April 26 Is ALIEN DAY
Forty years ago, one of the most flawless motion pictures to ever be created was released — and yes, I mean that, I love Alien. It was one of those rare times when every part of the Hollywood machine just fit together: it has perfect casting, perfect directing, perfect set design, a truly original monster, and a powerful trailer that reveals nothing yet says everything.
20th Century Fox has declared April 26 to be ALIEN DAY and they’ll be releasing a ton of new material celebrating the movie and the franchise it birthed from Kane’s tummy. Why April 26? Because the planet where the Xenomorph was first discovered was LV-426. Same reason Mario Day is March 10, Star Wars Day is May the 4th, and every other unofficial holiday declared by a corporation has a cutesy number pun.
As we previously reported, Fox and IGN have been steadily releasing six new Alien-themed shorts, and the last two will make their premieres on Alien Day. A ton of new Alien merchandise will be released from Titan Books, Funko, Acme Archives, and over a dozen more companies. Three days before then, Alien will make its ultra-high-definition debut with the release of its first 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray.
Of course Alien looks good no matter what definition it is. This is a screenshot I was admiring the other day from a VHS taping of a 1988 airing of the film:
It’s all there; all the tension, all the mystery, it’s all communicated effectively, and this is just one still. The picture quality has been reduced a hundredfold, and yet you could still frame it. Ridley Scott was a genius (note that I said “was”).
So what’s odd about this? The fact that the actual 40th birthday of Alien is May 25. Wouldn’t it make more sense to wait on releasing some of this stuff until its actual birthday? It’s just one month’s difference. Is it that important to push this Alien Day thing? We guess so.
Fox is encouraging fan participation as well. Sound off on social media using the tag @alienanthology and the hashtag #MyAlien40th with your own personal Alien memories. They’ll share the best of what they see!