Friday, April 10, 2009

Saved by Aunt Jemima - On the set of Zombieland

When we first got into the kitchen, the setting for our first scene of the day with Woody Harrelson, I had to get Sully, the puppy that Abigail Breslin had rescued while filming here in Georgia, accustomed to the stool she had to sit on. I started to hand feed the puppy and it appeared she would be comfortable. Before I could get too far, Woody stopped me and gave me the dead eyed Natural Born Killers stare that had made Oliver Stone's movie so successful. He asked me, "Do you have any vegan dog treats?" I cocked my head sideways, like a confused dog, wondering whether he was joking or not. Baffled, I asked him in disbelief, "Are you serious?" At which point the room full of people went silent...a very uncomfortable pause and, for me, a little scary. Evidently, he was serious and had concerns about being licked in the next scene. He had, afterall, been a vegan for 25 years and I, unprepared for this twist in the plot, had no vegan treats. Thinking quickly, I improvised by feeding Sully pieces of the prop pancakes the stylists were using for the scene. This worked until she discovered they were near-inedible at which point Ruben, the director, suggested peanut butter. (I don't know why but everyone thinks peanut butter will fix any attention issue for a dog on set. Unfortunately, it comes with a bunch of licking and smacking not to mention it gets everywhere). Trying to keep things neat, I quickly countered by offering the Aunt Jemima syrup which was already on the table. Everyone agreed, the syrup worked great and actually became part of the action. Sully loved it and I think it played well. Abbie Breslin was funny afterward and said she'd prefer her dog not to have to eat vegan treats in the future!

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