Film Talk: Looking Back – 35 years of getting to the chopper with Predator
Every once in a while a film arrives that with time and maturity becomes cemented as a classic of its genre, and this one is no exception. Get to the chopper folks... Let’s do this...
Directed by John McTiernan and written by brothers Jim and John Thomas, 1987’s Predator stands as one of the most famous sci-fi action flicks of all time, and though some consider it a somewhat guilty pleasure, a pleasure it is nonetheless.
The first instalment in the Predator franchise, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger himself as the leader of an elite paramilitary rescue team on a mission to save hostages in guerrilla-held territory in a Central American rainforest. Little does Mr Schwarzenegger know however that the mission will lead him to be stalked by a deadly and technologically advanced alien hell-bent on making the muscle-man its prey.
With the flick having been written in 1984 under the working title of Hunter, filming for Predator took place in early 1986. With superb creature effects devised by Stan Winston, the budget for the film was around $15 million.
But would this terrifying sci-fi death romp deliver enough financial return to make producers happy? The hunt for success was on...
