Filmmaker Peter Cattaneo used real penguins on set for his new comedy-drama movie 'The Penguin Lessons’, and admits that working with live animals brings it's own set of unique challenges.
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00:00Well, the Penguin Lessons co-stars a penguin, so that was always going to be a challenge.
00:28It was the first decision was to definitely use real penguins and not go for CGI, because
00:42I felt we'd just get more authenticity and more character and warmth out of a real penguin.
00:47Then it was finding great animal handlers, always making sure the penguins were very
00:51well cared for, never asked to do anything that wasn't natural for them.
01:08But every time I opened my mouth, he turned around and walked out, which was amusing in
01:14itself, but made for a slightly long day.
01:22It was great to be involved in scenes that I had no particular responsibility for and
01:27watch the mayhem that the penguin was creating, because they don't always do what you want
01:32them to.
01:40It's not an out-and-out comedy.
01:41It just has, I think, a lot of warmth and observational humor, and it got lots of laughs.
01:46But then you hear people sniffing, they're crying as well, so what could be more rewarding
01:51for a filmmaker than to have laughter and tears in?