AVP: Alien vs. Predator
Whoever wins... we lose.
AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
1:41 (101 min)
Production
Budget
$70 000 000
Revenue
$177 427 090
Director
Scenario
Composer
Harald Kloser
Producer
Actors
Sanaa Lathan
Alexa Woods
Lance Henriksen
Charles Bishop Weyland
Ian Whyte
Scar
Raoul Bova
Sebastian de Rosa
Ewen Bremner
Graeme Miller
Colin Salmon
Maxwell Stafford
Tommy Flanagan
Mark Verheiden
Joseph Rye
Joe Connors
Short description
A team of scientists and security specialists travels to Antarctica to investigate a mysterious heat source detected deep beneath the ice. Financed by the industrialist Charles Bishop Weyland and led by the environmental specialist Alexa Woods, the expedition discovers an ancient pyramid buried far below the surface, older than any comparable structure known from Egypt. Inside, the group finds human remains alongside traces of something not human, and the structure turns out to be a site where two extraterrestrial species have long been locked in conflict.
Paul W. S. Anderson directed and co-wrote the film, the sixth of the fourteen features he has directed in chronological order, following Resident Evil and preceding Death Race. The screenplay is credited to Anderson with Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the writers associated with the Alien series, while David Giler, Walter Hill and John Davis produced. Sanaa Lathan plays Woods, Lance Henriksen plays Weyland, and Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremner and Colin Salmon appear among the international team. The credited cast numbers twenty-seven.
Released in August 2004, the film had a budget of 70 million US dollars and took about 177 million worldwide, a solid commercial result. Audience response was mixed: on IMDb it holds 5.7/10 from roughly 232,000 votes, and on TMDB 6/10 from over 5,000 votes, while the critics' rating stands lower at 4.3/10 from 146 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on a series of comic books of the same name, which are still being published in the United States. In addition, a line of toys, numerous video games, soundtracks (for video games), and even collectible card sets, beloved by Americans, were released.
- The role of Max Stafford was specifically written for Colin Salmon.
- Shane Salerno worked on the screenplay for the film for fifteen months (during pre-production, filming and post-production), however, his name is absent from the credits.
- Alien vs. Predator was the first film in the series about Aliens and Predators to receive a PG-13 rating. All other films were released with an R rating.
- Alien vs. Predator was the first film in the Predator series to feature a left-handed Predator.
- Originally, the scene in which Wayland's team discovers the sacrificial chamber inside the pyramid was much longer: Sebastian found a petrified facehugger, after which Lex and Sebastian offered their theories about what kind of creature it was.
- The black and white film visible on the screen of one of the televisions at the beginning of the film is 'Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man' (1943).
- The words 'alien' and 'predator' are never spoken during the course of the film.
- Gary Busey could have played the role of John Yutani.
- The Morse code detected by the satellite at the beginning of the film translates to "Whoever wins, we lose," which exactly repeats the film's slogan.
- According to Paul W.S. Anderson, Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to appear in the film's ending as Dutch Schaefer (a character from "Predator" (1987)), but only if he lost the California gubernatorial election.
- The full version of the film has a runtime of 108 minutes.
- The director's chair was offered to Guillermo del Toro, but he declined in favor of "Hellboy" (2004).
- By starring in this film, Lance Henriksen repeated Bill Paxton's achievement: the characters he played died at the hands of iconic movie villains – the Terminator, the Alien, and the Predator.
- Screenwriter Peter Briggs developed the plot back in 1991 after the release of "Predator 2".
- Paul W.S. Anderson turned down directing "Mortal Kombat 3" and "Resident Evil 2" in favor of this film, though he remained as producer on the aforementioned films.
- Rumor has it that the film had been in development since 1990, after the skull of the Alien was shown in 'Predator 2' (1990).
- With the exception of scenes where we see three Predators at once, Ian Whyte played all the Predators.
- The film's trailer contains excerpts from the musical theme of the 'Alien' (1979) trailer, as well as Brett's (Harry Dean Stanton) scream.
- A title card appearing at the beginning of the film states that the icebreaker is named 'The Piper Maru.' The same ship name appeared in the fifteenth episode of the third season of 'The X-Files' (1993). In turn, the episode received its name after the daughter of Gillian Anderson.
- In 2004, of all major studio Hollywood projects, Paul W.S. Anderson’s film had the shortest shooting period (two and a half months) and the shortest post-production period (four months).
- Lance Henriksen played Charles Bishop Weyland, a co-founder of the Weyland Yutani Corporation. This is the very company mentioned in all the Alien films. Lance also played the android Bishop in 'Aliens' (1986) and Bishop II in 'Alien 3' (1992).
- When Charles Bishop Weyland sits in his office, we can notice that he plays with a ballpoint pen in a manner quite similar to how the android Bishop played with a knife in 'Aliens' (1986).
- At one stage of production, it was planned that Peter Weller would play John Yutani, the second co-founder of the Weyland-Yutani company, mentioned in every Alien film.
- The character of Tommy Flanegan (Verheiden) was named in honor of the comic book author of 'Alien vs. Predator,' Mark Verheiden. Contrary to popular rumors that the confrontation between the two aliens originated with the Alien skull in 'Predator 2' (1990), it was Mark who first brought representatives of the two races together.
- The special effects creators for the film, Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis, played the people who discovered the pyramid.
- The film contains references and allusions to previous films about Aliens and Predator. For example, the first shot of the film – the silhouette of the Alien Queen from 'Aliens' (1986) – slowly transforms into a Weyland Corporation satellite.
- The altars in the sacrificial chamber are arranged in exactly the same order as the cryogenic sleep installations in 'Alien' (1979).
- The main character calls the Alien “ugly mother…”. This is a reference to previous Predator films, where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Glover called the Predator the same way.
- AVP was the first Alien film not to feature Sigourney Weaver.
- The shot of people entering the pyramid is a nod to a scene from 'Alien' (1979), where the crew of the 'Nostromo' entered the abandoned spaceship in a very similar manner.
- The pattern on the floor in the sacrificial chamber almost exactly replicates the poster for “Alien 3” (1992).
- Paul W.S. Anderson once stated that the film was originally intended to have an R rating, but three weeks before the film's release, the studio decided to re-edit it for a PG-13 rating. It later turned out that this was just an internet rumor: according to Paul Anderson, viewers saw exactly the version of the film he wanted to shoot.
- In the film’s trailer, you can spot the prison planet “Fury 161” from “Alien 3” (1992).
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