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"Hey, Harrigan! More victims, more mutilations...!"
Tony Pope (from Predator 2)

Anthony "Tony" Pope[3] was an arrogant and sleazy news reporter whose show Hard Core followed the escalating gang violence in Los Angeles in 1997. As a result of his coverage, he inadvertently began reporting on the killing spree perpetrated by the City Hunter (referred to simply as the "psycho vigilante" on Pope's show).

Pope was constantly harassing Mike Harrigan for information, apparently with no regard for the fact that several of Harrigan's co-workers and close friends were victims of the brutal killings he was reporting on.

Biography[]

Early career[]

Pope considered himself to be a "master of guerrilla journalism"[4] but in reality was nothing more than a trashy low-rent reporter who used crude shock tactics to sell his stories. Some of the pieces he produced as part of his show Hard Core included "Dumpster Diving Mom Gives Birth to Rat Baby", "Lap Dog Explodes in Microwave" and "Adulterous Siamese Twins' Marriage on the Rocks, Split Imminent".[5] Another regular target of his journalism was the Jamaican Voodoo Posse leader King Willie, whom Pope christened "The Prince of Powder".[2]

The "psycho vigilante killings"[]

He was at the scene of a large shootout between El Scorpio and the Los Angeles Police Department, reporting live despite the gunfire flying overhead, all the while bashing the LAPD as incompetent. When Harrigan arrived on the scene, he almost ran the reporter down and sideswiped his van. Pope later accosted Harrigan outside the apartment building where Gold Tooth and several other Jamaicans had been slaughtered by the City Hunter, but was taken away by Jerry Lambert. Unperturbed, Pope snuck into the apartment to film footage of the massacre aftermath, only to be discovered and forcibly removed by Peter Keyes' agents.

Pope confronted Harrigan again outside the subway station where the City Hunter had attacked a train full of armed commuters and gang members. Finally sick of the reporter's constant aggravation and harassment, Harrigan knocked him out with a single punch in the middle of his live report.

Personality and Traits[]

"This is Tony Pope, live from L.A., the city of fear, where the psycho vigilante killer continues his daily diet for murder."
Pope (from Predator 2)

Pope had an enormous superiority complex and an overly inflated ego, considering himself above many of the other journalists he regularly encountered as part of his job (despite many of his colleagues enjoying far more successful careers). In particular, he considered himself to be locked in a fierce rivalry with Bill Lemieux of KNLA 3.[6] Pope was especially proud of his coverage of the "psycho vigilante killings" — a term he coined himself — and considered himself to be at the forefront of reporting the crimes.

Trivia[]

  • In early drafts of the film's script, Pope's first name was Jerry.[7]
  • Dialogue from Pope (along with dialogue from Bill Lemieux and an unnamed reporter) from the introduction of the film was later used in the 1992 song "The Final Solution: Slavery's Back in Effect" by Sister Souljah.

Appearances[]

References[]

  1. Pope's actor (Morton Downey, Jr.) listed himself as being 5ft 8 ½ (174 cm) on his resume, so that is also how tall Pope would have been.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Jim Thomas, John Thomas (writers), Stephen Hopkins (director). Predator 2 (1990), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
  3. Stephen Hopkins, John RosengrantThe Hunters and the Hunted: The Making of Predator 2 (2005), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
  4. Simon Hawke. Predator 2, p. 7 (1990), Jove Books.
  5. Simon Hawke. Predator 2, p. 74 (1990), Jove Books.
  6. Simon Hawke. Predator 2, p. 5 (1990), Jove Books.
  7. Predator 2 script (September 15, 1989 draft) by Jim Thomas and John Thomas
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