I copied this from Comigsoon.net. Since several of us were discussing the disaster in the making that this film appears to be, I thought I'd follow up with this bit:


Alien vs. Predator Part I: Title Bout Source: Kevin Rubio Tuesday, December 30, 2003

In this corner, with four films, two video games, and 23 comic book titles and still counting -- the scariest monster to come out of 70s sci-fi, the disgrace from space, the Fox franchise: ALIEN.

And in this corner, with two film titles two his credit, three video games and 15 comic book titles and counting -- the first alien (but not the last) to challenge a California governor and lose, the other Fox franchise: PREDATOR.

These two extra-terrestrial combatants are scheduled to meet in a celestial grudge match this coming August at a theatre near you, in what Fox is hoping will be another windfall in the trend of pitting great movie monsters against each other.

Like those that went before them: Dracula vs. Frankenstein, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Freddie vs. Jason; Alien v. Predator or AVP, has a mixture of both high optimism and skepticism from the public at large. And with rumors now surfacing with ever frequency about "MAJOR problems with creatures" that are "all painted silver" and "Paul Anderson seriously considering replacing a lot of what was built with CGI," (all of which are untrue, but I'll get to that later), 20th Century Fox graciously arranged an onset visit for fourteen internet and print media to tour the sets, interview the cast and crew, and watch the filming of several key sequences.

ComingSoon.net was one of the fortunate few to be invited along last month, and over the next several weeks we will be featuring behind-the-scenes interviews with cast and crew as well as focusing on the history of this long awaited clash -- one that truly has been years in the making. But first for those of you who are new to AVP (and if you read this site, I can't imagine there are many of you) we present an overview of the story and the principles involved:

Written and directed by Paul WS Anderson, (Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, Resident Evil) AVP has taken, at least in some part, some of the ideas brought forth by the popular Dark Horse Comic series.

Like the Dark Horse comic, the Predators are responsible for creating one of earth's ancient cultures. It was they who enslaved our ancestors, forced them to build really big pyramids and then offered them up as living sacrifices in order to incubate the cute little Aliens that serve as game for their favorite recreational right of passage - hunting. Now while this could also be confused with similar events recounted by people who have worked under the employment of the Walt Disney Company, it is here where the similarities end.

Though it spans 100 years, the bulk of the AVP story takes place in Antarctica in the present time. It is here in an abandoned whaling station that a Weyland Industries' satellite picks-up a rather peculiar object under the Antarctic cap. Weyland Industries is the same company that sent the crew of the Nostromo to the planet where they found the egg in the first film. So suffice to say, if you work for WI, make sure your life insurance policy is in order.

An expedition is mounted by Charles Bishop Weyland, played by Lance Henriksen (no the "Bishop" name is not a coincidence) and headed by Raoul Bova (Under the Tuscan Sun) and the film's lead heroin - Sanaa (pronounced: sin-ah) Lathan (Out of Time). They are accompanied by the usual motley crew/appetizers that (at least in my impression) are more reminiscent of the first Alien film in both character and diversity, than latter incarnations.

So the whole buffet (sorry -- crew) find themselves in Antarctica where they uncover an ancient pyramid that predates all known civilizations and dwarfs even the Aztec pyramids of Mexico. So, what's a team to do? Well if you are to have any move, you usually stumble onto something that looks intriguing, which they do. You tamper with it in a way that you're not suppose to, which they do. And this usually sets of some sort of a chain reaction that involves people being trapped and many bloody gruesome scary deaths by things that leap out at you from dark places among the shadows when you least expect it, which it will.

But unlike your usual fair, the real battle is not between the humans and the Aliens but between the Aliens and Hunters - three Predators, one of them a prince with a very big presence in the film.

The film itself is being shot entirely in Prague (or for you natives on the web: Praha) in several converted sound stages throughout the city. Other cast members include: Ewen Bremner (Black Hawk Down, Trainspotting), Colin Salmon, who some may recognizes as M's chief of staff in the last three Bond films, the very ire and funny Tommy Flanagan, who played Russell Crowe's servant in Gladiator, and international actors Joseph Rye, Carsten Norgaard, Sam Troughton and the very sexy Agathe De La Boulaye, round out the cast.

Now I know the whole reason you guys come to these websites is so that you can get the inside scoop on things, and to be honest you will get them here sooner than most, but as of this posting Fox will not yet allow us to reveal specifics as to who dies, who lives, and what other types of alien/predator manifestation appear in the film - they don't want us to spoil everything. But if you know your Alien/Predator stuff and you know what happens to people or (other things) that come into contact with "eggs" then you can probably take an educated guess as to what might be in store for you in this film.

What I can tell you is that while touring the sets, and even running into some of the actors at the hotel, everyone and I mean everyone is excited about working on this film. The "problems" with the creatures, reported on another website, are no more than the problems you would normally have with a big effects sci-fi shoot. The Aliens are NOT "silver." They are the slimy black creatures that reflect whatever light they happen to be in that we've all come to know and love. There are design changes (the hands are larger) and occasionally a robotic alien, puppeteer off camera, is used for shots that involved repetitive fast movements or teeth to shoot out.

The reported ill fitting Predators costumes were in my opinion the second hand reporting of someone who caught glimpse of a stand-in or stunt man being helped off the set. The actors who play the Predators, while they may appear to some to look a bit dull or unimpressive outside a soundstage or under the harsh florescent light of a creature shop, look great through the lenses, and in the end that's what matters.

The tag line for the film is "No matter who wins, we lose." While it's still to early to tell whether or not this line will prove to be prophetic for the folks at 20th Century Fox, what is very clear is that the genuine enthusiasm by those involved in making this film rivals, and in the case of director Paul WS Anderson surpasses that of the fans waiting for it, and for all I believe the wait will be worth it.

Alien vs. Predator Part II: Rumble in the Jungle Source: Kevin Rubio Thursday, January 15, 2004

The prospect of an Alien vs. Predator film has been anticipated by fans for so long, it's not hard to see why so many people forget where the whole thing started. And if you are like me, you believe that the idea originated in the film Predator 2, and you and I would be wrong.

To set the record staight, we went to the man who first put pen to paper and wrote the now familiar title: "Alien vs. Predator "- Dark Horse Publishing's editor of all things "Star Wars" (and many other titles) Randy Stradley.

1. For the uninitiated comic-book/graphic novel reader; could you give us a little bit of your background?

I started in comics in 1983, writing for Marvel and DC. Mine was not a stellar career, but I got my foot in the door. In the summer of '85, Mike Richardson called me and asked if I wanted to help him start a comics company. Everybody was doing it at the time, and it seemed like a good thing. So far, it has been.

Over the years, I've continued to write comics (sometimes under various pseudonyms), but the meat-and-potatoes of my life is editing comics. I've had the opportunity to work with some of the most amazing talents in the business, and I've written everything from Superman to obscure short comics stories. and, I got to write Aliens vs. Predator.

2. Most people (myself included) believe that the first hint or idea for AVP came from the movie Predator 2. Could you enlighten us as to its true origin?

It started in a brainstorming meeting at Dark Horse, in 1989. At the time, we were publishing comics based on the films Aliens and Predator -- both of which were big sellers for us. Editor (and writer/artist) Chris Warner was the first one to put it together. From there, it went like wild-fire. We called Twentieth Century Fox (from whom we licensed Aliens and Predator) and said to our rep, "Aliens vs. Predator." Without missing a beat she said, "You mean like King Kong vs. Godzilla? Cool! Let's rock 'n' roll!"

Nowadays, everything is paired with everything else, and licenses are grabbed up long before a film is released. It'd be pretty hard to find really popular characters sitting around gathering dust, but that was the case back then.

I can't know when they actually filmed the scene with the Alien's skull in the Predator trophy case for Predator 2, but I'm pretty sure the idea was sparked by our comics.

3. Was AVP the "break-through" for Dark Horse?

In sales, yeah. The first issue sold more than a half-million copies. I have no idea how many copies of the collection (graphic novel, if you prefer) we sold, but it was plenty.

4. How many subsequent AVP, AV ? or ? VP titles have there been, and how many have you been involved with?

Well, lessee... Beside the initial Aliens vs. Predator, there was AvP: Deadliest of the Species, by Chris Claremont, AvP: Duel and AvP: War (both of which I was also lucky enough to write), and there may have been a couple of others. Then there were all of the Superman vs Aliens, Batman vs Predator, Judge Dredd vs Aliens, Magnus, Robot Fighter vs. Predator, and on and on and on. There were also two novelizations based on the AvP comics. Then the toys. Then the video games. Then more toys. Now the movie. If I was to hazard a guess, I'd bet there will be more toys in the future. And possibly more comics -- but I don't want to get to far ahead of myself.

5. Have you read the script for the new movie? If so, what can you tell us about it? How close is it to the comic?

I haven't seen it. All I know is what I've seen on the "trailer" that's on the web. They mention a rite of passage for the young Predators in which they have to hunt Aliens which have been "seeded" into a particular hunting ground. That's right out of the comic.

6. I know you made your decision as to who would win in a fight - A or P, but do you have any second thoughts on that?

I did? I think the winner would really depend on the situation. In my story, all of the aliens die, and all of the Predators die, and a handful of humans (who had no idea they were about to end up in the middle of the whole thing) survived. But you gotta root for the Predators. They at least look like you could reason with them. Trying to get anywhere with the Aliens would be like trying to have a conversation with an ant colony.

7. For all the completists out there, can people still buy the original AVP graphic novel? Where?

I'm sure it's still available somewhere, but it's officially out of print. Try amazon.com or eBay. I think it's well worth seeking out -- not necessarily for my story, but for the amazing artwork of film designer Phill Norwood, Karl Story, and Chris Warner.

8. Did you add anything to either mythos that has been carried through to the films?

I tried consciously to NOT add anything new. The one thing that the Dark Horse Aliens series established was that, every so often, the Queen Alien lays an egg from which can hatch a new Queen. Nothing had been established in the films to suggest how a Queen comes into being, and we needed a Queen for a story. I used that same mechanism in my AvP story: the Predators accidentally include a Queen egg in the batch of Alien eggs they use to "seed" a new hunting ground. Consequently, when the small group of Predators arrives to hunt a supposedly small group of Aliens, they are confronted by HUNDREDS of the critters.

Beyond that, both sets of characters seemed to have lots of room for story possibilities, and I couldn't see the point of establishing new "facts" that would, in all likelihood, be contradicted by the next film.

9. What are you currently working on?

I'm currently editing the bulk of Dark Horse's line of Star Wars comics.

10. Does Dark Horse have any plans to do the comic adaptation of AVP? If so, will you do it?

We're talking about it, but if we do one I can't see myself raising my hand to write it. Film-to-comics adaptations are hard to write -- and even harder to write well. I'm old and lazy now. Seriously, there's a been there, done that component to the project that makes me think I'd rather see what somebody else could do with it.

11. Do you have a favorite - A or P? Why?

Uh, see question 6.

12. Any parting words for aspiring comic artist/writers?

Run fast, run far.

Seriously, writing for comics is a tough job -- with GETTING a job being the hardest part of it. And, once you get a job, you need to get another, and probably another. Writing for comics isn't the most lucrative job in the world, and writing one comic book a month probably won't cover the bills.

Interestingly, there are probably more good writers (and artists) working in comics today than any other time in the industry's history -- but there are also more comics being published than at any other time (to be read by an ever smaller audience -- but that's the subject of another interview!). So, there aren't enough good writers to go around.

That said, getting your work noticed by, and proving yourself to an editor, is extremely tough. Writing for the comics medium requires a skill set that writing for any other medium will not prepare you for. It's part screenplay, part short story, and you have to be the director giving instructions to the cameraman and the actors, at the same time. The learning curve can be long, and monthly deadlines provide editors with few opportunities to nurture new talent. It's often a case of, if you can't hit a home run on the first swing of your first time at bat, you may never get another chance.

Jeez, what a depressing note on which to end the interview!

Below is a capsule history of AvP at Dark Horse that Randy Stradley wrote previously:

"Aliens versus Predator.

Three little words. Editor Chris Warner said them first. It was early 1989, and the Dark Horse crew was hashing over new projects and story lines in a company "bull session." Publisher Mike Richardson brought up a co-publishing venture proposed by another company. The teaming of the two proffered characters was something we couldn't quite visualize, but the proposal opened the door for a flood of "character versus character" suggestions-some less serious than others. After a short break, Chris Warner said "Aliens versus Predator." Something resembling a stunned silence followed. The pairing was such a natural one, it was a wonder it hadn't been the first idea to occur to us. Dark Horse was already publishing comics based on the films Aliens and Predator, both licensed from Twentieth Century Fox. Why not combine the two properties?

Within minutes Mike was on the phone to Fox's licensing department for what he anticipated would be a long negotiating session. Their response, however, was immediate. "Aliens versus Predator? You mean like King Kong versus Godzilla? Great, let's rock 'n' roll!" (Almost a year later, Capital City Distributors noted the team-up under "Deal of the Year" in their annual industry awards, saying, "Putting together the licensing deal for this combination was no small feat," an assumption we somehow neglected to correct.)

A deal for a "guaranteed seller" such as Aliens Vs. Predator could have been seen merely as a license to print money (and, in fact, the series was successful beyond our wildest expectations), but Dark Horse has always believed that an interesting story is the only possible starting point for any project.

One of the first concepts we came up with was that of the Predators seeding life-bearing worlds with Alien eggs in order to produce the quarry for their hunt. The Predators would carefully screen out those eggs holding larval Queens. A limited number of eggs would make for an exciting, but controlled hunt-a rite of passage for young predators. Slip an Alien Queen into the equation, and you had the makings for an even more exciting uncontrolled hunt.

We figured that the Predators might have an Alien Queen captive, forcing her to pump out eggs-her children-for slaughter. Having the captive Queen is instrumental in bypassing the Predators' safeguards and inserting one of her larval Queens into the eggs headed to the next hunting ground provided a nice twist.

But we knew there would have to be more to the story than just Aliens and Predators beating the crap out of each other. To make the series entertaining as well as successful, there would have to be some kind of emotional hook-a character, or characters, with whom readers could identify. For obvious reasons, a lead Alien character was out, and it was felt that making the lead character a Predator would not only be difficult, but would too greatly demystify the Predators. That left finding a way to introduce humans into the mix.

Enter the ranchers and support people at the tiny outpost of Prosperity Wells. They were just trying to eke out a living raising herd animals for hungry customers back on Earth. they had no idea that the two most dangerous species in the galaxy were about to land in their backyards. With that, the stage was set, and we were off and running..."





_____
[This message was edited Mon Jan 19 6:42:09 PST 2004 by JediMaster]