From Sweltering Heat to Military Training, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $160.5 Million Film Was Far More Intense To Shoot

While enjoying a movie, sitting in an air-conditioned theatre with a tub of popcorn in your lap is surely a delightful experience, this is far from what the cast and crew involved in the movie experienced while shooting the project. Seven times Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger has been open about the struggles that he has faced while playing different roles in Hollywood. From facing severe injuries to budget constraints, the actors and the team often go through a lot of trouble, just as they did in the movie ‘Predator.’

Released back in 1987, “The Predator” immediately won countless hearts with its amazing storyline, overwhelming action, and insane direction. However, what actually happened behind the silver screen might shock you. Even though the cult-classic sci-fi action movie grossed $160 million against its $88 million budget, the intense action scenes remain some of the finest shots from those days. 

Jean-Claude Van Damme and him quitting the ‘Predator’s role

The role of “The Predator” was played by Kevin Peter Hall in the iconic movie. However, many people did not know that the role was first offered to Belgian Hollywood legend Jean-Claude Van Damme. However, Van Damme faced a lot of issues with the costume of Predator. Initially, he was excited to play the role, but he later got to know that he wouldn’t be visible for the most part in the movie due to the costume.

Talking about this, Van Damme said, “The costume took about 20 minutes to put on. It was thick rubber and I couldn’t see anything, there was just a small piece to breathe through. I needed cables to move my jaw and head, and it was hard to keep my balance. They wanted me to make a big jump, and I told them, ‘It’s impossible [from that height]. I know my limitations, and I’ll break my legs.’”

Watch This Story: From Ronnie Coleman to Jay Cutler: Bodybuilding Legends Show Up at Arnold Classic 2022 in Absence of Arnold Schwarzenegger

During his appearance on ‘The Murder Master Music Show,’ actor Bill Duke also revealed a bit about the Van Damme dilemma. He revealed that the Belgian actor even passed out during a few stunts due to being dehydrated. In Duke’s words, the producer stated, “If you pass out again I’m gonna fire you!’ Two weeks go by and the guy passes out and the producer goes over and fires him.” As it turns out, Van Damme was right. The stuntman who performed the scene instead of him broke his leg. 

Another costume-related issue that the team faced was with the monster. The suit was supposed to look scary, but it instead looked like a duck. Also, the costume weighed around 200 lbs, making it impossible for anyone to wear it. So the production was forced to shut down until they got their hands on a better suit. 

John Mc Tiernan and his declining health

The movie was shot in the jungles of Mexico, which is obviously not an easy place to shoot a movie. As if the extreme heat and venomous snakes of the wild were not enough, many members of the cast and the production team also experienced various illnesses and injuries. Among this long list was also John Mc Tiernan. He refused to eat local food due to the fear of getting sick. However, what this led to was an unhealthy weight loss, messing up with his well-being.

“I lost 25lbs, the line producer lost almost 40,” McTiernan recalls. Moreover, John and Arnold even had to perform one of the scenes with an IV bottle in their arm. The lack of food eventually led to a lot of lost weight in the case of John McTiernan. To make things worse, John even injured his wrist as he fell from a tree during the shooting. 

The story behind the ‘Predator’s vision shots

Even though the viewers and the fans immensely enjoyed the Predator’s vision shots in the movie, the challenges that those shots offered were unparalleled. The team decided to use a real heat vision camera, however; the cord was not long enough. Another difficulty was the fact that the actors’ temperature and the background temperature were the same, making the actors look invisible. Director John Mc Tiernan explained, “The ambient temperature in Mexico was in the 90s. Consequently, people were the same temperature as the background, and they were perfectly camouflaged.”

Arnold made a former NFL athlete try cigars

Almost everyone at this point is aware of the relationship that Arnold shares with his stogies. During the entire shoot, the bodybuilding legend would smoke cigars. When he had to shoot a scene, he would hand over his cigar to the next person and then ask for it again after the scene wrapped up. Carl Weathers, the former NFL player, is one individual who is very health conscious. Given his past record as an athlete, he makes sure to not let any harmful or unhealthy substance near him. However, as time passed, Schwarzenegger’s habit intrigued Weathers to try cigars too.

Weathers revealed, “I sat there in that chair getting a whiff of this great, great aroma of this stogie. And Arnold eventually said ‘Carl, you want one?’ ‘Sure, why not?’ I was hooked. It was all over… within a few days, Arnold had a box of stogies delivered to me.”

What’s with Predator’s green blood?

The production team originally wanted the Predator’s blood to be orange in color, given his alien backstory. However, there were no such resources for this. Coming to the rescue was a crew member who suggested using the liquid that was present inside the glow sticks. The neon green liquid proved to be helpful and thus was born the iconic green blood of the alien. 

Read More: List of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Girlfriends Before and After Marriage

Despite all the difficulties and challenges that the cast and crew faced, the movie ended up making $160 million. Despite decades of its release, the movie is still close to countless hearts. What are your views on this? Let us know in the comments.