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Hangin' With Archives
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The Water Horse’sHuman Palsby Lynn B
We got to sit down with cutie Alex [who is taller and a bit more grown-up looking than he appears in the film], his costar Ben Chaplin, who plays a handyman who befriends Alex’s character and Crusoe, and their director Jay Russell in Beverly Hills to learn all about filming this holiday treat. Alex didn’t know how to swim before the film but was an expert in the water afterwards. AGW: Alex, what was the hardest part, the swimming or the green screen special effects work? Alex: The green screen work because [Crusoe] was a tennis ball on a stick. It was weird, trying to speak to a tennis ball on a stick. AGW: How did you handle that because that relationship between your character is Crusoe is so important? Jay: Before every shot we would talk about what the creature was doing and how it would react and behave off Alex so it was not just a one-way street. That gave Alex things to do and we also talked about how this creature would behave as a real, live animal. ‘if you reach too fast it will snap at you.’ It’s not gonna behave as a human is. Alex: When it was the puppet [an articulated puppet was used in some shots] I tried to picture it with wrinkles. You just try to picture it in your head instead of the tennis ball. Ben: It’s very childlike in a way. You’re playing unadulterated make-believe. The tennis ball is no more than an eyeline and the rest of it is in your head. It’s what you do as a kid all the time, but when you do it as a kid you don’t tend to have a film crew around you. So you struggle with the self conscious thing about it but that’s a good thing as an actor, to struggle with that and get over it. AGW: Was it easier when he was the size of a puppy than the size of a house? Alex: It was easier when it was younger because it was the puppet and that was easier to react to. But I don’t think it ever gets easy to react to a tennis ball. It’s never easy. It gets more and more natural but never easy AGW: Do you have a pet that’s your best friend?
AGW: You had to learn to swim for this, right? Alex: Yeah. I wasn’t really a strong swimmer. Jay: He swam like a piece of wood when he started; a floater. Alex: The last question Jay asked before he gave me the part was ‘can you swim?’(now) I’m better. I got my scuba certificate in Greece this year. AGW: Your character isn’t supposed to be able to swim anyway. Alex: It did help quite a lot actually because you don’t feel stupid trying not to swim when you can. Jay: He was a real trooper. There were certain occasions when he was out on the water in this tank we had built specially for the movie with really large waves and wind machines going and rain and I’d run up to the edge of the pool every two minutes asking if he was okay because, through the lens, it looked horrifying. He’d always say ‘I’m fine, let’s do more’. He’s the bravest kid I ever met. He was above water in these giant waves, he was underwater. There was somebody there with an air tube. I was very nervous and tense through that whole part of shooting. AGW: Alex, did you research on the Loch Ness monster? Alex: You always hear stories and see pictures living in England but you never think that much of it. But when I got over to New Zealand [where the film was shot] Jay had put together a massive box of books and videos and when I was getting up at five in the morning with jet lag, I put in a few of the videos. You do start to believe in it more when you watch all the videos and things. AGW: How did you get to the creature’s final look? Jay: We did a lot of it in the pre-vis [pre-visualization], a great deal if not all of the effects sequences so, if there were moments that we didn’t feel were quite working, we would try to ID those in the pre-vis because it would be quite costly to go back and rebuild this big tank. We had to get it right the first time. That was a very helpful tool. AGW: How does final product compare to what you imagined, Alex and Ben? Alex: It was weird because apart from the pre-vis I didn’t really see any proper pictures of it. I didn’t even know what sound it made. So when I saw it for the first time I went ‘wow, that’s good.’ It was just a complete shock for me because it went from a tennis ball on a stick to that! It was amazing how they did it. WETA [the New Zealand Special Effects company that worked on the Lord of the Rings series and King Kong] did an amazing job on it.
AGW: Alex, were you in school during production? Alex: Well, I was supposed to have school. I tried to do school but considering it was on the water and I was drenched all the time…. I’m still catching up. I’m in Grade 8 but that would be 7 over here. AGW: Do you plan to continue your education and go to college or do you want to just keep acting? Alex: My mum has always said and I believe this, if it doesn’t go through and I don’t get into acting I should always have something behind it and that’s what I’m going to do. AGW: What else interests you? Alex: Football. Sports and things. Ben: He’s from Manchester. He’s got a great tradition [Manchester United] to uphold. AGW: What did the actors do on set on down time? Ben: On any film set there’s always time when there’s not much to do. You’re trapped in one location and particularly on this, quite remote location. You do things like skimming stones for hours. Tossing potatoes I remember—there’s a scene where I use a potato to get Crusoe to swim out into the water. Alex was such a joy to work with. I have to say it was one of my greatest apprehensions going into it because of the old cliché. Never work with children or animals. The animal wasn’t real. Crusoe was definitely a diva. But Alex put us all to shame in terms of stamina, fortitude and his positive attitude. He kept us all in line. We all felt like moaning divas. If he could handle it we had to. So it went from one of the biggest fears to the happiest surprises of the film. Jay: What I saw happening was the arc of their relationship happening on the set. The more they got to know one another, the more fun they had. I saw that with these two guys. They became closer and closer and it worked for the film. AGW: What attracted all of you to tell this story? Jay: The project came to me almost seven years ago originally. I’d just finished My Dog Skip at that point and it was a natural extension for me, similar themes to explore; a character’s relationship with an animal. I fell in love with it right away but technology, where it was then and where it is now, and the cost of that technology, it wasn’t gonna happen then and I’m happy that it didn’t because I could do so much more now with the advances and what WETA is able to do. Now was the time to make this movie and I’m happy I was able to convince people to help me make it. Alex: Being my age, you go to the cinemas on rainy days, especially in England and there was absolutely nothing except for 15s and 18s. That attracted me to the film because it is a family film and anyone can go see it. I wanted to make a film that anyone could go see. Ben: For me it was the script, it was a really quality script. The fact that it was a family film was irrelevant. It’s a good story with grown up themes.. I wanted to be part of it right away. AGW: What did you take away and what will the audience take away after seeing the movie? Alex: I took away more acting skills because Ben and Emily [Watson] and David [Morrissey] were all great to work with. They taught me a lot and I came away with a lot. AGW: And for the audience? Alex: I’d say never let your imagination go. I hope they really like it. Ben: It’s about faith… AGW: Was there any time to explore in New Zealand? Alex: Apart from being freezing every day, we did get a few days off. I took a jet ski ride, [looking at director Jay] which I don’t think you knew about at the time. But no bungee jumping. I’m afraid of heights. I hate planes and stuff. AGW: There is sort of a Free Willie moment in the film in which the really big Crusoe jumps up in the air. Did you think of that film? Jay: We thought of ways he could get through that net and jumping seemed like the way to go. The [creature] is always jumping in the movie, out of the bathtub, and that’s where we got the idea, from his own behavior, not from Free Willie. And he actually didn’t jump over but on top of it. AGW: This takes place during World War 2. Do you enjoy doing a period piece?
AGW: If there were a sequel would it continue with Alex or jump ahead? Jay: The ending says everything I wanted to say and makes a point about the circle of life. If there was another film made, I would hope it would be wildly different and modern would be good. The film I wanted to make, I feel I’ve done it. AGW: Alex and Ben, what else are you guys up to? Ben: I just finished a long run at the National Theater in London. Jay: I saw it, it’s called ‘The Reporter’ and it’s one of the best plays I’ve ever seen. Alex: I’ve just done a series for the BBC called ‘Crumford’. That’s coming out in the spring over here. I play Harry Gregson. It was a different role for me. It’s a period drama and it’s got Judy Dench and Aileen Atkins in it.
Pictures courtesy of and copyright Sony Pictures, 2007 |
 
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We
know him as “Nessie”, the Loch Ness “monster”
but he’s actually cute and friendly (most of the time) in the film
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. The little and later very
large guy is named Crusoe by a young boy played by now 13-year-old Alex
Etel who finds him as an egg and raises him until he outgrows the family
bathtub and ends up in the nearby Scottish lake. The film presents a great
lesson on getting comfortable with the circle of life, love and loss.
Alex:
I have a hamster but I can’t imagine it being my best friend because
it’s always trying to escape from the cage. I like having pets and
things.
Ben:
What amazes me, I’ve never done anything on this scale in terms
of special effects, you’re putty in their hands. It’s a trust
exercise and it’s a great relief when you don’t see anything
that you’re ashamed of. Alex and I made sure we were always on the
same page in terms of reactions [to Crusoe]. 
Jay:
It’s my second film set during World War 2 and dealing with children
during World War 2 and it’s interesting because war was very different
then. Now war takes place on television and, unless it’s next door,
you might not be affected. In this war everyone was affected on a daily
basis even in this little place in Scotland. It was a time of sacrifice
and war having a meaning. It takes lives.