The story behind the scourge of revenge

Mixing reality and imagination

The film project "Revenge of the Scourge" began in 2004. The story originated from the forest fires in Southern California in 2004. In that forest fire, many wild animals lost their homes. After seeing this news on TV, Michael Kanans and Josh Gilbert coincidentally thought of the plot of this film: Animals forced to lose their homes will fight back against humans. In fact, a similar plot has already been shown in Hayao Miyazaki's "The Variety of Tanuki", but the two screenwriters were united in making "Revenge of Evil" into a comedy.

“We are always thinking about what would happen to animals if humans wronged them,” Canans said: “Whether these animals, which are also the essence of nature, will do anything that surprises us. What about Mother Nature's directing the struggle against humans, which creates the possibility of comedy. "Producer Keith Goldberg, who participated in the writing of the script, said: "I think we chose the right script and script. Well, this story about animals attacking humans sounds like a horror movie, but we are going to make it into a comedy that the whole family can enjoy. ”

< p>When the script of the film was written that a developer came to the forest to develop, a true story came to Kanans. Danny Sanders, a real estate developer, was sent by his boss to the edge of a virgin forest, where the company planned to build a luxurious apartment complex and a large shopping mall. To start the project, an excavator is required to dig out a large flat area in the forest. But after the project started, Sanders discovered that the animals here didn't seem to be ready to be relocated. With such a general story frame in mind, producer Robert Simmons recruited Roger Quimble to be the film's director. Kunbao said: "Dan quickly realized that digging up the forest was not going to work, so he wanted to go into the gray area and use an ambiguous approach to solve the problem. This is a script I have been looking forward to for a long time, and it is also a super The script is beyond imagination. First of all, it is the environmental meaning revealed in the script. I think this is what is most needed in movies now, and the topic of environmental protection is also connected with action comedy, which is even more valuable; secondly, it is family. When I was a child, I loved films that told family stories. After becoming a director, family dramas were also my favorite. To a certain extent, this film was an opportunity for me, which meant that it It was a combination of two elements that I had always dreamed of."

Let the animals act

Roger Quimper knew from the beginning that the key to the success or failure of this film was not to find the right one. Here comes Brendan Fraser and Brooke Shields, the sex icon of the year, but the animals in the film. Their performances are eye-catching and can truly make people laugh and laugh. The film's executive producer, Ira Schumann, was convinced from the beginning that the animals appearing in the film must be flesh-and-blood animals. He said: "Although computer special effects are very advanced now, and although there are many successful films that use CGI technology to create small animals, those computer animals are freaks endowed with human behaviors and habits. They are not animals at all, just Some codes and programs. I want the animals in the film to have natural behaviors and movements, so we need live animals.”

Based on this consideration, the crew found Hollywood Merit Animal Training. Teacher Ken Beggs and his animals. But as soon as he got the script, Ken Beggs almost turned down Roger Kumble's invitation. He said: "I am convinced that this is an 'animated' film, and the movements and behaviors designed for the animals in the film are not real animals. In this film, these animals do everything humans do - except talk. Although There is also animality, but this is not a real animal." However, Roger Kumbaugh insisted on using real animals. After exhausting all methods, Beggs found a middle way: to make certain adjustments to the script. Modifications to make the animals in the film more animalistic rather than human. Beggs said: "For example, the script originally arranged a lot of work for the skunk. In fact, the skunk is a timid animal with a very limited range of activities, so we had to switch the skunk's scenes to the raccoons. . I also added some animals to the video, such as otters, turkeys, etc., so that the video is rich.

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However, before the filming started, all the plans were on paper. After the filming started, unexpected troubles came one after another-the animal hero Scooby-Doo, the raccoon in the film, lost his chain. . In the design of the film, it needs to walk on two legs, but this raccoon has never been able to walk like this. In desperation, Scooby started to temporarily train Scooby to walk on the set. Under the temptation of food, Scooby learned to walk. In a few days, it learned to walk, pull plugs, throw acorns at people, etc. After solving the long-standing problem of raccoons, the problems of skunks, pine trees, turkeys and other small animals were no longer a problem. The most dangerous animal in the film was a bear. When this behemoth came to the set, everyone was very nervous, and even the experienced Beggs did not dare to take it lightly. They are well-trained animals that have been raised by humans since they were young, but they also have a beastly side. A bear will always be a bear, it cannot be so docile and obedient. ”

Looking for locations

The main filming location of the film is Rock Springs, Oregon, the hometown of Danny Sanders. Here, developers built a A series of mansions, these mansions created a lot of trouble for the film. Producer Schumann said: "The film needs a forest at the end of the road, and the developer in the story wants to build a commercial area here. At the beginning of the film, there is only a small wooden house here. This forest needs to be in a primitive state so that people can understand at a glance that many animals have lived here without being disturbed for a long time. ”

However, the town of Stone Spring, with its many mansions, was really not suitable for filming. In order to find a forest, the film’s artists began to search for suitable locations on a large scale. Finally, they settled in Tops, Massachusetts. Field found a 6,500-square-meter forest. Roger Kumble said: "It's great, this is the perfect location in my mind. There is nothing here except trees. We just need to build a model house here and shoot. And this place is only 20 miles away from Boston, so the crew's life and work are also very convenient. "After finding a suitable location, the crew began to build a wooden house. The artist designed many "aged" props for this house in accordance with the principle of repairing it as it was before: children's toys, outdated furniture and quite stylish items. Nostalgic furnishings and more

“When I first read the script, I thought this wasn’t going to be a big costume show,” said Alexandra Welker, the film’s costume designer. Said: "But two things jumped into my mind at once - bird droppings and mud. There are many scenes where Brendan Fraser's character is attacked by animals, so it's best to get his clothes dirty. Because I have worked in front of a green screen for a long time, there was not much green in my previous costume designs. This time it was replaced by live shooting, and I deliberately tried some green costumes. The most unforgettable part of this design work was designing clothes for Brooke Shields. She's been a pop icon since she was a kid, so dressing her wasn't too difficult. However, in the film, she does not wear too fancy or cross-dressing clothes, because her character is a teacher, but she is also a fashionable girl from the big city of Chicago, so naturally she cannot be too ostentatious. So I chose some smart yet elegant outfit combinations. All in all, I feel very happy to be able to 'dress' Brooke Shields. ”