Lurker | 15 Jul 2004 06:33 am Hey Los Angeles Artist, assuming you work/worked for ADI, here's a few Q's 1) Do all the Pred's have the same inner jaw structure as seen in the previous Fangoria mag (top gums filled with teeth)? 2) Did one guy (Ian Whyte) play all the preds? 3) Is ADI a shoe-in for AVP2? 4) Could you tell just from working on your bit on the film how the end product will end up? ie. are we gonna get an Aliens, or are we gonna get Congo? Hey Lurker and Bringer of Death, I'll try to answer your questions. First thing: I did NOT go to Prague for the filming. Only Tom, Alec (who also make cameos as scientists) and 5 other KEY people went to set (as far as I know). Two: Just because I or any other artist that worked at ADI was in the shop( on Plummer and Winnetka Streets in Chatsworth near the Northridge Mall ) doesn't mean that we are priviliged to be told or know any or everything that goes on there. It's work, although quite rewarding not always priviliged. Kind of like "A need to know basis and we didn't need to know much." Not many people even got to read the script. Third: There is an artbook being published by ADI called AVP: The Creature Effects of ADI. It comes out around the same time as the film. It will answer MANY of your questions. The cover is a more rendered version of the US release white poster. The Predator dreads have been filled in and the Alien was retouched further. Fourth: The Alien IS the IDENTICAL Alien from AR. Same molds with modified hands, feet, tail tip and paint job. They tried sculpting the protruding spine on the back like the original but the head kept hitting it and restricted movement. Don't believe me? You guys are the best judges. You'll see when more pictures are made available. Fifth: Stan Winston's UNDER BID the project! ADI was awarded the film because : (GOSSIP) Tom or Alec was good friends with one of the producers. So my GUESS is that they ARE a shoe in for AVP 2 unless they piss someone off or the producers change. Jaw Structure: Only ONE new predator head was sculpted for this show while I worked there. The elder Predators have appliances added to that ONE head. Scars, wrinkles, tusks. Things are changed and modified ON SET based on the needs during the filming process. For example: The queen head was borrowed from Bob Burns, clay added to that for the new design, cast, painted and then sent to the set in pristine condition. During filming as far as I know, the idea was to cut away at it to take it through the phases that were designed for her scarring. Ian Whyte: When he first came in to the studio for a fitting he almost passed out from the weight and heat of the costume. HE was the only one fitted properly for the suit. Everything else was modified on set to the other actors and stunt men. The skin was sculpted to his body cast BUT the body cast was repositioned to sculpt on because the guys in Prague that did the life cast didn't pose him in the best position for suit work. So from what I was told there was A LOT of duct tape and Zip Ties holding the Predators armor together. It was flying all over. Hence a one piece sculpt would have been IDEAL. ALIENS or CONGO? To be really honest I DON'T KNOW. I know a few things though.I liked the trailer. It's exciting to see your work on the internet and on screen! Most everyone that worked on the practical effects is a fan of BOTH franchises. They did their best to make the sculptures, models, weapons and armor, the helmets and paint jobs, the mechanical and the foam running the best they could with the budget and TIME to do it. You'd be surprised to hear how many of us were upset that they DIDN'T sculpt a NEW Alien. Or that they sculpted the Predator skin separate from the armor. (The original Predator was almost all one piece of foam. This explains the BULKY Predators. Early on we were told that there were scenes where the Predators did not have their armor on. So instead of sculpting TWO separate Predators ie. One with armor and one without it was decided to save on money and sculpt the armor separately. The painters were only given ONE day to paint the ENTIRE Predator skin! Can you believe that. But one thing for sure is that the film LOOKS like it COULD be pretty cool. I'm not much of a Paul W.S. Anderson fan, but I am an ALIEN and PREDATOR fan and I'm sure it will be fun. Remember this though, this is my opinion and you can take from my comments whatever you like. Some is from gossip some info from my very own eyes and ears. I know what I saw and most of what I saw was really cool in the shop. It does look a hell of a lot better with the lighting, DP and Cinematographers touches. It's all up to what you WANT to believe. Paul Anderson may have done a great job. We won't know until the 13th of August. But if you don't go in the movie expecting the comic books or ALIEN or ALIENS or PREDATOR you will probably like it more than if you go into it wishing it to be a certain film that it's not. I sent a jpeg of the embroidered logo on our crew shirt (ADI AVP) with the Alien head hovering over the Predator to the Submit News address of AVP Galaxy so that you could verify that I wasn't bull shitting you.
