Wednesday 18 February 2009

ALIEN VS PREDATOR: SCOOP ON THE NEXT TWO FILMS?

According to undisclosed sources, the next two films in the Alien Vs Predator franchise are set to go into production back to back later this year.

The two films are allegedly to be called ALIEN VS PREDATOR: SURVIVAL and ALIEN VS PREDATOR: INSTINCT and take a much more hard sci-fi approach to the series, taking it back to the roots of the creatures themselves.

AVP3 is said to be set on a derelict space freighter, which is being used as a hunting ground for a band of Predators who have discovered and Alien nest on the vessel.

A group of human survivors from a skirmish on a remote outpost have landed their escape pod on the derelict station, and with failing air and supplies, they must survive the combined threats of the Predators and Aliens as the two races of alien creatures battle it out.

This is said to lead into the fourth film, INSTINCT, which sees the remaining survivors of AVP3 bringing the freighter down for a crash landing on the Alien homeworld, right into the middle of an all-out war between Aliens and Predators that is to feature the most epic battle scenes ever attempted for the franchise.

This is intended as an ending for the VS series in order for new films in the individual Alien and Predator franchises to be made in years to come.

None of the characters from previous films are to return for these two films, although various nods to the earlier films, and the original Alien and Predator films, will feature throughout. The rumour mentions a number of Colonial Marine Dropships arriving at the climax of AVP4 in order to rescue the last survivors before the planet is purged of all life.

As yet there is no confirmation as to whether these rumours are true, buit we thought we would put them out there for you as they sound awesome, and hell, they can't be any worse than Requiem...

Tuesday 17 February 2009

Where next for fantastic fiction?

With Star Wars complete, the Watchmen film on the big screen, all the superhero movies we have always dreamed of and countless other much-dreamed of pieces of entertainment at our disposal, where will science fiction, fantasy and other genres go for its next fix? We have had the previously 'unfilmable' stories such as The Lord of The Rings, and now Watchmen, made into huge blockbuster movies. We have had Anakin's fall to the Dark Side.

We have had a trilogy of X-Men movies, Spider-Man films, Batman, Iron Man, Hulk, a reimagining of the Star Trek universe, video game films and TVs alight with Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica and many other huge genre franchises.

All of which means the studios and networks will have to look a little further afield for the next big thing. The big names have been taken care of- now its time to move onto other classics of each genre and make something spectacular for audiences.

Long-mooted projects are moving forward that may provide some cause for celebration, with science fiction classics such as Asimov's Foundation books and Orson Scott Card's Ender's game heading to the screen at varying speeds being two good examples.

The possibilities are endless, but what we must also take into consideration is the possibility that new ideas will go ahead. New ones! Could you imagine that? New films and TV series based on original ideas instead of rehashed versions of the same old song and dance. That would really be something else, and while there are numerous things I would love to see adapted into movies, I would also love to see some new and vibrant original ideas go forward.

I think that the current trend for adapting everything in sight does have it's strengths, though. It is keeping the genres of the fantastic alive in the cinema and the general public consciousness with properties that are at least familiar to the masses if not well known. This keeps an interest in science fiction, superheroes and whatnot alive and helps smaller, more daring projects go ahead.

So I guess my point is that to move forward, there are areas of the entertainment industry that need to remain the same. Carry on adapting the classics, but now that the various Holy Grails have been found and made into movies, maintaining a sizable interest in the general public is going to be kind of hard. Thankfully, with two Hobbit movies, more Transformers, superheroes and epics to come, we will be enjoying this current age of wonder for some time to come.

Friday 13 February 2009

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN- FALLEN AND DEVASTATOR!

Here are two awesome pictures from the new TRANSFORMERS movie- REVENGE OF THE FALLEN! These are fantastic character shots of THE FALLEN and DEVASTATOR! Of course, Devastator is made up of the CONSTRUCTICONS, hence the multicoloured look. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is going to be EPIC. These pictures have been floated on a number of movie sites, and originate from a Japanese toy company's site. Check out these monstrosities: