MAJOR TEAM FORMS FOR ALIEN PIC
Copyright 2002 www.variety.com

[ July 15th 2002 ]

Talk about a clash of the titans: Producers John Davis, David Giler, Lawrence Gordon, Walter Hill and Joel Silver have brought aboard Resident Evil helmer Paul Anderson to write and direct Alien vs. Predator for 20th Century Fox. Davis, Gordon and Silver come to the project via Predator, which was released in 1987 and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. Giler and Hill produced the first four installments of the Alien franchise.

Like Resident Evil, however, this film has its roots in a popular videogame. Fox Interactive published Aliens vs. Predator in 1999 and released its sequel, Aliens vs. Predator 2, last year. Pic is the tale of human scientists on a distant planet who, once again, make the mistake of experimenting on aliens and predators. Story centers on a scientist who foolishly hatches alien eggs to create an environment attractive to predators. Credits for the U.K.-born Anderson also include Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon and Soldier. He's repped by ICM.

The Fox-based Davis' next production is the Eddie Murphy starrer Daddy Day Care, to be released by Columbia Pictures on Memorial Day weekend 2003. His recent credits also include Life or Something Like It, Behind Enemy Lines and Dr. Dolittle 2. Gordon most recently produced Lara Croft: Tomb Raider for Paramount Pictures. Giler and Hill most recently teamed on Undisputed, which will be released by Miramax Films.

Joel Silver's next motion picutre is Warner Bros. Pictures' The Matrix Reloaded, to be followed shortly by The Matrix Revolutions. The 1979 Alien earned $78.9 million domestic gross; Aliens (1986), $85.2 million; Alien 3 (1992), $55.5 million; and Alien: Resurrection (1997) $47.8 million. Predator earned $59.7 million domestic in 1987, and Predator 2 took $30.7 million in 1990.