Shane Black’s “The Predator” was just starting to find its stride in its marketing. After a couple ho-hum trailers that felt like typical action film nonsense, the latest trailer seemed to capture the Shane Black charm that is evident in all of his films, and led many to believe that “The Predator” might actually be worth a ticket purchase. Now, as the film prepares to premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Black’s film finds itself at the center of a sudden controversy.
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According to a new report, Fox and Shane Black had to quickly cut out a character from “The Predator” after actress Olivia Munn brought it to everyone’s attention that the scene in question featured a convicted sex offender.
Steven Wilder Striegel is an actor that is featured in a short scene in the film, where he plays a jogger that hits on Munn’s character. However, on August 15, Munn went to Fox to let them know that Striegel is a registered sex offender, who was convicted of a crime involving a 14-year-old girl back in 2010. To make matters worse, it was then made apparent that Striegel and director Shane Black have been long-time friends, and Black was well aware of his past when he hired Striegel.
“Our studio was not aware of Mr. Striegel’s background when he was hired,” a Fox spokesperson said in a statement to The Los Angeles Times. “We were not aware of his background during the casting process due to legal limitations that impede studios from running background checks on actors.”
“I personally chose to help a friend,” Black said. “I can understand others might disapprove, as his conviction was on a sensitive charge and not to be taken lightly.”
Black continued by saying he believed Striegel was “caught up in a bad situation versus something lecherous.”
Munn said it was “both surprising and unsettling that Shane Black, our director, did not share this information to the cast, crew, or Fox Studios prior to, during, or after production. However, I am relieved that when Fox finally did receive the information, the studio took appropriate action by deleting the scene featuring Wilder prior to release of the film.”
The entire criminal allegations against Striegel are detailed in the report, which you can read if you’re so inclined. Fair warning, it’s pretty vile. Needless to say, this controversy around the actor appearing in the film is not the type of press that the film needs as it attempts to successfully relaunch a franchise.
“I’ve known Shane Black 14 years, well before this incident, and I think it’s worth noting that he was aware of the facts,” Striegel said. “Shane can speak for himself, but I’m quite certain that if he felt I was a danger in any way to have around, he would not have.”
He concluded, “If I had even an inkling that my involvement with ‘The Predator’ would be a point of difficulty for Shane Black, or cast any kind of shadow over a movie that I wish only great success for, I would, of course, never have been involved in any capacity.”
As mentioned above, it’s a shame this controversy had to happen to the film. Not saying “The Predator” was going to be the surprise hit of the year, but the latest trailer, as well as this new trailer/TV spot (seen below), seem to show that the film might actually be a decent entry in the franchise, and a fun time at the theater. We’ll have to see if/how this news affects the film’s release as “The Predator” hits theaters on September 14.