SXSW 2010: 'Predators' First Look
Contributor Rod Paddock was lucky enough to get into a "first look" at Predators during SXSW and wrote up the following account of the event. The film is being produced and co-written by Austin filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and was shot in part at local Troublemaker Studios.
On Friday night I was in possession of what has to one of the "golden tickets" of SXSW. This golden ticket was the combination of a SXSW Express pass and a red Predators ticket (see image). The combination of these two items gave me the chance be a part of the sneak preview of the Robert Rodriguez and Nimrod Antal reboot of the Predator franchise: Predators.
After hours of waiting the house lights dimmed, and out came the master of ceremonies, Austin's native son Robert Rodriguez. He started the evening showing us the trailer for Predators. I don't think I have ever been so pumped after seeing a trailer. By every indication this movie is going to be off the hook and will satisfy Predator fans worldwide. The trailer introduces our protagonists, who find themselves transported to a Predator hunting planet. There are some heavy hitters in this cast: Lawrence Fishburne, Adrien Brody and Topher Grace. We also have one of my favorite actors, Walton Goggins (who you might remember from the FX show The Shield).
After the screening of the trailer, Rodriguez told the audience the history of how his involvement in the Predator franchise happened. This movie came from a pure writing job Robert took while waiting for the start of Desperado. Originally it was going to be a sequel for Arnold Schwarzenegger, with his character Dutch transported to a hunting planet as a prize to be hunted. Well, we all know that didn't happen and over a decade later, Rodriguez and the Troublemaker crew were knee deep in rebooting one of the best characters ever created.
After more explanation of how this project got off the ground, Rodriguez showed us a different version of the trailer. This version has a few more scenes intercut and gave you a better idea of what is transpiring on the hunter planet.
The ordering of the evening's events are a little hazy to me, but here are some more highlights. Two key players in the reboot joined Robert on the stage: special effects wizard Greg Nicotero and film director Nimrod Antal. There was also and one more "special guest," an animatronic Predator head used in the film.
During the next 45 minutes the audience was treated to views of the conceptual artwork from Predators running in the background -- there are some cool new Predator designs, Predator dogs and other scary as hell creatures that are going to show up in this film. While the images ran, Nicotero, Antal and Rodriguez went into more details of the fun they had making this film and rebooting a franchise they are huge fans of. We watched one more clip from the movie, in which we learn that Lawrence Fishburne was on the planet before the other people and is a badass in every sense of the word.
Finally we were treated to a Q&A where we learned more about the tribal nature of the Predators and finally that this reboot is in great hands. I am confident that audiences will not be disappointed.