Brad Peyton never expected plowing through books in his family’s basement in Gander would one day lead to him walking the red carpet of Hollywood for the release of a feature length film.
“I never thought I would be here,” he said with a laugh, speaking on the phone from Toronto.
That’s just the way life has worked out for Mr. Peyton, whose debut full length feature, Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, is set to be released on over 3,700 theatre screens in 3D across North America, July 30.
The film is a sequel to the 2001 hit Cats and Dogs, which made over $200 million worldwide.
“It’s exciting,” Mr Peyton said of the film’s impending release. “To be honest with you, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had much time to reflect on it ... it’s a little bit stressful. It’s a big movie, and you hope it does well. It’s your first movie, so you want to protect it as much as possible.”
It has been a major investment of time for Mr. Peyton, who spent the last two years working on the film. Combining live animals with computer-generated imagery (CGI), human, and voice actors into one required layer-upon-layer of processes.
“It’s a big movie with a lot of visual effects, so it took a certain amount of time to write the script. We shot it in Vancouver. It was a long shoot, because shooting animals takes a lot of time, and then there’s so much visual effects. Any time a character talks, you’re doing a visual effect on their face. Then, on top of that, there’s jet pack chases through San Francisco, there’s explosions, and there’s all sorts of crazy stuff it just takes time to make.”
“It’s fun to go on to a set where it’s not your average day or place. That’s part of the joy of being a filmmaker and getting to create your own stuff.” - Brad Peyton
Indeed, many of the characters require visual effects in order to talk, for as the title suggests, the lead roles are mostly handled by cats and dogs.
The voice talent for the film is substantial, and includes James Marsden (Cyclops from the X-Men films), Nick Nolte (48 Hours, The Prince of Tides), Bette Midler (Beaches, The Rose), and former 007 Roger Moore.
“I feel blessed to have the cast we got,” said Mr. Peyton, who was particularly pleased to attract Mr. Marsden to the project, as he is a huge fan of X-Men. Getting a former James Bond to take part in the film was also a bit of a coup, he said.
“I was so happy we actually got a real Bond. For me growing up, Roger Moore was Bond. I was of the age where that’s what I knew, and I remember arguing with my dad where he’d say, ‘Sean Connery is the real Bond,’ and I’d say, ‘No, Roger Moore is Bond.’
“It’s amazing that we were sitting there in prep in Vancouver, and I was walking with the producer and said, ‘I have an idea – let’s ask Roger Moore to do this voice,’ and he agreed. I was over the moon. Then, when you talk to Roger Moore, and you realize his name is Sir Roger Moore because he’s been knighted, you’re just like, ‘I can’t believe I’m talking to Sir Roger Moore,’ who is voicing a cat in this movie.”
