Predator
Soon the hunt will begin.
Predator (1987)
![Watch film Predator — PREDATOR Official Trailer [1987]](https://www.acmodasi.in/amdb/images/posters/f/k/bePveY8aqtkF.webp)
Production
Budget
$15 000 000
Revenue
$98 267 558
Director
Scenario
Composer
Producer
Actors
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Major Alan 'Dutch' Schaefer
Carl Weathers
Al Dillon
Kevin Peter Hall
The Predator / Helicopter Pilot
Elpidia Carrillo
Anna Gonsalves
Bill Duke
Mac Eliot
Jesse Ventura
Blain Cooper
Sonny Landham
Billy Sole
Richard Chaves
Jorge 'Poncho' Ramirez
Short description
Predator follows a team of elite commandos sent into a Central American jungle on a covert rescue mission. Their assignment is to free hostages held by guerrillas, but the operation turns out to be built on deception, and the soldiers soon discover they are being stalked by something not of this world. The unseen enemy hunts them one by one, and the survivors must rethink everything they know about warfare to have any chance against it.
John McTiernan directed the film, his second feature after Nomads and the one that preceded Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October and later entries in his filmography. Jim and John Thomas wrote the screenplay, and Joel Silver, Lawrence Gordon and John Davis produced it. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer, with Carl Weathers as Al Dillon, Elpidia Carrillo as Anna Gonsalves, Bill Duke as Mac Eliot, Jesse Ventura as Blain Cooper, and Kevin Peter Hall as the Predator.
Made for about 15 million dollars, the film earned roughly 98 million worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 7.8 from around 498,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.6 from over 9,500 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 6.4 from 115 reviews, suggesting audiences embraced it more warmly than reviewers did at the time.
What's left behind the scenes
- The filmmakers tried to shoot a scene where the Predator was supposed to jump from tree to tree. For this purpose, they wanted to use a monkey dressed in a special red suit. However, the monkey constantly tried to get rid of the uncomfortable outfit. Eventually, they had to abandon the idea.
- The idea for the Predator’s lower jaw belongs to James Cameron.
- The original title of the film was "Hunter."
- Initially, the Predator was envisioned as a creature with a long neck, a head resembling a dog's head, and a large eye in the middle of its face. The alien's design underwent significant revisions after Stan Winston joined the project.
- The two waterfalls that appear in the film shortly before the finale are located near Palenque, Mexico.
- The idea for the film arose from a joke: someone once said that the only creature Rocky Balboa hadn't fought was an alien from a Steven Spielberg film.
- Two actors who played commandos were later elected governor of their states: Jesse Ventura became governor of Minnesota in 1998, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California in 2003. Sonny Landham also ran for governor of Kentucky, but lost the election.
- Although the minigun fired blanks during filming, Ventura had to wear a bulletproof vest to protect himself from the ejected casings. If live rounds had been used during filming, the recoil would have been approximately equivalent to a force of 110 kilograms. The ammunition for a twenty-second shooting scene would have consisted of: 2000 rounds x 12.5 grams (the weight of each bullet) = 25 kilograms, and all of this ammunition would have had to fit in Ventura's backpack.
- Sonny Landham got the role in this film with one condition: the insurance company insisted on having a bodyguard around Landham around the clock. However, the bodyguard was supposed to protect not him, but the other actors, as Sonny was a big fan of fighting.
- John McTiernan lost 25 pounds (approximately 11.4 kg) during filming in Mexico.
- Due to safety regulations, Arnold Schwarzenegger was not allowed to light a cigar inside the helicopter. A small red glow was added to the cigar using computer effects.
- Jesse Ventura was overjoyed to learn that his bicep was larger than Arnold Schwarzenegger's. During filming, he proposed to Arnold that they measure the circumference of their arms, with the winner receiving a bottle of champagne. To Ventura’s surprise, Schwarzenegger’s bicep turned out to be bigger. The fact was that Arnold had specifically colluded with the costume designers, who gave Ventura false information.
- For his role, Arnold Schwarzenegger lost 25 pounds (approximately 11.3 kg).
- In the 'thermovision' scene, where the Predator examines the killed scorpion, you can see the date the scene was filmed – 12:19 on May 22, 1986.
- The genus of Brazilian spiders, Predatoroonops, was named after the alien from this film because the male chelicerae are similar to those of the alien. All 17 species also have names related to the film – character names, actor names, film creators, the name of the fictional country where the film takes place (Valverde), and the self-name of the Predator race in the expanded universe (Yautja). The genus is divided into two groups based on the features of the carapace structure – Schwarzeneggeri and Peterhalli, named after Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kevin Peter Hall.
- Filming took place from April 14th to June 1986. From April 25th to May 12th, filming was suspended due to Arnold Schwarzenegger's wedding to actress Maria Shriver. Arnold flew to the wedding in the USA on a private plane chartered by producer Joel Silver.
- Filming took place in Mexico. The first shots were filmed near the ancient city of Palenque, but the majority of filming took place near Puerto Vallarta.
- During filming, John McTiernan broke his wrist.
- John McTiernan admitted that R.G. Armstrong was too old for his role. Makeup artists had to cover Armstrong’s face with multiple layers of makeup to conceal his age.
- Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast as the Predator, but left the project after two days of filming because he didn't want to be a "walking special effect." Kevin Peter Hall replaced him.
- Blaine's weapon (Jesse Ventura) – a hand-held six-barreled Gatling gun – is actually mounted on helicopters or airplanes and requires a power source to operate. The rate of fire of such a gun is so high that the shooter simply wouldn’t be able to control the recoil. And the ammunition that a single fighter could carry would be expended in 15-20 seconds. In the custom-made "Minigun" XM-214 used for filming (which fired only blanks), the rate of fire was artificially reduced to 2000 rounds per minute, and the power cable was hidden in the actor's trousers; to hold the gun, the actor leaned against a support, which, of course, is not visible.
- Shane Black, who played Hawkins, is also a successful writer with screenwriting credits for films such as "Lethal Weapon" (1987), "Last Boy Scout" (1991), "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (1996), and "Kiss the Girls" (2005).
- During the end credits, you can see Shane Black reading the comic book "Sgt. Rock." In the late 1980s, Schwarzenegger was considered for the lead role in a film adaptation of the comic, so Arnold brought many issues of "Sgt. Rock" to the set.
- "Predator" marked the acting debut for Jesse Ventura and Shane Black.
- Shane Black, who played Hawkins, spent his free time on set writing the screenplay for "Last Boy Scout" (1991).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
