On An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor and a great human being. We couldn’t have made Predator without him. And we certainly wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time filming it.”
Sylvester Stallone, who had a tough opponent in him in “Rocky” and later a top friend, has not yet commented on Weathers’ death (but that’s coming, Sly is a little slower on social media than Arnold).
Arnie also posted a picture of him and Weathers from the same 1987 film.
Weathers was the only action star to contend with Schwarzenegger, Stallone (“Rocky I-IV”) and the “Mandalorian.”
Read an excerpt of “Predator” facts below, the full special here.
01. The Beast
Back in the 1980s, it was believed that Hollywood aliens could no longer really look surprising. Then came the “Predator”: half Rastafarian, half white-bellied lizard. And then the creature takes off his helmet in the last ten minutes of the film. The original design of the Predator looked far more reptilian than the Predator in the film, as this video shows.
02. Size Matters
Martial arts expert Jean-Claude van Damme (1.75 meters) was intended to play the alien, but his engagement was ended prematurely. The actual Predator then became Kevin Peter Hall (2.18 meters).
03. Subscribed to Fantasy
Hall died in 1991 at the age of 35 from pneumonia, which he suffered as a result of HIV. The giant made his acting debut in 1979 in John Frankenheimer’s horror film “Prophecy” and was also seen as Bigfoot in “Harry and the Hendersons” (1986). In “Predator” he also appears without a mask – he also plays the helicopter pilot at the end of the film.
04. Full team strength
Schwarzenegger was of course the star in the role of Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer, but the supporting roles were also impressive. Carl Weathers played Colonel George Dillon, his first major role since the four Rocky films. Jesse Ventura played the jungle cutter Blain Cooper.
Today, Ventura is governor of Minnesota, which means that “Predator” featured two future rulers – because Schwarzenegger would later become governor of California. Shane Black, a big name today as director or writer of “Lethal Weapon,” “Iron Man 3” and “The Nice Guys,” was seen here in a rare acting role (supporting character Rick Hawkins). Black’s latest directing project: The fourth “Predator” film.
05. Lend a hand
Ventura’s machine gun is the M134 Minigun, which is not normally carried but rather is attached to a means of transport, such as a helicopter. Schwarzenegger himself would take the cannon in his hand and aim it at his opponents in “Terminator 2” four years later.
06. Squeaky flesh
The friendship between Arnie and Apollo is celebrated online through countless memes and videos. The arm wrestling handshake in which two biceps bulge is legendary.
07. If only they had stayed in the studio
Shooting in the Mexican jungle of Puerto Vallarta was exhausting. Half of the crew fell ill with diarrhea, and the forest was so cold that heat lamps had to be set up (only van Damme is said to have suffered from heat under his “Predator” suit – and fainted several times. A circumstance that his could have made dismissal easier). Schwarzenegger summed up a simple inconvenience: “The terrain was never flat. Always hilly. We stood on the hill all day long, one foot down, one up.”
