Adrien Brody and Alice Braga Talk Predators
Posted 03.18.10 by Ryan
A behind-the-scenes featurette wasn't the only Predators-related material to come from the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival. io9 got a sneak peek of the trailer for the movie and attended a press conference where Adrien Brody defended his casting as the protagonist mercenary, Royce.
I know I'm not the obvious choice, I get that. I probably wouldn't have even been on the studio's list, even near the bottom. I put on 25 pounds for this role, but that wasn't the point — they didn't hire me to be a body-builder. I approached this with the kind of level of focus I would approach any of the roles that I've been given an opportunity to play... I think my intention, and the intention of hiring me to play Royce, was to delve into the kind of flawed tragic hero and not this kind of typical ... overtly physically imposing character... I did put on a substantial amount of muscle mass for the role, and the physical training was a big part of building to that character, [but it was also important] to prepare psychologically. We shot in Hawaii, and we shot in thousands of acres of tropical rainforest, and I had gotten permission from the owners of the estate to stay in the property... I didn't stay in a hotel... [Instead,] I isolated myself... My nightly ritual was poring over survival manuals and military and paramilitary training books. I was reading Sun Tzu. I was studying meditation. I was on a very strict diet. I wasn't drinking. I wasn't eating sugar. I wasn't having sex. I had to kind of go there, for me, because this was a tremendous opportunity.
Director Nimród Antal claims that Predators will maintain a horror element, by "trying to keep the monster in the shadows, more than throwing him in your face off the bat." Producer and writer Robert Rodriguez said that Fox allowed them to do what they wanted, telling Rodriguez, "We want you to protect this movie from us. We want you to go down there and do it your own way."
Making the movie their "own way" still could include a PG-13 rating, however. Predators actress Alice Braga told Bloody-Disgusting that she thinks Fox will try to for a PG-13 rating, even though she's not sure how Antal can pull it off.
I don't know that, I think they might try to do PG-13, but I'm not sure. I'm not sure, I hope not actually. You know what, I think they [might] not [be able to do it PG-13] because there are some dark scenes in it, like the other films. So I think it's going to be R. But going back to [a previous] question about editing, we never know what's going to happen. But it looks really dark and really nice. I think, I had fun.