31 Mar Absolutely Anything Bicuits

We’re now shooting the scene in which Neil comes up with the idea of giving his dog Dennis not just the power of speech but the capacity for rational thought. Robin Williams has already recorded the voice but we have …. to provide the voice during the shoot.

The way it works is that Mojo, our actor dog, sits at Simon/Neil’s feet looking up at him as Simon delivers his lines, and when it’s Dennis’ turns to speak, the dog handlers shout “Speak!” and the well-trained Mojo barks. Later his mouth movements will be converted by computer graphics to conform to human mouth movements, and Robin’s voice will be put over the top. But even knowing this it’s a magic moment when Simon speaks to Mojo and, to all intents and purposes we hear this delightful dog answering back. What is he thinking about, by the way? I can reveal that it has something to do with biscuits. (In two colours). And what is Mojo rewarded with for his performance? Well… biscuits.