2011 books
6) H.R. Giger, Giger's Alien, 1979
This post at cracked.com, about how Dan O'Bannon's screenplay for Alien was based around the notion of male rape, has had me reaching for various books that connect to the film. Giger's Alien is a visual diary of Giger's involvement in the production, from its creation as dreamed up by O'Bannon in 1977 (while suffering from a long stomach illness, no less) through to Giger's 1980 Oscar win for Visual Effects. There are production shots aplenty, also depicting how his sets and designs finally appeared in the film. What comes through is Giger's respect for Ridley Scott, his various battles with the design team at Shepperton Studios who had difficulty producing his artwork three-dimensionally, or the production team who kept shifting the goal-posts while deadlines loomed. Interesting to learn that given more time Giger believes he could probably have created an Alien with realistically transparent skin, which was his and Ridley Scott's joint idea. Giger's a surly bugger who didn't seem to enjoy the pressures of his time in England while working on the film, but at least it's good to know he loves traditional English pubs.