Bart the Bear
If you have seen the movie "The Edge", starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin, you know the bear I am talking about! I first noticed Bart in the movie "The Bear" but he really made his presence known in "The Edge" as the man-hungry Kodiak. In my opinion, Bart out acted his human co-stars in that movie and should have had top billing. Another memorable moment was during last years Academy Awards, when Bart was on-stage and was holding an envelope for an award.
Pictures
Scene from "The Edge"
Movies
- "The Edge" - a favorite movie of mine, not only because of Bart but because of the scenery. Warning! This movie shows one of the most graphic bear attacks in film history. View at your own risk! And don't go out in the woods after seeing it as I did!
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"The Bear"
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"White Fang 2"
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"Wild America"
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Heck, practically every movie where you see a grizzly!
Articles and Interviews
By JOHN McKAY -- Canadian Press
"....Among their adventures is an encounter with a man-eating Kodiak. Special credit was given deservedly to Bart the Bear and his trainer for the critter's frighteningly-realistic sequences. Bart (a pussycat bear with a pretty scary growl) is proof there should be an Oscar category for animals...."
My thoughts exactly! There should be an Oscar for animals.
Tuesday, September 30, 1997
Bart bears fame
Hollywood is having a bear, man!
By LOUIS B. HOBSON -- Calgary Sun
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the biggest Hollywood star of all? Is it Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Anthony Hopkins?
No. Guess again.
It's Bart the bear, the star of the TV series Grizzly Adams and such films as The Bear, Legends of the Fall, Wild America and The Edge.
"Bart is the John Wayne of bear actors," insists New Zealand filmmaker Lee Tamahori, who directed Bart, Hopkins, supermodel Elle Macpherson and Alec Baldwin in The Edge.
"At first, we considered using a mechanical bear but we just couldn't get the machine to look realistic enough.
"The bear terrorizes Anthony and Alec in this movie and I wanted the audience to experience the same kind of terror as their characters. That meant we needed a bear that was absolutely credible that could appear vicious, savage and menacing."
That's when Tamahori studied footage of Jean-Jacques Annaud's landmark nature film The Bear.
Tamahori contacted Bart's trainers Doug and Lynn Seus and Bart came back to Alberta -- one of his favorite movie locales, where he filmed Legends of the Fall and Wild America.
"Bart doesn't come cheap. He cost us $1 million," says Tamahori.
Macpherson is quick to point out that meant "Bart was paid more than me, and he was equipped for the Alberta fall weather. I had to do several of my scenes in freezing weather wearing the skimpiest costumes."
The Edge marked a reunion for Hopkins and Bart who'd worked together on Legends of the Fall.
"Bart's been trained to be an actor but that doesn't make him any less terrifying a co-star."
For most scenes, Bart was kept a safe distance from the actors. It's the camera work which makes him appear closer.
Tamahori explains that when Bart is in the attack scenes with Hopkins and Baldwin, "he is surrounded by an electrified trip wire. He knows what that wire means and has no desire to cross it."
The wire could not be used in the scene in which Bart has Hopkins trapped under a log. The trees and logs were positioned so Hopkins was in no danger from Bart's enormous claws.
"It was still terrifying because I could feel the heat of his breath and smell it," recalls Hopkins adding, "he smelt of garlic because he eats pasta and a whole chicken before each scene."
Tamahori emphasizes that Bart is a trained bear not a tame bear.
"In one scene, I needed Bart to turn quickly and threaten Anthony and Alec. Bart moved too slowly so Doug struck him on the rump. Bart's reaction was terrifying. We thought he was going to attack Doug but it definitely worked for the camera."
Annaud, who directed Bart in his movie debut The Bear, has just finished directing Pitt in the spiritual adventure film Seven Years in Tibet.
When asked to compare the temperaments of two of Hollywood's biggest stars Annaud points out "I don't have a massive scar on my butt from working with Brad.
"I tried to take a publicity shot with Bart and he didn't want to share the limelight. Brad, on the other hand, is a teddy bear."
Learn More About Bart
Vital Ground - Home of Bart the Bear
Also, be on the look-out for a special on the Animal Planet Channel, chronicling Bart and his trainer.
1998 by Stacy.
Articles and photos used by permission.
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