'Predators' Details Straight From Rodriguez

Harry Knowles over at Ain’t It Cool News caught up with Robert Rodriguez to discuss Predators - which he is no longer directing, but is producing (in a very hands-on capacity) and still at least co-writing. Who will be directing, you ask? And why did Rodriguez pick him for the job? And you want to know some details about the direction the film is heading? Well, keep reading.

Nimrod Antal, director of Kontroll, Vacancy and the upcoming Armored, will be heading up the project now. When asked why he chose Antal, Rodriguez had this to say. “First of all, on a personal level I found him to be an outstanding presence, a great communicator full of ideas, and upon meeting him you can immediately understand how he is able to wrangle cast and crew and get the best out of everyone.” He also gushed about Antal’s previous work and went so far as to say, “He reminded me of Quentin with how he was able to work with a group of very strong, singular actor talents and make it look effortless.”

Knowles also asked why Rodriguez wouldn’t be directing it himself. “When I was hired to write the original draft back in 1994, I was only brought on as a writer.” Rodriguez said, “I never thought I’d get to work on it in any other capacity.” He went on to say that he had been approached a few months ago by Fox’s Alex Young, who wanted to use his “original draft as a template for getting as far away as possible from the AVP movies.” However, “I was already booked up as a director when this came back to me, but I still wanted to have a hand in making it. So I lobbied to have the movie done through my studios so I could oversee it in a stronger position than a producer usually takes on.”

Knowles wanted to know, as I’m sure you do, what the story would be. He referred to a previous conversation the two had, where the project was described as “what Aliens was to Alien.” Rodriguez said that because they’re currently writing, he can’t say too much about the story, “But it still involves a very intense group of people stranded on a Predator planet discovering unspeakable horrors (that are not always from outside their group).” “As to how this movie will be viewed, one of the guys at Fox told me ‘No one is ever going to talk about AVP again after this film, I will stake my life on it.’” Rodriguez added, “And he’s a really nice guy, so I don’t want to see him dead.”

Rodriguez also told Knowles that they will be shooting in Austin, at Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios. And the film will use practical effects by KNB EFX Group.

“Lastly,” Knowles asked, “is it possible to make a truly badass film at FOX?” The reply was simply, “I won’t really know until I make a movie there. This movie is being made at Troublemaker Studios.”