I think if I'm going to do a science fiction, I'm going to go down a new path that I want to do.

How can you look at the galaxy and not feel insignificant?

There's nothing really original. Alien was a B-movie. Five directors passed on it before me. Because I was into Heavy Metal, I read it, and thought, "Wow, I want to do this." I was on a plane to Hollywood in 22 hours. It was a B-movie and was elevated to an A-plus movie by sheer good taste.

It goes back a long way. I wanted to make Tristan + Isolde as my second movie. My first movie was The Duellists. And I was standing in a very romantic part of France looking around me thinking, "My God, this would be perfect for Tristan," and to cut a long story short it never happened because I did Alien instead.

Harrison is very much part of this one, but really it’s about finding him; he comes in in the third act.

I do a pretty good job at casting actually.

I like my wine and vodka, but that doesn't mean I fall about drunk. I know my limits.