By Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
Boston Herald
April 15, 2010
Brooke Shields and Brendan Fraser, stars of “Furry Vengeance,” know it’s not nice to mess with Mother Nature – and while filming the green-themed family flick in Massachusetts they didn’t!
“We had a whole team of sergeants constantly following around people with soda cans,” said Shields, who was in town yesterday to promote the tree-huggin’ funny flick. “We weren’t allowed to walk on the grass or over-water the grass, and our silverware was made of potato starch.”
Hey, it’s biodegradable! The production even bought carbon credits.
The movie, which filmed last year in Topsfield, is about a real estate developer (Fraser) whose company plans to rip out a forest to build McMansions. And that makes the furry forest contingent – led by a rather riled raccoon – really, really mad!
Fraser, who bears the brunt of the forest dwellers’ retaliation in the flick, is no stranger to animal wrath. He went toe-to-paw with a ticked off orangutan in real-life and took on a cadre of cheeky cupuchins in “George of the Jungle.”
“They are mean and will steal a scene,” warned Brendan, who, through the magic of computers, had little interaction with the Furry crew in his latest flick. Which seems like a smart thing since Brendan appears to be a big fan of the Red Bull. We’re just sayin’ . . .
While the humans were shooting “Furry Vengeance” and reacting to the “antics” of stuffed animals, the real-life creatures who played the forest posse were being filmed at their own base camp.
“Two movies were being shot simultaneously,” said Shields. “The animal movie was like the second unit. We couldn’t get near them because of a bonding issue. (The trainers) didn’t want to confuse them.
“So (the filmmakers) would wait for a raccoon to put his hands over his eyes and they’d come running over asking us if it worked for a scene.”
The raccoon, BTW, should have gotten third billing, if you ask us.
The flick, according to the stars, who are both parents, will be a big hit with the kids and will also appeal to adults – especially the scene where Fraser models a pair of his wife’s peach “Yum Yum” sweats.
“I’m one of those parents who will bolt from the aisles after seeing certain movies, but with this one, you will be rewarded if you stick around,” he said, referring to the hilarious rap the cast and crew perform as the credits roll.
“Furry Vengeance” opens April 30.