here are some things in this life guez's Troublemaker Studios in Austin, and I thought, 'How can we return to the that seem to have always been TX. "I had the poster on my wall, so made jungle without feeling like we're repeat­ T here, which carry such a level of a big impression. And being a fat kid with ing everything?' perfection that we as mere mortals cannot braces named Nimrod, I was very much "So my whole pitch to Fox," he contin­ possibly fathom that they were created by into hiding; movies were a way to do that." ues, "was to take it to another planet­ human hands. For genre fans, one of these Antal previously helmed the under­ where, when you see [the ' wonders exists in the form of a little rated Vacancy and Armored (featuring game) preserve, you understand why they movie called . Laurence Fishburne, who also stars in gravitated toward the rain forest in the Over the years, various filmmakers Predators), but this journey into a proven first movie; it felt like something they had

have taken a hammer and at home, or could be recreated. chisel to the towering sphinx That was something that Arnold that is John McTiernan's 1987 [Schwarzenegger] responded to vehi­ when I talked with him. He cle, slowly chipping away at it. didn't care for the second Pred­ These vandals have been re­ ator at all. Ultimately, he didn't sponsible for (which do it, but people just liked that didn't hurt too badly, even feeling of the first movie. ff given the dreadlocked Rastas What does separate this and unwelcome urban land­ new chapter from the original is scape), and the unfortunate the characters and their rela­ duo of vs. Predator and tionships. Gone is the elite mili­ Aliens vs. Predator-Requiem . tary unit; instead, Predators' And now, Predators, directed storyline (scripted by Alex Lit­ by Nimrod Antal and produced vak and Michael Finch) forces a by Robert Rodriguez, is set to group of total strangers-all uncloak July 9 from Fox. But dangerous in their own right­ before you throw up your arms to band together in order to sur­ in the face of what seems like vive. They've been plucked out another cash-in, consider what of their day-to-day lives from would happen if the right group different corners of the world, of people were part of this pro­ deemed worthy opponents in ject-people who cared about the Predators' eyes. And they the source material and want­ all have secrets, each equally ed to truly expand the mythol­ compelling. ogy. Better still, what if a "That was sort of the crite­ full-blown, self-professed film ria I had with the writers," geek took the directing reins? Rodriguez explains. "Ifwe were "I went to see the first going to bring in all these indi­

Predator when I was 14, ff Antal vidual characters, I wanted to tells Fango during a break on make sure that each one is the new movie's shoot at Rodri- strong enough-even if it's only hinted at-that the audience franchise is new territory. "It's likes them or is interested enough that a bigger film, and working with they would want to follow him or her in visual effects and prosthetics is their own movie. Each of them could be something I hadn't done in the the star of their own film, because they earlier movies, so that's excit­ have a rich enough mythology. It's a great ing. It has been an awesome jumping-off point. ff experience, and a b ig deal for When news of Fishburne joining the me to be given this chance, so cast as marooned character Noland sur­ I'm very happy and grateful to faced, some fans expressed disappoint­ be involved. ff ment, since the role seemed like a perfect An equally rabid cinephile, cameo opportunity for Schwarzenegger's Rodriguez has been attached to heroic Dutch. "It could've been, ff Rodri­ Predators as far back as the guez admits, " and it would've worked early '90s, when he wrote a first fine. What's nice about it being someone incarnation of the screenplay. else is that it expands the world even "Originally, I just wanted to get more. If it was a guy we'd already seen, back to the jungle, ff he says, we would think, 'OK, that must have been "because that's what I loved the limit of [the Predators') fishing trips.' about the first one. They had Laurence came in and is not playing any­ gone to the city [in] Predator 2, body you've seen before. It's just captivat- ing, and the audience is really going to dig this. You want to see his movie." When Fango visits Troublemaker Stu­ dios, most of the actors are gearing up for a grueling night shoot, and the production is rushing to assure they have all the takes they need. While we marvel at the crea­ ture design art and storyboards plastered on the walls, members of the cast are ush­ ered in to talk about their Predators roles. One of the more mysterious of the group is a Yakuza samurai known as Hanzo; elu­ sive and covered in Japanese mob tattoos, he's played by Louis Ozawa Changchien. "Hanzo is not very talkative," the actor says. "He's a man of few words. There's also a glove for my character that hides two missing fingers, and has a crest on it with a hidden meaning." Once the tattoos have been applied after an almost three­ and-a-half-hour process, Ozawa feels truly transformed: "Having those done is like putting on a costume. It's like, all right, now I'm ready for battle!" Brazilian actress Alice Braga already has experience with sci-fi action from I Am Legend and Repo Men; here, she plays a sniper named Isabelle who is haunted by Predators' "heroes" may have killed before-but not nearly as many as the monstrous villains. Russian Navy type." What fans will be most excited to learn is that Nikolai's presence involves the re­ turn of the now-iconic Gatling-type Mini­ gun that Jesse Ventura wields in the ·-we