviews and said that they killed him because he refused to be in it, he was lying, and now he’s stuck himself. He seems rather egotistical anyway, so I’m not really all that concerned that he got screwed over.
You’re probably already aware of the alternative scripts for Alien3, but here’s a link to some of them anyway:
I liked the Gibson script a lot (well, compared to the film that got made anyway).
Part of the appeal of Aliens for 16 year old me was the techno-action facet: big guns, big spaceships, big tank-like things and big VTOL flying APCs. (Actually thats all still pretty appealing.)
A great theme of the first two IMHO was the contrast between the human techno-oriented society and the Alien ‘red-in-tooth-and -claw’ mode of survival: no matter what people did to insulate themselves from nasty brutish nature by using advanced technology it would find a way of catching up with them. By ‘medievalising’ the prisoners I felt that this notion was lost.
Also IMHO Aliens was scifi-action-horror, the change of gear to sci-fi-psychological-horror jarred. And Charles Dance (IIRC)trying to ride (IIRC) Sigourney Weaver just didn’t float my boat.
His “knowledge and experience”, along with Ripley’s alleged “knowledge and experience” (which is why they supposedly sent her along with the Marines in the first place) didn’t save the Company’s investment the first time - or even the second time - what makes you think they would use either of these guys again, unless it’s specifically to infect them (as ultimately happened anyway with Ripley)? Ripley already cost them a rather expensive mining ship, and then an entire colony, with her zeal to destroy the aliens. Frankly, it would defy any sense of logic for yet a third movie to be set up with W-U asking Ripley to do anything for them. Even if they did ultimately try to force her, it still wouldn’t ring true. She is a menace as far as they are concerned.
What I’m talking about is that Newt’s sole role was fulfilled the first time around: she is the “brood” which Ripley faces off against the Alien Queen in order to protect, just like the Alien Queen faces off against Ripley to protect (or avenge) her own brood. Other than providing Ripley motivation, Newt was not in any way a major character. And if W-U even had Newt, why would they need Ripley? W-U doesn’t want “investigations”, they want aliens for their Weapons Division.
My sole conlcusion is that your plot outline was not rational based on what we’ve seen of the actions and motives of Wyland-Utani up to that point. I don’t see anything faulty about it. W-U may well have their fingers everywhere, and be able to get away with anything, but when Ripley is known to be against the whole idea of using the aliens, and has destroyed expensive Company property on both occassions she was involved with the xenomorphs, why on earth would they try to use her a third time?
If an alternate 3rd movie were to involve W-U to any great extent, it could not reasonably include Ripley as a major player. If it were to involve Ripley, it could not involve W-U, except as a background menace (exactly as was done in the existing 3rd movie).
Leave out the Director’s Cut. No, not the director’s release of the movie but the cut of film that gives away the plot. Midmovie there is a fire scene. During the fire scene there is a cut (or clip) of a hot bucket falling into water and then shattering. Right away you know how the Alien is going to die. Ruined the entire movie.
A hyperdrive malfunction causes the trip back to Earth to take about 15 years longer than normal. Inexplicably, only Newt ages in her hypersleep and is now physically in her mid twenties (she can be played by Jennifer Garner).
All three are forced into indentured servitude with the Wyland Yutani Corp to work off their massive debt from blowing up a colony.
Aliens have basically taken over the Earth and they speak English.
Ripply continually butts heads with her boss, who is an Alien. There are some very amusing moments where she gets confused by modern office devices
Bishop has basically become a comical mix of C3P0 and Marvin the Robot from Hitchhikers Guide because the parts required to fix him are no longer available.
Hicks and Ripley plan to get married but one hilareous incident after another happens.
Hot Newt meets and falls in love with an Alien/Human hybrid (similar to Ripley Clone in Alien Resurection) played by Sean William Scott.
Basically it’s a very funny and touching departure from the dark and disturbing imagery whcih quite frankly, didn’t work after the second film.
Sorry, but that statement strikes me as ridiculous. Characters can have different roles in different movies.
And I do. Your conclusion is based on faulty logic wrt Newt, Wayland-Yutani and Hicks.
It may be worth noting that the ‘Alien’ series began to suck only when the star, Sigourney Weaver, was powerful enough to have creative control. In the ‘Alien Quadrilogy’ James Cameron notes during his commentary that two of the things Weaver (a major liberal, according to Cameron) insisted on for the sequel were NO weapons (a wish she received in ‘Alien3’) and a scene in which she…er…makes love to the alien (see, or rather DO NOT see, ‘Alien Resurrection’). Cameron wisely told her these were pretty dumb ideas and went on to make a classic movie. The lesson learned is clear: never, EVER allow a lunatic liberal to have creative control over a violent action flick! (Just kidding…kind of…).
That being said, I must admit that the ‘Director’s Cut’ of ‘Alien3’ IS pretty damn good, as far as it goes. You can see where the director was trying to go…but those idiot Fox execs, who had David (Se7en) Fincher making his directorical debut, were too stupid to let him go all the way. Morons.
I have a feeling you hated the movie long before you saw that one shot. I mean, it was halfway threw the film, and I didn’t even notice it until about the 20th time I saw it and noticed the correlation between it and the xenomorphs death. First time I saw it, I was expecting them to somehow drop it into one of those huge furnaces they had going.
Even if I had been more observant, I can’t see how that one little thing could have ruined the whole movie for you. You have to admit, it’s more original than blasting the thing out into space…
Just out of curiosity, what did you like about Gibson’s script? I hated it! I mean, for all the bitching that people make about killing off Newt and Hicks, I found the idea of putting Ripley in a coma right off the bat and leaving her in it throughout the entire movie an even more detestible treatment of a character. Also, I hated the recurring idea from most of the scripts of people and animals transmutating into aliens. The script started off alright, but when it got to the whole “face hugger= upwards of six chest bursters; inhaling spores or being bitten/clawed by an alien=almost instant transformation into alien/human mutation”, the script failed.
I liked Red’s script in the beginning as well, because it was all fresh new characters, and I kinda liked the idea of a colony of farmers being overrun by a swarm of xenomorph, but again…the whole transmutation stuff and merging with metal thing was just fucking stupid.
I liked Twohy’s the best of these three. I liked the way they got the face hugger, I liked the completely new characters, I liked the idea of the research facility being inside a prison colony, and the simple little reference to Ripley in passing. And, the complete and utter lack of anything having to do with people turning into xenomorph mutants (can I reiterrate how stupid that idea is anymore?).
Still, I like the finalized product best, but wouldn’t have minded seeing Twohy’s script come to light.
Especially since Twohy went on to write Pitch Black. The man can definitely do xenomorphs.