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‘Predator’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Shea Serrano, and Kyle Brandt

April 26, 2021 · Predator (1987) · Action · Adventure · Horror · 1:36:13

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Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 23:49Multiple scenes: Arnold meeting Carl Weathers ('Dylan! You son of a bitch!' handshake), skin bodies revelation, hostage rescue/compound raid scene, what's got Billy so spooked, Jesse dies leading to Bill Duke's reaction, and the 90 seconds of gun firing

What's Aged the Worst

Bill Simmons▶ 54:32The mud disguise scene (unrealistic transition from crawling in mud to being fully covered), the hostage character's unclear purpose and role in the story, and Predator 2
Chris Ryan▶ 54:21Hawkins' girlfriend being the target of jokes after losing her boyfriend, and the sexualized portrayal of the hostage character with increasingly revealing clothing
Shea Serrano▶ 55:36The hostage character - agrees she's problematic and notes that in modern movies they would kill her off immediately to show stakes, but in 80s movies you needed the 'saved' ending

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 58:48Jean-Claude Van Damme — Discussed Van Damme being originally cast as the Predator but removed because he was too small at 5'9" and allegedly passed out in the suit
Chris Ryan▶ 1:00:11Jean-Claude Van Damme — Mentioned the original screenplay with Van Damme is available online showing 'Schwarzenegger Hunter' as the title
Kyle Brandt▶ 59:15Jean-Claude Van Damme — Clarified that Van Damme wore a different original Predator suit that looked ridiculous - orange colored like Q-bert, which can be seen on YouTube

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:00:56R.G. Armstrong — RG Armstrong as the old guy - calls him quintessential 'that guy' and says he's the answer to this category
Kyle Brandt▶ 1:01:02R.G. Armstrong — Discusses RG Armstrong being too old for the role but that McTiernan made it work by making him tan, focuses on his helicopter scene

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:08:04Studio insurance required bodyguard for Sonny Landham to protect others from him after he was crawling around licking people at a dance club; Predator has only 8 minutes of screen time; Arnold's Seiko watch became 'the Arnold' and is sought after by collectors; Kevin Peter Hall died at 35 from HIV contracted during blood transfusion on Harry and the Hendersons set
Chris Ryan▶ 1:12:17Said Predator is Apex Mountain for Arnold Schwarzenegger movies but not for Arnold Schwarzenegger himself; agreed Jesse Ventura being governor was longer than Predator impact
Kyle Brandt▶ 1:09:00Compared Sonny Landham's bodyguard to Robert Saleh's 'get back coach' in NFL; suggested Arnold Seiko universe crossover with Commando's Valverde; agreed Predator is better than T2
Shea Serrano▶ 1:09:29Guessed Predator has 7 minutes of screen time (actual answer was 8); agreed Sonny Landham is Apex Mountain; said Bill Duke is not Apex Mountain because of Deep Cover

Picking Nits

Chris Ryan▶ 1:21:07Started to mention a picking nit but statement was cut off

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:24:02Various questions including did Billy have superpowers, did the Predator go to the bathroom in the suit, and is this the movie The Rock is most jealous of
Chris Ryan▶ 1:21:08Why there was no extraction effort - the military immediately says they can't come get the team out of the jungle
Kyle Brandt▶ 1:23:17Why does a stealth unit need 'Old Painless' - an 80-pound minigun for a quiet extraction mission
Shea Serrano▶ 1:22:00Multiple issues: Bill Duke's head being blown off then back together, Predator weapon bouncing off Dutch but killing Apollo Creed, alien traveling across galaxy but not knowing about mud

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:33:05Arnold Schwarzenegger
Chris Ryan▶ 1:33:46Bill Duke — Agreed Bill Duke is the best actor and soul of the movie but couldn't fully commit to him winning
Kyle Brandt▶ 1:33:40Bill Duke — Bill Duke (Mac) - citing his character arc and memorable line 'he was my friend'
Shea Serrano▶ 1:33:10Bill Duke — Mentioned Bill Duke as a possibility but didn't give a definitive pick

Movies Referenced (40)

Rocky (1976)

10 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Kyle Brandt▶ 17:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rocky IV (1985)

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt▶ 16:45IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Aliens (1986)

6 mentions · Chris Ryan, Shea Serrano, Bill Simmons▶ 21:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fast Five (2011)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 6:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Action Jackson (1988)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 20:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Die Hard (1988)

4 mentions · Shea Serrano, Bill Simmons▶ 6:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Wick (2014)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Kyle Brandt▶ 3:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Predators (2010)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 1:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rushmore (1998)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 5:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Kindergarten Cop (1990)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 7:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Extraction (2020)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Kyle Brandt▶ 1:21:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fargo (1996)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 23:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (2)

John McTiernan

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt · Known for Die Hard, Last Action Hero▶ 11:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Robert Rodriguez

2 mentions · Shea Serrano, Bill Simmons▶ 17:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (38)

Arnold Schwarzenegger

68 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt, Shea Serrano · Known for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Terminator▶ 1:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bill Duke

32 mentions · Shea Serrano, Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons · Known for Predator, Commando▶ 5:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jesse Ventura

22 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Kyle Brandt · Known for Predator, The Running Man▶ 5:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Carl Weathers

17 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Shea Serrano · Known for Rocky, Predator, Happy Gilmore▶ 7:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chris Rock

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Top Five, The Longest Yard▶ 36:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Allen Iverson

3 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 1:29:43IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Joel Silver

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Nice Guys, The Matrix▶ 16:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Vincent Hanna

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:01:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Charles Barkley

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for He Got Game, Space Jam▶ 45:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Danny Glover

2 mentions · Kyle Brandt · Known for Lethal Weapon▶ 18:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dutch Johnson

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt▶ 50:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

F. Pierre Gatling

2 mentions · Shea Serrano · Known for Space Jam▶ 27:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (5)

Shane Black

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt, Shea Serrano · Known for Predator, The Nice Guys, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang▶ 8:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jim Thomas

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt · Known for Predator, Wild Wild West▶ 16:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 19:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Noah Baumbach

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Squid and the Whale, Marriage Story▶ 31:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

William Goldman

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, The Princess Bride▶ 1:29:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Michael Grantland

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Other Guys▶ 1:29:27IMDb ↗Lb ↗