Alien Vs. Predator

[MacGuffin]

"Alien vs. Predator" Now in Pre-Production, Filming Set for October
Source: FilmJerk

More than 18 months ago, 20th Century Fox announced that Paul W.S. Anderson (writer/director of the "Resident Evil" film adaptation) had been chosen to spearhead a cinematic match-up between two cult characters in film history with "Alien vs. Predator." It's a battle long-savored by moviegoers and likely to be a tentpole release.

But, since then, all has been quiet with the project— until now. The film, which follows up on the 1999 videogame featuring the same titular clash and the Dark Horse comic book series, has begun moving into high gear, with sources telling FilmJerk.com that principal photography is now scheduled to begin late October in Prague. These sources follow a scooper giving similar details today at Cinescape. But FilmJerk is the only source to get details on the lead characters as well— or as these characters might be better known, potential cannon fodder.

Of course, some have decried Anderson's selection for the project, based on the work he did on "Resident Evil." There are also those who view this as a thinly-veiled attempt to prop up two franchises that dropped significantly at the box office with subsequent entries (particularly "Alien"). Whatever the case may be, this looks to be a smart move by the studio to reinvigorate the two brands (the last installment of "The Predator" came out in 1990 and "Alien" last graced screens in 1997) and coax each franchise back to the forefront.

This new film will not involve any of the human characters from the films' previous efforts, instead using entirely new individuals. As reported by several news sources, the story looks to involve human scientists going on an expedition to Antarctica to lure Predator hunters, using Alien eggs as bait. Of course, these plans quickly goes awry and the humans find themselves in the crossfire between two warring alien species.

Among the characters are:

Alexia "Lex" Homer: In her late 20s, Lex is stunning, buff, courageous, and intelligent, as well as the heroine of this film. She is an environmental researcher hired by Weyland Industries to keep everyone on the expedition "alive," as the head of the company puts it. A tough cookie, with a good sense of humor, she has a history of guts and glory having been the youngest to climb Mount Everest without oxygen tanks. Lex is initially second in command to Max Stafford, but when all hell breaks loose, she must assume full leadership of the remaining crew. She is not only a survivor, but a true warrior as well.

Sebastian Wells: Wells is an American archeologist in his early 30s who is very passionate about his work. Described as "unshaven and rumpled, yet also handsome and charming," Sebastian joins the team and has an instant chemistry with Lex. His expertise, and fervid beliefs often has him butting heads with his boss, whom he feels has his priorities askew.

Verheiden: A tanned, muscular European, Verheiden is an Egyptologist who is just as much "at home with manual labor as with a text book." He also has a romantic history with Lex, which ended rather precariously. This is evident when they are reunited on Weyland's team, and Verheiden notices that Sebastian is his likely rival. The casting agents are looking for someone who speaks with a strong accent.

Charles Weyland: In his early 40s, Weyland is a driven billionaire industrialist with blue eyes and shock of dark black hair, giving him the air of a sportsman or movie star. This zealous, all-knowing patron of science has a secret beneath his virile bravado and cultured manner: He is dying of cancer. He is a man rapidly decaying, with his signature 9-iron golf club really serves as his cane and his cataracts disguised by blue contact lenses. Weyland has no intention of dying without first leaving a legacy for humankind. He finances the expedition, chooses its team members and insists on coming along— no matter what the consequence to his health.

Max Stafford: An "elegant, handsome man of Afro-Caribbean descent," he is well over 6 feet tall and speaks with a clipped, precise English accent. Max is Charles Weyland's right arm - a loyal spokesman and ex-soldier whose job is to assemble and lead the expedition team.

Quinn: He is muscular, arrogant and brutish, a leathery skinned Texan who is in charge of the expedition's drill team. Quinn must face the aliens alone, and ends up narrowly escaping death. According to the character notes, his second confrontation with the enemy doesn't go nearly as well, it seems.

Miller: A dedicated scientist who looks the part. He wears thick glasses, and his age is undeterminable. He's also a bit clumsy and is self-effacing and awkward around women - something Lex notices firsthand. A chemical engineer, Miller is an integral part of the expedition whose astute observations and knowledge of metallurgy help unlock the mystery behind Weyland's discovery.

Except for the part of Lex, casting agents are looking to fill out the above castmembers those who are a citizen of the European Union, and who hold a passport to one of these countries.

Not known at this time is how it affects a rumored fifth film in the "Alien" canon.

[Duck Sauce]

Excellent premise......





for a video game

[bonanzataz]

sounds genius. i really can't wait, and i'm not being sarcastic (but you guys should know that by now).

[oakmanc234]

Me too. I can't wait. I've been waiting for this for fuckin' ages.

[IHeartPTA]

i read on greg's preview on movies.yahoo.com that the story has changed a little bit.

"Premise: Set in the early 21st century (ie, now), this movie follows a team of drillers, scientists and archaeologists who travel to Antarctica to investigate ancient pyramid ruins buried deep beneath the ice which predate those in Egypt and Mexico, suggesting they were once the home of a great empire that ruled over the Earth first. When they finally reach one of the pyramids, however, they discover human skeletons and fossilized remains of alien creatures that appear to hug faces and burst out of chests (wink wink), along with evidence that such aliens may still be alive somewhere in the ruins. The danger below them is frightening, but what the scientists also don't know is that something as dangerous lurks above them, happy to have had someone open up the Aliens uncovered: Predators. " -Greg Schmitz

The story in an early version of the script was similar to that of the computer game, and went like this:

"...following scientists in the far future on a distant planet who experiment with Alien eggs in an effort to attract Predators to come there as a hunting ground, but that whole storyline has now been scrapped."

[MacGuffin]

Lance Henriksen Aboard Alien vs. Predator
Source: Variety

Veteran actor Lance Henriksen has become the first actor cast in Alien vs. Predator, Fox's upcoming matchup between two cult characters. Henriksen played Bishop in the previous "Alien" films.

Henriksen will portray a billionaire industrialist who finances an expedition to the Antarctic to uncover an ancient pyramid and insists on joining the scientists on the journey. When they arrive, they discover two alien races engaged in the ultimate battle.

Paul W.S. Anderson is helming the film written by Shane Salerno and Anderson. Shooting begins late October in Prague.

[ElPandaRoyal]

but Paul W. S. Anderson? Never been a fan and it's possible he can fuck this movie up. Yeah, people say he's good in the kind of movies he does, but when I saw Resident Evil I got really disappointed.

[MacGuffin]

Alien vs. Predator Story Details!!
Source: Superhero Hype!

A source for Superhero Hype! sent this tidbit about the upcoming Alien vs. Predator film. Be warned there are spoilers!

This past weekend I attended the LA Comic Book Convention. There was a short video presentation on the upcoming Alien vs. Predator, the presentation included a 10-minute short with the director (Paul Anderson) where he were showed storyboards, and tons of production illustrations from the film. The film we were told starts shooting in Prague next week.

Anderson described some of the artwork and hinted at the plot of the film. He told us the film opens 5000 years ago at an Aztec temple... we are told the temples throughout the world were created for the purpose of welcoming "aliens" to earth... and a team of teenaged Predators are at the temple for a "becoming a man" ritual, where if they survive a host of deadly Aliens they will become men, well PREDATORS...

Well everything goes wrong and the three Predators face literally an army of thousands of aliens at the temple and faced with certain death they activate their self-destructs, completely destroying the aliens, the temple and any of the local inhabitants. Guess know we know now what happened to the Aztecs!

Fast forward to the present day as a band of scientists in the Arctic find a very similar temple and are soon caught in the middle of another "ritual" with five young Predators and a bunch of nasty Aliens.

Anderson tells us there is plenty of knock down action, alien & predator deaths to keep everyone happy. He mentioned that he is the biggest Alien & Predator freak in the world, that he's seen them more than anyone and knows everything there is to know about the films. From what we saw (a video montage of clips from all the predator & alien films) this looks to be the best fan favorite team up since Freddy vs. Jason...

[modage]

this looks to be the best fan favorite team up since Freddy vs. Jason...

has there been another team-up SINCE freddy vs jason 2 months ago?

[MacGuffin]

this looks to be the best fan favorite team up since Freddy vs. Jason...

has there been another team-up SINCE freddy vs jason 2 months ago?

How could you forget the Hackman/Hoffman team up in "Runaway Jury"?

[Banky]

nice av themodernage

[modage]

Alien vs. Predator: This past weekend's "Ghetto Con", better known as the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention, ran a 5-minute pre-production presentation on Fox's upcoming flick and 'Agent G' has the details: "They mentioned that 'not a frame of film has been shot yet', but shooting starts next week in Prague. They also mentioned that this tape played at their con last month, so it's possible that you know about this presentation already, but I hadn't heard much about it so far, so I figured no one would mind if I provided a quick recap of what was shown. The whole piece was narrated by director Paul WS Anderson ("Resident Evil").
 As far as the story, we are told that in the past, the Predators used the the Aliens for hunting purposes, as a right of passage for the young Predator to become men (er, for lack of a better term). We see one such battle play out in an Aztec temple. Supposedly, the Predators were seen as Gods to the Aztec people (some shades of 'Stargate', it would seem), who built them their temples for worshipping and battle purposes. They showed some storyboards of one Predator defeating an Alien, holding its severed head in victory, as well as some boards where three Predator are overrun by thousands of Aliens, and upon realizing that they have clearly lost the battle, they activate their self-destruct. This is why so many ancient civilizations have been wiped out; Predator hunting failures.
 Flash forward to present day, where a group of scientists have found one of the ancient Predator temples under an Antarctic icecap. The story revolves around 5 "teenage" Predators who are set to undergo their right of passage with the Aliens at this newly discovered temple, with the humans caught in the middle. There was also some brief discussion about the Predators testing out their new weapons technology. The video showed one example, a modified shuriken throwing star (apparently this weapon is 'in' again after 'Underworld'), which starts as a small handle with a trigger and expands into 6 elongated razor blades. This was actually pretty cool looking. Anyways, that pretty much rounded out the presentation. They quickly flashed some shots edited together from the two respective franchises, and rounded it out with a tagline (which may or may not be the final one), "Whoever wins...we lose." All in all, hard to tell too much about the final product from the small amount shown".

[MacGuffin]

The first artwork for the long awaited sci-fi teamup has finally hit online and here's an exclusive first look at both the logo and what looks to be hint of some sort of one-sheet art. In related news, it looks like Ewen Bremner has joined the cast whilst the budget is currently slated for a relatively low cost $60 million.

[edison]

I pray this doesnt get fucked up, please dont fuck this up Anderson.

[modage]

the image of the alien and predator is apparently an add for a video game and has nothing to do with the film it was found out later today.

see here. http://www.eagames.com/official/avp_extinction/wallpapers.jsp