AICN is reporting that a director has been chosen to helm the sequel to Alien vs Predator.
I just don’t get this.
Ridly Scott’s original Alien film marks a seminal moment in the history of filmmaking. It is one of the great movies of all time; it redefined what science fiction and horror could be when taken seriously by the creators. It has long been one of my most favorite films; it is absolutely perfect in its casting, direction, story, special effects and pacing. It is one of the movies that made me realize (later in life when I started to pay attention to these sorts of things) that directors have a huge influence on the quality of a film.
John McTiernan’s Predator is another movie that I love. It was one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s better films, maybe because the story was bigger than him. It was unique in the world of sci-fi and I’ve never realy seen anything like it since. The sequel to it was cornball and hokey, and like most bad sequels I just forget they ever happened. But Predator is a movie I find myself drawn to whenever it’s on HBO or some other cable outlet, or even when I stumble across it in the DVD rack.
But Alien vs. Predator was an abomination. It was a money-grab, plain and simple. It was 20th Century Fox’s attempt to milk two successful name brands for more money. The end result was exactly what one would expect when the bottom line is the driving force behind a movie, instead of the creative force of the director and writers. Alien vs Predator was a horrible, despicable, rotten turd of a film. It trivialized everything that made its source material great, and it crapped on everything people had come to expect from Aliens and Predators. I idea that someone wants to make a sequel to it makes me nausious.
It is especially distasteful if you’ve heard Ridly Scott hint in various interviews and DVD commentaries that he would enjoy helming a 5th Alien movie that explores the origins of the Alien species, possibly by visiting their homeworld. Can you imagine the possibilities? With the proper script and Scott as the director the potential is almost enough to blow one’s mind. But instead, 20th Century Fox opts to create a sequel to the turd.
I’d like to know who in Hollywood makes these decisions. There has to be someone who greenlit this project. Who thought this was as good idea?