Aliens Vs Predator - Part 1

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This is a continuation thread, the old thread is [split]273040[/split]

 

[jimmylace]

When will AVPII- Alien Vs Predator be released?

The director's cut of the movie is in place and has been well received by the studio FOX according to co-director Colin Strause. The movie is currently undergoing "final tweaks." The movie is tentatively slated for release on the 25th December 2007 and worldwide by the 16 January 2008 at the latest. However, co-director Colin Strause had this to say about the movies' release date:

"Nothing is offical yet. Dates move all the time this early from release. We're done in early summer, so it could come out any time after that."

Who are the directors?

First-time feature directors Greg & Colin Strause a.k.a "The Brothers Strause" will be helming the picture. Coming from a music-video background, they have worked with bands such as Linkin Park and Nickelback. A showreel of their work can be viewed at:

http://www.brothersstrause.com

An on-set interview with the directors can also be viewed here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ6B4nlNtzg


Isn't this movie going to be called Alien Vs Predator: Survival Of The Fittest?

Whilst that was the title at one stage during development, co-director Colin Strause has confirmed that "survival of the fittest" is no longer the title of the movie.

*in reference to an official "special effects of AvP2" book*

"They need to change the title of book, because that isn't our name of our film. And it's nice seeing the creatures in the real look of the film."

However, whilst the final name has been decided, it still remains under wraps.


Will the movie be rated "Hard-R?"

Yes, without question.

20th Century Fox President Tom Rothman on AVP2:

"Let’s put it this way, I think the approach this time is going to be very hardcore. Very R rated. I think this is a, we believe that, this pass on AVP with these filmmakers is going to be a lot closer to the hardcore experience."

Colin Strause on screen-deaths in the movie:

"We got some pretty nasty ones for the fans."

What will the movies' run-time be?

Greg Strause: "You can't force a time onto a movie, otherwise it will drag. That said, the length of Predator is good for that type of movie, so I'm sure we will be somewhere in that range once we are done editing, but until then we don't want to be quoted on the length before the edit is locked. It will be as long as it needs to be."

"We won't know the run time for quite a while. Editing is under way, and we have months of work to do. We are huge fans of the original scores....I repeat..we're going back to the roots."

More recently, Colin Strause had this to say about the run-time :
"It's longer than that right now. I said it would be the closer the length of Predator, which I believe is 108 minutes."


The Aint It Cool News Script Review

AICN posted an early and very damning review of writer Shane Salerno's script for Alien Vs Predator 2 which caused quite a stir:

"It’s really that bad a script. If fans don’t already feel like whipped dogs, they will by the end of this, and the sad thing is, they’ll buy just enough tickets to guarantee Fox makes another one of these, if only for DVD, in the future. Because it’s so cold and crass and calculating, so pointless a retread of the work of the genuine talents involved in the franchises previously, this is the one that feels like the stake in the heart of both properties. This is the announcement that they’re not remotely interested in continuing the films in a way that expands the great work that already exists. It’s creatively bankrupt in a way designed to take the least effort for a return. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, having to kiss off both franchises for the time being, and all I can hope is that there’s a genuine rebirth later. This certainly isn’t it."

The full review can be read here:

http://forums.nightly.net/lofiversion/index.php/t39552.html


The directors on the AICN script review


Thankfully, that script isn't the basis for the final movie. It was apparently rejected a long time before it was reviewed:

Colin Strause: "It's not worth looking at. We didn't shoot that script, nor have I even seen or read it, so let it R.I.P."

"How many times do we have to say we never read that script which was reviewed by AICN? That thing was long, long gone BEFORE that review even hit the web, so please stop talking about it like it has any relevance at all to the movie that we made."

Greg Strause: "We can't give away anything about the plot, characters, etc. Everyone needs to keep in mind that since the AICN review of a really old draft (one so old that we never read it) we want to keep the details close to our chests until a trailer is ready. The movie will be R Rated, and that's about all we can say."

"I'm not going to respond to anything about the plot. You guys simply have to wait for that stuff. AICN doesn't control the development of scripts - we don't really care what they say - otherwise we'd make Snakes On A Plane 2, and nobody would go see that either.
This isn't a slasher film, its a suspenseful horror film with a serious action thread. That being said, the script was entirely re-written due to our tastes...

"Also, there are many new interesting story points in this movie that makes releasing a plot description very difficult before the trailer is released because we want people to be surprised...or does everyone want all the plot twists spoiled 3/4 of a year before the film is released? Wait for the trailer."

The story of the movie

The movie is set in Gunnison, Colorado, an isolated town surrounded by forest with a population of 7,500.

Colin Strause: "It will feel bigger than that."
"You don't have to worry about aliens being killed with pitchforks etc"

Residents must band together for any chance for survival as warring extra-terrestials descend on their town. It is believed the movie will begin in a similar way to Alien 3, with the predator ship crashing after a PredAlien runs amok killing most of the crew.

Effects co-creator Tom Woodruff. jr on the possibility of seeing the PredAlien:

"Well people from Fox are everywhere.. [looks around] ...Anyway-- we know how the first one ends, and we know what has to go down, but I really can't say whats going to be in it."

The predators activate a distress signal and call upon a "lone predator" who is highly-skilled and experienced in combat with Aliens.


Whilst the human character names remain from the ill-recieved earlier draft, how the story will unfold largely remains a mystery. All that is known is that the Aliens will use the sewers extensively and that there will be major set-pieces including:

a helicopter crash
an extensive underwater battle
the sewers
a school (several witnesses saw bloodpackets being delivered)0
a geothermal plant (rumoured to be the Alien Queen's nesting ground)
a rooftop battle;

Puppeteer Morris Chapdelaine talks about the rooftop set-piece:

"There were a lot of favourite scenes but I have to say that the battle on the rooftop was amazing! We worked on it for over 2 weeks and it was brilliant not only because of the sheer number of creatures involved, but because of the tense nature of the sequence and the choreography of the fighting. There is some stuff that has never been seen before- weapons, gadgets and hand to hand combat that is sure to pique everyone's interest."

and a hospital;

a description of the hospital scene appeared on a fansite:

"Many people start coming into the hospital who are hurt or have been killed while the Aliens and Predator were doing battle somewhere else in town. In another scene, the Aliens and Predator find themselves on the parking lot in front of the hospital and cause a lot more damage.
Vehicles and ambulances are destroyed and many more people are hurt.
A few armoured vehicles appear but they came too late and the creatures have disappeared."

To which director Colin Strause replied; "That's not quite right"
...but at the very least gives some indication to the nature of scene.

There will be no K-Mart battle.

Towards the finale of the movie the National Guard are called in to
control the chaos- possibly on the orders of "The Company" from the previous Alien films;

A behind-the-scenes picture taken of one of the military vehicles deployed later in the movie:

The feel of the movie: "Going back to the roots"

Colin Strause: "It's a gritty film that is quite intense and mean."


Colin Strause: "From a lighting standpoint, the rule is to backlight everything, which give us deep contrast to hide our creatures in the background, and also gives us a cool rim-lit look to our humans. When the action picks up in intensity, the camera work will go from dolly/crane moves to mostly handheld to make the auidence feel like it's part of the action, with a 2.40 widescreen letterbox for graphic compositions. There is also not a single frame of slow motion footage in the movie either. The last thing is atmosphere. Every shot has either rain, fog, steam, haze, etc, etc to give footage the depth."

"I wouldn't worry about seeing Aliens in the sun light."

^Confirmed that the Aliens will only be seen in the dark.

Greg Strause: "CG is only being used where 'in camera' techniques weren't do-able. Although I liked the original Matrix, don't expect anything in our film to resemble it."

Greg Strause: "Well, we're going to end up with a widely varied set of looks because we have lots of different settings, times of day, and moods to convey. The intent is to give the film a 'look' that is in line with our aesthetic, without pushing things so far that it looks overly stylized. Blues work well for night scenes, but they aren't our only trick...."

Fan Question: Will we see similar action scene like Aliens?
Colin Strause: "Yes, but being in an urban enviroment has it's own unique twists and turns.
Fan Question: Would you say you are going for a horror film or a more action-orientated movie?
Colin Strause: "A good mix of both."

"I do agree that it would be better to judge the film once it's been actually seen because right now everyone is making assumptions in a vaccum. That said, haters will be haters no matter what we do, so we can't ever let them sway any of our choices in making the film that we want to make. We are happy to have the support of the fans, and we think we've made a film that most of you will enjoy. Once marketing is ready we'll have a trailer on-line for you all to watch, and then you can finally see what we've been up to for the last year."

The Creatures

Colin Strause on this press-still:

"On set photos are never taken from the correct lighting angle
because they are working around our motion picture camera,
so this will make the photos not look as good as the final movie.
They are too front lit, too bright, and might be missing all of
the slime on the creatures because the photos are usually taken
in-between takes."

Greg Strause:

"The laser was filmed 'in-camera'. We had real working lasers...."


A page-spread from the forth-coming book on ADI's special effect work on AVP2 shows the predator hunting in the sewers and shows of the new Alien design, reminiscent of Aliens:

The alien design marks a return to the whole "psychosexual" undertones, with the back of the aliens head being round like in the first 3 movies.

Fan Comment: "ADI think pointy shapes are menacing. Hence why the head doesn't look like a penis any more."

Greg Strause: "I'd beg to differ with you on this one. Once you see the back of the head, you'll be taking this post down."

Fan Comment: "What is with the color *of the alien* though? I love the design, but whats with the tan coloration? Maybe it is because they are in a rocky/deserty area or something?"

Colin Strause: "They are blackish silver. That color is from our on set lighting."

The Predator in AVP2 also found it's way onto the front of a new re-release of
"Predator 2" for some reason:

More about The Predator

Colin Strause: "This Predator has been around for a long time... and those are markings on his helmet by the way."

"The Predator can't cloak in the rain. We don't break the rules. But we have plenty of times where he cloaks."

Fan Questions about the Predator:

"Will the predators face be the same crappy version like in AvP or will you be bringing back the original preds face?"

Colin Strause: "He is our own unique design, but also is like the Predator's from the original films. Wiser in his years."

"The face is fully animatronic... eyes included."

"It's silicon head that's fully animatronic. And there are some nicknames, but it's too early to talk about them now... They were used to help track the creatures through production so that way all the department heads could tell each specific creature, for example: if one creature was damaged at an earlier point in the movie, then everyone would have to make sure that damaged suit was used in every shot afterward... The Predator's face was re-designed completely. "

Greg Strause: "Yes, we used silicon, as you get much more realistic results."

"Will the Predator have acid proof weaponry and armor for close combat this time?"
Colin Strause: "He is well prepared for battle"

Are you going to introduce any new predator weapons?
"He has some new "tools."

*Wrist-blades* Are they huge like in the first AvP or they will be
normal-size, like in the original predator movies?
"Original"

Will we hear the original *predator* sound effects again in the movie?
"Yes."
Will we see the Predators eyes flash?
"Yes."
Will the Predator's thermal vision will be blue in AvP2 and not orange as in AvP?
"Yes. But he does have other vison modes too."

"Here's the deal. Thermal and IR cameras are the same thing. The "thermal" difference is a real-time color correcting hardware built into a IR camera (different from nightvision IR) that does the different color modes. The CCD chip in the camera produces a black and white image which is re-mapped to give it that color banded look. All the footage for this film was recorded in its black and white default look, and then we'll be doing all the coloring in post so we have more control over the tempature ranges. We filmed our APC video all on thermal cameras, so we are very used to how they work. You can't see through glass, liquids, or see any patterens in materials. Also, there's a company that sells head-gear thermal glasses if you want to be a real life Predator for about 10 grand. "

"We really like that Predator 2 ship as well."

Will the Predator be using the trees/forest like in the original Predator?
"Some questions are better answered by watching the movie."

Suit-actor Ian Whyte talks about the predator role in the movie:

"Greg and Colin Strause, the directors, were very particular about the vision that they wanted to see in this film,and of course, being a movie called ALIEN VS. PREDATOR, that whole concept is featured heavily.
They say because of the story in AvP2, it's a different Predator this time; they've tried to come up with a different version of it which is very detailed and very complete.There’s only one Predator [in the movie], but there are plenty of Aliens.”

"Apart from little design stylisations to make the character unique, the new costume is entirely reminiscent of the original; it was very tight fitting and was designed to make the Predator more svelte, lithe and athletic in appearance."

 

[CGHulk]

 

[Spider-Vader]

People are still talking about this series? It's dead. The solo series are alive again, well atleast for Predator.

 

[Punisher Rising]

I still don't oppose a proper AVP film being made one day. I feel this is one movie series where the ball was dropped completely, and you have to wonder why. In the hands of someone who's not only a fan of both series' and creatures, but also respects the canon and mythos and is consistant with them and is also able to give a balanced portrayal of both creatures, an AVP movie could be truly epic and awesome if done properly. Sadly, it seems Fox isn't willing to do it properly.

 

[Doc Ock]

I love Alien, I love Predator. I don't like the versus movies. I like the idea of the two existing in the same universe but I don't know if it will be properly done on-screen as a full crossover.

 

[CGHulk]

People are still talking about this series? It's dead. The solo series are alive again, well atleast for Predator.

This series is dead, I revived this thread to post that humorous picture!

 

[Lord]

I'm a fan of the video games and comics, they should make one AVP movie set during the Alien frranshise period, they should adapt the 1999 video game, but i don't think FOX will be willing to make an AVP movie set in space, it would cost them too much, and the main problem is, balancing the action and the characters, should the story be seen in the humans point of view or only in the xenomorphs and Predators point of view?

 

[Nightmare]

lolol

Movies were horrible.

 

[CelticPredator]

I give this movie a -100.

 

[Eelectro 2]

i think, if they were to make another avp movie in the future they should highly reference the original avp comic. that was a solid great story. everything about it is what we should have gotten. i think what we got was ok but should have been better