the m0vie blog

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Jess Dunne, this week with special guest Emmet Kirwan, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This time, Stephen Hopkins’ Predator 2.

In the distant future of 1997, Los Angeles descends into a gang war in the midst of an unprecedented heatwave. As local law enforcement tries to maintain some sense of order in the lawless city, an extraterrestrial visitor arrives on the scene with plans to hunt the most dangerous game of all.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Show Notes:

• Recorded 14th October 2024.
• Predator 2 at the Internet Movie Database.
• Listen to The Breakout Role Podcast on Soundcloud.
• Follow The Breakout Role Podcast on Twitter.
• Read Jess’ work at Film in Dublin.
• Jack Beresford at Den of Geek considers why Arnold Schwarzenegger never starred in a sequel to Predator, August 2022.
• John Davis talks to Variety about the production and development of Predator, August 2022.
• Alien vs. Predator Galaxy considers the connection between Predator 2 and the Concrete Jungle comic book series, August 2020.
• Stephen Hopkins talks to Sci-Fi Now about making Predator 2, November 2020.
• Stephen Hopkins talks to Alien vs. Predator Galaxy about working on Predator 2, January 2021.
• Lindsey DeRoche at ScreenRant reports on the original plans to build Predator 2 around Patrick Swayze, January 2022.
• Brad Mishka at Bloody-Disgusting considers how Steven Seagal was considered for the lead role in Predator 2, November 2020.
• Danny Glover talks to The Los Angeles Times about making Predator 2, December 1990.
• The Stan Winston School looks back at revising the alien design for Predator 2, August 2017.
• Padraig Cotter at ScreenRant reports on the tug of war between Fox and the MPAA over Predator 2, December 2022.
• Steve Daly at Entertainment Weekly reports on the battles between studios and the MPAA over film ratings, August 1995.
• Josh Rottenberg at Entertainment Weekly reports on the ongoing debates about the MPAA as a ratings authority, November 2013.
• Alien vs. Predator Galaxy discusses the production design on Predator 2, December 2019.
• Nathan Masters, William Deverell, David L. Ulin and Christopher Hawthorne at PBS discuss Los Angeles as “the Capital of Science Fiction“, October 2016.
• Joseph Mayall at Blood Knife considers Predator and Predator 2 as portraits of the war on drugs, January 2021.
• Dan Weikel at The Los Angeles Times considers the consequences of the “war on drugs” on Los Angeles, May 1995.
• Tim Golden at The New York Times reports on rumours of Central Intelligence Agency involvement in the supply of drugs to the streets of Los Angeles, October 1996.
• Daniel Finn at The Jacobin reports on the long-standing connection between the Central Intelligence Agency and the drug trade, November 2021.
• The Los Angeles Times offers a chronology of the Rodney King case, May 1992.
• The Los Angeles Times reports on the global reaction to the Los Angeles riots, May 1992.
• Caleb Brennanat The Nation considers the history of the American crime anxiety complex, November 2023.
• James Forman Jr. talks to The Guardian about the history of the crime panic in American culture, April 2022.
• Stephen Braun and Paul Feldman at The Los Angeles Times report on the city’s rising rates of gang violence, January 1988.
• Rick Holguin at The Los Angeles Times reports on the anxiety over the spike in gang violence in Los Angeles, December 1989.
• Jesse Katz at The Los Angeles Times reports on the increase in drive-by shootings, March 1990.
• Clifford Krauss at The New York Times reports on the decline of the crime rates in the United States, April 1994.
• Fox Butterfield at The New York Times reports on the steady fall of the crime rate during the nineties, May 1999.
• Alex Ben Block at The Hollywood Reporter considers John McTiernan’s jail sentence, January 2013.
• John McTiernan talks to The Guardian about his plans after leaving prison, July 2023.
• Padraig Cotter at ScreenRant considers the mysterious fate of Peter Keyes’ upper body in Predator 2, February 2021.
• The Associated Press reports on the death of Kevin Peter Hall, April 1991.
• Adam White at The Telegraph reflects on the life and career of Kevin Peter Hall, September 2018.
• Palika Makam offers a brief introduction to “copaganda” at Teen Vogue, August 2020.
• John Oliver discusses the “copaganda” of Law & Order, September 2022.
• Roger Ebert reviews Predator 2 for The Chicago Sun Times, November 1990.
• Łukasz Muniowski considers the handling of race on Predator 2 for the European Journal of American Studies, Summer 2022.
• Christopher Dickey at The Washington Post reports on the involvement of the Ethopian Zion Coptic Church in the drug trade in Florida, November 1980.
• Andrew O’Hehir at Salon considers the involvement of the Ethopian Zion Coptic Church in the Florida drug trade, April 2011.
• C. Gerald Fraser at The New York Times reports on national anxieties of Rastafarian beliefs, June 1977.
• Ken Hoffman at The Houston Chronicle reports on the influence that Morton Downey Jr. had on the evolution of trash television, July 2015.
• Emilio Amaro at Grumpire reports on the legacy of Morton Downey Jr., May 2020.
• Howard Rosenberg at The Los Angeles Times reports on the emerging genre of reality television, May 1991.
• Gary Busey talks to The Guardian about his motorcycle accident, May 2020.
• Gary Busey appears on The David Letterman Show, between September 1983 and July 1992.
• Janet Maslin reviews Predator 2 for The New York Times, November 1990.
• Follow The 250 on Twitter.
• Subscribe to The 250 on iTunes.
• Subscribe to The 250 on Stitcher.
• Listen to The 250 on Soundcloud.
• Listen to The 250 on Spotify.
• Browse listening options at pod.link.