Peace on Earth? Humbug

The marketing folks at 20th Century Fox delivered an early Christmas gift to newsrooms this year: “Alien vs. Predator: Requiem” ornaments with the cheery tagline: “This Christmas There Will Be No Peace on Earth.” We can just picture trees now -- decorated with tinsel, stars, bells, angels, lights and Alien and Predator balls.

The delicate ornament, fashioned to look like a globe, has the head of a Predator as a stand-in for North America and an Alien -- with its long, whip-like tail -- as South America. The gimmick heralds the opening of “AVPR” (shorthand for those in-the-know) on Christmas Day. (We can’t wait for other marketing tricks this season. Perhaps the PR gurus behind “The Mist” will send a faux gray fog that envelops trees. Or maybe “Sweeney Todd’s” people will deliver meat pies in time for Christmas dinner.)

When we pondered why a major studio would release a typical summer blockbuster in the dead of winter, we guessed that perhaps the film is a modern allegory of inhumanity during a supposedly peaceful time of year.

But who are we kidding?

We know exactly why AVPR is being marketed as Christmas fare. When Aliens and Predators get together, it’s not a pretty sight -- much like the family holiday gathering after a few glasses of wine and other cheer.

-- Christine N. Ziemba