A contest between two cult film characters, the film follows up on the 1999 videogame and the Dark Horse comic book series. The story looks set to involve scientists going on an expedition to Antartica to lure Predator hunters using Alien eggs as bait. Of course their plans go awry and the humans find themselves in the violent crossfire of the two warring species. Principle photography is being shot in Prague late Oct 2003.
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Written and directed by Paul Anderson (Resident Evil, Event Horizon, Necropolis etc), and co-written by Shane Salerno (Ghost Rider, UC:Undercover), and produced by Walter Hill - an old friend of Lance's from the likes of Tales from the Crypt, Johnny Handsome and Aliens, Aliens 3. The film will be distributed by 20th Century Fox with a release date of Aug 6 2004. However, with Lance as the only confirmed cast member (as of 19/10/2003) much of the details of the film are rumours at the moment:
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RUMOURS ABOUT LANCE HENRIKSEN'S ROLE
Henriksen is playing billionaire industrialist Charles Weyland, the man who assembles the team to investigate the strange subterranean structure discovered in the frozen wastes of Antarctica. Our own sources have told us that Weyland is indeed one of the founders of the Weyland-Yutani conglomerate, the company that owned the Nostromo seen in ALIEN, the colony on LV-426 in ALIENS and the prison facility from ALIEN 3. It's likely that the seeds of the Weyland-Yutani corporation, as well as their interest in the Alien lifeform, will be laid in Anderson's film.
compliments of Cinescape.com
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RUMOURS ABOUT THE PLOT
Update from IMDB AvP message board 22/10/03
The Background Story
Here's the idea in a nutshell: Predators have been using our planet for
thousands of years as a training ground for their hunter-warriors. Aztec temples
were the focii of this training, and Aliens were used as prey. The Aztec people
saw the Predators as gods, and built many of their monuments for these hunters.
The movie's choice of Aztecs seems strange, since their civilization only dates
back a century before Columbus. If the producers wanted something old, why not
the Olmecs, whose ancient civilization was the progenitor of later Meso-American
empires? I guess Aztecs are just cooler.
At any rate, the Aztec Predators were wiped out by an out-of-control Alien
infestation, and that was the end of that. But they also had an older, more
secret temple buried under the icecap of Antarctica, where the training
continued. Fast-forward to the present day.
The Main Plot
Charles Weyland, the billionaire industrialist, has discovered the Antarctic
temple using thermal imaging satellites. Thinking that this could be the site of
mankind's Master Culture, he assembles a crack team, Jurassic Park-style, to go
take a look. What they find, instead of a manmade temple, is a Predator temple
where five young hunters are about to conduct their first Alien hunt. The
Predator weapon of choice is a six-bladed shuriken throwing star, while the
Aliens use their trademark infest-and-impale method of fighting. The humans, of
course, get caught in the middle of it. Movie tagline: "Whoever wins, we lose."
The Characters
Alexia "Lex" Homer – Lex is the star of this film, a kind of Lara Croft
character. She's an environmental scientist and a mountain climber, who joins
the expedition after Weyland makes her an offer she can't refuse.
Charles Weyland – A billionaire industrialist in his forties, Weyland is
secretly dying of cancer. He's a patron of scientific research, and hopes to
make a lasting contribution before his death, but is that all he's got in mind?
Weyland's signature prop is a 9-iron that he carries at all times. Weyland is
played by Lance Henriksen, the same actor who played the android "Bishop" in
Alien and Alien 3. Perhaps there is a geneological connection between Weyland
and the Alien-era man that Bishop is modelled on.
Sebastian Wells – An American archaeologist and Aztec specialist in his
thirties, Wells' idealism often clashes with his boss's priorities. A charmer,
Wells starts out as a romantic interest for Lex before getting infected with a
"chest-burster" and immobilized in an Alien coccoon.
Miller – Miller is the stereotypical nerdy scientist with thick glasses. His
expertise as a chemical engineer and his knowledge of metallurgy help Weyland's
team make some key discoveries. Miller doesn't survive long enough to appreciate
these findings, unfortunately.
Verheiden – Verheiden is the team's Egyptologist, brought along just in case the
temple has any connection to the Nile civilization. He makes a disturbing
discovery in the ancient complex – skeletons with broken ribcages and fossilized
Alien face-huggers. Verheiden has had a romantic encounter with Lex in the past,
and he treats fellow archaeologist Sebastian Wells as a rival on the expedition.
Max Stafford – Stafford is an ex-soldier, Weyland's right-hand man. He assembles
and leads Weyland's team of explorers.
Quinn – Quinn is a tough, arrogant Texan in charge of the drill team included in
the expedition. Friction between his drilling team and the scientists adds to
the expedition's difficulties. Quinn has to face down an Alien twice: the first
time, he escapes with his life; the second time, he isn't so lucky.
Vincenzo – Vincenzo, a minor character, appears to be a mercenary soldier
assisting the expedition
The group's numerous other members include several roughneck drillers under
Quinn's command. Names that appear briefly in the script include Bass, Scar,
Brown, Stone, and Peters. Many of these characters die early in the film.
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 technology. 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 dicussion 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..."
Compliments of :
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/index.php?Show=729&Template=newsfull
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RUMOURS ABOUT THE PREDATOR AND THE ALIEN
A must remain anonymous source sent this in, validity is unsure though timing wise it sounds about right. "Last Thurs (9/11), there was a promo shoot for the teaser trailer or teaser poster(s) for the new Aliens vs. Predator movie. Now, I don't know when it will be released but what I saw was totally cool. Here's what I saw: A caucasian male, 6"2, in complete Predator suit/make-up getting ready for some still shots. When I saw him, he wasn't wearing the helmet but the costume pretty much was reminiscent of the last two Predator films. The only difference was that the mask (or helmet) looked more metallic than I remember it being (sorry to say it, but, it reminded me of the metallic finish on the Jason mask in Jason X, when he is turned into the SUPER JASON! BUT cooler). Anyway, the suit was only air-brushed from the waist down, which leads me to believe that the shoot was for a teaser poster. But otherwise, the tendrils of "hair" on the predator were AMAZING. I wasn't ballsy enough to see up close but the crew was shooting the Predator first in "attack" position, perfect for a sneak peak poster. Once all photography/ filming(?) was complete, the crew dumped a bucket full of see-through green slime/goo on him and took more pictures. This was either meant to be predator blood, or alien blood--couldn't tell, too far away. Later in the day, it was the aliens turn. What I CAN tell you (about this specific Alien shoot) is that it was NOT the Queen Alien; rather a more human-like alien who walked on two feet. It looked amazing because he was walking like PUMPKINHEAD (remember that one?) and he too--a middle aged geeky caucasian dude)--was not wearing his helmet. (The alien head itself is very faithful to the drone aliens in the "Alien" videogames and the ones in Alien 3, with the elongated head going back, behind the body, round in shape; NOT the flared out helmet of the Queen. I found it odd though that the alien had NO tail. It made me wonder if they would add it later in post, or if it was part of the story, where it gets cut off. Here too, pictures of it were taken in "attack" position, kneeling down w/head intact. This was by far the most exciting part of the day, although the Predator was "gargantuan" in size compared to the Alien"
THANKS TO SANTONEX on the AvP bulletin board
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RUMOURS ABOUT THE CHARACTERS
COMPLIMENTS OF http://www.filmjerk.com/nuke/article531.html
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 (played by Lance Henriksen): 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. ***********************************************************************************