Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here with a few tidbits of information that have come out of Shane Black's press junket for his latest movie, THE NICE GUYS. While I'm curious to see the dynamic between Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe play out in that film, my biggest curiosity with Black is what's going on with his PREDATOR film. We've all seen the poster a few months back and have heard rumblings about his excitement and the possibilty of Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to the franchise, but haven't really heard much past that. Well thanks to Eric from Joblo for asking the question a lot of us fans have been curious about: When is production going to kick up?
"I think we're looking at end of September, maybe. Latest would be October, depending on casting. We might have to go over if we cast someone who isn't available yet. But if we get the right guys, September." - Black
Boom! The sooner the better in my eyes. I actually enjoyed the hell out of Nimród Antal's 2010 stab at the franchise, though provided Black helped elevate the first film from what it could have been and transformed it into a classic, I'm dying to see what the man does now having complete control (well hopefully Fox is giving him everything he needs/not making bizarre requests based on IMDB rankings).
"If you look at the opening of the first Predator, with the helicopters coming in and landing with the smoke and the native people... It was so compelling because it established a world in which this is still mysterious for you. It's not a sci-fi world. It was so fresh back then, like a "why didn't I think of that, what the fuck?" quality to it. I'd like to get back to a movie where it's three months out and people are like, "Let's get our tickets now because we're aware of this, it seems like they put the money and attention into it, it's not just a knock-off." Really try to get back to that feeling of wonderment, mystery and adventure. A fresh movie."- Black
While details are slim, (heaven forbid we have surprises to look forward to!), Max over at ComingSoon.net hit up Black on rumors that he'll be heavily changing the iconic look of the Predator.
"There have been a lot of changes to Stan’s design over the years. These different Predator movies have done different things. Ultimately it’s not about design to me, it’s about the story you want to tell. There are people who are always going to agonize over Iron Man, what color his suit is. Maybe this weapon does a new thing, but if the story is not good I don’t give a sh*t what color the suit is. In ‘The Predator’ we’re doing a lot of upgrades to what you would consider to be the traditional Predator technology and look, but hopefully the story is what’s going to drag people in, not just the attention to the minutiae.”
What I wouldn't have given to be a fly on that junket wall... Fortunately fellow fan sites out there were able to ask the questions I'd hope to know myself, even just knowing that it's definitely going to be an R rating gets me excited about the project, to know the man's been given the green light to do practically whatever he wants with the film not having a rating predetermined based on appealing to a wider audience. (Thanks DEADPOOL!) I implore to to click on the links above and read the different sites' thoughts on the film and the junket they were able to attend.
THE PREDATOR hits screens on March 2, 2018.
- Mike McCutchen
"Muldoon"
Mike@aintitcool.com
