Movies Features

Brad Peyton talks cats, dogs and Kitty Galore

By Anne Brodie Jul 27, 2010, 13:01 GMT

$Chris O\'Donnell Jack McBrayer, Bette Midler and Carlos Alazraqui star in the next battle in the continuing wars between species. This time they band together to battle a rogue spy cat.$

Chris O\'Donnell Jack McBrayer, Bette Midler and Carlos Alazraqui star in the next battle in the continuing wars between species. This time they band together to battle a rogue spy cat. ...more

Brad Peyton’s living the Hollywood dream. Born and raised in Gander, Newfoundland, the 31 year old filmmaker recently cut his cinematic teeth on the big budget 3D Warner Brothers family extravaganza Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.

Not only did Peyton wrangle 100 animal actors, he also directed the vocal talents of Bette Midler, Roger Moore, Sean Hayes, James Marsden, Christina Applegate, Chris O’Donnell, and Michael Clarke Duncan, among others, to tell the tale of an extraordinary animal uprising. This is his first feature film!

Peyton says his own work on shorts is decidedly darker, edgier and as far from cat ‘n’ dog adventures as it gets. But he knew taking the project would test him, make him a better director, and give him invaluable insights into the industry. But what turns his crank the most is talking about his onset animal adventures.

“The most difficult portion of it with the movie wasn’t the animals, it was that two days I was shooting Chris O’Donnell, gear change, a puppet, gear change, four days later I’m shooting cats, gear change, I’m shooting sixty dogs and the cat who can’t be around dogs, and then we’re going to blow up a building. And by the way, all on my first movie. On day three with 300 extras, if you added all the days I’d shot in my life to that point was maybe a week. And Day 3 I’m blowing up a building and I’m thinking, “Who the hell scheduled this thing?” he laughs.

Peyton is an avowed Cat Person and he thinks it’s because he was allergic and couldn’t have them as a child. “So when I moved out of my parents’ house, the first thing I did was get a kitten, stocked up on allergy medication and I’ve never been without one since.” So he knows up close and personally that cats don’t take orders from humans.

“I was really dubious, so I went to the trainer they showed me this cat who started on a table, walked across the table, picked up a bell, put it in dish and walked over and sat down! And I thought “Holy ***” that is a cat!” My cat won’t lie, eat, anything on command, and this cat was phenomenal. I couldn’t believe it.”

Peyton had one very long day onset when it came to a cat stunt.

“The only thing a cat really wants to do is sit. I needed a cat to walk in and stand up for ten seconds. So he walks in and sits. So you see this stick come in and rub the cat’s bum and the cat stands up. The stick goes out and he sits back down. I thought we’re going to roll on this all day long!”

The cats donned all kinds of costumes, cotton candy suits, a Hannibal Lecter dolly outfit with mask, a Gloria Swanson costume and more. Peyton says he shot their dress up scenes fast so they could undress fast.

“The cats got so comfortable they wouldn’t get out, purring, love the suit. I gotta do this in two takes to get the cat out of the costume because the cat’s not going to like it, but the cat likes it and wants to be in the costume. It was weird process; you never knew what would happen”.

Peyton threw in plenty of film references for the adults – wit scenes recalling Silence of the Lambs, Sunset Boulevard, and Alien. And he hired Roger Moore to play Lazenby (a short lived Bond).

“It’s silly but when we were casting, I realised we could get a real Bond to do a voice. And so I’m working with Sir Roger Moore, he’s the voice of the spy cat I’m pushing buttons in LA and he’s in London. “Hello, Mr. Roger Moore” and he’s like “How are you doing?” I made these ridiculous requests. I needed a scene with crazy sounds and I would cringe and wonder if he going to throw something at me, but he was game. I would throw out the most ridiculous sound effects and he’d give it to you eight different ways!”

Peyton’s magic worked. The film’s finished and he’s been assigned to direct the as yet untitled sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth Sequel and the live action Henson Creature Shop effects / CGI augmentation fantasy The Doubtful Guest based on the book by Edward Gorey.