Marmaduke rules

MANILA, Philippines - Marmaduke, the world’s most lovable Great Dane, leaps from comic strip fame to big screen stardom. In this family comedy, the super-sized Marmaduke (voiced by Owen Wilson) finally finds a place where it’s okay to stand out. From Kansas to California, Marmaduke is helping the Winslow family make the big transition, but he’s also discovering that fitting in isn’t always easy for a 200-pound teenage dog.

Starring as the Winslow family are Lee Pace, Judy Greer, Caroline Sunshine and Finley Jacobsen whom Marmaduke calls his “fam” and William H. Macy as the canine-crazed corporate titan. 

In equal footing with the two-legged actors are four-legged canine thespians. Casting is a key component in every film and with Marmaduke, director Tom Dey shares that “The thing about filming dogs is that they never give you a false moment, which is truly exhilarating. And it’s the first time in which my lead actor never once questioned any piece of direction I gave.”

Apart from the human actors, there are the lead actors“George” and “Spirit,” are two-year-old Great Danes who nabbed the title role after a casting search. The dogs’ respective talents complemented one another, and together they brought Marmaduke to life on screen. Dey further explains: “George was the dog we needed to hit his marks, and Spirit was the one we needed to break down walls. Our onscreen Marmaduke was a combination of both dogs.”

Owen Wilson is a fan of George and Spirit. “When I was doing my voice work,” says the actor, “I got a good look at the performances of the two Marmadukes — George and Spirit. They are very impressive, and are the real ‘stars’ of the film.”

George and Spirit are joined by a talented ensemble of four-legged thespians, each of whom required some special handling. As in the case of eye contact, animals aren’t too keen about keeping eye line — looking their human co-stars in the eye. Animal coordinator and head trainer Michael Alexander and his team came up with a unique solution: “Meat glasses,” which are sunglass frames rigged with an attachment holding a piece of the dog’s favorite treat. The dog would watch the meat on the spectacles and thus meet the eye line of the person wearing them. Another training technique was having the human actor hold a treat to his or her forehead, and then lower the treat down and feed the dog, all of which encouraged the animal to look the actor in the eye.

It’s no surprise that on each day of shooting, the set of Marmaduke went to the dogs, literally. On the daily call sheets, which describe all the work to be done on set, the first 11 spots were always taken by the canine stars. “Even the animal trainers outnumbered the human actors,” marvels William H. Macy. 

Marmaduke is now showing in theaters in Metro Manila