The Movie Alien: Covenant Stars Fassbender, Monsters and JCB Equipment

Ready for some scary space monsters? A fleet of more than 20 JCB machines is playing a starring role in the latest installment of the "Alien" cult film franchise.
May 18, 2017
2 min read

Ready for some scary space monsters? A fleet of more than 20 JCB machines is playing a starring role in the latest installment of the Alien cult film franchise. JCB skid steers loaders, Loadall telescopic handlers and JS excavators were supplied to 20th Century Fox for the making of the new film Alien: Covenant which will be released in the U.S. on Friday, May 19.

Starring alongside actors Michael Fassbender and Katherine Waterston, the machines are wrapped in stunning gold to give them a futuristic look – the idea of British film director and producer Ridley Scott. 

“This is one of the highest-profile film projects in JCB’s history, involving approximately $1.3 million worth of machines,” said Michael Plummer, JCB’s Worldwide Marketing Director. “Ridley Scott’s idea to wrap the machines in gold delivered a stunning result and is certainly an eye-catching addition to a film which will be seen by millions of people around the world.” 

The machines – which appear in the film's finale – arrived at the movie set in Sydney with the help of JCB dealer Construction Equipment Australia. The dealer also provided film makers with six JCB generators for additional on-site power. 

The equipment is used in the so-called “terraforming bay,” an area which alters the environment to make it capable of supporting terrestrial life. “Alien: Covenant” is set almost 100 years in the future and is the sixth film in the popular “Alien” franchise. 

About the Author

Michael Roth

Editor

Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.

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