AvP Set Reports Reviewed

Started by Darkness, Feb 25, 2004, 01:35:43 PM

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AvP Set Reports Reviewed (Read 2,745 times)

Darkness

Darkness

Over the last couple of days, I’ve been writing an article on all the Alien vs Predator set reports with reviews of all eight reports. These include IGN, JoBlo’s Movie Emporium, CHUD, ComingSoon, Sci-Fi London, Lance Henriksen Magic, Fabien’s & SuicideSquad’s set reports. If anybody missed the set reports at the end of December and in January/February, now’s your chance to catch up on them. View them on the next page.

IGN FilmForce

17th December 2003: IGN FilmForce recently went to Prague to visit the set of Alien vs Predator    the movie and has published Part 1 featuring an interview with none other than the Alien vs Predator movie    director, Paul Anderson and Part 2 features John Bruno on the special effects.
Discussed Spoilers: AvP in the Alien / Predator timeline; Why    Alien / Predator worked so well; CGI effects in the film; Predator vision;  Upcoming trailer; CG weaponry; Final AvP sequence.

“One of the      things that make Alien and Aliens and the first Predator movie work so well      is that fact that the filmmakers deliberately held back the creatures for as      long as possible. Whether intentionally or not, that’s what they did and      that’s why I think those movies work so well. You don’t see a Predator until      58 minutes into the first movie. You get a hint of Predator-vision but you      don’t see one until about an hour into the film. The same with Alien. You      don’t see the face hugger come out of the egg until 45 minutes into the      film. In the Director’s Cut of Aliens, you don’t have that big battle until      an hour and 10 minutes into the film. I think those movies benefited from    the fact that they just made the audience wait a little bit.”

My Score: 5/5
The interview with John Bruno is what really puts IGN’s set report in the    spotlight. He discusses some fantastic scenes and special effects what are going    to be included in the film and the Paul Anderson interview shows that the    director is more than 100% behind this film. This is must-see set report for any  Alien vs Predator fan. Go read it now if you haven’t.

JoBlo’s Movie Emporium

18th December 2003:  JoBlo’s Movie Emporium have published a long and interesting article of their trip to Prague to go    behind-the-scenes on the Alien vs Predator movie. Part 1 features information    on the plot, cast, and detailed info on two of the scenes they witnessed. Part 2 features an    interview with Paul Anderson, and Part 3 features an    interview with four of the cast members.
Discussed Spoilers: The plot; The characters; Locations in AvP –    Antarctica, Pyramid, Predator Spaceship; Creature design; Weaponry; More    Practical Effects; Inside the pyramid chambers; Lance Henriksen; Upcoming    Predator video game; The online featurette; Film certificate; Running time; More  on character profiles;

“During our      two-day stay we were privy to seeing them shoot a couple of scenes from the      film. They've built all the inner chambers of the pyramid in a large studio.      Again, I'll have to describe them as best I can since taking pictures was      strictly forbidden. Or did I mention that already? The first scene gave us      an opportunity to see a nice kill by the main predator himself. Picture him      atop the upper walls of the Fight Chamber whipping one of his ceremonial      spears at one of the security team members (no big secret here, you knew      some of these guys were gonna die). I was most impressed by the sheer size      of the predator MOFO. He's truly a magnificent figure to watch. So, anyway,      the poor guy takes it in the chest as a last few desperate shots are fired      at the predator...in vain. The whole shot will probably take 5-10 seconds of      screen time. Still, it was pretty nifty to see the legendary killer in      action.”

My Score: 4/5
JoBlo’s Movie Emporium is another website that dives deeper into the plot and    characters. The site extends upon the IGN Paul Anderson interview and the AvP    director gives us an interesting insight into the movie. Moreover, he lets slip    about the upcoming Predator game for PS2 and X-Box and hints at the film’s    certificate and running time. Part 3 of the set report doesn’t really go into  too much detail about the film and instead concentrates on the four actors.

CHUD

21st December 2003: Cinematic Happenings Under    Development have published three interviews with cast and crew of the Alien    vs Predator movie. They’ve been to the set of Alien vs Predator and interviewed    director Paul Anderson, Lance Henriksen, Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff. Part 1 features Paul Anderson, Part      2 features Lance Henriksen and Part        3 features Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff.
Discussed Spoilers: Paul Anderson on AvP (same as IGN interview); Lance    Henriksen on AvP – connection to Alien films, Bishop in Alien 3; Predator  weaponry; Alien / Predator suits; Animatronics; CGI in Alien Resurrection;

Question: “What about action?      Is there a healthy amount of Alien / Predator fighting?”
Anderson: “Yes there is! It's not from minute 1 to minute 120, because I      think that would be a disappointment in itself really. I'm a huge fan of      both franchises, but I think everyone would agree there are movies that work      better than others within the franchises. One of the things that makes Alien      and Aliens and the first Predator work so well is the fact that the      filmmakers deliberately held back the creatures for as long as possible.      Whether intentionally or not, that's what they did and that's why those    movies work so well.”

My Score: 3/5
First of all, the Paul Anderson interview is the same transcript of JoBlo’s    interview so it doesn’t give us any new spoilers. The Lance Henriksen interview    is interesting, nonetheless. It tells us how he feels to be a part of AvP and    what he thinks of the two franchises merging together. The highlight of this set    report is the interview with Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff from ADI. They both    give some details into the Predator’s weaponry – what’s new, what’s changed and  also the creature designs gives us a little encouragement.

ComingSoon

30th December 2003: ComingSoon.net have visited the set and published three parts of their set report. Part 1 gives an overview, Part 2 covers the comics and Part 3 goes over the special effects.
Discussed Spoilers: Plot overview; Alien / Predator costumes; AvP comics;  Special effects in film (same as IGN interview).

“The      film itself is being shot entirely in Prague (or for you natives on the web:      Praha) in several converted sound stages throughout the city. Other cast      members include: Ewen Bremner (Black Hawk Down, Trainspotting), Colin      Salmon, who some may recognizes as M’s chief of staff in the last three Bond      films, the very ire and funny Tommy Flanagan, who played Russell Crowe’s      servant in Gladiator, and international actors Joseph Rye, Carsten Norgaard,      Sam Troughton and the very sexy Agathe De La Boulaye, round out the cast.”

My Score: 2/5
I have to say, surprisingly, ComingSoon’s report was the weakest out of the lot.    Part 1 of the report gives us a basic overview of the movie which is essentially    what we already know. Part 2 goes over the comics which has nothing to with the    upcoming Alien vs Predator movie and Part 3 is just a straight transcript of    IGN’s interview with John Bruno. So the overall report gives no new information    about the AvP movie which is surprising considering it’s high-ranking position  in movie websites.

Sci-Fi London

16th January 2004: Sci-Fi London also paid a visit to the set.
Discussed Spoilers: Plot overview; Cast overview; locations on the set;  PredAlien; Animatronics.

“The scenes      that take place in the Antarctic also look amazing and we got to see some of      the "˜whales’ graveyard' set – it reminded me of the massive ribcages in      Pitch Black, eerie in all white though. I was also lucky enough to get some      time with the miniatures team who took us over the sets of the whaling      station itself. Amazing detail and so great that it will not be done using      CG. Lately I have found movies using CG for big effects start too look so    unreal, there is something missing.”

My Score: 3/5
This was a late set report from all of the movie websites but still manages to    give away a few spoilers. The most interesting comment in the article is the    fact that they mention the PredAlien. This is the first real hint of a creature    even though they use the word Hybrid rather than PredAlien. Not much is new    apart from that they mention a couple of scenes and a lot of people also found    out for the first time that Alien vs Predator will premiere in the UK on 22nd    October 2004 – that’s nearly 3 months after the American premiere. To be honest,    I’m still a bit shocked by this since Fox will lose a lot of money in the    international market because of piracy and also because more fans have broadband  connections now.

SuicideSquad’s Set Report

2nd February 2004: After winning a competition to go to the AvP Movie set, SuicideSquad has    returned from his trip and posted details of his visit in the GameGossip Forums.
Discussed Spoilers: Future Alien / Predator / AvP sequels; Future AvP games;    Running Time; Budget; Upcoming Trailers; Alien / Predator designs; Predator    self-destruction; Alien Queen; PredAlien; Scenes in the film.

“Next      we went inside of the old factory and it was separate in two parts. one half      was completely empty, only some chairs and monitors were there for our      group. on the other side there were a great set, an ice cave. What we      actually saw, was a predator attacked from behind by an alien, while the      aliens tail hits Lex (Sanaa Lathan) and she falls. the second scene was Lex      discovering some alien slime. all I say here is: it looked great…”

My Score: 4/5
I was a bit apprehensive towards this report when I first read it because it    contains the most spoilers out of all the set reports and it was first posted on    a forum rather than a movie website. We all know forums are not the best sources    for facts. Even so, the author, SuicideSquad, is telling the truth that he went    to the set and the author of the report below backs that up. The first spoiler    is the fact that there will be no Alien 5 or Predator 3 if AvP is successful yet    they will consider it if AvP isn’t a success. In my view, I don’t think Fox    would entirely rule out Alien 5 although I do prefer the the AvP franchise to continue    rather than the Alien / Predator franchises. This comment is backed up by Lance    Henriksen Magic’s Set Visit.

The next comment is about future games and I’m in disbelief that Fox is not    considering AvP3 for a very long time. Yet a “Predator” game is in production    for PS2 and X-box consoles due out this Christmas. Considering the AvP audience    wants AvP3 instead of these spin-off games such as the unnamed    Predator title and AvP Extinction which are for consoles rather than PC. This is    not concrete confirmation that AvP3 won’t be made since no-one on the AvP set    are strongly connected to Fox Interactive.

The next big spoiler is that an Alien Queen will make an appearance which    wasn’t mentioned at all in any of the previous set reports. This is quite    exciting in view of the fact that Alien vs Predator is going to be filled with    everything that made Alien, Aliens and Predator so amazing to watch. More    spoilers are given about the scenes etc. I would have probably given this report    the full five stars if it had been posted on a movie website with pictures and    proper sentences rather    than in a forum.

Fabien’s Set Report

9th February 2004: Another competition winner, Fabien, who was in the same group as SuicideSquad    has posted his report on AvPGalaxy.
Discussed Spoilers: Scenes in the film – Predators, Alien Eggs, Alien    Queen; PredAlien; Description of a final scene with Lex; Bishop in Alien 3; Tour    of the set.

“The      pyramid isn't a ruin and is always in activity (since the millennia). The      Predators have visited there in prehistory and its one of their holy places      so that the Aliens cannot leave. The Predators have never abandoned their      visit to our planet – they are much more discreet about it since the first      incident in Mexico 5000 years ago. When we entered the studio, we were      checked to see if we had mobile phones or cameras. Then Paul Anderson made      an appearance (he was very busy and left quickly). The film is practically      finished and we attended the shooting of the last battle scene…”

My Score: 3/5
Fabien’s set report was another well put-together set report and included images    of his trip to Prague which none of the other set reports gave apart from Lance    Henriksen Magic. New information about the history of the Predators are revealed    and one of the scenes he witnessed is described in great detail. There’s another    mention of the Alien Queen so I think we’re bound to see that in the film.    There’s another mention of the PredAlien but again, it’s not concrete  information.

Lance Henriksen Magic

15th February 2004: Over at Lance Henriksen Magic,    they’ve finally published one of their interviews they had with Lance Henriksen    and discuss his role in the Alien vs Predator movie. The First Transcript covers AvP whereas the other and forthcoming transcripts cover his other films.
Discussed Spoilers: Special effects; Future Alien / Predator films; Lance’s    character.

“At this point Geoff Freeman, the unit publicist on the AvP set confirmed      that assuming AvP is a success it will kill off the other franchises. This      means there will be no Alien 5 or further predator movies, the two      franchises will be channelled into sequels to Alien vs. Predator and      beyond.”

My Score: 3/5
This is another well presented set report with images of her trip and Lance    Henriksen Magic was the first website to post the second production    still for Alien vs Predator. There is some new stuff in the report and Lance    Henriksen talks about the criticism Paul Anderson has received over the past few    months. The other major pointer of the report is they also mention Alien 5 and    Predator 3 won’t be made so this backs up what SuicideSquad said in his report.

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the one

the one

#1
all i have to say is this is going to be the best movie of the year but we have to wait so long

Langseb

Langseb

#2
J'ai dit qu'il y aurait pas de Predalien dans AVP   >:D   J'ai poser la question

Broken Tusk

Broken Tusk

#3
This movie is going to be the epitome of ass-kicking. Plus, it will be the turning point in director Paul Anderson's career.   Even James Cameron has one or two bad movies under his belt. (Pirahna II: The Spawning and Titanic, anyone?)

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