When Sigourney Weaver was sent the script of "Aliens" (1986), she had no idea that a sequel was being made for "Alien" (1979) as the studio didn't inform her. After reading the script, Weaver thought it was "Magnificent" and "The Greatest script" she had ever read. She was blown away by the humour, humanity and action. Cameron was initially afraid to meet Weaver as he feared she would be as stern and intimidating as her Ripley character. After their meeting he was relieved. He said, “She was just this wonderful person, and I was so relieved that she saw some value in the script and where I was proposing to take the character.” Cameron was open to some of the changes to the script mentioned by Weaver. However, on the first day of the shoot, there was one hiccup. The shoot was in England and the sets were built. When Weaver arrived, she told Cameron that she was Anti-Gun advocate and she wasn't touching a gun. Cameron asked her, "Did you read the script?". She replied, "I read it. I understood there were guns in it, I just didn’t think Ripley had to pick up a gun except for a flamethrower.” Realizing that the script would require a major rewrite if he couldn’t convince Weaver to use the machine gun, Cameron took Weaver behind the studio and had her fire off the weapon a few times. Cameron said, “I’ll never forget her blasting away with this thing. And then there was this kind of sly look over to me, like ‘This is fun.'”. Weaver said, “It just shows how addictive guns are." while noting that she felt ashamed of the pleasure she took in shooting the rounds. ("James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver on Their 40-Year Collaboration", Jim Hemphill, Indiewire, 2025) P.S: On this day, 40 years ago, "Aliens" (1986) premiered at Westwood, California, USA.