sickbadthing
04-05-2008, 01:26 AM
The most frequently asked question when it comes to BT is “did you really blow up a sheep” Craig always answers, “hey, it was an old sheep.” Actually it was a carpenter’s workhorse covered with some old sheepskin rugs but it was originally planned for the sheep to have a much larger part in the movie. Unfortunately, this plan resulted in a days filming that was disastrous even by our standards. The original idea is that Barry and Giles are heading through the countryside to get help and they run into a rabid, homicidal sheep that chases them through the paddocks until meeting an untimely death from a stray bazooka shell.
We went out to Caroline Girdlestone’s farm near Waikenae and set up to film with pet sheep borrowed from some friends of Caroline’s. The sheep was a perfectly clean, well maintained pet so we had to try to scuzz it up a bit by throwing mud and pinning straggly bits of filthy wool to it to give it a kid of sheep gone punk sort of look. Pete at one point wanted it to wear an eye patch (which is a Monty Python reference) but that idea got dropped. We got the sheep all grungy and set up the shot. The sheep would be let loose and the crew would rush it making it run towards O’Herne and Craig who would run away looking terrified as though this dangerous beast was attacking them.
Pete gave O’Herne, Craig and the sheep their final instructions; O’Herne and Craig were to keep looking behind them, note where the sheep was and try to stay in front of it. Action was called and the shot commenced. O’Herne and Craig started running straight ahead, the sheep was released and immediately starting running hell for leather for the hills! The sheep set some sort of land speed record with the crew in hot pursuit, it hit the fence line, started running alongside the fence…and threw itself off a cliff!
We went out to Caroline Girdlestone’s farm near Waikenae and set up to film with pet sheep borrowed from some friends of Caroline’s. The sheep was a perfectly clean, well maintained pet so we had to try to scuzz it up a bit by throwing mud and pinning straggly bits of filthy wool to it to give it a kid of sheep gone punk sort of look. Pete at one point wanted it to wear an eye patch (which is a Monty Python reference) but that idea got dropped. We got the sheep all grungy and set up the shot. The sheep would be let loose and the crew would rush it making it run towards O’Herne and Craig who would run away looking terrified as though this dangerous beast was attacking them.
Pete gave O’Herne, Craig and the sheep their final instructions; O’Herne and Craig were to keep looking behind them, note where the sheep was and try to stay in front of it. Action was called and the shot commenced. O’Herne and Craig started running straight ahead, the sheep was released and immediately starting running hell for leather for the hills! The sheep set some sort of land speed record with the crew in hot pursuit, it hit the fence line, started running alongside the fence…and threw itself off a cliff!