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Aliens (1986): Miniatures technical supervisor Pat McClung working on the USS Sulaco model, designed by Syd Mead

Ok, let's make it a short thread to celebrate the 20 million users Bsky milestone. #TSSThread Syd Mead: "I originally designed a spherical ship. Cameron corrected me with the comment that the model had to go past the lens, without pulling focus." 2/8

Syd Mead: "I sketched several designs cued by the script’s description of ‘a forest of antennae enters frame, followed by the enormous bulk of the SULACO'. (...) A spherical design would have meant variable focus, something he didn’t want to deal with". 3/8

Syd Mead: "[James Cameron] sketched a kind of submarine affair, but long and flat." If you're passing through Paris, there are still a few weeks left to visit the great Cameron exhibition at the Cinémathèque. 4/8 Art by James Cameron:

And this is how you create an iconic design (abridged version 😁). 6/8

So none of the design elements were carried over from Sark's Carrier in TRON?

Apart from the fact that it's the same designer, I've never found any trace of it. But I'll keep digging through old interviews for my future article.

It's obviously not over for this design, but it's a story I'll be continuing later on my Patreon. 😁 7/7

But an idea is never dead. It's just put aside, waiting for the right moment. Solar Crisis (1990): The Helios, art by Syd Mead 8/8