Zeus And Roxanne is a
film about Zeus, a dog, and the unusual relationship he has
with a dolphin. Mary Beth is a Marine Biologist and Zeus's
neighbor. Zeus follows Mary Beth to work one day and jumps
onto her boat, going out to sea for the day. While on the
boat, Zeus sees Roxanne, a dolphin, that he had seen earlier
while sitting on the beach. Zeus and Roxanne become friends
and at the same time Mary Beth falls in love with Terry,
Zeus's owner.
Animal Action:
There were 12
dolphins used in the film that were provided by Unexco. These
dolphins had no prior film experience, however, they were
accustom to swimming with people daily. The trainers worked
with them for several weeks to prepare them prior to filming.
In the morning Zeus
takes a morning stroll and decides to snatch a paper for
Terry, his owner. Mrs. Rice, the neighbor and owner of the
paper, beats him to it. Trainer #1 cued the dog with a verbal
command while trainer #2 called him using a food reward.
Later Zeus catches a
glimpse of Mrs. Rice's cat, who has strayed outside of her
yard. Zeus immediately starts to chase the cat as it runs for
the protection of the fenced yard. The two are seen running
through the house, over furniture, under the house, and up
some steps. Zeus is also seen knocking over a flower pot just
before the cat exits from under the house, ending up on a
large tree limb with Zeus on the porch barking at him. This
scene was shot in several cuts. A non skid surface was used
for all of the chase segments of the scene. The cat ran from A
to B to C through the house cued with a buzzer. Then the dog
followed the same pattern. When Zeus chases the cat down the
stairs and under the house, again this portion of the scene
was shot in several segments with a buzzer and food used to
cue the animals. When Zeus knocks over the flower pot, the dog
was placed on a stay command looking down and then given a
verbal command to push the flower pot off of the porch. The
cat was placed under the house and called to his next mark
with a buzzer. At one point the dog is seen digging up Mary
Beth's garden looking for the cat. For this portion the
trainer placed the dog on his mark and gave him a verbal
command to dig with food as a reward. The cat was placed on
the tree limb by his trainer and retrieved at completion of
the shot.
While on Mary Beth's
boat, Zeus gets to close to the edge of the stern and falls
into the water. Zeus barks in the direction of the receding
boat, however, no one hears him. In the meantime, a shark
breaks the surface and moves quickly in his direction. Roxanne
surfaces and notices the shark and she swims towards Zeus,
picking him up on her back. Zeus rides on Roxanne's back to
the safety of the boat. As she approaches the boat, Zeus jumps
from her back to the boat, barking his thanks as he shakes the
water from his fur. This scene was shot in cuts. An
animatronic dolphin was used for this scene. For the portion
of the scene when Zeus falls overboard, the scene was shot
before a blue screen. The trainer placed the dog on a flat
board that was tipped side to side to simulate a rocking
motion. The board was approximately 18 inches from the ground.
When the dog is seen swimming from point A to B, two trainers
were present in the water at all times. A diver was in the
water in the background wearing a shark fin. The animatronic
dolphin moved towards the boat and with the help of the
trainer the dog climbed on its back.
Claude, another
biologist, is on the dock beside his boat when Zeus and Mary
Beth approach. While Mary Beth is talking with Claude, Zeus
inches towards his briefcase sitting on the dock. Zeus nudges
the case with his nose, knocking it into the water. The
trainer placed the dog on his mark and used verbal and hand
commands to cue the dog to push the briefcase.
At the end of the
summer, Terry, his son Jordan, and Zeus move from the island
to a town inland. Zeus, missing Roxanne, decides to run away
and head for the island. He pushes a lounge chair across the
patio with his front paws then he does the same with a small
patio table. After getting a good start, Zeus runs towards the
chair and jumps from the chair to the table, over the balcony,
and into the pool below. He is then seen running down the
beach. This scene was shot in cuts. The trainer placed the dog
on a platform overlooking the pool, two trainers were
strategically placed and a stay command was given. When he is
preparing his ramp, he is cued to stand on his hind legs and
push at the lawn furniture. A line was attached to the
furniture and it was actually pulled across the floor by a
prop person. The dog then climbs up onto the furniture and
jumps over the railing, landing in the pool. This portion of
the scene was actually filmed on the ground before a blue
screen. It appears as though the dog is falling three flights,
however, when Zeus is seen landing in the pool, he actually
jumps from an 18 inch platform on the side of the pool.
Trainer #1 cued him with verbal commands to jump while trainer
#2 was waiting in the pool and pushed the dog out of the
water.
Zeus makes it to a
local gas station where he sees a truck pulling a boat and
trailer. He decides to hitch a ride so he jumps into the boat,
sitting in the drivers seat as the vehicle travels down the
road. When the boat stops, Zeus jumps out and runs down the
dock. The trainer placed the dog on the boat in a "sit
stay position". Trainer #1 was positioned at the bow
using hand and verbal commands to cue the dog. Trainer #2 was
lying on the floor of the boat holding a safety line attached
to the dog.
Claude catches sight
of Zeus and tosses a net over him, picking him up. He then
carries Zeus aboard his boat. Zeus bites at Claude's ankle
just before Roxanne is sighted. Roxanne circles a few times as
Zeus barks a warning to her. On her last turn, she jumps over
Claude and his helper and they fall into the net, trapping
themselves inside. Zeus pushes the button to make the net go
up and down into the water. He then hikes his leg, urinating
on the two men. For the portion of the scene where Claude
tosses a net over Zeus, the trainer placed the dog in a
sit/stay position and a light net was placed over him. When
Zeus bites at Claude's ankle, the trainer, acting as a double
for the actor, placed the dog on his mark and cued him with
verbal commands to grab at his ankle. Later the trainer cued
the dog to hike his leg as the area was then sprayed with fake
urine.
After Terry and Mary
Beth's wedding, Roxanne is seen catching the bouquet of
flowers in her mouth then swimming away. This shot was filmed
at Unexso training area. The trainer dropped a bouquet of
flowers in the air and on command the dolphin caught them. The
dog was sitting on a platform above the dolphin training area
and additional trainers were strategically positioned around
him.
On one of his trips
with Mary Beth, Zeus and Roxanne are seen playing a game of
ball. Roxanne tosses the ball to Zeus and he catches it in his
mouth. The dolphins were led out to the filming area by the
Unexco trainers. Filming was done while the dolphins were
engaging in their normal routines. The rubber ball was then
tossed into the water and the dolphin began tossing it into
the air. The dolphin did not actually toss the ball to the
dog.
One day on the beach
Jordan is taking pictures of Mary Beth's daughters and Zeus
buried in the sand. The dogs head and paws are seen sticking
out of the sand. For this scene the trainer placed the dog on
the sand and lightly covered his stomach and gave him a
"stay command". The sand used under and on top of
the dog was of a cool temperature. The amount of sand placed
on the dog was just enough to cover his stomach which enabled
him to move or get up at any time.
There are several
scenes where Zeus is seen walking A to B down the beach, pier,
or in town, sitting on a bed wearing costumes, riding in a
vehicle, or merely lying on the floor. He is seen with his
paws propped up on a desk, counter, window, table, etc. Many
times he is seen communicating with the dolphins either by
barking, waving his paws, or playing ball. All of these
behaviors were pre-trained and the trainer cued him with
verbal or hand signals with food as a reward.
All of the scenes of
the dolphins swimming and playing in the water were filmed as
they naturally acted and inserted during post-production where
needed. The dolphin behaviors start with a target and are
reinforced on a variable reinforcement schedule.
Other animal action
consisted of a chimp being held by an actor and a St. Bernard
on a leash. The trainer placed the animals with the actors and
retrieved them at completion of the shot.