“Attack of the Dogs” is one of the most critically received films of this awards season. At the 94th Academy Awards, New Zealander Jane Campion’s film comes in with 12 nominations.
Based on the 1967 novel “The Power of the Dog” released by Thomas Savage, the feature, available on Netflix, features several behind-the-scenes curiosities and stories that mix reality and fiction.
After all, is this a true story?
There are many debates about which parts of the story are inspired by real events and which are fictional, but the fact remains that a good portion of the plot is based on events from the author’s life.
And to try to understand what the main characters would be, like Benedict Cumberbatch’s truculent Phil Burbank and those around him, the director went to the farm where Thomas Savage grew up in Montana.
And not coincidentally, the author was a young gay being raised on a farm in the American West, something similar to the one depicted in the skin of Peter, played by Cody Smit-McPhee. The director himself explained in several interviews that he saw the author in the real story in Peter and in other features as told in the book. He went to the farm because his mother was married. And that’s where Ed Brenner comes in, the great inspiration for the creation of Phil Burbank’s character.
no bath for benedict
To really show how much of a jerk Phil Burbank was, Benedict Cumberbatch actually went two weeks without smoking one cigarette after another. more clothes? Forbidden to wash by the staff. The character has downright repulsive behaviors in the book. During filming, he had real health problems from excessive nicotine.
And Benedict became so involved in the character that when introducing the actor to the cast, the director said, “It’s Phil. You’re going to work with him. Benedict is a really nice guy, but you’re not that far from him.” Will see you until you meet him. End of season. Recording”.
dispute with PETA
During his preparation, Benedict spent time working a farm and learned to castrate oxen as depicted in the film. These scenes are very powerful. You know who didn’t like him at all? PETA, the NGO that monitors whether animals receive ethical treatment, did not particularly like two scenes in the film. Right in the part where Phil kills an animal and in another where he attacks the horse.
Benedict Cumberbatch and George Mason in Netflix’s ‘Attack of the Dogs’
Image: Kirsty Griffin / Netflix
He said in a tweet: “This horse is sad and scared, he clearly isn’t acting.” In turn, in other interviews, the actor said that he “actually did everything you see on screen”.
And look, Benedict Cumberbatch was voted the Most Beautiful Vegan of the Year in 2018 by PETA itself. After the film, the relationship between the two turned sour.
focus on piano
Kirsten Dunst, who plays Rose, also put in a lot of effort to learn the two songs on the piano and play them in full in the film. Although one of them was cut, but Kirsten,
Jane Campion is a longtime fan of our ex-Mary Jane, and even sent her a letter in 2001. This letter the actress keeps to this day. But she was not the first choice for the role.
Rose was originally going to play Elizabeth Moss, the protagonist of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Handmaid’s Tale. Due to the shooting schedule for the fourth season of the series, she was unable to play the character.
In the role of Rose, Kirsten Dunst used an unusual approach to scenes where she appeared intoxicated: she twisted and twisted and twisted until she became dizzy.
And no conversation, okay?
As Phil and Rose don’t meet at all in the story, Benedict and Kristen agree not to speak backstage either. It was a way for him to keep his distance from the characters and dislike each other.
Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst in “Attack of the Dogs”
Image: Disclosure / Netflix
Couple in life, Couple on screen
In the film, Kirsten is romantically partnered with Jesse Plemons, not the first pair played by her, who has already become a love interest in the series “Fargo” in 2014. And in fact, they are a couple in real life. It’s not in the book.
But the role almost never went to Jesse who declined the initial offer. Then they called Paul Dano – remember him in “Little Miss Sunshine”?. Because of filming “The Batman” the schedule didn’t match up and they asked Jesse again. There he found it.
Where is Gandalf?
And then everyone left for the beautiful plains of Montana in the United States, right? Wrong! Although the images of the dogs attack evoke the American Wild West environment, nothing was filmed there! All the scenes were shot in New Zealand!
Recalling that New Zealand was marked as the scene of The Lord of the Rings’ iconic trilogy. Jeez, nice country location to make a beautiful movie. In the end, this beautiful New Zealand setting worked great with the highly acclaimed version by New Zealander Jane Campion, who, by the way, almost didn’t make this movie, you know? He spent the 2010s making short films and TV projects, such as the Top of the Lake series, but without any feature films. Talking to The Guardian newspaper, he said that he considered retiring before this film. But when he began studying the project, he knew he had to direct the film. Glad it turned out right!
