Nice, guys!
Haven't finished it yet but here are a few more details regarding some of the points discussed:
CRYSTAL KNIGHTS:I wish I could find a draft but haven't so far... It was actually written in the mid-late 80s (by Richard Rothstein and Christopher Leitch) but was soon retitled by them as UNIVERSAL SOLDIER. Before Carolco was involved, another action star was attached to it do it but dropped out because he (whose name I'll keep to myself to reveal later) didn't want Rothstein to direct it.
Andrew Davis:Davis got signed to direct at the same time as Dolph and JCVD in late 1989 early 1990 (when it was first announced by Carolco, two and a half years before its July 1992 release).
The script was indeed set in a more futuristic world, and the UNISOL concept involved some kind of bionic, diamond-like, self-genereting body armours and genetically engineered soldiers. It involved complex CGI for the time, but they worked on it for about a year, did a cast of Dolph for a prototype etc.
The story was different but still revolved around JCVD (Jake Barstow) chasing Dolph's (Thomson) troup of Unisols. Leslie Boham was another writer involved, then Davis rewrote it with Ross LaMana and Pillip Browning and set it on an oil platform somehow. The decision of the location was going back and forth between Mexico and eastern Europe.
After one year Davis left as neither Carolco nor JC and DL were on the same page as his... That's when Roland Emmerich was brought in after his DEAD RECKONING with Stallone was stopped...
Ear necklace and Andrew Scott costume:As often, Dolph had a lot to say and bring to his costume and accessories, and I think the ear necklace was his idea, as well as his finger tattoos (from THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER), and his headband with an indian plum...
By the way, the Unisols costumes were inspired by the Desert Storm soldiers uniforms, which we hadn't seen much back then.
Moltisanti, I had forgotten it was you who got the necklace, so the real question is: have you ever worn it, and in public?
Dolph / Van Damme relationshipThey just had the same competitive and banter attitude as fighters would have in a club but no problem with each other. The only thing that was reported to me by a member of the camera crew was how late JC would show up on set, already back then.
Back then, Van Damme was sometimes critical of actors he worked with in interviews but he was very respectful of Dolph as person and the presence he brought in the film. They were promoting the film together in Cannes even though their interviews were shot individually but I don't think it had anything to do with them not wanting to...
And god knows they're good old friends and joke around one another. I had spent a day and half with Dolph for the Paris press junket of EX2, and JC would always clowning around any time they were together or when he ran into Dolph, just like a kid or an admirer...
EDIT:- Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin did consciously kepp JC's dialogues to a minimum.
- Dolph worked hard on the character with his then acting coach Joanne Baron (who plays the waitress of the dinner).
- JC and Dolph had a gym trailer to work out and pump up between takes
- I think the one thing that caused negotiations beforehand was whose name was gonna get first billing on the poster, credits etc...