Hotel for Dogs
Short description
Andi and her younger brother Bruce have been placed in a foster home where pets are not allowed, which leaves no place for Friday, their dog. Unable to give him up, the resourceful siblings find an abandoned hotel and quietly turn it into a shelter for him. Their secret does not stay small for long: other stray dogs from around the city end up there too, and the building becomes a refuge for animals that have no owner. Keeping such a large operation hidden proves difficult, particularly once the noise draws the attention of neighbours and the authorities.
The 2009 American family comedy was directed by Thor Freudenthal and written by Jeff Lowell, Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley. It is the first feature Freudenthal directed, ahead of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and Words on Bathroom Walls. Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin lead as Andi and Bruce, with Don Cheadle as Bernie, Johnny Simmons as Dave, Kyla Pratt as Heather and Troy Gentile as Mark among a credited cast of 43. It was produced by DreamWorks Pictures, The Montecito Picture Company, The Donners' Company and Nickelodeon Movies.
Made for about 35 million dollars, the film took roughly 117 million dollars worldwide, a return that comfortably exceeded its cost. On TMDB it holds a rating of 6.1 out of 10 from 927 votes, indicating a modest but real level of viewer approval rather than broad enthusiasm.
What's left behind the scenes
- Dogs of various breeds appear on screen throughout the film. Lenny is a Bullmastiff, Georgia is a Boston Terrier, Cooper is an English Bulldog, Shep is a Border Collie, Romeo is a Chinese Crested, Juliet is a Poodle, and Henry is a Beauceron, or French Smooth-Haired Shepherd.
- Working on set was very challenging for the actors due to the presence of trainers, who were constantly moving just out of the camera's view, whistling and shouting commands to their pets.
- "Hotel for Dogs" is the first film from the popular TV channel Nickelodeon created without the involvement of Paramount Pictures or its subsidiaries. This time, Nickelodeon Movies partnered with DreamWorks studio.
- In one of the film's scenes, while Emma Roberts' character is picking out a dress for a party, she tells her brother Bruce that if he could conjure a dress for her, he would be a real wizard. Jake T. Austin plays a wizard in the popular Disney television series 'Wizards of Waverly Place'.
- Training for most of the dogs took between two and three months, while working with several dogs that had a number of key and complex scenes in the film took nearly four months.
- About 80 boys auditioned for the role of Bruce, which eventually went to Jake T. Austin.
- At the end of the film, when the twin dogs appear, Andy tells those around him that their names are Sebastian and Viola. These were the names of the twins in Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night" and in several films based on it.
- Nearly 70 dogs were used during filming, many of whom were actually rescued from the streets. Upon completion of the film, some of them found new homes with crew members who decided to keep the four-legged friends they had grown fond of.
- Filming took place in Los Angeles from the fall of 2007 to the winter of 2008.
- The film marked the directorial debut of Thor Freudenthal, who had frequently collaborated with Rob Minkoff prior to this.
- The film is based on the eponymous novella by American writer Lois Duncan, first published in 1971. In the original editions, the main character was named Liz and her dog was Shady, but in December 2008, as part of the film's promotional campaign, a reissue was released in which their names were changed to Andy and Friday to match the upcoming movie.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
