Predator, 1987
Hello again and welcome back to an all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This is a very special time for J. Blake and Dion Baia, because this signifies the 20th anniversary of their friendship. So they decided to tackle a movie that not only turns 30 this year, but also was something that they mutually loved when they entered film school and bonded over when they shared a dorm room. So this go around the boys are talking the Arnold Schwarzenegger/John McTiernan classic, Predator, from 1987!
After briefly reminiscing about their serendipitous pairing freshman year in college, Dion and Blake immediately realize that this is the first movie where the entire cast and most of the prominent crew have already appeared on SNMS, and should all be inducted in the SNMS Hall of Fame. The boys then get into the nuts and bolts of the film, while not in anyway hiding their love for this property. They first have an in depth discussion about the original alien suit and the Jean-Claude Van Damme controversy, and what led to bringing in Stan Winston for a complete redesign of that suit, to what we all love and know today. They compare elements of the novelization and some of the significant differences between it and the story we see in the finished film. And Dion also proposes a new theory for the creatures’ initial motivation to engage Arnold‘s elite team. So, in the novelization, why is the Predator hunting humans in the first place? What famous story concerning the folklore of this film does Blake take slight umbrage with? Does Van Damme actually get a raw deal here through the prism of history? And how many quotes and imitations can the boys fit into one humble podcast? Well grab your gear, face-paint and M134 miniguns, and make sure you watch your six, cause the boys are taking ‘Old Painless into the jungle and down memory lane on this all new and very special installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! #sleepovermischief
*Dion misspoke during the podcast- he meant the term “Over The Transom“.
Extras:
Check out a deleted scene talked about in the podcast, of Dutch attempting to escape the Predator.
Have a look at a great ‘making-of’ documentary from 1987, for Predator.
Take a glance at the original theatrical trailer for the film.
Lastly, here is Dion with Jesse ‘the Body’ Ventura, circa 2006 or 2007.
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Damn right Predator! I was hoping you guys would get to this movie. This is one of my earliest memories of my dad renting a movie. I walked in when he was watching and he let me stay to watch it with him.
Funny thing about Peter Cullen doing the voice because up until a few years ago I thought it was Frank Welker. When you hear the Predator laugh at the end, I swore up and down that’s a Frank Welker laugh. I know it’s imitating Billy’s laugh but there’s something about it that made me think otherwise.
And you’re not alone, I would totally go to bat for Last Action Hero! Fucking love that movie! I enjoyed it on face value as a kid but got more appreciation for it as an adult once I realized it’s just as much a send of up action movies as it is an action movie.
Great episode, guys! They just keep getting better and better. Keep up the good work.
-Jose
P.S. I heard Blake mention Streets of Fire in the podcast…just gonna throw out my obligatory recommendation for that movie right here 🙂
Hey Jose! Great to hear from you again. So glad you liked the episode, it certainly is one of our favorites. And yeah, Cullen does sound very “Welker” in his delivery. So glad that it is one of them though giving the Predator his voice, ha. And we’re so glad you could be the 3rd person we can add to the ‘We Love LAST ACTION HERO List”. So funny. And that will definitely be something we’ll get to at some point. As always, thank you so much for everything, and we’re so glad we’re still giving you stuff you like. Take care and talk soon.
One of the 80’s top action movies gets an awesome podcast. Blake got it right about the cast “They were the Expendables before the Expendables”. As for the final trap, well, uh, I guess Dutch was thinking ten steps ahead & just knew the Predator was going to avoid the decoy spike trap & walk over to the side so he stands right underneath the log. I guess? RIP Sonny Landham.
I just want to add a few things that I learned from Jesse’s Ventura book “I Ain’t Got Time To Bleed” (back in 1999 after he became Gov. of Minnesota). Predator was responsible for agents becoming involved in pro wrestling. Jesse had Barry Bloom represent him in his Hollywood work & asked WWF owner Vince McMahon why he doesn’t represent him in wrestling too. Vince said we have no agents in wrestling so Jesse quit the WWF & after ten weeks Vince finally gave in to Jesse’s demands. Today, nearly every wrestler has an agent, but back then it was considered a big no-no.
Ventura claims that during the shoot, he was handed new changes to the script that would’ve taken away some of Blain’s best lines & given them to another character. Can you imagined somebody else saying the “Bleed” one-liner? He talked to Joel Silver about it & got to keep his lines after all. He also did his own rappelling & said that Van Damme got fired from the film.
Finally, as for Predator 2 (I guess I’m of the “few” people who liked it), Jesse asked Arnold why he turned down $17 million to do it & Arnold told him the timing wasn’t right. Basically, Arnold just doesn’t do things for the money.
Like Jose wrote, Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the insight and for taking the time to comment and most all…thanks for listening!
– Blake