Hey Movie Lovers,

I just returned from the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film & Interactive Confrerence in Austin, Texas.  It was truly an awesome five days of film screenings and technology and film-related presentations and panel discussions.

This Flick Chick was in movie geek girl heaven.

(I’ll have much more on the conference and my experiences in additional postings on here soon.)

I first want to fill you in on some cool info about an upcoming “reboot” of the PREDATOR film franchise.

Don’t groan people….this new one is under the guidance of none other than writer/director/producer Robert Rodriguez (SPY KIDS, SIN CITY, GRINDHOUSE, SHARK BOY & LAVA GIRL to name a few).

Does that pique your curiosity?  It did mine.

I was invited to participate in a ‘First Look’ screening for selected members of the press attending SXSW, and a press conference afterward with Rodriguez, director Nimrod Antal and the lead of the film, Oscar-winner Adrien Brody.

I was in a group of about 15 who showed up at the Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz theater early last Saturday morning to view two PREDATORS trailers (slightly different versions) and an extended scene from the film.

I have to admit, I’ve seen the original 1987 PREDATOR with Arnold Schwarzenegger (a great action flick)….but I have not seen any of the subsequent films in the franchise. The short & sweet description of this new flick?

A bold new chapter in the Predator universe, the film stars Adrien Brody as Royce, a mercenary who reluctantly leads a group of elite warriors who come to realize they’ve been brought together on an alien planet… as prey.  With the exception of a disgraced physician, they are all cold-blooded killers – mercenaries, Yakuza, convicts, death squad members – human “predators” that are now being systemically hunted and eliminated by a new breed of alien Predators.

In addition to Adrien Brody, the film stars Topher Grace, Alice Braga, and Laurence Fishburne. Oh yeah, and some really nasty aliens.

I usually find Robert Rodriguez’ choices interesting and somewhat surprising. Reading about his involvement in this new film as writer/producer, definitely got my hopes up.

I was not disappointed.

The trailers were suspenseful, eerie, action-packed and succeeded in making me jump out of my seat….twice.

(Yes, I jumped in the same exact spot during both trailer viewings. Yes, I’m a wuss.)

Best of all?

The Predator sighting. With the appropriately ominous music and mood, it reminded me of the first time I saw JAWS. You know that big ‘ol shark is there in the water…you can feel it & hear it, but you can’t quite see it. And then when you finally do?

Wowza.

After not quite 10 minutes of viewing, I was pretty much ready to jump on board the PREDATORS train.  Hopefully, the wuss in me would survive it.

What sealed the deal?

Listening to Robert, Nim and Adrien personally discuss the whys, the hows and some of the experience of creating this new addition to the much-loved PREDATOR film franchise.

Robert (on the great ensemble cast): “We wanted to have each one of these characters feel like they could be the stars of their own movie, every one.”

Nim: “We’re trying to take it back to what works in classic horror films….trying to keep the monster in the shadows, instead of throwing him in your face, right off the bat.”

Adrien: “The intention of hiring me to play Royce was to delve into the flawed tragic hero and not this typical overtly physically imposing character.”

Sounds good to me.

So take a peek at the just released ‘First Look’ trailer for PREDATORS 2010, with an introduction by Robert Rodriguez. The film opens everywhere on Friday, July 7th.

As I like to do, I plan to see it opening weekend with a big, fun crowd of other movie lovers.

I may squint my eyes and jump out of my seat for part of the ride, but I will definitely be on board.

STAY TUNED!

More From The Web About PREDATORS 2010:

Film School Rejects — SXSW Interview: Nimrod Antal

MTV News — ‘Predators’ Stars Say Reboot Is ‘Unbelievable’

Film School Rejects — SXSW 2010: A First Look at Predators

IMDB — SXSW: 5 Things We Learned From The Predators First Look