In 1987, one movie defied the genre conventions of the decade by being a perfect hybrid of action, horror, and science fiction. This movie, of course, was Predator, which was directed by John McTiernan.
Predator had all the staples of an action film from the era - machismo, firepower, and copious amounts of gore. Yet its subversion of expectations immediately grabbed viewers and gave them an unforgettable experience.
The buff, manly men who typically saved the day were now being savagely cut down one by one like a human hunting game.
The legendary Stan Winston crafted the titular hunter, which remains as one of the most imaginative and terrifying monsters ever put to film.
Predator 2 was released in 1990, and while it does not fully live up to its predecessor, the change in setting and tone still make for an interesting movie.
The year 2010 then saw the release of Predators, which was directed by Nimrod Antal and produced by Robert Rodriguez. This movie again drastically changed the formula by pitting a group of criminals against several Predators on an alien planet.
In addition to the sequels, there have been several spin offs, including books and comics, of varying degrees of quality.
With The Predator due out in theaters soon, it seems like an appropriate time to take a look back at the three main line Predator movies (Predator, Predator 2, and Predators) and see what went on behind the scenes.
Surprisingly enough, some of the stories from behind the camera end up being almost as entertaining as the films themselves.
So before you "Get to the choppa," here are the 20 Crazy Details Behind The Making Of The Predator Movies.
The Mandibles Were Created Courtesy Of James Cameron
Stan Winston landed the gig deg the monster after Arnold Schwarzenegger recommended him based on his work in The Terminator.
That movie also birthed a friendship between Winston and iconic filmmaker James Cameron.
The legend goes that Winston was sketching out ideas for the Predator while on a flight with Cameron.
The director was looking over the rough ideas and mentioned having a desire to see a creature with mandibles.
The special effects artist then opted to add the detail to the monster.
Virtually every detail of the Predator is unsettling, from the strangely colored skin to its hair. The mandibles, however, manage to stand out above the rest of the physical traits as particularly unsettling.
An Original Suit Was Created... But It Didn't Look Good
The enormously talented Stan Winston and his team were not the first people to take a crack at the suit. Before the dreadlocked, mandibled creature of carnage was created, an entirely different company was hired to design and deliver a costume for the monster.
Filming had already commenced by the time the first suit was delivered.
When the crew finally saw the finished product, they were extremely disappointed. It looked like a joke, and test footage did not assuage their concerns.
Fortunately, John Mctiernan persuaded the studio for a bigger budget and got Stan Winston on board.
If the Predator's design did not strike fear and awe into viewer's hearts, then none of the movie would have worked.
Shane Black Had A Small Part
Shane Black is one of Hollywood's most renowned screenwriters, having penned Lethal Weapon and breaking records when he sold The Last Kiss Goodnight for over four million dollars.
He was still up and coming in 1987, so the producers hired him as an actor with the intention of also utilizing his writing skills.
According to producer John Davis, Black was hesitant to contribute to the script because he only wished to act.
His time in the movie is short, as he is one of the first characters slain by the Predator, and his only addition to the script is one of the adult jokes that his character tells.
Coincidentally, Black is writing and directing the The Predator.
The Los Angeles Lakers Appeared In Predator 2
When it came time to fill up all of those new suits for Predator 2, the production was in need of several extremely tall people.
In Los Angeles, when someone needs a group of folks with exceptional height, it is a sure bet they can be found in the Lakers.
Danny Glover, who starred in the sequel, was a huge fan of the team and requested their assistance with the scene.
It's a short segment and their real faces are not shown on camera, but there must be no better feeling than stepping into the skin of an iconic movie monster.
The scene in question also ended being one of the most expensive to film for the production.
Jean-Claude Van Damme Was Fired
The first design for the Predator was also planned to have Jean-Claude Van Damme under the suit, stalking and eliminating the rescue team.
He was fired shortly into production, but reasons vary greatly as to exactly why he was let go.
Several people who worked on the movie relay different stories of his getting the axe. Some say that his insistence on showcasing his impressive kickboxing skills became too much of a problem, while others say that he broke the suit's expensive head prop.
Two more s say that he simply ed out too much from the heat, and finally that he was too short to appear menacing compared to the giant actors who he was supposed to be hunting.
A Military Adviser Was Brought In To Train The Actors
When characters are supposed to be soldiers, it is best to get consultation from somebody who has really lived it. John Mctiernan did just this after relaying that the actors "look like a bunch of ballerinas."
Gary Goldman was brought on as a military adviser and did his best to make the actors look convincing as career soldiers onscreen.
The first thing he did with them was take them on a run that would exhaust any normal man. By Goldman's , all of the actors were completely beaten down by the end of the run, even Schwarzenegger.
After that, he went easier on them, just giving advice and critiquing how soldierly they appeared on camera.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Had A Gym Shipped To Mexico
Every day deserves a good pump. No matter what life throws at them, body builders must always find time to hit the weights in order to grow their muscles and become stronger.
Even while filming in the conditions that the actors had to contend with in Predator, they still managed to keep up their godly physiques.
To make sure that they could workout every day, Arnold Schwarzenegger had a gym shipped to Mexico and set up in the ballroom of the hotel in which they were staying.
With the gym close by, all of the actors would wake up more than an hour before breakfast in order to train and get their bodies ever so closer to perfection.
Vietnam Veterans Were Hired To Play Soldiers
John Mctiernan firmly asserts that Predator is a horror movie, and not a war film.
With that being said, when the cast of characters are mainly military men, it is important to have some semblance of realism.
Jackie Burch, the movie's casting director, wanted to hire exclusively Vietnam veterans for the soldiers. It did not pan out one hundred percent that way, but some actors were brought on board because of their experience in the war.
Jesse Ventura, for example, was a veteran. Richard Chaves, who plays Poncho, also served and had even written a successful play about war called Tracers.
The fact that even trained soldiers could not match up to the Predator made him that much more scary.
The Crew Was Unable To Fly From The U.S. To Mexico, So An Australian crew was brought in
Because of the limited budget of the first movie, the filmmakers were unable to bring a crew from the United States with them.
A crew from the shooting location in Mexico was hired, but this turned out to be a bad idea.
The crew had no experience in film, which resulted in exploding lights on the first day of filming. Even after this, getting a U.S. team proved impossible.
Cinematographer Donald McAlpine then scrambled to put together a capable team from his native Australia. Nearly overnight, he managed to assemble a crew from more than halfway across the world.
It doesn't seem like it would be easier to hire people from Australia to fly to Mexico rather than the US, but such is the nature of bureaucracy.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Got Married While Filming Predator
Regardless of what one may think of his talent, nobody can deny that Arnold Schwarzenegger puts his heart and soul into every project.
Everybody who has ever collaborated with the Austrian body builder can attest to his extreme, unwavering discipline.
For proof of this, look no further than the fact that he actually tied the knot during production of Predator.
Did the production halt in order to allow Arnold time with his new wife, Maria Shriver? Hardly, John Davis says they all flew out to the wedding on a Friday, and the actor was back on set by Wednesday.
While the marriage lasted more than twenty years, it was sadly brought down by the actor's infidelities.
