Anaconda (1997)

Hi everyone, I'm Em and welcome to Verbal Diorama, Episode 302, Anaconda. This is the podcast that's all about the history and legacy movies you know and movies you don't. That strikes wraps around you, holds you tighter than your true love. And you get the privilege of hearing your bones break before the power of embrace causes your veins to explode. But you know, listen to the podcast first and ideally, leave a five star rating and review before your veins explode. Thanks.

Welcome to Verbal Diorama. Whether you are a brand new listener to this podcast and you just really love snakes. Welcome back regular returning listeners. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for choosing to listen to this podcast. I am so happy to have you here for the history and legacy of Anaconda. And just a huge thanks to everyone who listens to this podcast and has continued to listen and support this podcast.

This podcast has been going for over 300 episodes and six years now and I am just hugely blown away by the amazing, incredible support that I get. It means so much to have you guys continue to be here with me, especially after my short break. It is good to be back. I've had a couple of weeks off after my mega five episode trip to Middle Earth. Holidays really taken out of you.

But seriously, that series was so much fun and different and special and as much as I loved my trip to Middle Earth, we are back to actual Earth with a bit of a bang. And with that, I must welcome you to Baby Kaijune. What even is Baby Kaijune? Well, Kaijune was a series I did a couple of years ago. Because I love monster movies, I love creature features, anything to do with huge monsters, I am a massive fan.

The series that I did a couple of years ago on this podcast included Bong Joon Ho's the host, Godzilla 1998, which is a lot more fun than a lot of people give it credit for. And it's also a great story as well. Shin Godzilla and Pacific Rim. Pacific Rim. I also have a lot of time for. I love Guillermo del Toro, as anyone who listens to this podcast regularly will know. And I especially love Pacific Rim. Why is it Baby Kaijune?

Well, I wanted to do another Kaijune, but this series is smaller than usual because I've only got two weeks in June, and these monsters are a bit smaller than the other ones that I talked about. And whilst they're smaller, they're still terrifying. And actually, in some ways even more terrifying because these are creatures that exist in real life. And we're starting with the largest and heaviest snake species in the world, both in terms of length and weight.

The green anaconda, which is native to Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana and Suriname. Known for their lightning speed and ability to squeeze the life out of prey by coiling around, asphyxiating them, and swallowing them whole, which is absolutely terrifying. The largest verified green anaconda ever recorded, weighed 500 pounds, was 27.7ft long, and had a girth of 3.6ft. It was coincidentally discovered while filming for a National Geographic series.

A new species, the northern green anaconda, was discovered in 2024 after studies found that the green anaconda is genetically two different species. And this movie is pretty famous for being the only movie starring Jennifer Lopez where JLO wasn't the biggest diva on set. Here's the trailer for Anaconda.

In search of the elusive Shirashama tribe, Documentary director Terri Flores, in the hopes of her big break, leads an equally ambitious team of six deep into the Brazilian rainforest, including an anthropologist, cameraman, documentary host, production manager and sound engineer. Before long, while sailing the meandering Amazon river, they encounter stranded Paraguayan adventurer Paul Serone, who claims he has evidence of the mysterious indigenous tribe's existence.

However, Paul seems to know more than he's letting on and starts misleading the group. Slow and agonising deaths await the unsuspecting crew as it becomes clear that the eccentric Sarone is hunting a record breaking green anaconda and he plans to use the team as collateral damage to get his million dollar live bounty. Let's run through the cast.

We have Jennifer Lopez as Terry Flores, Ice Cube as Danny Rich, Jon Voight as Paul Serone, Eric Stoltz as Dr. Steven Cale, Jonathan Hyde as CastelladosasMateo,DannyTrejo as Gary Dixon, Kari Wuhrer as Denise Kohlberg, Vincent Castellados as HansBauer,JimCashandJackEppsJr.AndwasdirectedbyLuisYosa.Now,creaturefeatures arenothingnew,having originatedinthe1910swiththe lost Germansilent filmTheGolem in 1915 Llosa. sequeltheHowHeCameinto the Worldin 1920,andofcoursetheworkof

WillisH.O'BrienintheLostWorldin1925through tothelegendaryKingKongin1933,whichwouldinspireRayHarryhausentowork withO'BrienonMighty Joe Youngin 1949.Itkickstartedthe1950s wave ofcreaturefeatureslikeCreaturefromtheBlackLagoon in 1954, thenin1954itcamefrombeneaththeseain 1955,Tarantulain1955, thedeadly Mantisin1957 and20 million milesto

earthin1957.It wasinthe1950sthatTohoproducedGodzilla,arguablythe mostfamousKaiju ofalltime,which adaptedthenuclear concept fromthebeastfrom20,000fathomsfromaJapaneseperspective rooted inreallife.Japanesehistoricalevents suchas the atomicbombingsofHiroshimaandNagasakiin1945andtheDaigoFukury Maruincident

in1954.StevenSpielbergthenpioneeredthegenrewithJawsin1975,whichisoneofthefewmonstermoviesbasedonarealincident.TheNewJerseysharkattacksof1916.Imaginethatrealcreaturesareouttherethatcouldkillyou.Iguesswe're comingbacktothat.Otheranimal basedhorrorfeaturesfollowedJaws'sinspiration, likeOrca, the killerwhalein1977, piranhain1978andalligator in1980,whichwasitselfinspired bytheurbanlegendof alligators livinginsewers,inparticularanaccountofalligatorsbeingfound inNew York City.

Thesewere followedbymorehorror comediesinthe early 90s,liketremorsandArachnophobia.SpielbergperfectedtheformulafurtherwithJurassic whale in 1977, Piranha in 1978 and Alligator in innovativeuseof cgiand triedand tested animatronics to recreatedinosaurs.ButJurassicparkalsodawnedtheneweraofmonstermovies.Theydidn'tneed rubbersuitsorcardboardsets.Theyhad bigenoughbudgetsforbignamesand early 90s, like Tremors and Arachnophobia.

Spielberg perfected the formula further with Jurassic Park in 1993, which set a new benchmark in the velociraptors.Thisshifttowardssmart, strategic predatorsbecameahallmarkof90screaturefeatures, Jurassic Park also dawned the ofthelikes ofAnaconda,Lake,PlacidandDeepBlueSeasomewhatmore terrifyingwhenyourealizethattheycouldkillyou and theyweremoreintelligentthanyou.The90swas arichvistaofcreaturefeaturesanddisastermovies.AndIdo

wanttodosomedisastermoviesrealsoononthepodcast,becausethereareacoupleIreallylove.But

Eveninthe90s,thecreaturefeaturelandscapewascontinuallyevolving,aswas theoriginalscript forAnaconda.Whilewedon't have thatscript,we dohavethisquote. Ithas beensaidthat among thecontinents,SouthAmericawillteachittoyou.Godand thedevil arethesame.Thislastgreatreservoirofprimordialwildernessisatonce both Gardenof Edenand greensweltering

hell.Inthedeadofa ChicagoWinter,a20somethingmiddleschool biology teacher, AndyEasterandsix youngcolleagues Hatchaplantospend theirsummerinBrazil,hopingtoreverse theirmeagerfortunesby joining amoderndaygoldrushonatributaryofthe mighty Amazon.Disorientatedand increasinglyisolated,thetreasurehuntersstrayintotheremotedomainofthreecolossal Daughter, mother,grandmother.Onebyone,underterrifyingcircumstances, the teachersfallvictimtothedevastatingeffectsofgoldfeverandtherelentless

brutalityoftheprimevalSouthAmericanjungle.AndyEastermustdiscoverherinner Amazonto avoidbecomingpreyfor themotherofallsnakes.Andifyouthinkthatsounds alittlebitliketheplotofAnaconda,you'dbekindofRight.Because thisisthesynopsisofAnaconda,theWriter'sCut,Hans Bauer'soriginal visionforhis Anacondascript. Itis alittlebitdifferent,butalsokindofthe same.Anaconda was thefirstprojectCLCinemaLineFilmsCorporation broughttothebigscreen viathe company'sthreeyearfirstlook dealwithColumbiaPictures. It wasalsothe

onlyfilmmadeinthisdeal.TheyacquiredBowersscriptand immediatelysetaboutrewritingitanddraftinginthewritingteamof JimCashandJackEppsJr.Knownfortheirworkon TopGun. Tochangethe core castfrom teacherstodocumentaryfilmmakers.It'sworthadding thatHansBauer publishedthe Writer'sCutasanovelin2014andmarketeditastheoriginal taleconceivedbythe writerbeforemovie studios gottheirhandsonthescript.Partofthescript'sappealtothefilmmakerswasthatthe giantanacondathatbecomesthemain instrumentofterror isnotentirelya

creatureoffantasy.Anacondahadthe potentialtoscarepeopleandbeanexcitingactionadventuremovieatthe sametime.Snakeshadneverreallybeenpartofthosecreature featuremonsters,despite somanypeople beinggenuinelyafraidof snakes. this deal. They acquired Bauer's script and immediately Plane.And eventhenit's not oneortwo snakes,butthousands of snakes.Butthey're tiny snakes,so they'renotreallythatscaryinthegrandschemeofthings. AsthismoviewassetintheAmazon,theywanteda SouthAmericandirector.

AndoneofthefirstdirectorsCLCinema Line's presidentofproductionandAnacondaexecutiveproducerSusanRuskinapproachedwasLuisLlosa. Josa'sinvolvement withAnacondacameas thenaturalprogressionofaninteresting career trajectory thatseeminglypositionedhimperfectlyfortheproject. Originally aPeruvian bornfilmcriticbeforetransitioningintofilmmaking,hebegan hiscareer in hishomecountrymakingfilmsinthe1980sbeforecatchingtheattention

ofRogerCorman.CormanhadJosaproduceandordirect halfadozenEnglish languageexploitationfilms,includingHourofTheAssassinin1987starring EricEstrada andRobertVaughan.ThescifiactionACrime Zone,whichJoseproducedand directedin 1989 with DavidCarradineasSherilynFennand thesuspenser FullFathomFivein1990,headlinedbyMichaelMoriarty. Yosamadehis American moviebreakthroughdirectingsniperin1993,ajungleset thrillerstarringTom Beringer

andBillyZane.FollowingSniper, hedirected theSpecialistin 1994starringSylvesterStallone production and Anaconda executive producer Susan Ruskin approached was Luis Llosa. Llosa's involvement with Anaconda came as the familiaritywithSouthAmerica,specificallyjunglelocations,productionlogistics,andatrack recordofcommerciallysuccessfulgenrefilms.Sohewasa primecandidatefordirectingAnaconda.It wasJosawhohadthe ideaofstartingthefilmoutwithlarge,expansivesettings, vistas andvisions,theexpanse

oftheforest,thejungleandsky.And Corman had Llosa produce and or direct half a andnarrowertributaries,sothefeeling ofthefilmstartstoclosein onyouaswellasthesnakeclosinginonyou.JosashiringforAnacondawasn'taccidental.AndasI'm comingto,norwasanythingelseinthismovie.There wasaremarkableamountofeffort behindthescenestomakesomethingreallyextraordinary.Thenextchallengewasthecast.They

Moriarty. Llosa interestinggroupofactorsthattheaudiencewouldimmediatelycareabout andwouldwanttoseeon thiskind ofjourney,as wellascharacters.Youwouldn'tbeable to tellrightoff thebatwhowasgoingtobethehero,whowasgoingtolive,who wasgoingtodie,andwhatorderwere theygonnadiein.Ofcourse, thismovieendswithtwopeople ofcolor, anAfricanAmericanman andaLatinawomanasthesurvivors, alongsidethetraditional hero, whiteguy,who'sbasicallysidelinedforthevastmajority ofthemovie due toawasp sting.

JenniferLopezhadalreadystarredin theaction thriller money candidate for directing Anaconda. It was Llosa who But notablyforAnaconda's release, her starringroleinSelenawasreleased inMarch1997,amereonemonthbefore AnacondaandSelenahadbeenLopez'sbreakout rolewithaGoldenGlobenomination forLopezthefollowingyear. WhileinternationallySelenawasn'tabig movie, itwashugein LatinAmericancommunities,especiallyinTexas,whereSelenaresided.It wasitselfreleasedjusttwoyearsafterSelenaQuintanillawasmurderedby the

presidentofherfanclub.Whether Anacondawas ridingonthesuccessof Selena isdebatable.Butin 2021,Selenawasselectedforpreservationin the UnitedStatesNationalFilmRegistryby theLibraryofCongressasbeingculturally, historicallyoraestheticallysignificant.Anaconda hasnotyet,butlet'sgiveittime.IceCubenotably hatedsnakes,buttook theroleofDannyRicchandadmittedonTwitterin 2022thatquote,whentheyaskedmeto do Anaconda,IsaidI'donlydoitifmy character livedandhelpedkillthe snakebeforethen.Most black peoplein

thesetypeofmoviesaredeadwithinthefirst15minutes.Eric Stoltz,who joinedthemovieas anthropologist StephenKale,thoughtheharboredno fearofsnakesuntil hemet arealanaconda.WhileshootinginBrazil,alive15 footanacondawas capturedoffthe deck oftheirhotel.It tookfourpeopletoholdthesnake down.Hethenacquired asmallfearofsnakes. Andofcourse,shootingonlocationinBrazilallowed the castand crewtheopportunityandprivilegetoobserverealanacondasona regularbasisoverthefive weekshoot.

Andof course wehaveto talkaboutJonVoightandthataccentandwhateveritis thathe's doing.Look,he'schannelingTommy Wiseaubeforethe roomsomehow.Nowadays, Voight ismore wellknownfor beinganoutspokensupporteroftheOrange.What? SitInChief.Butbackin 1997, hewassmarmyParaguayan,expriest,nowsnake poacherPaulSerone.Voightwas atwotimeOscarnomineefor1969'sMidnightCowboyand1985's

RunawayTrainandaonetimewinnerforComingHomein1978.He hadbecome athreetime nomineeforhisrolein 2001'sAli,buthis characterinRunawayTrainbecamethepartialinspirationforhis interpretation of PaulCerrone.Theinfamouswinkwasn'tscripted. Voightjustsnuckitintofilmingafterhavingaconversationwithhismakeupartistandhe was surpriseditmadeitintothefinalcut.Andofcourse,thiswasa winkafter hewasregurgitatedby ahugeanaconda.Solet'stalkaboutthestarofthisshowandtheincredibleanimatronicsbyWaltContiandhis

teamatEdgeInnovations.Contiwouldofcoursegoon

tomaketheanimatronic sharksforDeep BlueSea.He also devisedthe dolphins inFlipper andthewhales inFreeWillyand FreeWilly2.Andthissnake wouldbe Cale, thought he harbored snakes, Ishouldsay,because there were two.Warrior,the greenanacondawas25ftandweighed1500 pounds.Queen,theblack and red finalBossSnakewas40ftandweighedoveraton. Now,clearly using realsnakesforthesecharacterswas outofthequestion.Firstly,snakes ofthissizedon'texist.Andsecond,haveyou evertriedtodirect asnake?Theydon'treallyrespond to

humancommands.Todesign theanimatronicanacondas,Contistudiedthemovements andexpressionsofreal snakesandrecreatedthemvia hydraulics, electronicsandcomputers.Toreplicate areal snakeinthehead, theymimicthe motion oftheeyes,thewaythemouthopens,howthetongue works.They triedtogiveitasmanyjointsasareal snake, Orange Wotsit In Chief. togiveit enoughdegreesof movementtoemulatethesmoothundulatingmotionofarealsnake.Buttheyalsohadto beabletodo somemovements

extremelyfast.Thefinalconfigurationincluded60 dualaxishydraulicallypoweredjoints,for atotalof120degreesoffreedom. Fitting somanyjoints insidesuchaslenderform factormeantusingcommerciallyavailableactuators and servovalveswasnotan for his interpretation of Paul Serone. The engineeringteamhadto developahighlyintegratedandcustomdesignthatcombinedstructuralandhydraulicfunctions.Eachlinkservedas astructuralmemberas well as thebodyoftwohighperforming servovalves.

Inaddition,20differentcustomdesigned size cylindersanddozens ofstylesof hydraulic fittingswere used.Eachofthe60linkscontainedalmost 200custommechanicalparts.Tocoordinatethemovement,they neededat least10puppeteers.Acomputerwasprogrammedwithall theintricatemovementsthescriptrequired.Andthecomputerdrovethesnakewith thepuppeteers controllingintricatemovement.The systemconsistedof60digitalsignalprocessorcards andseven Pentiumprocessors.

TheDSPcardsperformedgeometric transformationsandclosedthecontrol loopfor eachlink,whilethePentium processors coordinatedthe commandsacrossalllinks. Andallofthis softwarewasalsobuiltinhouse.Itwasproprietary.Although anacondas haveroundspherical pupilsinreallife,thesnakes inthefilmweregivenslantedpupilstomake themappearmoredangerous.Allofthesnake'sfeatures,theeyes,themovingtongue,thelips, movedindependently.Every detailwasattheutmostimportance.Dozens ofeyeballs werepaintedand testedinsidethe

snake'shead.The snakeitselfwaspaintedon theinsidetobetterresemble thesheenandpatternofa liveanaconda.Contialsodevoteda greatdealoftimetodesigningthe interiorof theanaconda's mouth.Forallintentsandpurposes, thiswasarealsnake,bothtoContiandhis teamandthecast.Themainconcern withAnacondawasthatthefakesnakehadtobeable tooperateunderwater,as therewereseveralscenes of

theanimalswimming.Thiswasasignificanttechnicalhurdlethatrequired specializedwaterproofingandengineeringsolutions, DrawingonConti'sexpertisefromhis marineanimalwork.Butas weallknow,especiallyfromJaws,waterandelectronicsdon'toften mix.Andonedaywhilefilming,the snakemalfunctionedandthe puppeteers lostcontrol,withthesnakeviolentlythrashinginthewater

withessentially10tonsoftorqueconvulsingallovertheplace.Someofthefootageof thissnakegoinghaywiredid actuallyendupinthemoviebutitwasincrediblydangerous for both theactorsandthecrewto. Butwithitbeingincrediblydangerous,Iguessitwasjustbeinga genuineanaconda,eventhoughanacondadon'ttendtoeat humans.ButImentioned abigger divathanJLo. Thesnakewasthestarof theshowandGoddamn it,she wouldgetherway.Damncatering.Inthismovie,there'shardlynothingtoregurgitate.

I'm nothappyI'mgoingtohavea fullondivameltdowninthe waterisprobablywhatthesnakewasthinking.Now,obviouslywithacreationliketheanacondasthatweremadeforthismovie, Ialwaysliketowonder,well,where aretheynow?Andthe40footanimatronicmodelforthequeenanacondaseeninthe moviewouldactuallyspendmuchofitslifeinSanFrancisco attheCaliforniaAcademyofSciencesinsidetheAmazonRainforestAquariumand snakePitattraction. The modelhadtheskinandtail removed,

displayingthesnake'sendoskeletonandcomplexcircuitryoftheanimatronicwiring.Itwasindeed therealsnakeusedinthemovieandnotareplica.NowIcan'tseem tofindifit'sstill ondisplay attheCaliforniaAcademy ofSciences,somaybe anyonewho'sbeenrecently canlet meknow. Itwasdefinitely therein2011,possibly upto2020.ButI can'tactuallyfindanyrecordsofthesnakestill actuallybeingthere,soI'mguessingit'ssincebeenremoved.Butagain,whereis thissnakenow?Whereisthewarriorsnake?Ihavenoidea.We

needtoknowwheretheseincrediblesnakeslive.Conti'sanimatronic snakewascompositedwithcomputergraphicimagingfromSonyPicturesImageworkforeffects and motionthatcouldnot beachievedpractically onset.And thishybridapproachallowedthefilmmakersto usepracticaleffectsfor closeupanddetailshots whilerelyingonCGforwideshotsandmoredynamicmovements. ButthiswasCGinitsinfancyanditwasexpensive. Reportedly,

1/2ofCGsnakefootagecostthismovie$100,000.Soitwasusedsparingly.Andtheanimatronicwasalwaysfavoredifpossible.Andthisiswhythismoviestilllookssogoodtoday.ThegiantCGsnakewouldbecomeSonyPicturesImageWorks.FirstfullyCGanimatedcharacter.And itwasfullyarticulated, meaningitrequiredcomplexriggingsystems tocontroltheserpentine

movementrealistically.The digitalsnake wasprimarilyused forwide shots,complexswimmingsequencesunderwater such as the OwenWilson andtheTommyscene,fastmovingattacksequencesandscenes requiring thesnaketoperform physicallyimpossiblemovements.For the animatronic.Otherwise,thereasonthismovielooksasgood asitdoes isbecausethevast

majorityofthetime,thesnakesarerealanimatronics.Theuglytruthisthat1997CGItechnology meantthedigitalsnakewasmostconvincingin darkerscenesorwhenmoving quickly, astherenderingtechnologywasn'tsophisticatedenoughtoholdupunderclosescrutinyinbrightlighting. And thisexplainswhytheCGsnakejust standsoutwhenit'sused,andwhy thefilmreliedheavilyon animatronicsandusedtheCG

primarilyforfullbodymovementsandactionsequences.Andhonestly,this movieisallthebetterforusingthisCGsnakesparingly,becauseI watchedthismovieon AmazonprimeinHDandtheanimatronicsnakestilllooksincredible.TheCGsnakenotsomuch.AsmuchasI love thismovie,andI reallydo,theCGsnakejustdoesnotlookasgoodas theanimatronic. And ifyou'renotimpressedbythis movieenoughyet.200crewmembers moved intothe Amazonto film

onlocation.HalfofthesecrewmemberswereAmerican,theotherhalfwereBrazilian.Andatthetime, itwasthe largestgroupofAmerican filmmakers to evershoot inBrazil. BrazilianproductionmanagerKeikiFiera andhisAmericancounterpartJim Dyerorganizedtheir respectivecrews whoworkedsidebysidetoaccommodate the production.Muchofthe

filmwasshotofftherivercityofManaus.Llosa chose his locationsbasedon theirbeautyandsplendor, suchasthemeetingofwaterswheretheRioNegro andSolMinosriversmeet,butdon'tmix untilmanymilesdownstream whentogetherthey formtheAmazonRiver.Thefilmwasoriginallyscheduled toshooteightmonthsearlierthanitdid inthe autumnof1995.ButthatyeartheAmazonexperienceda severedroughtwithwaterlevelsdroppingatadepthofathreestorybuildingships weregrounded.Coincidentally,thesameyear,deforestation peakedin

theregion.I'msurethetwo aren'tlinked.Theproductionmadethedecisionto postpone onlocation filmingtill April1996, wherethewatersnaturallyrosefromthe winterrains.Butwhen theyreturned, theopposite happenedandthewatercontinuedtorise,goingfroma drought toalmosta flood.Luckily,themajority offilmingwasona barge,andthisproduction relied heavily on shipsandbarges.Propswould shuttleroundonbarges.Thecrewwenttoworkeverydayonskiffs,traveledtolunchandbacktothehotelat sunset

viaboat.Atnight,bigboys,Americanspronouncedthembuoys,butthey'reboyswerelitandplacedalongtheriver,illuminating thewaycast,crewandequipmentwereboatedbackandforth. Ayachtwitha numberofsuiteshousedeightactorsanddirectorduring thedayin betweenscenesandalso held thehairandmakeupdepartments.Anex touristsightseeing boatcalledJumbowasrefurbishedandmadeasawarehouseforprops,setdressing, camera,gripandelectricalequipment.Theyalso builtatwomanskiff,dubbingitthePanacondato film shots from thesnake's

pointofview.Filminginthe spring,literally ontheequator,meantthat not only didtheyhaveto deal withrainintheunsurprisinglynamed rainforest,but alsoincredibleheat,humidity andhigh sun.Evenwiththe jungle canopy,thesunandheat wasoftenexcruciating withsilkcanopiesbeingusedforshade.AftershootingintheAmazon, the crew movedbacktotheUS to filmattheLosAngelesCountyArboretumand Botanic Garden,transformingitintoa

tropicalrainforestthatincludedacascadingwaterfall.Thiswasdowntoproduction designerKurtPetrichelliandhisteamwho builteverythingfromthegroundup,takingthreeandahalfmonthstobuildthewaterfall which was45fttallandhadtobe abletosupporttheanimatronicsnake.They alsohadtoreplicate thefloatingtreesof theAmazon, whichendedupbeingtrees

mountedonplatformsunderthelake.Notlongafterproductionwrapped,theproducers,CarolLippleof the LAbasedfashionempire,herestrangedhusbandLeonardRabinowitzandhis formergirlfriendVerna Harrowsplitup. AndbythatImeantheproductionteamsplit up, notromantically splitup.Thiswas verymuchaproduction bornofloveforthemovies,butnot forproducersinthebusiness.Theproductioncompany,CLCinemaLineFilmsCorporationwasset upwithconnections,independentcash andaloveofalien andscience

fiction.HarrahboughtoutLittle andRabinowitz'sstakesinCLCinemaLine FilmCorporation shot off the river city of Manaus. Llosa chose his locations based on their beauty and splendor, such as the Meeting of Waters where the Rio Negro and Solimoes rivers meet, but don't mix until many basicallywhyCLCinemaLineFilmsCorporation nevermadeanything else.Itcertainlywasn'tfromtherelease

andreaction toAnaconda.And this is the thingandthereasonIlove doingthispodcasttomostthisisjustadumbsnakemovie.Andyeah,Iguessit isinmanyways,butthereissomuch loveand attentioninthisdumbsnakemovie.Itmay nothavethegreatestcharactersor scriptintheworld,but it has JonVoightdoingwhateverJonVoight'sdoingandithassomeincredible practicalanimatronicsand

beautifulsets.There isno easywaytosegueintothis,butit istimefor theobligatory Keanureferenceofthisepisode andifyoudon't knowwhat thatis,it'swhere ITroy inthemoviethatI'mfeaturingwithKeanuReevesfornoreasonotherthanheisthe bestofmen.Andlet'sbehonest, if theteamfound KeanuReevesintheAmazon instead of PaulCerrone,thesituationwould haveendedupalotdifferently.I canguarantee that there

wouldbenodeadbodiesintheAmazon.Anacondacameoutthesameyear astheDevil'sAdvocate,andthe big buoys, Americans pronounced them boo-ees, win theBest buoys were lit and placed along the Andobviouslyifyoudon'tknowtheDevil'sAdvocatestarsKeanuReevesanditisactuallyagreatmovie.Itisoneofthosethat Iwould loveto doonthispodcastandI'veactuallybeenthinkingofdoingit

foralongtime.So letmeknowifyou'dlikeanepisodeontheDevil's AdvocateAnacondawasreleased on11th April 1997andimmediatelywentto numberoneatthe domesticboxoffice,beatingoutLiar,Liar,the SaintandfellownewreleaseGrossePointeBlank.Itwouldstayatnumberonefortwoweeksandremaininthetop10forseven weeks.Onits$45millionbudget,Anacondagrossed$65.9milliondomesticallyand$70.9millioninternationally,for atotalworldwidegrossof $136.8 million.Notbad foracheesylittlebeemovie.CreatureFeaturethisAnaconda had

bite.Notsomuch with the criticsthough, because onRotten Tomatoesithasaratingof 41%. With theconsensusreading,Anaconda's pulpy pleasuresareconstricted byitsown absurdity, butCreatureFeaturefansmayenjoyitsbrazensilliness.Some criticsdidpraisethe film'seffects,sceneryandtongueincheekhumor,butmanycriticizedtheactingforgettable orcardboardcharacters,inaccuraciesandboringstart.RogerEbertlovedthemoviethough,andhegaveitthreeandahalf out offour

stars.Anacondawasnominated fortwoSaturnAwards, including Best ActressforJennifer Lopez.Shelostto JodieFosterforContactandasI mentioned,BestHorrorFilm, whichwenttothe Devil'sAdvocate.ItwasalsonominatedforsixRazzieAwards in1998,includingworstpicture,WorstActorforJonVoight, wrapped, the producers, Carol Little of whichitlosttoKevinCostner'sthePostman.ItwasAlsonominatedforWorstNewStarforthe former girlfriend Verna Harrah split and isreallyharsh becausetheanimatronicAnacondaisthe

highlightofthismovie.AndalsoWorstgreencoupleforJonVoightand theanimatronicAnaconda,which theylosttoDennisRodmanandDennisRodmanandJeanClaudeVan Dammefor DoubleTeam.Anacondaspawnedonetheatricalsequeland threemadefor TVsequels.Anaconda's theHuntfortheBloodOrchidwas released incinemasin2004.ThreemoredirecttovideomoviesfollowedAnaconda, ThreeOffspringin2008andAnaconda'sTrailofBloodin2009,whichwasshotbackto backinRomania.TheothermovieI'mgoing

tocome toshortly,the originalAnaconda hasalargecultfollowing and thoughitwascriticallyreviledonits initialrelease,hasbecomeacultclassic and enough ofacultclassicto talkaboutaremake. AndinJanuary2020newsbrokethatarebootofAnacondawasintheworksatSony'sColumbiaPicturesafteraresurgenceof animalcentrichorrorfilmsoverthepreviousfewyears.FollowingthesuccessofTheShallowsin2016,47metresdownin2017,theMegin2018,Rampagein2018and Crawl in2019,which is excellent bytheway.I'dhighlyRecommendCrawl in2023.

TomGormicanwasannouncedasadirectorandin 2024thescriptwas announcedasbeingwrittenbyGormicanandKevinEtten. It'sscheduledtobereleased ChristmasDay2025.Starring JackBlack,PaulRudd,SultanMelo,DanielaMelchior,Thandiwe NewtonandSteveZahn. Before thiscouldhappen though,wegotaChineseproducedremake ofanacondain2024simplycalledanaconda.Butthisrebootisalso calledAnaconda,so technicallywehaveAnaconda1997,loadsofsequels,thenAnaconda2024

andthenAnaconda2025.Thethingis,Anacondaiswidelyconsideredasobadit's goodmovie,withmanycitingJonVoightasdelivering aniconicsobad it'sgoodperformance.It'sreceivedalmost legendarystatus asaB movie thatfullyembracesitscreaturefeaturerootsaswellas deliveringon thethrillsandkillsyou'dexpectthatandVoight accent, permanentfacialsneer.He'sdefinitelymemorable.And ifyouwantacultclassicyouneedamemorablevillain. It'snotabadmovie,it'snotagoodmovie. It'snot

agreatmovie,andIabsolutelyloveit.Andyouknowwhy?Because Ijustlovea hugesnake.AndIlovethepracticalsnakes in thismovie.They'regenuinelythebest part.Themovie wouldn't workwithoutthem.They bringtherealgenuinefear ofhavingaphysicalfoeunderthewater.AndIjustthinkthey'resobrilliantlydesigned andexecuted.Now,ofcourse, thedocumentaryteamshouldhaveprobablyscarperedassoonas snakesraineddownonthemfromabove, but nevertheless,someofthemsurvived andpresumably

toldtheworld.Andthennooneventuredintotherealms of the anacondasever again. Exceptin2004forthesequel,whichIhaven'tseen andIhavenointentionofseeing,mostlybecauseIknowdeepdownitwon't havetheseincredibleanimatronics init.And for thatreason,I'mout.There'salotwrong withthis moviethat'snotJonVoightdoingwhat he'sdoing.Asmuch asI lovesnakeshavingavoicebyFrankWelker,Iamnot ahugefan ofsnakesthatcan scream.Theideatherearetwosnakesatallfeelsanticlimactic,despitethequeen snakebeing

awesome.Andthenattheend,youfind outthatPaulSaronewasright andthisiswherethetribewas.Don'tmake thatguyright.Jesus. Andjust FYI,theShirashamatribethat they'researchingfor doesn'texistinreallife.Butthere'salsosomuchrightwiththismovie.AndwhiletheCGhas agedpoorly, it'susedsparinglyenough for youtoappreciatetheanimatronicssomuchmore.Thecasthereisgreat, manyofwhomwouldgo ontohavebigcareers.AndIceCube,listeningto hisownmusicwill nevernot tickleme.IceCubeand JenniferLopezhavegoodchemistrytogether.

Andif anyof youhave listenedtomyepisodeon Hustlers,you'llknowhowmuchaffectionI haveforJLo.Thewomanisaqueen.It'sashamethescriptissoformulaic andweak,butwe dogetalittlecharacterdevelopment.Andwe alsogetanobligatorymummyreferenceinthere.With thelegendaryJonathanHyde, Anacondafeaturedadiversecastatatimewhensuchrepresentationwasless common inmajorstudioreleases.Also,onethingI reallyloveabout thismovie,Iloveamouthview.You know,where youseetheperspective

ofthecreaturefromitsside.Itsmouth.Theydoit inJAWS3D, theydoitintheMEG2.TheyalsodoitinLittle Shop ofHorrors, andtheydo ithere withJonVoightgoinginto the snake'smouth.AndI absolutelylove thatshot,genuinely.Itisone ofmyfavorites.In 1975, Jawsgaveus allafear of whatcouldbeinthe water atthebeach. In 1997,

Anacondadidthesame.Except notmanyofuswill holiday intheAmazonrainforest,butthetechnology todeliver acreature in thewaterhascomeon leapsandboundsinthe 20yearsbetweenthesetwomovies, andAnacondastillpayshomageand respecttothemother ofallcreature features.EventhedigitalsnakerepresentedanimportantmilestoneinCGIdevelopment,contributingtoSonyImageWorksevolution intoamajoreffectshouse, whichofcoursethenled toSpider Manafewyearslater.

But surelythepeople inthesemoviesknow bynow youdon'tgooffforsomefruity,sexytimein thejungle, nomatterhowhorny thejunglemakesyou.Becauselet'sbe honest,anacondasareareal libido killeraswellas,youknow,justageneralotherstuffkillertoo.Thankyouforlistening.Asalways,Iwould love tohearyour thoughtsonAnaconda,andthankyouforyourcontinuedsupportof thispodcast.If youwant togetinvolvedandhelpthis podcastgrowandreach morepeople,youcouldleavea ratingorreview whereveryoufoundthispodcastyoucouldfindandfollow

meonsocialmedia.I'm@VerbalDiorama.Youcanfindpostslikeposts,share posts,commenton posts. Itallhelps withvisibility.Or you couldsimplytellyourfriendsandfamilyabout this podcastoraboutthisepisodeor howtheycanaccessthispodcastandthisepisode.Andifyoulike this episodeonAnaconda,youmightalsolikesomeprevious creature featuremovies thatI havedoneepisodesonepisode 41,Tremors,whichI remember watchingvividlywhenIwasachild,and itabsolutelypetrifiedmetothepointwhereitgaveme nightmares.Butnow asan

adult,IabsolutelyloveTremors.Ithink it'sagreatmovie,butyeah,notreally suitable forkids.Episode106the OG Jawsit'soneof thosemovies onthispodcastthatIworrythat not alotof peopleknowthatI'vedonean episodeonJawsbecauseObviouslyit's episode106.Itwasa whileago,but itisoneofmyfavoriteepisodesthatI'vedoneonthispodcast.I'vealsodonean episode onDeepBlue Sea,whichisepisode 146.Itwasa littlebitdifferentbecauseI waskind ofgrievingatthetime.I'djustlost

mycat,Jess.Ididthe episodein honorofheranditwasa veryemotional episode.So it'snotreallythetypical deepBlueseaepisode thatyoumightexpectbecausethere'salittle bitofemotion inthereas well.Andepisode224,whichwasatriple episodeonJaws2,Jaws3D,andJawstheRevenge. Eachofthosemoviesincrediblyspecialandbrilliantintheirownright, andeach of thosemovieshasanincredible storybehind

themaswell.Asalways,givemefeedback.Letmeknowwhatyouthinkofmyrecommendations.Now.IsaidI'dcomebacktooneofthesequelsofanaconda.In2015,acrossover wasreleasedontheSciFiChannelanditwas calledLakePlacidversusAnaconda.Basicallythetwofranchises comingtogether in2015,AnacondaversusSaltwaterCrocodile. Itwasthefifthinstallmentinbothof thesefranchises. LakePlacidisalsoaboutareallifemonsterunder the waterthathashuge teeth.SoI

guessthere'satheme tothis month'sKaijun entries,butratherthanwalka blindfoldedcowtothewater,let'sinsteaddoanepisode onthehistoryandlegacyofLakePlacid.Sopleasejoinmenextepisodeforthe final episodeofBabyKaiju,wherewe'regoingfromagiantsnaketo agiantsaltwatercrocodile.Pleasejoinmenextweekfor LakePlacid.Ifyouenjoywhat Idoforthispodcastoryou simplywanttosupportanindiepodcasterwhodoesliterallyeverything onherownandyouhavesomespare change,youcanfinancially contribute totheupkeep

ofthispodcast.Now,you'reundernoobligationbecausethispodcastisfreeand it alwayswill befreeforyoutolistento.Butifyou dogetvalueout of whatIdo,thereareacoupleof waysyoucanhelp.If youhavethemeanstoyoucanmakeaoneoffdonation@verbaldiorama.com tipsoryoucansubscribeto the Patreontosupportthe show@verbaldiorama.comPatreon allmoneymadegoesbackintothispodcastbypayingforsoftware,subscriptions,websitehostingor newequipment.Iamhugelygrateful tothepatronsofthispodcast,past

andpresent.Thepresentones are Claudia,Simon,Laurel,Derek,Kat,Andy,Mike, Luke,Michael,Scott,Brendan,Lisa,Sam,Jack,Dave,Stuart,Nicholas,so,Kev,Heather,Danny, Stu,Brett,PhilipM.Zenos,Sean,Rhino,Philip K,Adam,Elaine,Kyle,andAaron.Theyare allwonderfulpeopleandIgenuinelyamhugelygratefulfortheirsupport. Ifyouwanttogetintouchwithme,you canemailhellos, feedbackorsuggestions@verbaldioramail.comoryoucango toVerbaldiorama.comandyou canfill outthelittlecontact form.

Ialwaysloveto hear from people,especiallypeople wholistentothispodcast. I've hada coupleofreallylovelyemailsrecently,sothankyousomuchifyouhaveemailed merecently.Ipromise Iwillgetback toyouassoonas possible.Butthankyouso muchforyourlovelymessagesofsupport,especiallyforthe 300thepisode.Andfearnot,thereis plenty moretocomeonVerbalDiorama.Andfinally,Danny.Danny.Stanny.Yeah. Westridge. Comeon,hurry up.bye