'Marmaduke' Set Like 'High School For Dogs'

If you like The Dog Files please join our Facebook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/dogfiles

Also, follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dogfiles


marmaduke_01

By Janice Lloyd For USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — Tom Dey is smiling at a wide computer screen in an editing studio at 20th Century Fox: A shy romantic greeting is unfolding between the hunky lead character and his soon-to-be girlfriend.

Dey has a lot to smile about. He’s the director of Marmaduke, a live-action feature movie he says will be told from the viewpoint of Marmaduke, the Great Dane made famous in the popular comic strip. The comedy opens in June.

The segment he is studying is about Marmaduke’s introduction to a savvy Australian shepherd at the dog park.

“We’ve approached the movie like a John Hughes movie with dogs,” Dey says. “The dog park is like high school for dogs. To make this kind of movie, you really have to understand that it is the dog’s world and we just live in it.”

The kinds of rich characterizations Hughes embodied in teenage stars such as Matthew Broderick in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off translate to the Marmaduke story lines, Dey says, including one theme about “the vulnerabilities” of Marmaduke.

“Marmaduke is a teenager, and he’s trying to find his way in the world,” Dey says. “It’s a boy-meets-girl story, a coming-of-age and cautionary tale. My job as director is to try to place the audience inside this world.”

Dey asked the trainers to get the dogs to do tricks few other dogs, and certainly no other Great Danes, have done before in movies. Mike Alexander is the top trainer of Marmaduke, whose family moves from the Midwest to Orange County, Calif., where a favorite pastime is surfing.

Surf’s up, dude

“I asked him if he could teach the dog to surf,” Dey says. “Mike said he didn’t know if he could even get the dog in the water. The Danes he’s worked with in the past have not wanted to go into the water.”

So a plot point is Marmaduke, who hates water, being forced to enter a surf competition to save face for his owner.

Dey is smiling again as he talks about the challenges of getting the Great Dane to surf.

“Mike started to work with him,” Dey says. “I was amazed. I actually went out with him when he was training him in the water. I saw him get on a wave and ride. That was unbelievable. I don’t think anyone’s seen a Great Dane surf before.”

Alexander has trained birds and animals for the blockbuster Harry Potter movies and the hit films Night at the Museum and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

In the case of Marmaduke, he says, it was the ability to focus, the abundance of warm weather and water for practicing — and one other thing that helped the dog learn surfing.

What’s the other thing?

Treats.

Sometimes the treat comes on the end of a stick hanging high above the movie camera so it’s not seen during shooting. Sometimes it sits on top of the movie camera so the dog looks at the camera during filming.

Training with treats

Treats reign in this line of work. In one session in which Marmaduke, played by the Great Dane George, is doing promotional shots for the film, the trainers stick small bits of peanut butter around the inside of a commode he’s supposed to drink from. No problem. It works well! He trots right over to the commode, and he doesn’t mind doing this trick several times until he gets it right.

He also is fond of chicken chunks — breast meat, please. Nothing but the best.

“When we do a movie, we offer a lot of treats,” Alexander says. “They’re a useful tool for us. He has a ravenous appetite. He never stops liking his treats, and he learned to like the water. He learned to balance on a surf board. Now he’s a big movie star.”

And now, Dey can keep on smiling.


Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

SUBSCRIBE TO
DOG FILES

Top Posts

More Articles...

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x

Why haven't You Signed up For our Newsletter?

Find out why over 8000 Dog lovers have already Joined!

Receive our newsletter, get special deals & stay updated.