The groundbreaking 1986 film Aliens remains one of the most iconic films of the era. The announcement that the entire cast including icon Sigourney Weaver and Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Carrie Henn, Jenette Goldstein, Ricco Ross and Mark Roltson will not only be attending the Expo but be part of a special event Aliens Exposed on April 26^th.

Biehn along with his wife Jennifer Blanc-Biehn return to the expo for the second year in a row. Last year Michael was featured as part of a reunion for another iconic film Terminator. Being part of two movies that are so revered means a lot, he said.

"It has taken me awhile to realize it. It is interesting you would think it would be guys my age and older that would be talking about the movies. But I get more people in their early 20s coming up and saying things like Reese or Hicks is my favourite character or Aliens is my favourite movie or people who loved Tombstone and they mean it, they are serious. Tombstone seems like another one of those movies that kids have fallen in love with. They just love those movies. It doesn’t mean too much to me personally. It is fun when I meet these people they are so excited and I didn’t realize that by performing in these movies it really changed people’s hearts and minds. It is hard to say if people are going to remember these movies 30 years from now. I hope they will but at the same time I think they are hitting their zenith now between the adults who saw it then and the people that grew up with it. There isn't [anything] much better than people coming up and telling you what their characters mean to them. I've met people who joined the marines because of Aliens or are named after my characters. They come to take pictures with you and are literally shaking. What else could it be but a lot of fun."

It is also an opportunity to discuss and promote upcoming projects. Jennifer talked about some of the films their production company has in the pipe.

"We are both in this Fembot coming up. Michael is playing a character that has lost his way, and in a world where our lives are run by computers and Facebook and these fairytale friendships we think we have online. He tries to find that relationship he wants by getting a female robot to replace a human relationship. He finds one he likes but when he meets a girl he actually falls in love with this computer starts having real life human feelings she isn’t supposed to have as a robot. It becomes sort of this battle. We are very excited about this one, utilizing some people in a really wonderful way, solar energy around the world. So we are making that eco-consciousness part of the story as well. Michael doesn't really want to work for many other people now, he has been pretty much working for our company for the last year. We have a few films on the horizon like She Rises with Angus MacFadyen, The Girl with Tia Carrere, The Night Visitor and The Night Visitor 2 with a bunch of the cast of True Blood. We have a film called Altered Perception and lots more in pre-production."

Blanc-Biehn productions' films often features strong female characters, which shows an influence from Aliens and Terminator.

"One of our investors and partners is very into the idea of empowerment of women. Whether it is women directors or characters all of that stuff. There is definitely a theme within the company of empowerment of women in some fashion either on screen or behind the screen," Jennifer said, adding that Terminator's Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and Aliens’ Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) influenced her. "Before I even met Michael I loved the character of Ripley. I saw that movie when I was like 11 in New York City in the front row. She was kind of a bad ass but there was something about her that she was one of the first strong women I saw on film as a young girl. I love love loved Gorillas in the Mist. It is cool to see a strong woman on film that people can view as a sex symbol. As a young girl you are taught you can't be tough but you can. Linda Hamilton kind of followed that in the Terminator films. I have gotten to know Linda well and I can't wait to see Sigourney again. She is definitely an inspiration and a really cool versatile powerful woman that remains relevant."

Michael is excited to reconnect with his cast mates over the course of the weekend including at the Aliens Exposed event at the Stampede Corral.The panel will reunite the cast who will share stories from the film.

"We did a 25 year anniversary photo shoot for Entertainment Weekly. So we were all there, that combination of people met there about a year ago. For me, you work with people for a long period of time and fall in love with them - guys like Bill Paxton and people like Linda - and then you never get to see them again because they are off shooting other movies in different places. You very rarely get to see the people you like making movies with, although I have done 5 movies with Bill. So this opportunity to get Sigourney and Bill and Mark and everybody together,that is really to me the best part of it. To see old friends and talk about old times and have a laugh. It's like a school reunion, so that is my favourite part of these events."

Linda Hamilton (who appeared at the 2013 Expo) and Sigourney Weaver truly changed women in film. Michael reflected on working with both.

"When I worked with Linda she and I were both young and naïve to the business of making a real movie. Our characters were very much in love. Both of us were married at the time but I kind of fell in love with her when we were making the movie, she is incredibly warm and wonderful. She is so giving as a human being. I was really sad to see that movie end. Sigourney, I have always felt she is a little bit what you get with Ripley. She is always there, a strong woman with a good sense of humor. She is ready to take on anybody and has a very high set of morals. That is how I see her in real life. She smiles and laughs a lot more in real life but she is a tall girl and not intimidating but she can hold her own with the boys. She doesn't let anybody walk on her or ignore her, when she is in the room you can tell. I have grown very fond of her over the years. I had a great time working with her, she is very professional and beautiful and talented. I have been acting a long time and people talk about Hollywood being sleazy but it is really people on the bottom rung that are sleazy. At the top of the line when you are dealing with people like Sigourney Weaver and Jim Cameron and Ridley Scott they are class acts and immensely talented."

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Contributor Jason Clevett |

Locale Calgary |

Person Bill Paxton | Carrie Henn | Jenette Goldstein | Lance Henriksen | Mark Roltson | Michael Biehn | Paul Reiser | Ricco Ross | Sigourney Weaver |

Topic Aliens | Calgary Expo | Celebrity Interview | Celebrity Video Interview | Comic Expo |