Colin Strause, 31, and Greg Strause, 32, are brothers, which means there are two of them. They are the co-directors of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. They went into the project determined to restore honor to both franchises by pumping up the violence and gore and making it up to fans for the inexplicably PG13-rated (and just generally inexplicable) first Alien vs. Predator. It's their first time out as directors, but they are life-long special effects geeks who, since forming their own boutique company Hydraulx, have worked on such pictures as 300, The Day After Tomorrow, Terminator 3, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, and the Fantastic Four films. They've been working professionally since their very early twenties, having basically jumped in right after high school, using what was supposed to be their college tuition as start-up money. All of which is to say that I would have regarded them as the coolest guys in the world when I was eleven, and there's no point in pretending that I don't find them impressive even now. Describing their long, strange path to Ron Magid, the Brothers Strause emphasize the importance of family. As young wizards-in-training, "We tried to freak our mom out by making her think a bloody latex wound I made was real. After that, she said we should do stuff on the computer instead." Now, all these years later, her cunning plan has paid off. Magid writes, " 'After we were [in Los Angeles] for about a year, our parents came to visit.' Colin said.'Three or four days later, they sold their house,' Greg added. Now Mom handles the books, Grandma hobnobbed with Bono on a video shoot, and Dad helps keep the PCs running -- among other chores. 'Dad's really good with a laser scanner, so he got to scan Lil' Kim naked for a rock video we were doing,' Colin said." Is that what the kids are calling it these days?