How Did James Cameron Write Rambo & Aliens at the Same Time?

Earlier this week, the30th AnniversaryBlu-ray set for the beloved 1986 sci-fi classicAlienswas released, which includes plenty of new special features, including one entitled The Inspiration and Design ofAliens. A new clip from that documentary has surfaced, with writer-directorJames Cameronrevealing that he landed the job to write this movie on the same day he took another job, to writeRambo: First Blood Part II. The filmmaker lets fans in on his secret of how he managed to write two beloved blockbuster at the same time.

The clip fromEntertainment WeeklyfeaturesJames Cameronrevealing how he was told on the same day that he had landed both theAliensand theRambo: First Blood Part IIwriting gigs. He decided to take both jobs, and came up with a unique solution on how to separate both projects. Here’s whatJames Cameronhad to say below about taking both jobs.

“So I wound up getting two writing gigs the same day, one wasRambo: First Blood Part IIand the other wasAlien 2. I had gone in on the meetings, and I wound up getting the phone calls the same morning. So, I took both jobs, and I had a three-month period to writeRamboand what becameAliens. So, what I did was I got a desk for each script. I put one in the bedroom and one in the living room, and that way, when I would move from one desk to the other, all the notes and papers and everything were right where they were supposed to be. So if, I didn’t know what to do next onRambo, I’d go over here and work onAliensfor awhile.”

James Cameronalso revealed that he was also working on a completely different story entitledMother, which featured a scene where the hero is fighting “in something suspiciously like a power loader, against something suspiciously like an alien queen.” He ended up moving that entire scene fromMothertoAliens, which resulted in one of the sequel’s most iconic scenes featuringSigourney Weaver’sRipley. The filmmaker also spoke about how quickly he churned out the lengthy treatment forAliens.

“I wrote a treatment for them in probably two or three days. I think they were shocked when I came back three days later with with a 60 or 70 page treatment. I was basically just doing DNA splicing of a whole bunch of ideas that I had had, that were all riffs on theoriginal Alien, because I was so enamored of that film.”

BothAliensandRambo IIwent on to become box office hits when they hit theaters.Aliensearned $85.6 million domestic in 1986, which is the equivalent of $198.7 million today, whileRambo: First Blood Part IIearned $150.4 million domestic, which is the equivalent of a $366.9 million movie today, when adjusting for inflation. Earlier this year,Reebokeven brought back the Stomper sneakers fromAliensto celebrate the 30th Anniversary, while Seiko also brought back Ripley’s watch. Take a look at the video below whereJames Cameronexplains how he wrote bothAliensandRambo: First Blood Part IIat the same time.