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INTO THE WILD Based on a true story, the film follows a young
college graduate who exchanges his middle class life for an adventure in Alaska.
Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) gives his $24,000 savings to charity and
hitches a ride to the Alaskan wilderness, where he struggles to survive the
hardships of nature. His journey teaches him invaluable lessons of strength,
courage and character.
Featured Animal Scenes
A falcon is in flight as the opening credits roll. For this shot, a trainer put
the falcon on a perch. Then using a whistle, he cued the bird to fly up and
circle in the sky. After the camera filmed the bird flying for awhile, the
trainer called the bird back to the perch and rewarded it with food when it
landed. The bird had a lightweight transmitter attached to it so that if it
unexpectedly flew away, the trainer could track it. Only necessary crew members
were allowed on set and everyone was instructed to keep the noise level down
while filming this sequence.
Two coyotes are seen sitting on a hillside near a campsite. They then venture
down the hill to check out the camping area. Trainers brought the animals to the
hillside in crates after the grounds were thoroughly inspected. Food had been
scattered around the grounds to entice the animals. The animals were retrieved
after filming by the trainers, who stood just off-camera during the entire
scene.
Christopher shoots at a partridge. For this scene, the partridge was placed on a
tree branch sticking out of the snow. The tree branch was low to the ground and
trainers stood off-camera with nets in case the bird decided to wander. Feathers
on one wing were slightly clipped to impede long flight so that trainers would
be able to recapture the partridge after filming. A trainer placed the bird’s
head under its wing to simulate sleep, and while holding the bird, the trainer
turned it around in a circle three times. This training technique causes birds
to be lulled into a nap-like state, and birds in this state may remain asleep
for as long as three minutes before waking up on their own. Once the bird was
lulled to sleep, it was placed on the branch next to another tree branch that
had a squib (blood pack) on it. When the camera began filming, the actor stepped
into frame and aimed his rifle at the bird. The squib “exploded” on cue, thanks
to an off-screen crew member. The bird was never shot or even shot at. Shortly
after the squib burst, the bird woke up on its own, flew down to the ground and
began to hop around. The actor continued to follow the bird, aiming his gun at
it. A trainer used a catch net to retrieve the bird after the scene was over.
Another trainer waited off-screen on a snowmobile in case he needed to follow
the bird quickly. The grounds had been checked ahead of time for safety hazards.
During a split-screen shot, Christopher is seen carrying two dead squirrels.
Then these squirrels appear to be roasting over a fire on one side of the screen
while Christopher shoots a porcupine on the other side of the screen. The
production provided documentation that the dead animals were props. The shooting
of the porcupine was filmed in separate shots. A trainer released the porcupine
from a crate, and it began to wander around. The actor aimed the gun and
pretended to shoot at the animal. The porcupine was retrieved by the trainer
immediately after filming.
Christopher aims his gun at a moose and then fires several times and the moose
falls down. Christopher cuts the dead moose open and begins to gut the animal,
pulling out its insides. After unsuccessfully trying to cure the meat, he drags
the carcass to an open area where we see some wolves and an eagle feed off the
carcass. This sequence was filmed in separate shots and edited together later.
After being transported to the set in a secure, comfortable pen, the moose was
released into a fenced-in area of the woods. The grounds were checked ahead of
time for safety hazards. The moose wandered within the fenced area as the camera
filmed it. The moose loved bananas, so a trainer held one to get the moose to
walk and look in various directions. The actor aimed the gun far away from the
moose and shot the gun using quarter loads. The moose’s fall was created with
computer-generated imagery. Separately, four wolves were brought to the set and
released one at a time by trainers. The wolves began to play for awhile while
the camera filmed them. A prop moose carcass was then spread out and pieces of
food were placed in and around the carcass to make it appear as if the wolves
were eating the carcass. For a close-up shot of one of the wolves eating, a
harness equipped with a camera was attached to the wolf and connected to a metal
cable, which was held by an off-screen trainer. To get the wolf to snarl, a
trainer stood off-camera, shaking a stick with a rag at the end of it. A safety
fence was put up so that the wolves could not go too far. Trainers surrounded
the area. Before filming began, a safety meeting was held for all cast and crew
members, and during filming, only necessary cast and crew were allowed on the
set. For the shot with the eagle, a trainer placed the eagle on the carcass and
attached the bird’s jesses (thin straps used in falconry) to a stake in the
ground to make sure the eagle did not take flight. Food was scattered around the
carcass for the eagle to munch on. The wolves were not on the set at the same
time as the eagle. The production provided documentation that the dead moose was
fake, and the flies and maggots seen crawling on the carcass were
computer-generated.
Christopher watches as a deer stands by a stream in one scene. A lightweight
monofilament line was attached to the deer’s leg and held by an off-screen
trainer. Syrup was placed on some of the rocks around the stream for the deer to
lick. The actor stood at a safe distance and watched.
Christopher aims at a caribou and then sees a baby caribou walk out from behind
the mother, which prompts Christopher to lower his gun. A caribou mother and her
actual baby calf were used for this scene. A trainer led the mother into
position with the use of a halter and lead rope and stood nearby, holding the
rope. Another trainer held the baby in the same manner. A third trainer went to
the other side of the clearing and held up a bag of food to get the mother’s
attention. As the mother began to walk toward the trainer holding the food, the
trainer holding the baby released it and it began to follow its mother. The
actor stood behind a nearby tree aiming his unloaded gun at the mother and then
lowered the gun when the baby came into frame. There was a lot of preparatory
work for this scene, so that both animals were allowed time to acclimate to the
location and the noise. They were used to walking on snow, and the grounds were
thoroughly inspected before filming began. Four trainers stood off-camera and
one waited on a snowmobile as a precaution.
A bear approaches Christopher as he stands outside. The bear stops by
Christopher, sniffs at the bucket he is holding and then walks away. Trainers
brought the bear to the set in a trailer. Hot wire fencing was put up along a
trail to direct the bear where to walk and guide him to his mark on set. Once
the actor was standing very still, the trainer verbally cued the bear to “stop”
and “look” as the bear passed the actor. The bear decided on its own to take a
look into the bucket, and then the off-camera trainer called the bear to him.
Christopher runs in a field with several wild horses. This scene was filmed on a
private wild horse sanctuary in South Dakota. Fifteen horses were rounded up and
brought to an area on the grounds where they were filming the scene. Some hay
and grain was laid out on the ground to keep the horses occupied. After the
horses seemed content grazing on the hay and grain, the actor ran into the scene
swinging his arms and shouting to get the horses to run. A catch pen (fenced-in
area) was created for the horses to run into after the scene, and several
trainers surrounded the area on foot and horseback. The grounds were checked
ahead of time for hazards. The horses were all familiar with each other since
they all lived on the grounds together.
American Humane did not monitor all of the animal action, including scenes
involving dogs, snakes, owls, a caribou herd, cows, tarantulas and crabs.
American Humane’s On-Set Oversight
For more information on how filmmakers work with American Humane, as well as a
complete guide to our ratings system, please
click here.
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