The director had seen "Alien" while he was working as a truck driver, and remembered his fellow audience members' reactions to what they saw on screen. Cameron did not understand at first why "Alien" needed a sequel, believing it was a "perfect" film and it would be difficult to recreate the emotion and novelty of the original. He and Hurd agreed to combine the horror of "Alien" with the action of "The Terminator". According to Hill, Cameron said if the first film could be compared to a haunted attraction, "Aliens" should be like a roller coaster. Cameron believed in having a strong female heroine to distinguish his films from typical Hollywood action fare, and wrote the script with a picture of Weaver on his desk. He referred to "The Terminator", and how he removed the normal protective forces from Sarah Connor so she had to fend for herself. Cameron had also always wanted to make a film about space infantry.