PREDATOR 2 NC-17 WHAT WAS ACTUALLY FILMED RATHER THEN SPECULATION.

[Rebel-Blood]

I am not interested so much in a Nc-17 cut but this does get me wondering what other footage was filmed that never made it into the film and what happened to these other scenes. As some have mentioned some scenes were too violent or gory but sometimes directors remove scenes because they mess with the pacing of a film. Sometimes I am guessing they film random shots of things like streets, people walking, daytime shots, night time shots, shots in the rain, sunny or cloudy days, etc the idea is that they have lots of stock footage that they intersplice into the film. I am guessing once the film is complete these extra scenes are no longer needed and since some of them have no direct ties to the film, my guess is that the company just ends up selling this footage as stock footage. Maybe one day these scenes will come to light and I can imagine people will "remix" or recut these films to create something fresh from old material that makes you look at an old film from a new perspective. Heck, if you look at Once Upon a Deadpool, this is exactly the gimmick used by 20th Century Fox of all people to tone down the violence. I supppse one day an MC-17 version can be made of Predator 2 if that answers the question.

Yeah, I don't think film studios sell unused footage. The film reels go into storage and are never seen again unless they're unearthed for possible director cuts or historical documentary projects.

I also don't believe there will ever be a new cut. There's no real demand for it that I can see. The people who really love Predator 2 really love it as is, and the people who hate it I don't believe are saying - you know what it needs? More gore! 

Releasing deleted scenes in a new home video supplementals package would be nice for the fans though, like Anna's cut debriefing and meeting Leona's husband scenes. And Predator 2 does have its 30th Anniversary coming next year! *hint, hint Disnox*

I think you misunderstand , I am not talking about footage that is relevant but I mean scenes that are not directly relevant this could be shot separately and spliced into the movie such as random scenes of people talking or walking. I like Predator 2 as is as well but it feels like there is nothing new in it after having seen 100 times now. That is why I meant "remixing" the film to to create something new and unexpected. What I am picturing is someone recuts the film so that perhaps the pacing is a little different and/or we get to see new scenes that add some interesting new context to the film we already seen. I remember recently a post about Elpidia's cameo in Predator 2 that was not used so I am thinking maybe this footage can be used as an intro along with Dutch being interrogated together. If done correctly this cam add "replay" value to an old film as people can enjoy a new version of a film everybody knows and loves.

[PredBabe]

2) Predator follows Harrigan in the taxidermist shop

Out of all of them, this one actually interests me the most. Not sure how that would have played out but I think it could have been interesting to see the Predator actually view human trophies and get their reaction. Maybe they'd scoff at it, or maybe they'd admire the difference from their ways and ours.

[SiL]

I think you misunderstand , I am not talking about footage that is relevant but I mean scenes that are not directly relevant this could be shot separately and spliced into the movie such as random scenes of people talking or walking.

2nd unit (or 3rd, or fourth, depending on how big the production is) will sometimes get this as b-roll, but only where it's relevant. It would be used in scenes that are already in the movies to help establish locations, such as in the streets or in the police station. You wouldn't go out and film two random people talking on the off-chance it could be used somewhere, though.

[Voodoo Magic]

2) Predator follows Harrigan in the taxidermist shop

Out of all of them, this one actually interests me the most. Not sure how that would have played out but I think it could have been interesting to see the Predator actually view human trophies and get their reaction. Maybe they'd scoff at it, or maybe they'd admire the difference from their ways and ours.

We'll never know!  Per the commentary the Thomas brothers discussed a possibility early on, entertaining the idea of the Predator checking out our trophies in a taxidermy shop, but it was discarded in the writing phase. It never got into the final script. In reality a small fashion shop front in Los Angeles was turned into a taxidermy shop and the shooting script never had Harrigan going inside, let alone a Predator following him inside, he just stares at the shop window for a moment.



Looking for something else, I found where director Stephen Hopkins said his first working cut is what premiered, and as film reels were being mass produced, Hopkins would add or assumingly improve optical fx between batches:



So Hopkins first working cut is what premiered. We know Stephen Hopkins had to make over 20 cuts of gore to avoid an NC-17 rating, but I think it's a mistake to think there are over 20 versions of Predator 2. It's probably even a mistake to assume there is a completed second NC-17 cut  considering the time constraints. The MPAA could have likely first been shown a scoreless roughcut, to identify what gore needs to go to achieve a final R rating.

[HuDaFuK]

The only Predator deleted scenes that we can say were definitively shot are:

• Danny's funeral (because you can see it being filmed in the Hunters and Hunted documentary)
• The longer version of Harrigan and Jerry's meeting in the bar, featuring Leona's otherwise deleted boyfriend (because Hopkins confirms it was shot in his commentary)
• The taxidermist scene (another one Hopkins confirms in the commentary)
• Heinemann confronting Harrigan outside the subway station following the massacre (because you can very briefly see Robert Davi there if you pause at the right moment
• The longer car chase between Harrigan and the Predator (again, confirmed in the commentary)

You can suppose more based on the novelisation, but they're the only scenes I can think of with some actual proof to back up their being shot and later cut. As for the violence, other than it being confirmed some was taken out, I've never seen any solid info on what exactly was removed beyond generic "more blood and gore".

[Voodoo Magic]

• The taxidermist scene (another one Hopkins confirms in the commentary)

That's not accurate. Hopkins does not talk about it in his commentary. It actually was mentioned in the Thomas Brothers commentary, where the brothers had written a big scene in the shop that ultimately was never used. And consistent with what they said, that scene was not in the third script draft, nor in the final shooting script. It was not filmed.

Omitted in final script:

• The longer car chase between Harrigan and the Predator (again, confirmed in the commentary)

It was written to be more elaborate, the City Hunter jumping from roof to roof but much of that original idea wasn't put on celluloid due to expense of shooting a car scene at night, the roof jumping logistics and pacing.

[HuDaFuK]

That's not accurate. Hopkins does not talk about it in his commentary. It actually was mentioned in the Thomas Brothers commentary, where the brothers had written a big scene in the shop that ultimately was never used. And consistent with what they said, that scene was not in the third script draft, nor in the final shooting script. It was not filmed.

I could've worn I heard somebody mention that it had been filmed.

Incidentally, there are also a few characters listed in the film's credits that seemingly don't appear in the finished cut - if they could be linked to unused scenes it's a sure sign that they were filmed.

[Voodoo Magic]

That's not accurate. Hopkins does not talk about it in his commentary. It actually was mentioned in the Thomas Brothers commentary, where the brothers had written a big scene in the shop that ultimately was never used. And consistent with what they said, that scene was not in the third script draft, nor in the final shooting script. It was not filmed.

I could've worn I heard somebody mention that it had been filmed.

My guess would be you heard the Thomas Bros commentary but remembered Stephen Hopkins, and heard "written" but remembered "filmed"?  I know my memory has betrayed me like that before.

Well anywho, here's the Thomas Bros quote & clip:

• JIM: We had written a big scene that took place in this taxidermy shop that was never used. We had a pretty interesting character in there and the Predator actually went in and..
  JOHN: It was kind of scrutinizing all the trophies.
  JIM: Yeah. Crusing around and admiring them. And then left.

Unfortunately, this misinterpretation over the years has grown into have you heard there is a NC-17 cut that has a scene where the Predator walks into a taxidermy shop?! 

Incidentally, there are also a few characters listed in the film's credits that seemingly don't appear in the finished cut - if they could be linked to unused scenes it's a sure sign that they were filmed.

Yeah I'll have to refamiliarize myself with the credits to be certain, but I believe every missing character is in the shooting script and it's probably a safe assumption that the entire shooting script was filmed, with the action scenes looser around the literal word "entire".

One of the scenes I chuckled over is where the camoflagued Predator goes down a stairway or escalator to get to the subway and plows through two strangers. They instantly think each other bumped the other and it starts an arguement. They even storyboarded it! 

[HuDaFuK]

Lol.

Do you have any plans to share the shooting script btw? It's definitely something I'd like to have a read of.

[Voodoo Magic]

Lol.

Do you have any plans to share the shooting script btw? It's definitely something I'd like to have a read of.

Yeah, that's my hope sometime after my next couple pieces I'm working on for AvPGalaxy. The problem is the some pages are deep blue, green, pink and yellow based on revisions and they just don't photocopy. I think I'm just going to have to setup and record a HD YouTube video and turn every page. Then people can pause on every page and read it clearly.

[HuDaFuK]

Noice. Guessing the version on here currently isn't the final shooting script.

[Predwars24]

Kind of reminds me of the rumors of the scenes in The Lost World Jurassic Park. There was so much speculation for many scenes to have been in the movie and only a few have ever been confirmed. A rumored raptor attack on the ship that crashed would've shown what happened to the crew that was unreachable from the Rex but it's never been confirmed to my knowledge however scenes like Ludlow breaking the baby rex legs and Rex attacking the family in the house or at least smashing his head through the wall there's at least some evidence like a photo. Funny enough though there are strangely two cuts of the film, the other cut shows up on TV adding two deleted scenes that originally weren't finished but seemed to be in the tv version. However those scenes were released in home release formats in bonus features and these Predator 2 scenes weren't so if someone saw it and didn't provide evidence it could be 50/50 but not knowing Predator 2's production like the others here I couldn't tell you that at all but reading through the forum it probably didn't happen as interesting as these scenes could be.

[Voodoo Magic]

I think as a rule, especially for movies back then, if you can get your hands on the film crew's shooting script, you can feel safe to say - if it's not in the script, it wasn't filmed.

Noice. Guessing the version on here currently isn't the final shooting script.

Sort of. The scripts here and in public circulation are the 2nd draft, and the 3rd draft dated January 16th 1990. 

That 3rd draft is what the studio green lit and ultimately became the shooting script. But the shooting script was constantly revised beyond that date, even up to the final weeks of filming in May 1990. It really helps to have the writers on set! So lots of changes were made.

Here's all the revision dates:

[Corporal Hicks]

Yeah, that's my hope sometime after my next couple pieces I'm working on for AvPGalaxy. The problem is the some pages are deep blue, green, pink and yellow based on revisions and they just don't photocopy. I think I'm just going to have to setup and record a HD YouTube video and turn every page. Then people can pause on every page and read it clearly.

Oh God, no. Don't do that. That'll be irritating as f**king shit. Best bet is just to scan what you can, take a picture of what doesn't scan and we'll have to do plenty of PDF splitting and merging.

[SiL]

Honestly probably easier to just photograph ever page and merge into a PDF in one hit.