Alec Gillis Talks Female Predators [Interview]

[HudsonGAMEOVERMANGAMEOVER]

Hey folks!

Just remembered we talked to StudioADI's Alec Gillis about THE PREDATOR and the topic of female preds came up. Enjoy!

https://twitter.com/HNEsocial/status/1102207584843505664

https://twitter.com/HNEsocial/status/1102201328233865217

[OmegaZilla]

" I know there are people like 'All you're going to do is stick boobs on a predator', well, I think there's something else you can do."

Man speaking with some sense

[SuperiorIronman]

I liked the idea that the females are bigger than the males. On some level that also adds to the hunting and manliness we often see portrayed by them, in that they have to be powerful not only to get her attention but also to survive whatever sex looks like between them. And it's not like that sort of thing doesn't happen in the Animal kingdom so I'm all for the Hulked out females.

[Samhain13]

The hell with female predators. They can't even get the males right.

HN: Along with those major changes to the third act, it kinda seemed like there were several different endings planned for the film. Obviously, the one that made the final cut was with the Predator Killer suit of armor, which still opens up a whole new path for sequels, but we'd also seen some photos of an aged Newt and Ripley inside that pod. Were those meant to connect back to the Alien idea that Neill Blomkamp had?

GILLIS: "Were there photographs of an aged Newt?"

HN: Yeah, I forget who [posted], but they surfaced and Breanna Watkins was standing in for Newt and Ripley.

GILLIS: "Huh. Well, then you know as much as I know. There is one other thing that I know, and that is the Fox legal department. [Laughs]."

[Voodoo Magic]

First, I do not trust ADI with this at all. They've had Predator long enough - 3 films with lackluster results imo. Time for someone new other than ADI to head this work. Hopefully new ownership at Fox will implement that.

With that said, considering the musculature of a Predator so closely resembles the musculature of a human male, I don't mind at all the female musculature of Predators resembling human females to a great degree. And Cool Props showed you can do some very interesting things with the look, including using head shapes to differentiate sex.

[AhabPredator]

First, I do not trust ADI with this at all. They've had Predator long enough - 3 films with lackluster results imo. Time for someone new other than ADI to head this work. Hopefully new ownership at Fox will implement that.

With that said, considering the musculature of a Predator so closely resembles the musculature of a human male, I don't mind at all the female musculature of Predators resembling human females to a great degree. And Cool Props showed you can do some very interesting things with the look, including using head shapes to differentiate sex.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Do not let ADI anywhere near this. We'll get the human looking female predator from the The Predator's concept art stuff. NO THANKS.

[Samhain13]

Making it with a different head shape would be fine. They don't actually need to explain in film its a female. 

Like Voodoo said: "the musculature of a Predator so closely resembles the musculature of a human male", just make the different forehead and give it a musculature closer to that of a female human and we will know its meant to be a female. But no predator boobs for me.

[SuperiorIronman]

I don't believe it's exactly ADI's fault considering they're just doing as they're told. You can have all the personal dignity in the world but you'd never work again so I don't blame them for going with it.

I do respect that they acknowledge they really only got Wolf right.
However the issue isn't so much ADI as much as it is the directors and producers who at the end of the day are the ones calling the shots. ADI really doesn't have that much say in the matter regarding what the director wants and what makes it to screen. When you're brought on to do FX you're basically a hired gun. Director vision and the money allotted is going to be the biggest impediments, and we know that from Wolf, Fugitive, what little we've seen of the Emissary that they do just fine on Predator FX.

[Frosty Venom]

First, I do not trust ADI with this at all. They've had Predator long enough - 3 films with lackluster results imo. Time for someone new other than ADI to head this work. Hopefully new ownership at Fox will implement that.

With that said, considering the musculature of a Predator so closely resembles the musculature of a human male, I don't mind at all the female musculature of Predators resembling human females to a great degree. And Cool Props showed you can do some very interesting things with the look, including using head shapes to differentiate sex.

I like the look of this but is it too similar to the crest of a Queen?

[JokersWarPig]

I know some people have said they wanted the females bigger than the males, but I honestly would prefer if the females were smaller and leaner than the males and used different hunting tactics. I don't care if the females have bewbz or not, so long as the design wouldn't be overly sexual.

[Voodoo Magic]

I don't believe it's exactly ADI's fault considering they're just doing as they're told. You can have all the personal dignity in the world but you'd never work again so I don't blame them for going with it.

I do respect that they acknowledge they really only got Wolf right.
However the issue isn't so much ADI as much as it is the directors and producers who at the end of the day are the ones calling the shots. ADI really doesn't have that much say in the matter regarding what the director wants and what makes it to screen. When you're brought on to do FX you're basically a hired gun. Director vision and the money allotted is going to be the biggest impediments, and we know that from Wolf, Fugitive, what little we've seen of the Emissary that they do just fine on Predator FX.

When Alec @ ADI was asked about the broken jaw, slack-jawed look of their Predators compared to the original beloved Stan Winston design, Alec answered the question with a question: Why do the mandibles have to close like they did in the first two movies?

Alec confirmed it was a creative decision, and after three films, with three different directors, you do have to consider the common factor: ADI. Especially when the CG Upgrade Assasin Predator mandible and jaws looked correct in "The Predator", even among his deformed upgraded self, but the ADI Predators in the same movie had the same broken jaw (Crabator) problem. We doubt Shane Black said "try to get the mandibles/jaw muscles right on the cg Predator only, people!" It would seem Black wasn't very invested in it either way.

We've relegated this change in core facial musculature to ADI's "stamp" on the Predator, for better or worse. And most of us feel worse. And I haven't even addressed the paint jobs. 

[AhabPredator]

What the actual hell?

Fugitive's mandibles look upside down. Like...bigger set on top and smaller on bottom. Which is completely opposite.

The laying down photo of him on the operating table looks bad. Like, really bad. Floppy mouth Predator.

Of course the mandibles of the Winston design should generally be the same. Unless it's a super Predator subspecies (Predators 2010), these are the same race of beings. What a loopy statement.

[SuperiorIronman]

Ironically them being the same race but looking different is kind of undercut when you consider the Lost Hunters being usages of the Jungle Hunter and City Hunters mold with different paint applications. It also doesn't help modern makers because the guys in the garage don't have to fit mechanical bits into it and there is no direct reference to the face because the only thing that survived was the Greyback's head. They threw all that other stuff out. Meaning all you can get is approximations and guesswork on top of the things the studio tells you to do. You also got separate unmasked heads for the original films which means that what you're basing things off of might not be the right head because they do different things or have different static positioning of the mandibles.

I'd imagine artistically its to differentiate individuals, but from a practical point its more likely because unlike in the older films the mask isn't fitted to the head, hence the mandible configuration. Scar's head was too flat for that so I doubt that was an issue, but for damn sure Wolf's didn't, and Fugitive only needs to have it on for part of the lab escape and then be removed by Upgrade which was more CGI then practical FX. The helmets and face are also developed separately from each other so even developmentally they can't account for positioning of the mandibles.

But then why not do it when they have it off?
-Scar was meant to be more emotive thus his mandibles going everywhere. Not to mention him being more heroic than prior appearances and thus you want to draw attention to the chin.
-Wolf just needed to roar and emote in reaction to the PredAlien, otherwise he's obscured in the crashed ship.
-Fugitive does on his CGI model, but the practical FX doesn't require that because he doesn't wear the mask for any extended period of time when a face reveal is needed.

That's a big part of the reason you have half-masks for these films because the mandibles can cause the helmet to pop off or not fit entirely (both of which occurred in 2010's Predators). Practically speaking you'd have to account for this during development of the face and have the helmet sculpted over that in order to fit it properly but that just doesn't happen on these films which is why its only implied. And even then it doesn't mean it has to sit in that configuration.

[BishopShouldGo]

I really hope the next Predator movie features female predators.

[Corporal Hicks]

I really hope the next Predator movie features female predators.

In my headcanon, all the ones we've seen already are.