Sigourney Weaver

by Kurt Anthony Krug

“I think… by the end of three years, Michigan will be a very important film center.”

Oscar-nominated and 2-time Golden Globe-winning actress Sigourney Weaver had some eclectic roles in 2009. She played Dr. Grace Augustine in the recently-released Avatar, a science-fiction film with cutting edge special effects co-starring Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation) and Stephen Lang (Public Enemies). Avatar reunited Weaver with James Cameron, who directed 1986’s Aliens, where Weaver plays Ellen Ripley, her best-known role.

“I love science-fiction. I think when things are tough in the world, it’s a great adventure to go into space. I was delighted to work with James Cameron again,” said Weaver.

Another of Weaver’s films released in 2009 was Prayers for Bobby. Weaver earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in Movie or Miniseries for Prayers for Bobby, which debuted in early 2009 on Lifetime, marking the actress’ debut for the cable network. The telefilm was shot in June 2008 in Royal Oak; it was one of the first films shot in Michigan under the film tax incentive.

“I think… by the end of three years, Michigan will be a very important film center,” said Weaver. “I love working in Los Angeles, but it felt like a more personal experience working in Michigan because it wasn’t business as usual for people. I think they did a terrific job; they took really good care of us and everyone was working so hard in these neighborhoods. It’s also very right for the story because it was the story of a small town. I think it would’ve felt odd to be working in L.A. making this movie.”

In Prayers for Bobby, based on a true story, Weaver plays Mary Griffith, a devoutly religious woman, whose son Bobby (Ryan Kelley, TV’s Smallville) reveals he’s gay. She tries to make him heterosexual through prayer. However, Bobby commits suicide. As a result, Mary questions her strict religious background and becomes a staunch advocate for gay rights. When preparing for this role, Weaver met the real Mary Griffith.

“She’s pretty single-minded in the beginning of this story. I think it was a challenge – to me – to play someone who was that sure what her child was doing was wrong.” she said. “It was a very loving family. She was devoted to Bobby. But to play someone – a parent – who was determined to not listen… to play someone who was that closed was the greatest challenge.

Of course, the story is the journey of Mary from that person to the person she is now, which is someone who believes in unconditional love.” Weaver added, “Finding out this was a true story and also that it’s the book a lot of kids give their parents when they want to talk about being gay, I just felt it was very important to make this movie because I felt it was a story to save lives and to open minds,” explained Weaver.

“I love stories that are about something more than the people in them. It seems to me what’s begun to happen is that television is more interested in those stories sometimes more than studios are because studios are trying to make a lot of money. Television takes more risks.”

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Weaver then spoke about Ellen Ripley, her character in the four Aliens films: 1979’s Alien, 1986’s Aliens, 1992’s Alien 3, and 1997’s Alien Resurrection. Ripley is Weaver’s most famous role. Not only did Ripley earn Weaver an Oscar nomination for Best Actress – which is rare for a science-fiction role – she also challenged gender stereotypes in the movies as Ripley is considered the first female action hero.

“I think I had the great privilege of playing a woman who is doing a good job in a traditional man’s role. I think that what we did is we made a movie just when women were entering a lot of different fields that had traditionally been men’s fields,” said Weaver. “I thought that Ripley was very representative of that effort – women on the police-force, women in construction, and all these other areas.

I can understand why people have felt that this was a role that crosses out beyond stereotypes.” However, Weaver confessed she relates more with her Galaxy Quest role of Gwen DeMarco, who played Lt. Tawny Madison on the show, than she does with Ripley.

“For me, I’ve got to play someone much closer to myself in a sciencefiction situation, like Tawny. I think in the beginning, people probably thought of me as Lt. Ripley,” she said, laughing. “I’m very grateful to the Aliens films. They certainly made me well-known around the world.”

When asked if she’d ever play Ripley again, Weaver responded: “I love science-fiction and I loved working with Jim (Cameron) again (in Avatar), but I’m more interested in going forward and doing things I haven’t done, then going back and doing something that I’ve done before.”

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