This is a process which could prevent burial for the Alien/Predator franchise.
Directors: The first two films of the Alien saga were instant classics while the first Predator film was also an instant classic. The reason why is because of the directors skill, not in experience but the way they direct it. McTiernan, Cameron and Scott weren't well-known directors but their previous films were great and one reason why is because how they directed it. McTiernan had not had any experience with sci-fi since Predator was his second film. His previous film, NOMADS wasn't successful but at least he learnt from his mistakes, Scott had finished The Duelists which was really well received by critics and then he assigned for Alien, he had no experience with sci-fi but his direction was superb same as Cameron, he recently finished The Terminator and while filming this, he began to write the sequel, which was entitled Alien 2. Fincher did well for his first film, not bad like Anderson. Directors don't need experience with genres just their direction. Anderson's direction with AVP was not bad in fact; he had made previous films that were considered entertaining by fans, not by critics though. The appalling part of the whole Alien/Predator films was the Strause Brothers; they are special effect guys and had no direction skill what so ever and this made the Alien/Predator films be placed on hiatus.
Actors: Every single actor in the Alien/Predator series were very well known even the AVPR cast. Actors don't need to have experience with the genre but their acting is the main idea like being a director, you need to know how to direct. Cast unknowns but make sure that they have a good experience with acting. Like Sigourney Weaver, for example, she was an unknown; she had been in plays and some previous Woody Allen films. She had no experience with science-fiction or horror but her acting was superb. The actors are crucial to the films because they give the performances and the performances need to be good. Always hire actors that have experience with acting.
Story: Also, another crucial step is the storyline. Most films build up to a spectacular climax but sometimes, it builds and then loses it. Alien did very well, it builds and builds then a big bang occurs at the climax. Aliens did the same. Alien 3 followed it but it lost it half way. Predator followed it and did it very well. However, Predator 2, Alien Resurrection and AVPR were a big huge clunk of work with no thought... nothing, just filmed it and threw it on screen. AVP, however followed it fairly well but the characterization and violence was very much toned down which did place the film in a negative direction. Story is the very dangerous and important part of any film and no one or thing can't break it. The cast and the director need to protect it, and if they aren't careful, the story will lose its credibility.
Dialogue: All the dialogue from the Alien and Predator films were fantastic and kept the whole film alive, except for the AVP films, they were atrocious and it made the films sound like an old 50's cheesy B-grade film. Dialogue is important to the film like the characterization and the plot, it helps the character build to the climax or to some place else. If the dialogue is as cheesy as the AVP films, you have no characters and or storyline which make the film look utter rubbish. Dialogue is also dangerous and is also very crucial to the film, the dialogue needs expression to the words so it sounds real and it is in a real situation like Alien and Aliens and even Predator.
Characterization: This is the most difficult step in the whole process to make a film especially in the writing stage as well as the actor's performance to perform that character. The actor's expressions verbally and physically all point to the character building which are very important. If an actor stands there with no expression for their actions and language, the film is going to fall and going to become a critical failure. Aliens but especially Alien showed expert characterization, Sigourney Weaver's performance as Ripley had her as a normal crew-member and her character began to show as the film progresses (character building), then it had her character running out the ship for 20 odd minutes, showing us that she is indeed strong like the rest of them.
Lighting: Lighting is important because it shows us what the hell is happening on screen. Alien had lighting, but not bright, Scott gave the film a very grim look so he toned down the lighting just a little so we could still see what was going on. Aliens did the same, especially the infested Alien walls in the colony; the lighting was nearly toned down fully but the head-lights the marines were wearing gave us a path of light of what they were looking at. At one point, Cameron faced problems with the lighting guy and fired him because of his negligence of not following his instructions. Alien 3 was at a normal light temperature and this was normal and same with Alien: Resurrection and AVP but AVPR's lighting was very appalling, I couldn't see a thing and I had to adjust my brightness on my TV so I could see what the hell was going on.
Running Time: the time isn't so important but I suggest that you make the film nearly 2 hours not 3 because audiences don't want to spend hours in the cinemas watching two aliens fight, it would be just boring. 2 hours, I would say should be the maximum for an Alien/Predator film. It has 45 minutes to show us the problem, the settings, the characters personalities etc; the other 75 odd minutes can have the characters facing the problem at or in the setting as well as having the characters personalities changing.
Publicity: The publicity surrounding the Alien/Predator series have been good. They didn't reveal much and gave us sneak-peeks to the films. The Alien Saga has faced a few conventions, trailers and TV spots and the same with the Predator series. AVP followed one teaser and one theatrical with a few TV spots which were great and gave some good campaign to the film but AVPR which I am criticizing a lot is that it had too much publicity, the video clips revealed a lot and this is one cause that wrecked the box-office takings. The film released two trailers, one red band and one green band and a few TV spots but the main problem is the video clips, they should release them close to the film's commencement to the cinemas.
Special effects: The special effects in all of the Alien/Predator films were quite good. Although, Alien was released two years after STAR WARS, the effects were great even back in the 70s; Aliens which took place 7 years later had much improved the special effects earning the team an Academy Award; Alien 3 effects looked decent but, the running of the new hybrid looked weird and it didn't look real. Alien: Resurrection used a normal use of special effects; it much took from the first film. Although some Aliens looked fake, the effects were still decent to make them look real. Alien vs. Predator effects were also decent, some scenes looked fake but most of the effects were great. AVPR's effects looked good, the Aliens looked really fake, though, especially when they ran and jumped off objects. The puppets used for the chestbursters looked absolutely terrible; they looked like stuffed puppets with no movement.
Violence and Gore: Fans look for excitement, violence, sex, gore and coarse language while critics seek differently for acting, directing, lighting, plot, suspense and violence etc; Critics are not really important, it is the fans, they pay to see a film so it is really their judgment, while critics go to any particular movie and judge them how the actors act, the directors direction and many other film elements. Alien did not contain much blood; it was considered a science-fiction horror thriller. Not much violence is shown but there are a lot of good scares. Aliens moved into a different direction, it was then considered a science-fiction action film that contained a lot of violence but not a lot of gore. Alien 3 had a lot amount of violence which was considered greatly by fans but not by critics. Alien: Resurrection had too much violence which was too violent to discuss, there was a lot of gore which also got good reviews from fans but not from critics. Alien vs. Predator had, really no violence at all which angered fans a lot as well as critics for their cardboard performances and acting. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem went back to Alien 3 where it had a lot of violence once more, this was considered a real embarrassment to the Alien/Predator series, by the lot of fans which were disappointed by the location, plot, story, dialogue, lighting, directing and characterization. Violence and gore need to be taken really carefully, most fans want fighting and frights that will keep them entertained. Have violence in the film with gore but not a lot and it may end up really well. Most fans want suspense and violence with a touch of gore.
Music: Brian Tyler's performance was absolutely astonishing which gave AVPR a mix of Predator and Alien music but it may be better for him to write his own music and this may help him to becoming a good musician. Any musician would be great, as long as they can perform sci-fi, horror and suspense music that will be fine. Music helps the film build up to the climax; some characters have their own theme even. Music is important, its like a character but with tune.
Distributors: Twentieth Century Fox is a great movie company that makes some really good films but sometimes they can be slack and they just usually green-light films even without reading the script. Fox needs to do what they used to do, make the decisions and green-light particular movies they find interesting.
This is a simple process which could save both franchises from death, this is only one way and there are many other ways out there.
