AvP2
Cast | | |
Reiko Aylesworth Shareeka Epps Gina Holden David Hornsby Johnny Lewis John Ortiz Steven Pasquale Ariel Gade David Paetkau Juan Riedinger Rainbow Francks Sam Trammell Kristen Hager Meshach Peters Ty Olsson Ryan Robbins | - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | Kelly O'Brien Kendra Carrie Adams Drew Ricky Howard Sheriff Morales Dallas Howard Molly O'Brien Dale Post Scotty Earl Tim O'Brien Jesse Curtis Nathan Post Trucker |
Storyline
The storyline of AvP2 still hasn't been officially released - however, it's clear that the film takes place in a small town where aliens and predators cause mayhem. The film is also set in present time - most likely straight after the first film.
Name
Fox haven't officially announced the title of AvP2 yet but it was first rumoured to be AvP: The Survival of the Fittest. Combined with the fact Fox have registered that domain name and in the AICN script review, there's a scene where a teacher writes the name on a blackboard. It could also be AvP2: Alien vs Predator or Alien vs Predator: AvP2. Here's a fan-made logo similar to the director's version when they made their pitch to direct AvP2.
Photoshop render of a possible AvP2 logo. Credit to Hudson.
Release Date
AvP2 was originally set for an August 2007 release, however it has since been pushed back to December 2007. It's apparently still to be decided. Currently, the US release is December 25, 2007 and the UK release is January 4, 2008 according to IMDB. I personally think they'll bring the release forward because premiering a horror film on Christmas Day is pretty much commercial suicide.
Rating
Fox chairman Tom Rothman confirmed in September 2006 that AvP2 will be rated R; it will be very hardcore. Both of the directors have also stated that AvP2 will be R rated many times over the last few months.
Directors
Fox hired two new directors for AvP2 - Greg and Colin Strause. They are a directing duo and special effects artists. In 1995, they moved from Chicago to Los Angeles and started working on the special effects for The X-Files. Then then moved onto bigger films such as The Nutty Professor, Volcano, and Titanic. They then broke into the music video and commercial arena, handling the special effects for artists such as U2, Britney Spears, and Aerosmith. Greg and Colin's visual effects company Hydraulx has worked on big films like X-Men: The Last Stand, Fantastic Four, Terminator 3, and The Day After Tomorrow. The Brothers have recently directed ads for Coca Cola as well as many others. In 2004, they worked with artist Christian Jankowski on a short film called 16mm Mystery. In June 2006, they were chosen to direct AvP2.
AICN Script Review
For the people that don't know, AICN reviewed an early draft of the script in April 2006. The script was written by Shane Salerno and dated December 2005. AICN heavily criticised the script. After the review had been published, Fox ordered AICN to take down the review to which they complied. It was set in Texas but had the same premise. Aliens and Predators come to a small town. It's not known how much the shooting script has changed since this script review. The location has obviously changed since they're shooting in Canada. The directors have confirmed there will be no fight-scene in K-Mart, however I suspect a lot of material still remains such as characters and other scenes. Apparently, the script has been re-written 2-3 times since then.
Aliens
- Alien Queen - It's unknown whether the Queen will be in AvP2 or not. In our interview with puppeteer Morris Chapdelaine, he said he didn't get to work on the Queen but didn't specifically say it wasn't in AvP2 either.
- Alien Hybrids - There may possibly be other hybrid aliens in AvP2 based on what Morris Chapdelaine said in our interview. He told us that he was able to work on more creatures (other than Facehuggers, Chestbursters, Aliens etc) and that there was a large variety of creature work in the film.
- Predalien - A Predalien hasn't been officially confirmed but it's obvious it will be in AvP2. Morris Chapdelaine told us he worked on a hydraulic puppet. He found the size and life-like qualities of it incredible and it took 7-8 people to bring it to life. He said it was also very new to the franchise. At a convention earlier this year, Ian Whyte and Tom Woodruff were asked directly if there will be a Predalien but they weren't allowed to answer the question. At a Fangoria convention (19-May-07), Tom Woodruff mentioned a new monster makes its way into the hospital - he was possibly referring to the Predalien.
Predator
- Experienced Predator - Ian Whyte and the directors have said that this will be an experienced, wiser and older Predator.
- Predator Suit - Ian Whyte told us that the Predator suit is very athletic in appearance and not as bulky as the ones in AvP. Apart from little design stylisations to make the character unique, the new costume is entirely reminiscent of the original.
- One Predator - It's already been established that there will be only one Predator in AvP2. At least for the main part of the film.
Other Interesting Notes
- Underwater Scene - A couple of underwater camera operators worked on AvP2. There will definitely be an underwater sequence that involves "mayhem, carnage and people dying."
- Sewers - A picture from the ADI Effects Book showed a Predator in the sewer.
- Hospital Scene - I received some information about an hospital scene in AvP2. Many people start coming into the hospital who are hurt or have been killed while the Alien(s) and Predator were doing battle somewhere else in town. In another scene, the Alien(s) and Predator find themselves on the parking lot in front of the hospital and cause a lot more damage. Vehicles, Ambulances are destroyed and many more people are hurt. A few armoured vehicles appear but they came too late and the creatures have disappeared.
- Rooftop Battle - According to Morris Chapdelaine, there will be an action sequence on a rooftop with lots of creatures. They worked on it for over two weeks. He said it was his favourite scene because of the sheer number of creatures involved and also because of the tense nature of the sequence and the choreography of the fighting. There will be stuff we've never seen before - weapons and gadgets and hand to hand combat.
Director Comments
The Strause Brothers frequently visit the AvP2 Boards on IMDB and AvPGalaxy to post things. Here's a few interesting points they've touched on.
- Alien
- Colour - The Aliens are blackish-silver.
- CGI Aliens - There will be a few fully CGI aliens but a lot of the time it will be Tom Woodruff in a suit with a CGI tail.
- Daylight - We won't be seeing any aliens in the daylight.
- Predator
- Predator Weapons/Equipment - The Predator will get some new weapons/equipment. He will most likely have acid proof armour/weapons. The Predator wristblades will be like the original and not as long as they were in AvP. The Predator's thermal vision will definitely be blue and not orange like in AvP. The Predator will also have some new vision modes.
- Predator Designs - The Predator's face was re-designed completely and is made out of silicon as opposed to foam to make the Predator more realistic. It's also fully animatronic.
- Predator Ship - The Strause Brothers like the Predator 2-style ship.
- Cloaking - The Predator can't cloak in the rain but there will be plenty of times where he will cloak.
- Storyboards - Talented comic-book artists were hired to help the directors with their storyboards. They also did CGI pre-vis for the big sequences and pre-edited a huge portion of the film before they started filming.
- Music - The score will be orchestral.
- Sound Effects - Similar Alien/Predator sound effects to the originals.
- AvP3 - The Strause Brothers did a pitch for AvP2 that was set in space. They are saving this idea for the future.
- Deaths - There will be some "pretty nasty" deaths in AvP2.
- Length - Colin Strause said that the length of AvP2 will be around the same length of Predator which was 100-108 minutes.
- No Matrix Shots - There will be no matrix-style shots in AvP2 a la AvP.
- Cinematographer - Daniel Pearl was at the top of the director's lists. They are big fans of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre films which Daniel Pearl worked on.
- Lighting - The rule is to backlight everything which makes it easy to hide the creatures in the background. Every shot has either rain, fog, steam, haze, etc to give footage the depth.
- Continuity - The directors are aware of continuity concerns. They respect canon and won't break anything that happens in the Alien Timeline.
Articles
Links
AvPGalaxy Interview #1 - With Amalgamated Dynamics.
AvPGalaxy Interview #2 - With puppeteer Morris Chapdelaine.
AvPGalaxy Interview #3 - With actor Ian Whyte.
AvPGalaxy Interview #4 - With second unit director Jeff Habberstad.