How Anaconda Landed Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cub Cameos From Original Movie

SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses spoilers for “Anaconda,” now playing in theaters

When co-writers Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten first pitched what would develop into their reimagined tackle the so-bad-it’s-good 1997 basic “Anaconda,” they never thought Sony could be on board with the concept. 

“We went to them and said, ‘If we could make ‘The Big Chill’ becomes ‘Anaconda,’ then we’d be interested,’” said Gormican. “We expected them to laugh, [But] they bought it. It was one of those strange pitches where we’re going, ‘No, no, you guys can’t do this. You can’t.’ And they’re like, ‘We want to do this with you.’” 

Premiering on Christmas, this “Anaconda,” also directed by Gormican, will not be a reboot, remake or even a continuation of the unique. While the ’90s reptilian horror gives a strong springboard for the movie, the new “Anaconda” is one thing different fully, centering not on a National Geographic crew however reasonably a bunch of life-long, middle-aged associates who head to the Amazon to shoot their very own version of the unique movie. Stars Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Steve Zahn and Thandiwe Newton soon discover themselves combating for survival against the world’s largest snake (which is even bigger this time round, because of CGI). And while it positively has nods to its predecessor, it was important to Gormican to toe the line rigorously. 

“These are two stories about taking a boat up the river, right?” said Gormican. “A snake basically slithers on land or in the water. It can either wrap around you or bite you. So you’re locked into the ways that it kills, and you’re locked into a structure of going from point A to point B, which is what this shares with the original story…I have a lot of reverence for the original. I love what they did. [But] I didn’t want to play in that sandbox.”  

Instead, they upped the comedic ante, creating what Gormican describes as a “buddy movie that becomes an adventure film that becomes an action film that becomes a horror film.” (He cites “City Slickers” and “American Movie” as factors of inspiration). “Audiences are just tired of not seeing original stories,” he explained. “It’s been a decade of, ‘Here’s some remakes of stuff that you used to love,’ and there’s a limit to people’s nostalgia.” 

This “Anaconda” is also full of meta parts that poke enjoyable of Hollywood itself. Famously charismatic Rudd performs a struggling actor in Los Angeles, and the rag-tag group runs right into a “real” Sony crew filming a reboot of “Anaconda” who joke about Hollywood having “no new ideas.” The characters also bump into unique “Anaconda” star Ice Cube, who’s on the studio’s snake-destroyed set to reprise his function. When they ask how the writers deliberate to kill the reptile of their film, he responds they never completed the script. 

“It was mirroring exactly what was happening,” said Gormican, who misplaced two final places while filming in Australia — the first being a manufacturing facility that then went on strike, and the second being a boatyard the crew had created, only for it to get destroyed by a cyclone. Parts of the latter set really made it into the film as they pivoted to end the movie utilizing what was left of it: “We went in and made it look [purposefully] destroyed,” explained Gormican. “And we just said it was a snake.” 

And while “Anaconda” doesn’t get too sentimental over its source materials, it does capitalize on a few acquainted faces. In addition to Ice Cube, Jennifer Lopez also has a cameo in the movie, the place the two actors play themselves. “We were always thinking that it would be fun to have the surviving members,” said Gormican, particularly as soon as they determined the associates would run into the filming of the reboot. “So we just kept reaching out.” Ultimately, each joined in, giving the movie their “stamp of approval.” And, sure, they thought-about bringing again other “Anaconda” actors, though it ended up not making sense to: “If they died in the original, would they be back at the remake if their character was dead?”

Above all else, with this new “Anaconda,” Gormican was devoted to creating a movie that felt like enjoyable. 

“The thing that I’ve been missing in my cinema-going experience is a movie for everyone, that plays in a massively fun, adventurous way,” said Gormican. “People lament the loss of the communal feeling of being at a comedy together. And I hope that people get a chance to experience that in this film, and maybe ignite something in  a younger generation where they go, ‘Oh, shit. That’s actually something we love to do.’”