These images of Sigourney Weaver and the Alien cat will make your heart burst out of your chest
Jones, the big ol’ ginger cat from Alien and Aliens, is one of the great film cats. He is large, sedate, curious, and has whiskers. As CatsOnFilm.net notes,
He is not just a CATGUFFIN, providing a pretext for characters to go wandering off by themselves, but also CATPANION to Ripley, giving her someone to talk to when all her crewmates have been killed off, provides several moments of CATSHOCK when he suddenly jumps out at people, and is furthermore a CATSCALLION, because you’re never quite sure, even at the end of the film, if he has been somehow been infected by the alien.
Jones’ seeming omniscience has lead some to believe he is a stand-in for director Ridley Scott. To love the two best Alien movies is to love Jones the cat.
Apparently, Sigourney Weaver agreed. The Twitter and Instagram account Lost In History recently unearthed some photos of the star chilling with the cat, and they are having a great goddamn time. What is most heartwarming is that this is a promotional shoot for the sequel, meaning someone in corporate knew they had to cater to the Jones-loving fan base.
Hell yes, little man, hang out:
According to the story, following the events of Alien, Ripley and Jones took the ultimate catnap: some 57 years in cryostasis. After Paul Reiser shows up to convince Ripley to head back into the shit in Aliens, she famously tells her little friend, “And you, you little shithead, you’re staying here.” Jonesy was later reported dead in the novelization of Alien 3, which is not a plot note anyone needed explicated, but that’s why film novelizations exist. Mourn Jonesy, but remember him in his better times with these photos.