Predators Set to Prey and Slay This Summer
Predators Set to Prey and Slay This Summer
Interviews with Adrien Brody, Robert Rodriguez, Walton Goggins & more
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"The witch has invited you into the oven," we members of the press are told as we assemble around a manmade tunnel on one of the soundstages at Robert Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios in Austin, TX.
We're about to watch Predators star Adrien Brody crawl on his belly through that tiny, inky hole using his elbows to move forward as he holds a massive weapon of mass-destruction in his sinewy hands. I'm not certain if he's hunting the alien Predators or if he's eluding them, and I'll never know for sure because as it turns out the set is too hot and smoky and has to be cleared of an unnecessary bodies. That's us: unnecessary.
Before exiting the premises, the snippets of dialogue I heard were terse and tense… definitely nothing along the lines of the Arnold-isms quipped in the first Predator film done back in the 80s.
Prior to his immersion into the darkness, Brody gave an interview and we discussed how he'd be playing a role similar to the one most movie buffs associate with the Governator. Obviously, Brody's not muscle bound (though his body is lean and mean) and he's not a cigar-chomping wisecrack-dispenser (but he does have a sense of sly humor), so what's the tone of the new movie going to be? The Academy Award winning actor says it's important to not indulge in the jokes too heavily, but "At the same time, you know, those one-liners if they work, they're really fun. We all love them and [in the Schwarzenegger voice] 'Stick around,' is really funny. Nobody would say that to you if they just stabbed you in a jungle somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
"I'm trying to play Royce in such a way that this is the guy I want to be with if the shit hit the fan. This is the guy. This is the go-to guy. He's got an answer. He's level headed. He does his business and moves on. But within that, I know we're making Predators and I'm constantly trying to incorporate those things and some elements to which I have given a lot of thought. I'm taking it very seriously, but I have a sense of humor about it."
While Brody is shooting, we talk to inked actors Walton Goggins (temporary tatts), Danny Trejo (the real deal), muscle-bound actor Oleg Taktarov, and not-so-sculpted Topher Grace, who plays Edwin in the film. "I’ve been singing this song from School House Rock, 'One of these things is not like the other…'," Grace jokes. "Edwin is very different than everyone else in the film. You’re supposed to wonder why he was chosen [to fight Predators] when all these other similar types were selected. And there’s a twist. Of course. Actors live to play twists."
And then there is the obligatory woman, but hardly a damsel in distress, Alicia Braga plays a sniper. "She’s…we can say a tough cookie. She’s…I can say she’s sweet inside but tough outside but just out to do her craft more than anything. It’s funny, Nimrod [Antal], the director—he gave me a little book that talks about snipers. It’s kind of a manual that snipers use in the Army, and it talks a lot about how they prepare and what are the qualities that a sniper must have and one of the qualities like being really focused and you cannot be emotional. You cannot look at the other as [a person], you need to think about the target. Knowing that information tells a lot about how a sniper is, and that’s who she is."
Goggins and Trejo play what appear to be 'bad guys' at first. "My name’s Cuchillo in this, right?" says Trejo in his characteristic rapid-fire rap. "For some reason Robert always gives me these sharp object names. I was Navajas in Desperado, I was Razor Charlie in From Dusk 'Til Dawn, I am Cuchillo in this. And next I am Machete."
While we can assume he'll be spilling some alien blood at some point in the film, he's introduced as a victim. "I play one of the hunted. I’m a…ok, now how do you make an assassin/drug dealer sound likable? I play one of the guys that the Predator is hunting. There's a group of us that they captured because we’re all killers, and for sport they hunt us. [We’re] really outgunned, even though I walk around with these two machine guns, and a 9-millimeter, and a knife. And so we all start coming together trying to fight this Predator. So it’s amazing watching this group of all solitary kinda killers try to become a unit."
Goggins is happy to show off his novel ink, as we all marvel at their detail. There's one on his neck that's especially gnarly. "You like the tats? Check this out. It’s crazy on the neck. How about this on the arms, man. Check that out. They’re all over the place. We did one [special, because] I wanted him to have one that he didn’t get in prison, so we did one with color and it probably took an entire month’s rent to get this one tattoo, but he has it. He got the rest in prison.
"It requires like an hour of makeup every day to put them on. And I’ve requested that they not be taken off at the end of every day just so I can kind of freak people out in 7-11. I find that I have no problem getting a table at a restaurant when I walk in. [Laughs]"
Goggins plays Stanz 38. "[For] 38 kills," explains the actor. "He’s a celebrity in his own mind and a famous kind of... I think he just had a bad three days. He went off his meds for three days. It’s interesting because his crimes were committed 15 years ago. He’s been on death row for all that time, so he’s not lonely because of all the fan mail. So he’s a little more well adjusted than most serial killers, I think."
Good to know there are well-adjusted serial killers and "sweet" snipers in the movie, but of course what everyone really wants to know the most about are the Predators themselves. Earlier in the day, we got to explore an outdoor set which was made up look like a battlefield. It's the location where the Predators do something akin to a canned hunt, where they do their target practice on exotic "animals" assembled from all over the galaxy. Humans make up just a small portion of that population — amongst the corpses and skulls strewn about the jungle and thick mud were things with horns, elongated bodies, and yes, even a classic Alien-alien or two.
After seeing where they kill, we were able to see how they kill, thanks to a guided tour of the greenscreen stage from KNB FX guru Greg Nicotero and the towering stuntman and actor Kerry Jones who demonstrated some of the weaponry for us.
Jones plays one of the dog trackers, so he gets to have a pretty wicked-cool freak on a leash. The alien dogs have spike-like horns and are festooned with chains and sharp teeth which are sometimes augmented by CGI. "The one thing that Nimrod started talking about was how these pictures of these hyenas from Africa were big," Nicotero said, showing a model. "They were tall and powerful, really muscular. And Chris Olivia, who is one of the designers here at Troublemaker did a concept where he incorporated all of these horns. So the Predator dogs had these really unique horns that lineup on the side of the head, then go backwards from the shoulders."
Nicotero also explains why the old Predator look had to be modified and upgraded. "It was one of those situations where you can't just take a mold off of the shelf and go, 'OK, here's the Predator hand, and now we're going to make all the dreadlocks and all of the jewelry on the dreadlocks.' Each piece had to be sculpted and molded and designed and manufactured. And of course we needed multiple suits; because we have hero suits, and then we have suits that get blown out. So each character had multiple incarnations, and so Kerry, who is wearing death suit [had to be specially fitted]. He is a suit performer and he also works at KNB; he's one of our makeup effects guys. He's been on location and worked at the shop for years. He had the perfect body physique, he's really athletic, and he's perfect in the suit."
A few days prior, Brody got to act in a fight sequence with one of the Predator dog-trackers. "The dog sequence is pretty awesome. There was kind of a cacophony of different things going on in that one. There was a lot of action happening in that sequence, but the battle between the Predators was the most exciting. We're not done yet, so it's interesting to be talking about it. I'm chomping at the bit to do some more stuff..."
Kerry confirms that that scene, the clash of the Predators, was pretty intense. "I had to jump through a tree and then run full speed and tackle him. And basically, the impact the mask hit me in the face, and cut me around the eye and the nose." Nicotero remembers seeing that in the monitor. "They were moving so fast that the first take we did when they collided both of the masks flew off, because they hit so hard and Kerry said the funniest thing though, because [on the last take] they just collided. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. And when I push the playback Kerry had to run, jump on a log, and land in a puddle, then keep running at full speed in at the last minute. He's running and he lowers his head like a football player, and they just collided. I watched the playback and I went; 'Oh my God, that was the most amazing thing I had ever seen in my life!' And Kerry said, 'Thanks. I just don't want to do it again.'"
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Look for more reports from the set of PREDATORS as the July 2010 release date approaches