- THE LOST PREDATORS - Dedicated Thread

[Voodoo Magic]

A thread dedicated to any pictures, video, backstory, trivia, toys and discussion involving THE LOST PREDATORS from Predator 2.

How they got their name:

• "The Predators of the hunting party (not including the City Hunter) are often referred to collectively as the "Lost Predators" because the suits used to depict them on film were literally lost after production was completed."
  - Stan Winston School of Character Arts:

Confirmed Members:


Leader:
Elder Greyback


Their Ship:
[ Exterior / Engine Off ]


[ Exterior / Engine On ]


[ Interior ]




[ Trophy Display ]







When I first saw the film I felt a real religious vibe from the monolith in the center of the chamber that Harrigan reaches out for, before he notices the trophy display.



My reaction was probably a result of the monolith in 2001 Space Odyssey, but it still strikes me as spiritual to this day.

[Wysps]

I used to be so mesmerized by the inside of the ship as a kid, the carvings were just so cool. 

I voted Elder, it just seems like he'd have the most stories to tell.  Plus his model is awesome.  On ships with multiple Predators, it's always made me curious as to which one is responsible for flying the ship itself and doing the engineering work on it.  Possibly Elder in this case, since it's probably his to begin with?

[TheSailingRabbit]

Voodoo, how come the voting is going to close in 2046?

[Samhain13]

Heck I really like Elder, Lost and Warrior. Quite hard to choose, Elder is like the Original, Warrior's mask is awesome but I think I go with Lost due to how cool and unique his armor was.

[Voodoo Magic]

I used to be so mesmerized by the inside of the ship as a kid, the carvings were just so cool. 

I voted Elder, it just seems like he'd have the most stories to tell.  Plus his model is awesome.  On ships with multiple Predators, it's always made me curious as to which one is responsible for flying the ship itself and doing the engineering work on it.  Possibly Elder in this case, since it's probably his to begin with?

Well let's look at who's unarmed?

Armed:



Unarmed:



The last two pics are the Predators that are unarmed:
Warrior & Shaman and Scout and Boar.


What the Shaman is holding seems too flimsy to be a weapon. It could be a walking stick, but it looks more like a Crosier which is basically a religious stylized staff held by important Roman Catholics or more likely it's simply a Shaman staff. So both his role and name is probably on the nose, and therefore we can safely assess Shaman's role isn't to pilot the ship.

That leaves the unarmed Warrior, Scout and Boar to pilot.

I would guess Warrior or Scout pilot the ship, and I would peg Boar as the ship's Engineer solely because of this old famous Engineer joke.



That would be my guess. 

[Hudson]

Gotta go with Guardian because I like that mask a lot and because of his original name, "Gort," based on (I think) the Japanese company that created a model kit of him.

Question:

Have we ever had more confirmation about these guys being played by the LA Lakers, and who those players specifically were?

[Voodoo Magic]

Gotta go with Guardian because I like that mask a lot and because of his original name, "Gort," based on (I think) the Japanese company that created a model kit of him.

Question:

Have we ever had more confirmation about these guys being played by the LA Lakers, and who those players specifically were?

Interesting challenge. It will take some detective work but we may be able to do just that, matching faces to players and keeping in mind some Predators like Boar and the Elder were played by actors. Figuring out the entire Lost Predator cast would be cool!

Los Angeles Lakers 1989-1990 Roster:

24  Steve Bucknall
21  Michael Cooper
12  Vlade Divac
10  Larry Drew
45  A.C. Green
55  Mike Higgins
32  Magic Johnson
49  Mel McCants
31  Mark McNamara
55  Jawann Oldham
4  Byron Scott
43  Mychal Thompson
3  Jay Vincent
0  Orlando Woolridge
42  James Worthy

[SuperiorIronman]

It's hard to choose a favorite in this regard because everything about them was such a smart reusing of assets and applying of what they did create for them.

As a kid I was into "Scout" for reasons to this day that elude me. But these days I lean more towards "Borg" as I knew him, but again it's just hard to choose a favorite of the bunch as they all are impressive pieces.

They're not only such a great example of what happens when you give artists the freedom to just do something, but how little they got to do adds in a way some personality and mystery to them with the costuming doing most of the talking. There is just so much potential in these guys and a shame we only got a little bit out of Greyback. Even more unfortunate the suits got lost after filming considering how much the community took to them. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the reason Spiked Tail and Lasershot have a history with "Borg" now if to expand the story in some fashion.

[Hudson]

Gotta go with Guardian because I like that mask a lot and because of his original name, "Gort," based on (I think) the Japanese company that created a model kit of him.

Question:

Have we ever had more confirmation about these guys being played by the LA Lakers, and who those players specifically were?

Interesting challenge. It will take some detective work but we may be able to do just that, matching faces to players and keeping in mind some Predators like Boar and the Elder were played by actors. Figuring out the entire Lost Predator cast would be cool!

Los Angeles Lakers 1989-1990 Roster:

24  Steve Bucknall
21  Michael Cooper
12  Vlade Divac
10  Larry Drew
45  A.C. Green
55  Mike Higgins
32  Magic Johnson
49  Mel McCants
31  Mark McNamara
55  Jawann Oldham
4  Byron Scott
43  Mychal Thompson
3  Jay Vincent
0  Orlando Woolridge
42  James Worthy

https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/ckeditor_assets/pictures/4312/content_12.jpg

We could actually put our heads together and do this. I think it's safe to rule out Magic Johnson, or else we'd have heard about it. And I don't see Vlade Divac in either of those pics. He's not the curly-haired dude, or the guy sitting down in pic 2. Dude sitting down could be #31? It might help to have a better idea of the filming period's exact months if possible, since there could have been NBA transactions shifting the roster around too.

Edit: That guy isn't sitting down. I think it's just Wyatt Weed with shorter hair than in the other pic I've found.

Elder - Kevin Peter Hall
Shaman
Boar - Wyatt Weed
Guardian
Stalker
Snake
Scout
Lost
Warrior

Source for Wyatt Weed (also on IMDb):
https://deskgram.net/explore/tags/johnrosengran

[Voodoo Magic]

In regards to the roster, it's definitely the 89-90 Lakers. Stan Winston's website posted that picture above.

But also, in February 1990 principal photography started for Predator 2. For the life of me i can't remember when it ended. May or June 1990 I believe - I have to hit the scifi magazines again for a refresher.  The movie came out in the U.S. in a big rush in November 1990.

And this is when the 89-90 Lakers team played:

November 3, 1989 – April 22, 1990 (Season)
April 26 – June 3, 1990 (Playoffs)
The Lakers lost late in the playoffs and missed the June 5 – 14, 1990 Finals that year.

Hmm. Maybe pulling individual pics of these players may help in photo matching.

[Hudson]

In regards to the roster, it's definitely the 89-90 Lakers. Stan Winston's website posted that picture above.

But also, in February 1990 principal photography started for Predator 2. For the life of me i can't remember when it ended. May or June 1990 I believe - I have to hit the scifi magazines again for a refresher.  The movie came out in the U.S. in a big rush in November 1990.

And this is when the 89-90 Lakers team played:

November 3, 1989 – April 22, 1990 (Season)
April 26 – June 3, 1990 (Playoffs)
The Lakers lost late in the playoffs and missed the June 5 – 14, 1990 Finals that year.

Hmm. Maybe pulling individual pics of these players may help in photo matching.

I found Weed's website and sent him an email asking if he remembered who they were, since he has a contact feature. *shrugs* Maybe he'll answer?

[Kradan]

I would never guess that Voodoo fan of P2 before reading this thread.

[Corporal Hicks]

Yeah, it's got to be Guardian/Gort for me. In addition to being the OG mask, it's a pretty cool mask design and I always liked Celtic because it reminded me of Gort too.

[SiL]

I always loved "Lost Predator"s armour. The mess of cables running under and around the breast and shoulders gives the impression he might've had some work done, like an injured Predator restored with some cybernetic pieces.

[The Old One]

I rate The Lost Predators.

Spoiler

[close]

Loving the interior of the spaceship though, never seen the photos before.