Val Verde (fictional country)

Not to be confused with Costa Verde#In Fiction.

Val Verde is a fictional country or city used by Hollywood writer and producer Steven E. de Souza when his stories require a South or Central American locale that will not cause legal or diplomatic problems.[1] The location first appeared in his 1985 film Commando.

The name translates as "Green Valley" in multiple Romance languages, such as Portuguese,[2] Italian,[3] Spanish,[4] and Galician.

Appearances

Val Verde has appeared in a number of films, television programs, and comics by de Souza:

  • Commando (1985): the exiled dictator Arius (Dan Hedaya) of Val Verde blackmails John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger) into assassinating the current president.[5] The country is an 11-hour flight from Los Angeles, placing it approximately 5500 miles from California.
  • Supercarrier (1988): in the episode "Rest and Revolution", the USS Georgetown docks in Val Verde just as civil war breaks out.
  • Die Hard 2 (1990): the former dictator of Val Verde, general Ramon Esperanza (Franco Nero), is being extradited to the United States.
  • Adventure Inc. (2003): the episode "Plague Ship of Val Verde" concerned an outbreak of a highly-communicable disease on an island off Val Verde.[6]
  • Sheena (2007-2023): Devil's Due Publishing's contemporary reboot of the classic 1940s comic moved the setting from Africa to Val Verde.

There have also been appearances outside of de Souza's own work, linked either by shared personnel or by a direct reference. For example:

  • Neither of the two countries in which Predator (1987) is set is named on-screen, but De Souza believes that the bulk of the movie takes place in Val Verde.[7] Predator, like Commando, was produced by Joel Silver and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, in Predators (2010), Isabelle (Alice Braga) states that the events of the original film took place in Guatemala, though part of the film's first act takes place in another unnamed country. The Predator novelization by Paul Monette also places the events in Guatemala, while Mark Verheiden's comics for Dark Horse specify Colombia.
  • In the 2020 video game Predator: Hunting Grounds, the events of the film are explicitly said to have taken place "over the border" in Val Verde, including in DLC audio logs voiced by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
  • Broforce, a 2015 video game, which has characters that parody action heroes like John Matrix from Commando (as well as Dirty Harry, John Rambo, etc.), uses Val Verde as one of its settings.
  • Val Verde appears in the anime Symphogear (2012). It is part of the backstory of Chris Yukine, where she lost her parents to war and was captured and enslaved for six years, before being rescued by the United Nations. The fourth season, Symphogear AXZ (2017), features the main characters visiting Val Verde as a key part of the season's plot arc, where Chris recalls her past.
  • The film Jurassic Attack (2013) takes place entirely in Val Verde.
  • Val Verde appears in the horror film The Theta Girl (2017). In a flashback sequence, the Papa Shogun character recalls discovering a hallucinogenic compound in the slime of an indigenous ground toad found in "this shit-hole country of Val Verde."
  • Val Verde appears in the TV show NCIS ("Rendezvous", Season 14, Episode 24, 2017) as a remote part of Paraguay.
  • Val Verde is one of the settings of the 2018 film Commando Ninja.
  • Part of Hank Green's 2020 novel A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is set in Val Verde.[8]
  • The podcast Action Boyz, a comedy podcast that focuses on action movies and stars Jon Gabrus, Ben Rodgers, and Ryan Stanger refers to their studio as Val Verde.
  • In Contra: Operation Galuga, when encountering Beowulf at the ruins, Beowulf tells the team that they had met once before, at Val Verde.
  • The game Breezer takes place in Val Verde, with 'Land For Sale' signs branded as 'Val Verde Estates'

Origin

Steven de Souza explained his reason for using Val Verde in his Sheena comic:[9]

It's something like Guyana, a country which encompasses lush Caribbean resorts popular with tourists, an unexplored mysterious rainforest, and a mix of Anglo, Spanish, African, Creole and indigenous cultures. This is a country of the imagination I've used in several films and TV programs, which I thought was my little inside baseball joke, but Eric Lichtenfield, the author of 'Actions Speak Louder,' recently sent me a Wikipedia page on it! Seriously, my Dad's family is from that part of the world and it's something I can write about with some familiarity.

Portrayal

Val Verde has principally been used as a plot device or location in place of real Latin American countries in action and adventure movies, as a particular result of the United States' rocky relations with many nations in the region during the 1980s.

When glimpsed in Commando, it appears to be a poor nation, where subsistence agriculture (i.e., livestock) is side-by-side with military propaganda and constant military presence. Inhabitants appear poor but happy, and there is evidence of a trade embargo reminiscent of that placed on Cuba in the presence of battered but functional vintage 1950s cars.

Locations

As well as studio shots, other locations have been used to portray Val Verde on film:

  • The entrance to Long Beach Airport's passenger terminal was used for Val Verde's main airport in Commando.
  • San Pedro, California, was used for the port of Val Verde on Supercarrier, while Valencia, California, stood in for the countryside.
  • Puerto Vallarta was used as the principal filming location for Predator, despite the objections of John McTiernan and Donald McAlpine. The early beach shots were taken at Puerto Vallarta and jungle scenes were shot slightly further inland. When more money was released by Fox, McTiernan was able to shoot in his preferred location around Palenque (including the Misol-Ha waterfall) and about half of the final film came from this round of shooting.[10]

Legacy

The spider genus Predatoroonops, named after the spiders' similarity to the Predator himself, has a species named Predatoroonops valverde.[11]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Baldwin, Daniel. "Val Verde: Exploring Fox's Secret $5 Billion Cinematic Universe". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  2. ^ S.A., Priberam Informática. "Significado / definição de val no Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa". www.priberam.pt. (Word in Priberam Portuguese dictionary)
  3. ^ "Traccani, la cultura italiana" (in Italian). Treccani. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Diccionario de la lengua española" (in Spanish). Real Academia Española. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  5. ^ "Commando". fast-rewind.com. 1985-10-04. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  6. ^ "Plague Ship of Val Verde". Adventure Inc.
  7. ^ Williams, Owen (January 2012). "Predator: The Complete History". Empire.
  8. ^ A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor Summary.
  9. ^ Return of the Queen: de Souza Talks "Sheena", Comic Book Resources, January 7, 2008
  10. ^ Beautiful Monsters: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Alien and Predator Films (footnote 34, page 148, by David A. McIntee, Telos, 272 pages, 2005, ISBN 1-903889-94-4)
  11. ^ Brescovit, Bonaldo, Santos, Ott & Rheims, 2012 : The Brazilian goblin spiders of the new genus Predatoroonops (Araneae, Oonopidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, n. 370, pp. 29-31. Page accessed on January 12, 2013

Read other articles:

Henri Salvador

Henri SalvadorHenri Salvador nel 2006. Nazionalità Francia GenereBossa novaJazz Periodo di attività musicale1941 – 2006 Sito ufficiale Modifica dati su Wikidata · Manuale Henri Gabriel Salvador (Caienna, 18 luglio 1917 – Parigi, 13 febbraio 2008) è stato un cantante, chitarrista e comico francese. Attivo sulle scene dagli anni 1930, Salvador è stato un personaggio chiave nella musica francese e mondiale: le sue canzoni più popolari (Syracuse, Une chanson...

 

Telephone numbers in Israel

+972 redirects here. For the Israeli periodical, see +972 Magazine. Telephone numbers in IsraelLocationCountryIsraelContinentAsiaRegulatorIsraeli Ministry of CommunicationsTypeclosedNSN length8 or 9 (landline) 10 (mobile)Format(0A) XXX-XXXX (landline) 05N-XXX-XXXX (mobile)Access codesCountry code+972International access00 or 01xLong-distance0 Telephone numbers in Israel consist of an area code and a subscriber number. The dial plan type in Israel is closed, and 0 is the internal trunk prefix...

 

University of Wrocław

Public university in Wrocław, Poland Leopoldina (university) redirects here. For the German National Academy of Sciences, see Leopoldina (academy of sciences). University of WrocławUniwersytet WrocławskiLatin: Universitas WratislaviensisFormer namesGerman: Leopoldina, Universität Breslau, Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau (before 1945)TypePublicEstablished21 October 1702; 321 years ago (1702-10-21) (reorganised 1945)PresidentRobert OlkiewiczAdministr...

List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 199

Supreme Court of the United States38°53′26″N 77°00′16″W / 38.89056°N 77.00444°W / 38.89056; -77.00444EstablishedMarch 4, 1789; 235 years ago (1789-03-04)LocationWashington, D.C.Coordinates38°53′26″N 77°00′16″W / 38.89056°N 77.00444°W / 38.89056; -77.00444Composition methodPresidential nomination with Senate confirmationAuthorized byConstitution of the United States, Art. III, § 1Judge term lengthl...

 

Hundred Flowers Awards

Chinese film award For other uses, see 100 Flowers (disambiguation). People's Hundred Flowers Award大众电影百花奖The Hundred Flowers AwardAwarded forBest in filmCountryChinaPresented byChina Film AssociationFirst awarded1962; 62 years ago (1962) Hundred Flowers AwardTraditional Chinese大眾電影百花獎Simplified Chinese大众电影百花奖TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinDàzhòng Diànyǐng Bǎihuā JiǎngYue: CantoneseYale RomanizationDaaihjung D...

 

大字 (数字)

この項目には、一部のコンピュータや閲覧ソフトで表示できない文字が含まれています（詳細）。 数字の大字（だいじ）は、漢数字の一種。通常用いる単純な字形の漢数字（小字）の代わりに同じ音の別の漢字を用いるものである。 概要 壱万円日本銀行券（「壱」が大字） 弐千円日本銀行券（「弐」が大字） 漢数字には「一」「二」「三」と続く小字と、「壱」「�...

中华人民共和国腐败案件列表

政治腐敗 概念 反腐敗 賄賂 裙帶關係 腐败经济学（英语：Economics of corruption） 选举操控 精英俘获（英语：Elite capture） 权力寻租 竊盜統治 黑手黨國家 裙帶關係 行贿基金 買賣聖職 各国腐败 亚洲 中国 治貪史 中華人民共和國 朝鲜 菲律宾 欧洲 俄羅斯（英语：Corruption in Russia） 乌克兰 英国 法国 查论编   此条目的内容是1949年中華人民共和國成立以后中国大陆的国家�...

 

Bill Demong

US Nordic combined skier Bill DemongDemong at a press conference after his victory in the 10 km individual large hill event at the 2010 Winter OlympicsPersonal informationFull nameWilliam DemongBornMarch 29, 1980 (1980-03-29) (age 44)Saranac Lake, New York, U.S. Medal record Men's nordic combined Representing the  United States Winter Olympics 2010 Vancouver 10 km large hill 2010 Vancouver 4x5 km team World Championships 2009 Liberec 10 km large hill 2007 Sapporo 15 km gun...

 

Niko Pirosmani

Georgian painter This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (September 2019) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to ...

Хип-хоп

Хип-хоп Направление популярная музыка Истоки фанкдискоэлектронная музыкадабритм-энд-блюзреггидэнсхоллджаз[1]чтение нараспев[англ.]исполнение поэзииустная поэзияозначиваниедюжины[англ.]гриотыскэтразговорный блюз Время и место возникновения Начало 1970-х, Бронкс, Н...

 

Rasayani

This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (September 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Village in Maharashtra Industrial Town in Maharashtra, IndiaRasayaniIndustrial TownRasayaniLocation in Maharashtra, IndiaShow map of MaharashtraRasayaniRasayani (India)Show map of IndiaCoordinates: 18°53′35″N 73°09′28″E / &#x...

 

Tokihiro Nakamura

Japanese politician Tokihiro Nakamura中村 時広Governor of Ehime PrefectureIncumbentAssumed office 1 December 2010Preceded byMoriyuki KatoMayor of MatsuyamaIn office2 May 1999 – 21 October 2010Preceded bySeiichi TanakaSucceeded byKatsuhito NoshiHouse of RepresentativesIn office18 July 1993 – 27 September 1996Preceded byMayumi UtsunomiyaSucceeded bydistrict abolishedConstituencyEhime No.1 district (pre-1996 district)Ehime Prefectural AssemblyIn office1987–1990 Pe...

Čestmír Řanda

Artikel ini sebatang kara, artinya tidak ada artikel lain yang memiliki pranala balik ke halaman ini.Bantulah menambah pranala ke artikel ini dari artikel yang berhubungan atau coba peralatan pencari pranala.Tag ini diberikan pada Desember 2022. Čestmír ŘandaLahir(1923-12-05)5 Desember 1923Rokycany, Cekoslowakia (kini Republik Ceko)Meninggal31 Agustus 1986(1986-08-31) (umur 62)Praha, Republik CekoPekerjaanPemeranTahun aktif1960 - 1986 Čestmír Řanda (5 Desember 1923 –...

 

Peter Blum Edition

Peter Blum Edition: Books and Prints Peter Blum Edition, is an American fine art print and artist book publisher, located in New York City. Peter Blum Edition was founded by Peter Blum in 1980,[1] where Blum had published numerous books and print editions with artists such as Barbara Kruger, Alex Katz, and Louise Bourgeois, among many others.[2] The Peter Blum print edition projects range from single print to traditional portfolio to installation specific portfolio editions. T...

 

أبو حميد الساعدي

أبو حميد الساعدي تخطيط لاسم أبو حميد الساعدي معلومات شخصية اسم الولادة المنذر بن سعد مكان الميلاد المدينة المنورة الكنية أبو حميد الأب سعد بن مالك بن خالد بن ثعلبة الأم أمامة بنت ثعلبة بن جبل الخزرجية الحياة العملية المهنة مُحَدِّث  القبيلة الخزرج الخدمة العسكرية المع�...

Чёрная Борода

У этого термина существуют и другие значения, см. Чёрная Борода (значения). Эдвард Тичангл. Edward Teachангл. Edward Thatch Псевдонимы Чёрная Борода Дата рождения около 1680[1] Место рождения предположительно Бристоль, Королевство Англия Подданство Англия Дата смерти 22 ноября...

 

Hazing

Rituals of humiliation used to initiate someone into a group Hazing of French military pilot at 1,000 hours flight time Hazing (American English), initiation,[1] beasting[2] (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them regardless of a person's willingness to participate.[3] Hazing i...

 

Jōganji River

River in JapanJōganji River常願寺川The Jōganji River flowing through the city of ToyamaLocationCountryJapanPhysical characteristicsSource  • locationMount Kitanomata • elevation2,661 m (8,730 ft) Mouth  • locationToyama BayLength56 km (35 mi)Basin size368 km2 (142 sq mi)Discharge  • average15 m3/s (530 cu ft/s) Basin featuresRiver systemJōganji Rive...

نظام دفع فوري

هذه المقالة بحاجة لصندوق معلومات. فضلًا ساعد في تحسين هذه المقالة بإضافة صندوق معلومات مخصص إليها. يفتقر محتوى هذه المقالة إلى الاستشهاد بمصادر. فضلاً، ساهم في تطوير هذه المقالة من خلال إضافة مصادر موثوق بها. أي معلومات غير موثقة يمكن التشكيك بها وإزالتها. (يناير 2022) هذه الم...

 

متقلبات ألفا

اضغط هنا للاطلاع على كيفية قراءة التصنيف طائفة متقلبات ألفا المرتبة التصنيفية طائفة  التصنيف العلمي النطاق: الجراثيم المملكة: بكتيريا الشعبة: متقلبات الطائفة: متقلبات ألفا الاسم العلمي Alphaproteobacteria Garrity et al.، 2006 تعديل مصدري - تعديل   متقلبات ألفا أو بكتريا ممثلة للضوء غي...