Must love cold

DOGS ran the show on the set of “Eight Below.”

Inspired by real-life events, Walt Disney Pictures’ $45-million action-adventure film tells the story of a scientific mission forced to abandon its beloved sled dogs when an accident and perilous weather intervene. For six months, the animals had to fend for themselves while a rescue operation was mounted.

In all, 32 dogs were used to portray the six huskies and two malamutes who play the leads. After four weeks of training, the dogs learned to walk in sync, let go of their territorial urge and avoid eye contact with their trainer to make their on-screen moves seem as natural as possible.

Well, most of them, anyway.

“Shorty was my nemesis,” joked director Frank Marshall, referring to one of the dogs who had his own approach to the action. “While he’s very lovable, he refused to read the script.”

“Eight Below,” which grew out of Disney’s innovative in-house writing program, is set to be released Feb. 17. It stars Paul Walker (“The Fast and the Furious”) as expedition leader Jerry Shepard, newcomer Moon Bloodgood as his love interest and Jason Biggs (“American Pie”) as his best friend. Bruce Greenwood (“Capote”) is also featured as an acclaimed geologist reluctant to jump back in harm’s way to save the abandoned sled dogs.

Marshall, best known for producing hits such as “Seabiscuit” and “The Sixth Sense,” draws parallels with “Lord of the Flies” and another survival tale he directed, 1993’s “Alive,” in which survivors of an Andes plane crash resort to eating the victims.

Although the movie is set in Antarctica, almost all the exterior scenes were shot in Smithers750 miles north of Vancouver. Snowmobiles and Hagglunds -- Swedish military vehicles -- transported the 150-person cast and crew from base camp to sets at the top of the mountain. The 400-pound video playback equipment had to be moved by sled. Actors had to be prepared to shoot three different scenes each day because the weather determined what was shot, and when.

A sense of adventure, a tolerance for altitude and a willingness to wear two pairs of long underwear were prerequisites for anyone hired: 12- to 14-hour work days were routine, and the temperature once dropped to 26 degrees below.

“It was a little like war,” said producer David Hoberman, as he stood in front of the Hotel Vancouver ballroom, where one of the less rigorous scenes was being shot last year. “But that’s always true of the movie business.”

A longtime fan of snow and dogs, Marshall was well-suited for the task. During the shoot, he wore a red-and-gold jacket so he could be easily identified in a world of multilayered personalities. “We shot in blizzards,” explained the director. “No need for wind machines or special effects.”

“Eight Below” is inspired by “Antarctica,” a 1983 Japanese hit based on an ill-fated 1950s expedition mounted by that country. That film set a box office record that stood for 15 years -- enough to make it Japan’s fifth-highest-grossing film of all time. Drawn in by the film’s time-tested themes of honor, friendship, survival and betrayal, Hoberman had long pitched a remake to studios, but repeatedly hit a wall. Too dark, some executives told him. Too expensive, others maintained.

Buena Vista Motion Picture Group President Nina Jacobson initially passed on the project, Hoberman recalls, but agreed to reconsider if two conditions were met. The film had to be optioned for no more than $25,000 -- limiting the studio’s downside. And it had to be written by a participant in Disney’s writers program. (A maximum of five writers at a given time have exclusive deals with the studio, allowing new talent to get a shot at writing Disney-label movies.) “Eight Below” was assigned to Princeton grad Dave DiGilio, who had never had a screenplay produced.

The day after he submitted a draft, the project was given a go, with studio executive Bruce Hendricks, an executive producer on the upcoming sequel, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” at the helm. “I had to create a narrative out of what was essentially a nature documentary, “ said DiGilio, 31. “It was National Geographic filmmaking, influenced by ‘Never Cry Wolf’ and ‘The Bear.’ ”

DiGilio’s euphoria was shattered, however, when the studio tabled the movie two weeks before production was to begin. Alarmed at the escalating bottom line, Disney pushed the shoot back a year.

The reins were then handed to Marshall, who had worked with Hoberman -- a former president of Disney’s motion picture group -- on “Alive.”

“Eight Below” marks the fourth theatrical release from Disney’s writing program. Since then, DiGilio has written another family-adventure for Disney and a horror film for Fox Searchlight. “Work begets work -- especially in this town,” he said.

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A CONTRASTING ROLE

WHEN it came time to cast the project, some high-profile actors declined to sign on, reluctant to play second fiddle to dogs, Hoberman said. But Walker, to the producer’s surprise, came aboard.

The actor, known for tough-guy roles, said he accepted the part because it reminded him of a childhood favorite -- “Old Yeller” -- and because it contrasted nicely with his upcoming role as a mobster in “Running Scared.”

“I have nieces and nephews and a young daughter of my own -- it’s nice doing something the family can see,” he said.

The veteran Greenwood was chosen to play a not-always-likable character: Though one of the sled dogs had saved his life, his attachment was more practical than emotional. At first Greenwood was concerned that the on-screen dynamic -- between “a young seat-of-the pants guy and an established professional focused to the point of myopia” -- was too conventional. But the director convinced him it would be less predictable than on the page. Adding to the appeal of the role: Greenwood’s father had been a geologist at the University of British Columbia.

The shoot was a family affair, Greenwood said -- particularly in Smithers. Cast and crew lived in the same motel, ate together and sang karaoke in the bar after hours. (“I’m shameless. I’ll sing anything ... old blues tunes, Eagles songs,” he said.) Adding to the homespun feel: Walker brought his Chesapeake Bay retriever to the set, and Patrick Crowley, another of the movie’s producers, brought his two English shepherds.

During the scene at the Hotel Vancouver, the actor hit some bumps. His character was supposed to be accepting an award for scientific achievement ... but Greenwood couldn’t remember his lines.

“Dialogue is perishable,” Greenwood observed after the seventh take.

“You sit there with your tongue hanging out, waiting for it to sift down from heaven. It’s like looking for your missing sock ... you know it’s around there, somewhere. People watch you sifting through the tiny drawer of your brain [and are thinking], ‘I wish I could help you, fella.’ ”

Four dogs played Maya, the leader of the pack. Max, the rebel who ultimately takes the reins, was portrayed by the mischievous D.J. The training was supervised by Mike Alexander of Irvine’s Birds & Animals Unlimited, whose credits include “Homeward Bound” and the “Harry Potter” movies.

If even one dog messed up in a scene, it had to be re-shot, requiring an average four or five takes.

“Because Frank and I had never worked with dogs, we were pretty impatient, at first,” said Crowley, who also produced “The Bourne Identity” and “The Bourne Supremacy” with Marshall.

“D.J. was doing five different things at once, including watering the bushes. Though Maya was poker-faced, she knew she was the star. The other dogs were intimidated by her serenity.”

Masaru Kakutani, one of two producers on the Japanese original, said that his shoot was even more taxing. It took four years and two trips to the North Pole.

“I am an adventurer,” Kakutani, 67, said while visiting the Vancouver set. “I almost lost my fingers ... it was very serious cold.

“And 25 years ago, we did everything by manpower instead of with new equipment. With only a 40-man crew, the director of photography took care of the camera -- and painted sets, as well.”

In “Antarctica,” only two of the dogs survive, Kakutani pointed out. “It will be interesting to see what Hollywood does,” he said. “Ours was more factual than dramatic. I’m expecting Mr. Frank Marshall to make a heartwarming picture -- with a better survival rate for the dogs.”