Alien vs Predator: Peter Briggs watched Paul Anderson's film

leading from

Alien vs Predator: Peter Briggs' script

and

Paul W Anderson

 

 

a) Briggs Watches the final film

 

Peter Briggs thought that for Alien Vs Predator movie's budget which he heard from various sources was lower than that which was bandied around, it was an amazing piece of art direction. 

 

He enjoyed the icebreaker miniatures. 

 

He thought that the aliens had never moved better and the animatronics were wonderful.

He also thought that the alien queen was a fabulous piece of work. However he did wish that ADI wouldn't alter the sculpt of the regular Aliens.

He briefly enjoyed the first fight between the Alien and the Predator in Anderson's movie, he enjoyed Henrikson's presence in. and found interesting the idea.

But was he actually impressed with the Antarctic setting after they turned up in heatwave conditions in the movies.

 

He thought that there were some really interesting things in Anderson’s third act of ‘AvP’ that’s up there on the screen,and they looked suspiciously to him like material in the third act of his first draft.  

 

 

b) Anderson's view of Briggs' script

Paul Anderson had commented that when he read Peter Briggs' script, he thought that it was like a comic book.

 

On the other hand Peter acknowledged that Anderson had used a few elements from the Randy Stradley comic material, such as the captive queen, the hover bikes, and the main female character that he created as a jumping off point. 

 

 

 

c) What Briggs didn't like

But was Peter actually impressed?

He would not mention what he blurted out when he read the "Bullet-time Facehugger" shot in the script.

He came out of the cinema afterwards feeling perhaps empty and depressed.

He didn't like the inclusion of the "Alien Finger Blooding" scene from the comic book and there the woman is allowing the Predator to allow blood from the alien finger to mark the woman's forehead. Peter Briggs stayed away from this because it seemed ridiculous.

He thought “you know, I’ve been championing this thing for 13 years…and what a sterile letdown. Why did I bother?”

Perhaps the answer was to go off somewhere and get very drunk but he just went home to read a book instead.

 

 

 

 

d) Reports of other scripts

Paul Anderson claimed that he had been many script drafts at the studio before he came on board but as far as Peter Briggs remembered, there was his draft and there was the James DeMonaco and Kevin Fox draft and that was all the material that was presented at the WGA arbitration.

Afterwards DeMonaco would go on to work on to adapt the Driver computer game for Paul Anderson.

1. Mr. D: But, “A vs P”?
   Peter Briggs: I came out of the cinema (from “A vs P”) afterwards, and I felt… I don’t know. Empty. Depressed, actually. I thought: “you know, I’ve been championing this thing for 13 years…and what a sterile letdown. Why did I bother?” It was interesting. I thought about going off and getting very drunk, but just went home and read a book instead. There are some really interesting things in Anderson’s third act of ‘AvP’ that’s up there on the screen, that look suspiciously like stuff in the third act of my first draft, don’t you think? (bloody-disgusting.com/ August 29th 2004)
2. Peter Briggs: There was a moment, during that first fight with the Alien and the Predator, where I did get goosebumps and a 13-year flashback. But it was fleeting. And it’s always good to see Henrikson. But I don’t know about “impressed”? Can I plead the Fifth? When I first read the thing was set in Antarctica, after diligently setting the ground rules for the Predators turning up in heatwave conditions in the first two movies…and I won’t mention what I blurted out loud when I read that misjudged “Bullet-time Facehugger” shot in the script. (bloody-disgusting.com/ August 29th 2004)
3. Peter Briggs: I have to say that for the budget of “A vs P”, which I’ve actually heard from a couple of sources is lower than what’s been bandied around, it’s a very fine looking piece of art-direction by those guys. Really decent sets. The icebreaker miniatures were nicely done. The Aliens have never moved better, as well — just wonderful animatronics. That Queen was a fabulous piece of work. I do wish that A.D.I. wouldn’t alter the sculpt of the regular Aliens, though. Giger’s original version? Still the most “realistic” looking of the beasts, to date. Have you ever seen that Takayuki Takeya Japanese model kit of the Alien, with the hyper-elongated head? Man, that thing is so cool. That’s what my creatures would have looked like if I had directed this thing. I’d have gone to extremes. (bloody-disgusting.com/ August 29th 2004)
4. Mr. D: In an interview in Fangoria magazine, Anderson says he’d read your version, and that it was more like the comic book. Would you comment on that?
   Peter Briggs: Well, in as much as I used a few elements from the Randy Stradley comic material — the captive queen, the hoverbikes, and the main female character he created, as a jumping-off point…but my “A vs P” wasn’t an adaptation of the comic book. If you put the two side by side, they were disparately different stories. I mean, look at Anderson’s draft. He’s gone back into the comic-books and quite calculatedly pinched the Predator “Alien Finger Blooding”, for example, from there, which I deliberately didn’t use. Would YOU let someone come near you with something hissing with Alien blood? I sure as hell wouldn’t!
   (bloody-disgusting.com/ August 29th 2004) 
5. Peter Briggs: You know, I did read that Fangoria piece. Anderson made a couple of nutty comments in there: that there’d been many drafts at the studio before he came onboard? Uh…no. There was me, and then there was the DeMonaco & Fox draft. And that was it. All this material was presented to the WGA arbitration, so I can tell you that for a fact. I find it a bit curious that after all this, DeMonaco’s now doing an adaptation of the “Driver” videogame for Paul Anderson, though…
   (bloody-disgusting.com/ August 29th 2004)