January 31, 2014 by Mindy the Monkey
This year Superbowl Sunday falls on one of our favorite holidays here at Animal Rentals…Groundhog Day. I’m so excited that we’ll get to find out whether a Seahawk can beat a Bronco on the same day that Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog tells us if Spring is coming soon or if we’ll have more wicked winter weather!
February 2nd is also a pretty important day for us at Animal Rentals because my dad and his friend Scooter the groundhog starred in the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray. Well, maybe my dad wasn’t the star, but he did get to be in the movie. You can see him holding up Scooter – who played the role of Punxsutawney Phil – to make his prediction in front of a big crowd of people in the town square.
Groundhog Day is a really funny and very popular movie. Dad says that most people don’t realize how much work goes into making a movie or a commercial or a television show. For instance, dad and Scooter had to do their same scene over and over again so that the director could get many different angles and the best take. Dad says that even though it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun.
I wasn’t in the Groundhog Day movie because it was filmed before I was even born. And, I guess, because I am a monkey and not a groundhog. But I am definitely still a star because have been in other commercial and print ads. Lots of my domestic and exotic animal friends are stars too, and dad has tons of experience providing animal actors for movies, television, commercials, print ads…even operas and magic shows and more! You can see pictures of me and some of my animal actor friends working in the film and advertising business by clicking here.
As far as the Superbowl…the discussion with all of my exotic animal friends here goes pretty much like this:
“A Seahawk has a great big beak and sharp strong claws so it can beat a horse, of course!”
“Yeah, but a Bronco is big and strong with a really powerful kick so it can definitely beat a bird!”
I guess we will find out who is right this Sunday. And by the way, did you know that Seahawk is another name for an Osprey and a Bronco is a horse?
Category: Animal Casting Tags: animal, animal actor, animal rentals, bill murray, bronco, commercial, exotic animal, groundhog, groundhog day, mindy the monkey, movie, print ads, punxsutawney phil, seahawk, superbowl, superbowl sunday, television | Comments Off
June 12, 2012 by Mindy the Monkey
One of the coolest things my dad and I get to do is animal casting – finding just the right animals to appear in movies, television, print advertising and live theater. Casting the right animal for the right part is a very important job that takes a lot of thought and planning. Dad has been doing it for over 40 years, so he is really good at it. I have only been doing it with him for a few years, but I am pretty good at it too!
When a producer or director or talent agent or advertising agency needs an animal actor for their production, they call dad to talk about what kinds of animals they want and what they want the animals to do. Sometimes the jobs are very simple and don’t require much acting skill, so dad can book the job right away. But sometimes the jobs are very complicated and the animal actor has to perform a lot of different tricks, so the production company sends us a script to read. Once we have read the script, we know exactly what each animal has to do and then we figure out who to cast for each role.
It is a lot of fun to read a script for a movie or commercial or television show. It’s not at all like reading a book, because there are all sorts of stage and camera directions mixed in with the dialogue and the story. But you can definitely tell what the story is, and all the directions help you picture it in your mind really well.
This week dad and I are reading the script for a new horror movie about evil spirits and bears. It is really scary! Sometimes I even have to close my eyes and hide my face when we get to a really terrifying scene. I try not to let dad see me do that, though, because I want him to think that I am really brave, and not afraid of evil bears that might eat me. After all, as an animal casting director I need to be brave and strong and smart!
You can see lots of pictures of me and my animal actor friends working in different commercials, print ads and more by clicking here.
What are some of your favorite animal actors?
Category: Animal Casting Tags: animal, animal actor, animal casting director, anmial casting, casting director, commercial, live theater, movies, print ads, print advertising, production, television | Comments Off
Groundhog Day is a really funny and very popular movie. Dad says that most people don’t realize how much work goes into making a movie or a commercial or a television show. For instance, dad and Scooter had to do their same scene over and over again so that the director could get many different angles and the best take. Dad says that even though it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun.
