Sigourney Weaver thinks the Alien franchise was "ahead of its time".

The 76-year-old actress played Ellen Ripley in the original Alien movie back in 1979, and Sigourney has been amazed by her character's enduring influence.

Speaking at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, Sigourney explained: "I realise now that it was ahead of its time, unfortunately, as all movies were back then. But I did love the character of Ripley.

"It's amazing to me how influential the character of Ripley has been. I think it's because she reminds us all that we can rely on ourselves, and we don't need a man to fly in and save us or some something like that. Because I do feel that women are the glue that holds the world together, and there it is: I'm just telling the truth."

Sigourney also confessed to being amazed by the success of the film franchise.

She shared: "The writers had done this cool thing. It was a script with 10 men, I think, and so they decided to make it a coed group in space, like dirty truckers in space. And they thought that the audience would never suspect that the young woman was going to be the hero, essentially the survivor. So they really did it for story reasons - we weren't doing it as a big feminist step forward, [although] it did somehow turn out to be that [way]."

Sigourney feels fortunate to have worked with directors like James Cameron during her career.

The actress said: "I was always so lucky to work with Jim Cameron, it was the first time [we worked together] and I'm still working with him.

"I realised then [that Ripley had become this phenomenon] because he had really built this amazing movie around the character of Ripley and her story, which I feel we can all identify with. She was cast out by society and put in a position she doesn't want to be in, and having to save the day. It's a beautifully written script."

Meanwhile, James Cameron recently insisted that he's "not personally interested" in using AI.

Speaking at the Hainan Island International Film Festival, the acclaimed filmmaker explained: "I'm not personally interested in using those tools, in using any pathway that uses technology to replace human creativity.

"We may be able to replace an actor [with a generative character]. I say 'we', but I wouldn't do it. Is it desirable? Does it create that unique character that is based on two sets of unique human experiences, the screenwriter's and the actor's?"