Since I know both Carl and Gary I spoke with both of them at length concerning this. Gary has always impressed me as a very professional standup guy and he assured me this cannon was 100% his own work. He did use photos of Carl's cannon as a reference and was told the length of Carl's cannon for scale. He also told me that he was not sent one of Carl's cannons nor was he sent any small parts cast from Carl's cannon and Gary has always told me he does not mold or cast nor does he know how to mold or cast. I was told the detail parts are model parts. Gary also sent me pics of the backpack progress and said it was fine to send them to Carl as well. I can say for certain that it is distictly different from Carl's backpack. I kind of felt like an interrogator asking so many questions...
But this talk of recasting isn't really what bothers me. This isn't about the work Gary did.
The question on my mind is why did Gene want Gary to sculpt a new cannon and backpack? Gene already had Carl's backpack and cannon. I can only assume three reasons why:
First- Carl could not deliver any product for which there was a demand.
Second- Gene did not believe Carl's cannon and backpack were accurate enough.
Third- Gene wanted to be a one stop shop for a complete Predator costume.
The first instance could very well be true since Carl has been setting up shop at his parent's place in order to get up and running- and life gets in the way. Happens to all of us. Having said that I've never had a problem contacting Carl and recieving a reply in a timely fashion-
not ever. I can't say the same for other people so your mileage may vary. I will say that the average buyer doesn't care about your life problems- they just want to buy what they want when they want it.
The second instance I have no idea about. Having been around the prop scene for a long time I know there are many interpretations of "screen accurate."
The third instance seems likely. Looking at the Aliens-FX site would certainly lead anyone to that conclusion. That's free enterprise and there's nothing wrong with it. The question is: are you willing to burn a friendship for it?
Put yourself in Carl's position. You've spent literally years researching this and perfecting it and then your work is handed off to someone else to use as reference material. And while the new work is rightly considered "original" it is
damn close to the reference model and most certainly benefitted from all the effort that went into it. It's clearly not a recast but Gene had to have known how Carl would feel about it, especially given the timeline in which it was created.
You guys had just finished Jamie's suit up for crying out loud. You guys all pulled off something really special. Didn't that cameraderie mean anything? Is it really worth throwing that away just to make a few bucks. I know this can't be about making real money. Nobody is going to make a living wage making Predator costume stuff.
If it were me I would have called Carl and said "Hey look, everyone wants your cannon and backpack. Everyone says they can't get in touch with you and honestly people are having doubts that you can deliver in a timely fashion. How about we make a deal. I'll take over production and you'll get a royalty for each one sold. People really want this and they've been waiting a long time. I'm telling you now if you can't produce these things someone else is going to beat you to it. I may even have to produce my own."
And I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts he would have gone for it. I'm sorry Gene but you had to know what this meant to him. Five years. The Jamie suit up project. All of it burned to the ground. It could have been avoided with a single phone call to let him know what your plans were. For crying out loud
talk to each other. Seeing the work you guys did is the reason I came here in the first place. Show people what you can create- not what you can sell. That should be the priority here, right? Helping each other make cool Predator costumes. Sharing skills, techniques, tips, tricks, etc. and making friends with people that share your passion for the greatest film creature ever. This isn't freaking Etsy. If someone wants to buy your stuff that's really cool, but when did it become a priority? When did it become ok to screw over your friends to satisfy your ego or business model?
But it's all for "the fun of it."
Are we having fun yet?
I'm done with this. And if this how it's going to be I'm not sure I'm coming back. That makes me really sad.
Gary I apologize for derailing your thread. For the record you are an exceptionally skilled craftsman. Your AVP cannon will rule when I'm done with it.
