Jean-Claude Van Damme’s failed Predator casting dominated; the much shorter original suit and contradictory firing accounts were preserved.
In the discussion (2)
- Van Damme was reportedly too short for the creature concept and may also have passed out or objected to the suit.
- The finished Predator actor Kevin Peter Hall also appears as the helicopter pilot.
Ideas included Apollonia or Elisabeth Shue as Anna and Bill Paxton, Damon Wayans, or an early Chris Rock as Hawkins.
In the discussion (5)
- Apollonia was proposed for the hostage role.
- Elisabeth Shue was proposed for the hostage role.
- Bill Paxton was the most enthusiastic Hawkins proposal.
- Damon Wayans was proposed for a sharper wisecracking Hawkins.
- An early Chris Rock was proposed for a sharper wisecracking Hawkins.
Research covered the miserable jungle shoot, arm-size prank, Predator blood/sound, Sunny Landham’s required bodyguard, screen time, Seiko watch, and Kevin Peter Hall’s death.
In the discussion (8)
- The cold, wet, leech-filled shoot and weightlifting culture were described.
- The cast staged an arm-size prank at Jesse Ventura’s expense.
- Predator blood used Mountain Dew, glow sticks, and lubricant.
- The Predator’s vocal sound imitated a dying horseshoe crab.
- Insurers required a bodyguard to protect other people from Sunny Landham.
- The Predator appears on screen for roughly eight minutes.
- Arnold’s Seiko watch became a collector model nicknamed for the film.
- Kevin Peter Hall died at 35 after contracting HIV through a blood transfusion.
Dutch’s name, the missing team dinner, mud thermodynamics, absent extraction, restored bodies, Arnold’s durability, and Old Painless’s stealth value were questioned.
In the discussion (9)
- The origin and full form of Dutch’s name were unclear.
- Sunny Landham’s character could simply have been named Sunny rather than Billy.
- The film could have used a pre-mission team dinner to deepen the ensemble.
- MythBusters reportedly found that mud would not conceal body heat.
- The lack of extraction effort for an elite team was questioned.
- Mac’s destroyed head later appears restored.
- The same weapon that removes Dillon’s arm barely harms Dutch.
- A galaxy-traveling alien failing to understand mud camouflage seemed implausible.
- Old Painless seems poorly suited to stealth extraction.
Questions covered Billy’s perception, Predator biology, the Rock’s missing equivalent, the Predator’s mission, the opening spaceship, the creature’s perspective, and a Sunny Landham documentary/life story.
In the discussion (19)
- Did Billy have supernatural perception or only elite tracking skill?
- How did the Predator handle bodily functions?
- Is Predator the movie the Rock most wishes he had made?
- Was the Predator on a hunting trip?
- Was the Predator on an exploration mission?
- Did the Predator have a larger plan for humanity or the jungle?
- Did the opening spaceship shot reveal too much?
- Was the Predator’s echoed “what the hell are you?” evidence that humans were equally alien to it?
- Did the invisible-Predator effects arrive at exactly the right point in visual-effects history?
- Would a documentary about Sunny Landham’s volatile life be compelling?
- What position did Sunny Landham play during his year at the University of Georgia?
- Landham played football for one year at the University of Georgia.
- Landham served in the Army and later worked in an oil field.
- Landham worked as an ordained Baptist minister and model and appeared in adult films and Playgirl.
- His cited film run included The Warriors, 48 Hrs., Predator, Action Jackson, and Lock Up.
- Landham later ran for governor of Kentucky.
- The discussion reported five marriages and a federal conviction for threatening phone calls to his wife.
- A four-car crash badly injured Landham before his death at 76.
- How should the darker parts of Landham’s political and personal record affect the documentary?
Casting What-Ifs