APOCALYPTO

THE DAY AFTER II


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SCOOTER, THE STAR


  • SCOOTER, A REAL STAR


The following interview and pictures have been posted by Tapir Specialist Group
Not since a brief opening scene in Stanley Kubrik's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, has a tapir made a memorable screen appearance, albeit brief--if you blink, you miss it. An unprecedented opportunity presented itself with Mel Gibson's film Apocalypto, an epic and action-packed film which depicts a moment in Mexico's Mayan cultural history. Scooter, an agreeable and charismatic male Baird's tapir from Zoo León in León, Guanajuato, México may just become the (animal) star of this film. Zoo León General Curator Richard Sheffield and veterinarian Jesus Barroso describe how their zoo's beloved tapir became a cast member of this much anticipated movie

INTERVIEW


When did the film crew contact you?
We were originally contacted by the director of Africam Safari in Puebla. They do not have tapirs and knew that we did. Gibson's representatives contacted us in September of '05.

What were the filming dates?
For Scooter's participation, (filming took place) the 2nd and 3rd weeks of November '05 in the jungles of the southern Mexican state of Veracruz.


Scooter and Jesus Barroso, veterinarian and "animal handler" from Zoo León

Did you read the script to Apocalypto? How does a tapir factor into the plot?
No, we didn't read the script. But apparently the tribe needs to hunt and kill a tapir and eat its testicles for fertility purposes. (No real animals were harmed during the filming--an animatronic tapir was built with help from staff at the Los Angeles Zoo who measured their Baird's tapir for the production company.)
Scooter regards a poor little donkey that was draped in sheets and painted dark brown in an failed attempt to create a live stand-in for the tapir.

Whom did you work with from the film crew?
We worked at first directly with Airborne Productions, Inc., represented here in Mexico by Claudia Porter. This organization specializes in supplying animals for film work. Once on the filming site, we worked with two assistant directors and at times directly with Gibson.

How did they describe what they needed from the tapir/actor?
One day before filming, Barroso would meet with one of the assistant directors to go over the storyboard and from that came the needs for the next day.

Were there other animals and animal handlers on the set?
Other than the other tapir and small donkeys, not while we were on the set. I did see a black panther in the trailer for the movie.

Were those animals specially trained or also from zoos in the area?
There were additional animals and handlers supplied by Airborne Productions, but their personnel did not have sufficient experience with wild animals, and therefore were not involved with Scooter's scenes. A second tapir from another zoo was on the set, but was not used. There was also an animatronics tapir that was used for the scene in which the tapir was killed.

Describe the work you did with Scooter to prep him for his role.
This depended on the demands of any particular scene. We used two training methods when Scooter had to run: for one method we had a trainer about fifteen feet in front of Scooter, and for the other we had Scooter running from point A to point B. For both methods we simply used positive reinforcement (a method this tapir is very responsive to): Scooter was enticed to cooperate by offering him his favorite treat which was a large succulent and ripe banana alternated with cantaloupe or whole wheat slices of bread.
Before each scene was filmed, we took Scooter to the area where the filming was to take place in order to familiarize with that area and walked him several times through the exact sectors where he would be filmed. After walking him, we then did the same but had him run through the sector using the same training methods.


Jesus and animatronic tapir used as stand-in for Scooter


Describe your typical day on the set.
A typical day: We took Scooter to the filming areas in a trailer. In each one of these filming areas, there was fenced holding area for Scooter in which he was placed. We then waited for a signal that they were ready to film. Each scene lasted about 30 seconds and filmed by 2 to 8 cameras. At the end of each scene there was a cut, and then Gibson along with the assistant director and the head cameraman reviewed what was filmed. This intermediate period of review lasted about 30 minutes. During this time they "babied" the "star" with food treats, massages and a good brushing. If the crew liked what they had on film, they went on to the next scene, and if not, then it was refilmed until Gibson got what he wanted. The same scene was re-filmed as often as four times. Barroso told the film crew that four tries of the same scene would be the maximum during one period of filming as to minimize the stress affecting Scooter.

How many days did Scooter's scenes take to film?
Four days. We don't really know how many scenes; when the movie comes out, we'll see (bad memory).

How many takes did Scooter need to achieve the desired moment on film?
Four max.

Describe any funny moments on the set with Scooter.
The funniest thing that happened was on the occasion that Scooter had to run up a small hill escaping from the hunters. Barroso was in the lead running outside of camera's* sight. When he got to the top of the hill, he had to quickly move to one side of Scooter's trajectory in order not to be filmed. The idea was that Scooter was supposed to continue in a straight path, but Scooter had his own ideas. When Barroso jumped to one side and hid in the bushes, Scooter stopped dead in his tracts and went after Barroso, sniffing and nudging him with his nose to get him back on his feet and go where Scooter thought he was supposed to go. That got a big laugh from all the crew.



MEL GIBSON AND HIS NEW FRIEND, SCOOTER

How did Scooter interact with the other actors?
Actually there wasn't much interaction with the actors other than those who were supposedly chasing and hunting him.

What did they think of him? Did any actors take an interest in the tapir?
Everybody was interested in the tapir, but the principal individual who was fascinated with Scooter, was Mel Gibson. One of the media in Mexico interviewed Mel Gibson and when they asked him who was the star of the movie he said the tapir!

Did Mel Gibson help Scooter prepare for his screen time?
Not directly. He explained what he wanted in the scene about to be filmed, but left everything else up to us.

What was Gibson like as a director?
He was a really great guy. He always asked if Scooter was OK to do another scene, and if we said no, then he accepted our decision with no qualms.

I noticed that the TSG logo appears in some of the pieces of plywood you're holding in pictures--did you discuss TSG with the filmmakers, or tapir conservation with them?
Not really, as the opportunity did not present itself.

Mel Gibson with Jesus Barroso from Zoo León

How did you use the pieces of plywood--were they used to help Scooter with this scenes?
They were used at times to keep Scooter away from some of the heavy equipment being used on or near the set. Scooter was quite curious about things around him and moving the plywood sheets about, kept his interest confined to the immediate things at hand.


Animal handlers with Scooter

Resting between scenes.

Did you or your zoo give the filmmakers any insight into tapir use by Aztec and Mayan tribes or tribal use of tapirs from ancient times?
No, actually they had done all their homework.

Describe what the filmmakers did for your zoo--how they compensated Zoo León for Jesus' time and Scooter's expert "tapirness"?
They paid the travel and lodging expenses, and donated sufficient funds to build Scooter a new and beautiful exhibit.



Scooter´s Mansion in zoo Leon



THE CONFLICT BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARKNESS

We witness in the Maya mythology a dualism almost as complete as that of ancient Persia-the conflict between light and darkness. Opposing each other we behold on the one hand the deities of the sun, the gods of warmth and light, of civilisation and the joy of life, and on the other the deities of darksome death, of night, gloom, and fear. From these primal conceptions of light and darkness all the mythologic forms of the Maya are evolved. When we catch the first recorded glimpses of Maya belief we recognise that at the period when it came under the purview of Europeans the gods of darkness were in the ascendant and a deep pessimism had spread over Maya thought and theology. Its joyful side was subordinated to the worship gloomy beings, the deities of death and hell, and if the cult or light was attended with such touching fidelity it was because the benign agencies who were worshipped in connection with it had promised not to desert mankind altogether, but to return at some future indefinite period and resume their sway of radiance and peace.


SEE COLLAGE
"SPIRIT OF THE JUNGLE"
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  • 23 NOVEMBER.- MEL GIBSON ON ABC




Making "Apocalypto"

One of the most physically harrowing shoots in Hollywood history began because Gibson decided it would be fun to make a "chase" movie.
"My first instinct," Gibson said to ABC's Diane Sawyer, "was, 'Wow. Chase movies, you know? What kind of chases? Let me see: There's car chases. There's plane, bus, boats.'"
Gibson ultimately decided nothing could match the heart-pounding terror of a man literally running for his life.
His hero in "Apocalypto" is named Jaguar Paw, after the sacred Mayan jaguar with green eyes.
The actor who brought Jaguar Paw to life is Rudy Youngblood, a 25-year-old Native American who had never been in a movie before, and whom Gibson describes as an "everyman kind of guy."
In total, "Apocalypto" boasts a cast of 3,000 American Indians, nonactors speaking only Spanish or the native Mayan language, Yucatec.

For eight months, they struggled together through the harsh conditions and blistering heat.
By the time the movie was over, Gibson says, the actors all became indestructible warriors.
"There was a lot at stake for these guys," he said, "but they all pulled it off. It was great."
Gibson's guide into the history of these legendary cities was Richard Hansen, a professor of anthropology at Idaho State University.
"One of the great things about 'Apocalypto,'" Hansen said, is that "it brings [the ancient world] to life here. It's an opportunity to see a city like this being brought to our conception of what it would look like originally."
Gibson explained the film's title to Sawyer:
"'Apocalypto.'… It's Greek, of course. It just means a new beginning or an unveiling - a revelation."


When asked whether it related to the biblical revelation, Gibson said: "Everything has a beginning and an end, and all civilizations have operated like that."
Gibson says the movie has universal appeal because on a basic level, it addresses fear.
When asked whose fears we see in the film, Gibson said: "Boy, they're most people's. I think a lot of them are mine."
"People like scary stories," he said. "There's a fascination with fear themes, and we want to face those things in a weird, subconscious way."
Gibson says that "Apocalypto's" themes of a civilization squandering precious resources, including men in war, make him think of the Bush administration and Iraq.
When asked whether the film was a warning, Gibson said: "In a sense. It's a little bit like. … Look at this civilization. They're not around anymore. What were they doing? Why?"
"There were wars," he said. "There were famines. There was destruction of the environment. There was conspicuous consumption. … No regard for human life at some points."








In the film, there are answers and hope that take the form of starting over: living with respect for Earth, peacefully and without fear.
While in the jungle filming the movie, Gibson decided it was time for him to conquer a lifelong fear of heights.
After Youngblood made several terrifying jumps off a building, the crew goaded Gibson into trying it himself.
"They're hauling you up and everybody gets smaller and smaller and smaller, and the winds starts. … It's a funny feeling dropping that height."
The one-time action star is now 50 years old, a veteran director who has made a film in Aramaic, and now one in Yucatec.
He says that next, he'll "do only in English. I think maybe something funny."
Gibson hopes to emerge from a year of crisis into a year of transformation.
"It begins again after a massive upheaval," he said, referring to the Maya Apocalypto. "But that happens even in our lives. Our lives are a microcosm of that, you know. … Wake up. Be new again. Try again. People have done it over and over again. People do it."


  • 1 DECEMBER.- PREMIERE OF "APOCALYPTO" IN OKLAHOMA


According to KSWO.com, today an enthusiastic audience at one of Oklahoma's largest American Indian casinos got an early look at, "Apocalypto".
Neither Gibson, who arrived at the casino in a sport utility vehicle, nor two of the film's stars took questions from reporters before settling in for the screening at the Chickasaw Nation's Riverwind Casino. A scheduled news conference was canceled.
Mel Gibson's effort to find an indigenous cast for his new movie "Apocalypto," which depicts the end of the Mayan civilization, is drawing praise from American Indian leaders.
Gibson wanted an indigenous cast for the project, so the filmmakers found people from the Yucatan, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Xalapa, Veracruz and other spots. Two of the cast members are from the United States, three are from Canada and the rest hail from Central America.


Actors from the movie "Apocalypto" Raoul Trujillo, left, and Rudy Youngblood, right, visit's Riverwind Casino for a special benefit event and screening of the movie, Friday.

"It is very important to note that Mr. Gibson has gone to great lengths to cast indigenous people in this film," Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby said. "This not only helps make the film more realistic, it serves as an inspiration to Native American actors who aspire to perform relevant roles in the film industry."
Tickets to the premiere were 55 dollars. Gibson matched the proceeds, which are going to American Indian health organizations and charities.




MEL GIBSON AND RUDY YOUNGBLOOD

8 DECEMBER 2006, "APOCALYPTO" OPENS TODAY!!!



  • 15 DECEMBER.- MEL GIBSON TALKS ABOUT "APOCALYPTO".

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW PUBLISHED BY ComingSoon.net.
A couple months back, Gibson did an extensive "Q&A" out of his Icon Productions offices, but in this new exclusive interview with ComingSoon.net, conducted mere days after the movie's opening, he talks a bit more about what he hoped to accomplish with the film and whether he feels he's succeeded.

ComingSoon.net: You've said that you made this movie to "entertain, educate and lift to a higher plane of awareness." That last one's kind of a lofty goal, so is that a good reason to make a movie nowadays?
Mel Gibson: I think if you can do all three of those things, you're kind of firing on all cylinders. Whether or not I actually achieved it is up to an audience member to extrapolate. From my sensibilities, I did, but those are only my perceptions.

CS: What was it about the Mayan people or that era that got you interested in trying something like this?
Gibson: Well, no, it wasn't that. At first, I was just trying to make a chase film, but I wanted to make it a chase film that didn't have automobiles, so I thought of a foot chase. And I thought, "Well, where would you have a foot chase? You'd have a foot chase in some place that was a long time ago. And let me see, where can that be? Oh, this is interesting. No one's really looked at this much before. And what's more interesting is that the civilization dates back to millennia before the Europeans arrived." And that to me, musing on what might have happened before Europe arrived-because we have this conceit that history began when we got here--I thought that was interesting. Most people do it when the boats arrive, and then the fun starts, but I wanted to do it the other way around, and look what was before all that.

CS: That's a pretty amazing thought process. I would never have imagined that to be how you got to where you did. Now, you ended up making this with a lot of non-actors and people who've never made movies before…
Gibson: Yeah, the main guy (Rudy Youngblood) had never been in front of a camera, he was like "Huh?" Some of the performers had done stuff, two or three of them, but by and large, they were fairly inexperienced. They were novices, fledglings, it was great! It was so nice because I got the opportunity to be a true mentor-or a "tormentor" I'm not sure which-to impart things that I'd always thought but never really been able to impart to someone who was totally free of any kind of teaching. They didn't even have bad habits. It was interesting to watch them grow, and to realize, "Hey, maybe I know what I'm talking about. I think that they turned in really magnificent performances, all of them, and it was in them, too. It's not like I just imposed something on them. They did it themselves. You had to help them, they'd never done it before. It felt really good. I felt like a proud father watching a kid riding a bicycle.





CS: But going down to that alien Mexican environment to make a movie with so many inexperienced people, there must have been some worries about it working. How much time did you end up spending down there making the movie?
Gibson: A long time, longer than I had anticipated. And of course, we always think, "I'll do this, this and this and it'll be fine," but of course, you come across a lot of obstacles and hurdles, and mostly, it's about bumping into hurdles or falling over them or trying to clear them. So necessarily then it's going to take longer than you anticipated, but it was worth it, you know? "Nothing worthwhile isn't hard won."

CS: Was it also the challenge this would offer you as a director that drove you to do it?
Gibson: Oh, absolutely. You're working in a different language. You're working with largely an inexperienced cast. You have communication barriers. You're working in a difficult environment. You're using a new technology in cinematography, the Genesis system, and some of the rigs are really complicated. I mean, it's kinetic, it has to move all the time, not only has it got to move but the people in the image have to be moving at the same time as the camera's moving. It was tricky. And you're working with animals and children and elements. The elements were vast. It was a high degree of difficulty, but I think at the heart of it, the thing you could never ignore, is the humanity of the story and the simple aspects of the human experience, particularly as viewed vicariously in the protagonist as a young man, who has all the makings of being great but he's never been tested. And he is severely tested. And by the end, he has to decide a lot of things, what's important to him? He loves his forest, he loves his culture, he loves his tribe, he loves his family, and the extremes and the obstacles he has to go through in order to preserve what he loves, it's amazing. It starts off as fear and then it becomes kind of pissed off, and he gets fearless.

CS: Many people thought this movie was going to show the fall of the Mayan people, but really, it's about the journey of one man, Jaguar Paw, and we only get glimpses of what may happen afterwards. Do you have any interest or desire to continue this idea into another movie?
Gibson: Sure, I mean someone else will probably pick that ball up. I think the indications or the earmarks of a civilization on the wane are firmly implanted in the film: conspicuous consumption, corruption in power, fear as a manipulation tool, destruction of the environment. They bring about plagues and illnesses and corruption. You know, it's one vicious cycle and it's all built on fear. I think the quote at the beginning of the film is indicative of what you're seeing is something that's eating itself from within, and it's ripe to be conquered from without.

CS: Does it matter to you if people who see the movie don't immediately make the connections to the modern-day world issues you've mentioned in past interviews?
Gibson: No, no, and that's why I think the film works on different levels. You can take that from it if you want to look, but primarily, what you're watching is a thriller and a really fast action roller coaster. I think that is the vehicle I put it in, so you never really get a moment to catch your breath, I hope.





CS: The film's most impressive scene, at least to me, is when Jaguar Paw arrives in the Mayan city. It's just an amazing scene with all the costumes and different races of people. Did you have to do a lot of research for that or did you invent some things based on what you imagined cities must have been like back then?
Gibson: Oh, no. There are many murals and clay statues of people and their dress, records of their customs, modes, looks, social morays, morals, a bible that explains what they believe in their afterlife. It was very complex, very sophisticated civilization, but it was interesting that juxtaposed against that sophistication was this barbarity, but that was true of the Roman Empire, the Greek Empire. My gosh, it's been true of every empire.



CS: How do you think all those people of different races and cultures ended up there?
Gibson: How they came there? Well, I leave you to extrapolate that. Those cities were there, and they gathered for safety, for community, they gathered for culture, they gathered for the love of one another, and identity. Like people root for football teams, you just gravitate to something. Why do people go to cities now? They want to make something, they want to do something, they want to be something. Men have these aspirations from the year Dot, and they want to be in each other's company and in a society and build something together. They'll often be corrupted together. The locations were key because where they built these cities was where they were safe, and where they knew they could have an abundant food supply, and the people used to come from all around and become part of that big society.


CS: There's also a sense of humor to the movie that's kind of unexpected, like the loosely translated subtitles done for the sake of humor. Did you always plan to do that from the beginning or was it just a way to lighten things up as you worked on the film?
Gibson: It does lighten things up a wee bit. It was important for me, right from the get-go. If you're going to be in a very foreign, alien culture a long time ago and in another tongue, to have the audience identify with the characters immediately, and the best way to identify is with humor. To see that they're different, but then to realize, "Oh, wow, they're just the same as us!" If you get a group of men, it doesn't matter if they're 15 or 85 years old, when they get together, they're all going to act like 15 year olds. That's the way guys are, that's my experience. You get a bunch of guys around a poker table, they're going to goof off and insult one another and try to play practical jokes. That's just life. And I figure hell, they always did that. People are people, no matter what era they're from. I went that road and played the two-prong practical joke, and more serious things like lessons about fear and about community and family and loving. All these things that go into making a balanced society. That was my idea of what balance was, and then to have that interrupted by fear and disharmony was the opposite side of that coin. That was trying to show the human experience in all its facets, the dark sides of human nature and the highest sides of it, the light sides. That's mythic storytelling, and really the structure of the story is a myth. It was absolutely necessary to be archetypal in the casting, so that you can identify these people right away. There's the everyman, the hero, the man who's a little bit more sensitive to his environment and to an extrasensory nature than the others, who is not quite complete, but has some growing to do. There's the wise father. There's the big loveable friend who's just a great guy, and he has problems and everyone picks on him. There's the nagging mother-in-law, there's the innocent beautiful pregnant full-bellied wife with the child who's just like a Madonna. You know, they're archetypes. There's the villains and the heroes, so that these are very clearly drawn portraits. I cast to hit it right on the head, if I could, to make it absolutely clear right off the get-go, simply because you're dealing in elements like other cultures, other dialect.

CS: It obviously took a lot of time and patience to make this movie. You must have so many ideas, so how do you decide which one to follow through with and spend the time making into a movie?
Gibson: The one that appeals, the one you have a passion for, the one that moves the story along and moves you in some way, whether it's emotionally or if it's a fear that it touches or if it's a message or something you want to say. If you can put them all together and have them flow as one presentation in the story, you're working on multi-layers. That was really the aim I think.





CS: Originally, Touchstone Pictures was going to release the movie in the summer. After seeing, I thought it would have fit nicely alongside other summer epics. Are you still happy with their decision to release it in December?
Gibson: It was done when it was done, and I think the smartest thing when you're finished with a picture is get it finished and put it out there. I would have preferred the summer, I think it would have fared better. It really is a big summer action film, a real popcorn movie, where the hero wins and everybody you want get their just desserts.

CS: I went in expecting something slow and languid like the Terrence Malick film ("The New World"), so it was a nice surprise. What would you consider success for this movie? Obviously, "Passion" made a lot of money, but for this, would it be good reviews? Awards?
Gibson: No, I don't think it's reviews. I think it's the way the audience reacts to it. If they react to it and they get something from it, I think that in itself… and even if it's just that they got entertained, that's enough. If they got entertained, educated and learned something on a higher level, that's even better. I tried to do all those three things, whether I got there or not, well that's for them to extrapolate and maybe I'll get some nice feedback for that sometime.

CS: But how are you able to gauge that audience reaction? Are you ever able to sneak into theatres and watch it with regular people, and if not, how will you know if the movie connected with them the way you wanted?
Gibson: Well, I haven't snuck into any screenings or anything, but I get feedback. People honestly tell you. They'll tell you what they thought. Even some of the reviews are very honest, even some negative things are quite honest and some negative things are disingenuous, but I got a pretty good meter for that sort of thing. You can see when someone's just got the knife out for you or when they're being honest. All those things add up. It's the feedback you get from all over. I just do what I do to the best of my ability, put it out there because I want to share it, because you don't make art for an elite. My greatest joy is to be able to share it with other people who appreciate it.

CS: You received an Oscar as a director fairly early in your career, so how important are awards to you? Is it important for a movie like this to get awards to get more people to see it?
Gibson: Well, you know, if you put a substantial investment of blood, sweat, tears and even hard cold cash into it, one always wants to recoup what you put in. I think the blood, sweat and tears part, the experience is rewarding in itself, even if it was hard. The cash aspect, well there's no guarantee on that ever. If people like it, they come to see it, and then you have something you can show to them and they pay you. The awards, if you get accolades from your peers, that's wonderful, that's very flattering, and it's feedback from them that's great, but that's not the ultimate goal. It really isn't. The ultimate goal is to just make a compelling story.





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