Movie Review: The Rum Diary
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The Rum Diary Monitored: Outstanding “No Animals Were Harmed”®
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When struggling novelist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) lands a job at a Puerto Rican newspaper, he befriends photographer Sala (Michael Rispoli) and gets suckered into a shady land deal by Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart).
Featured Animal Action
The cast and crew were introduced to the animals before filming and instructed on proper handling. The sets were secured and grounds were checked for hazards. All fire is in contained pots and kept a safe distance from any animal.
Tortoise Action:
Harry the tortoise has diamonds and beads on his shell. Trainers placed a non-toxic (non-irritating) adhesive onto the tortoise’s shell and then attached prop beads. The tortoise was set on the carpet and allowed to walk freely during the short takes. The actor who stepped over the turtle used caution for this choreographed move.
Horse, Goat, Dog, and Background Animals:
All background animals were either familiar with each other or were kept a safe distance from each other. Actors and crew members were instructed on proper handling. Whenever horses, oxen or goats are seen in the background, they were tethered to posts or led on rope leashes by well-rehearsed actors. Background chickens were either placed in secured cages or equipped with monofilament lines on their leg to keep them from walking too far. When horses are seen with chicken cages on either side of their backs, this was a special rig secured to the horse’s saddle; both the horses and the chickens were unfazed by this mild walking action. Whenever dogs or cats were in the background, trainers placed the animal on its mark and stood nearby, cuing it to stay and rewarding it with food.
Frog Action:
The actress who “spit out” the frog pantomimed the action while a trainer gently dropped the frog from a few inches onto the ground below and retrieved it right after. The scene was brief and takes were limited.
Chicken/Rooster Action:
For the cockfighting scenes, trainers had rehearsed the birds individually and in pairs for weeks before filming. The roosters were equipped with special back/chest harness rigs, which were attached to an monofilament string and controlled by off-screen trainers. The distance each bird walked or flew was then controlled by the trainers so as not to let the birds touch but get very close to touching. The birds’ natural spurs (the sharp, claw-like projection on roosters’ legs) were filed down (a common practice to protect roosters from accidentally hurting each other) and a rubber spur was placed over the filed spur. These scenes were incredibly well-choreographed so as not to let the birds accidentally hit each other or cause any harm. Trainers used props to get the roosters to look, walk, or fly in certain directions. Non-toxic fake blood was also placed on some of the birds and removed after filming, and prop feathers were tossed into the air for dramatic effect.
When the rooster is seen on Sala’s hat as Kemp stands up and sticks his head out of the roof of Sala’s car, the car was on a flatbed rig driven by a professional stunt rider. The top of the hat had a custom-made perch for the bird to sit in, and the bird’s leg had a safety line attached to the perch to keep him on his mark (the hat was secured onto the actor’s head with elastic). Fire was filmed separately without the bird present.
Whenever a chicken/rooster is seen in the moving car or in the motorcycle’s sidecar, the trainer placed the bird in the cage and secured it to either the car seat or luggage rack, in addition to the actor holding the cage. The car drove slowly a short distance, while two off-camera trainers stood nearby.
Lobster and Fish Action:
For the scene involving live lobster in a tank, a lobster expert placed the lobster in the tank for the brief takes and maintained the water levels and temperatures, in addition to maintaining the tank between takes. Production provided documentation for the dead lobsters used in this film, including the ones Sanderson carried out of the ocean in a net. The goldfish in the tank had been given the optimum water type and temperature and was monitored throughout the film. When Kemp drinks from the bowl containing the fish, the real fish was replaced with a rubber prop fish before filming.
American Humane Association’s On-Set Oversight
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