Sigourney Weaver: 'Alien 5' On Hold

By Monique Jessen And Stephen M. Silverman

Thursday February 05, 2004 10:26 AM EST

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It may be all over for "The Lord of the Rings," but maybe not for the "Alien" series.

At Wednesday night's Empire Film Awards in London, Sigourney Weaver told PEOPLE that there are hopes for a fifth installment in the space-horror series, saying that director "Ridley Scott and I have talked about doing another 'Alien' and going back to the original planet, but everyone is so busy."

Weaver, 54, was a winner at the ceremony for the Empire Career Achievement Award, which she received from her original "Alien" costar, John Hurt. (The awards are decided by the readers of Britain's Empire magazine.)

Looking svelte in a long clingy black dress -- "Easy to pack," she told PEOPLE -- and amber earrings, Weaver said at the awards' after-party, "the best thing is, they put you up for a few days and I get to catch up with all my friends in London. I'm looking forward to seeing some theatre shows too."

As expected, "The Return of the King," "Love Actually" and "Kill Bill -- Vol. I" swept the awards, with "Love" best British actress winner Emma Thompson looking stunning in a black slinky dress with tie-up detail on the arms and knee-high boots. Asked what it takes to look so good, Thompson, 44, told PEOPLE: "I'm very happily married (to "Johnny English" actor Greg Wise), and my beauty tip is to spend four hours in the chair with an expert makeup and hair artist. Nothing else works."

Uma Thurman won as best actress for "Kill Bill -- Vol. 1," which also took director honors for Quentin Tarantino. Neither was present at the ceremony, nor was Johnny Depp, who was named best actor for "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."

Jack Davenport (who is working with Depp again, on a film about King Charles II) picked up the award on the winner's behalf and told PEOPLE that his most memorable moment filming with Depp was simply "trying to understand what he was saying."