One of the most often quoted lines in cinema history is Jesse Ventura's famous line in the 1987 film Predator: “I don't have time to bleed.” Most fans probably couldn't have guessed that line wasn't in the movie, but it came very close to being cut without even being filmed.
In a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Ventura was joined by pro wrestler Carrion Cross, who recently went viral for impersonating Ventura's voice. Ventura and Cross both quoted the line, which led to the story of how she was almost eliminated from Predator. As the former Minnesota governor explained, he was eager to shoot the scene because of the special real-life military bond he had with co-star Richard Chaves. Unfortunately, the scene was not filmed due to budget constraints, and Ventura recalled how disappointed he was at the time.
“It had been cutbecause at the end of all the shooting, you will learn this from big pictures like that, mega pictures like Predator it was, panic sets in, because of the budgets, and all of a sudden, they're getting to the end of shooting, and they don't want to go over budget because then they have to go to people and get more money, and that becomes difficult at a certain point,” Ventura explained. “So, they started cutting scenes. They started cutting scenes, cutting scenes, cutting… they had cut the “bleeding” scene and I was angry because Richard Chaves, who was Poncho, we were the two legitimate veterans. Richard had served in the Army, and I had served in the Navy. We wanted that scene together, precisely for this reason. We were veterans.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger got sick and saved the scene
In the famous scene, Ventura's Sergeant Blain Cooper is informed that he is bleeding by fellow soldier Sergeant Jorge “Poncho” Ramirez (Chaves). Without even glancing at his wounds, Blain quickly responds, “I don't have time to bleed.” As Ventura went on to explain further in his interview, the beloved scene only saw the light of day because co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger fell ill, creating a hole in the filming schedule. This created an opening to shoot the scene, which ultimately provided Predator with the famous catchphrase.
“I'll never forget, they called me early in the morning, like 7 or 8, and they said, 'Jesse, can you come to set in an hour?'” Ventura said. “And I was like, 'I'm on hold, I'm going to the pool,' because they had me on hold that day. And they said, “No, no, no, no. Arnold is sick.” The only reason “Bleed” got hit was because Arnold got sick.”
The only reason “Bleed” got hit was because Arnold got sick.
Ventura added: “What happened then, they can't sit around with dead time. Time is money. So, they resurrected the 'bleeding' scene. They said, “You and Richard, get out there within the hour and we'll make it.” And so we shot the scene.”
Ventura went on to say how he realized pretty quickly that the scene would be in the final cut. He noted how director John McTiernan very rarely showed emotion while working, but after the “bleeding” scene, the director “would burst out laughing.” According to Ventura, he “knew right away” that the scene would be in the final cut, based on how difficult it was to get a reaction out of McTiernan. Ventura also marveled at how it was his line that became the most memorable line in Predatoreven though Schwarzenegger was the film's top star.
Predator is currently available for free streaming on Tubi.
Source: Chris Van Vliet on YouTube