THE GREAT BEAR
MOVIE DIRECTORS, once in a while, can come to blows with their stars. Just ask Werner Herzog or David O. Russell. But when Jean-Jacques Annaud got on the wrong side of his top-billed actor while making 1988 wilderness adventure The Bear, he risked far more than a cut lip or bruised ego. His lead performer was nearly three metres tall, weighed more than 635kg, and was strong enough to snap him in half like a stale baguette.
During one lunchbreak while shooting in the Italian Dolomites, Annaud’s on-set photographer pointed out that they didn’t have any good photos of the director with Bart The Bear, a raised-in-captivity Kodiak grizzly (Ursus arctos horribilis) cast by Annaud as a wild brown bear stalked by human hunters. The French filmmaker agreed and, reasoning that “this bear is my star and my friend”, entered Bart’s compound under the close supervision of animal trainer Doug Seus. As the photographer started snapping, Annaud thought it would look cool if he turned and pointed his viewfinder at Bart. In so doing, he either momentarily forgot or wilfully ignored Seus’ oft-repeated instructions to never project himself forward at the creature.
“He struck me a strong blow with his right paw,” Annaud later told the . “I was thrown flat on my face. Then he was on me. I just protected my ears, my eyes, and played dead as best I could. For a few seconds, I had the impression that I was
