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Written by Vicente Williams Saturday, 13 March 2010 01:02
Tonight Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Planet Terror) and his director, Nimrod Antal (Armored, Vacancy) presented an exclusive first look at their reboot of the "Predator" franchise. The Alamo Drafthouse on Sixth Street in Austin was at capacity and John Pierson (famed independent producer) and Chris Gore from Film Threat were just a some of the VIPs in attendance at Austin's hottest ticket.
Rodriguez took the stage and was cheered by the hometown crowd. He began the evening with a anecdote about his initial take on the film which he'd submitted to FOX many years ago. The newly minted director had the opportunity to pitch Arnold Schwarzeneggar after "Predator 2" but before he'd become California's top politician. Fox liked the script, but do to a variety of reasons, the project ended up getting shelved.
Rodriguez introduced the film's director, Antal, and began talking about their take on the franchise and vision for the film. They described the difference between the old and new predators as being an 8-track version vs. the iPod version. Images of alien landscapes, predator dogs, small unmanned aerial vehicles and predator creature designs flashed one after another on the screen behind them. One image in particular stood out, a predator in what looked like a suit from "Tron, " neoprene black with lasers emanating from within. The visuals were definitely breathtaking concepts (most of which, Rodriguez remarked, would not appear in the film.)
The lights went down and the real show began. A lush jungle landscape and Adrien Brody's voice "What was the last thing you remember?" "I was supposed to be executed two days ago," another voice says. "We were chosen," "This planet is a game reserve." The scene is a small armed group of people running through the jungle. The predators are not seen anywhere in the trailer, but they're definitely felt. Oddly enough, the same sound effect heard in the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" trailer can be heard throughout. Toward the end of the trailer Brody is bathed in one, then two, then three and then twenty predator laser sights. It's obvious the filmmakers are adopting a "less is more" approach, and slowly revealing the antagonists.
Greg Nicotero who worked for Stan Winston on the original "Predator, " and designed the creatures for this project was also on hand. Greg talked about how excited he was about "re-creating that classic icon .. you don't get chances like this." Robert pointedly said "There are no CGI predators," to which the audience responded with loud applause. "We have a dog handler predator, a falconer predator which has this U.A.V.S. It's like an eye in the sky for them," Nimrod said. "How much are we going to get to see those awesome bird-like predators," an audience member later asked. "You'll get to see just enough," Rodriguez responded to audience laughter.
In the final clip of the evening, the group is gathered and talking. Suddenly they become dead silent. The character with his back to the camera turns around and becomes pale. "What are you?" he asks. The predator slowly pulls of his mask to reveal his face, it's Lawrence Fishburne. Fishburne berates the new arrivals for being loud and smelling. "If I can smell you, they can smell you, " he says and then begins to walk away carrying the predator helmet in hand.
It's abundantly clear that the filmmakers worked really hard to give die hard fans a film they could be proud of. Throughout the session, Antal reinforced how much of an obligation he felt to the fans and that he didn't want to let them down. "My barber in Budapest had a predator tattoo," he remarked at one point, driving home the importance of the characters to a global fan base.
As the Q & A began to wrap, audience members walked up to the stage and were allowed to come face-to-face with an animatronic predator head from the first film - causing my friend to nearly faint with giddy excitement.
And the grand finale? That would be our "Oprah" moment. Rodriguez had been handing out "Predators" swag to the "best questions from the audience." He finally announced that we'd all be getting our very own laser (predator-style) pointers, t-shirts and a limited edition poster. The audience cheered and filed out with smiling faces and the warmth in your heart that only an alien killing machine can bring.
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