Written by Jesus Figueroa
While Harrison Ford is the major human star of “The Call of the Wild,” which opens in theaters February 21, actress Cara Gee gets the role of a character which in the book, by the same name, was originally male.
Even as the character is changed to a female, François is still a strong character which is pivotal to the growth of Buck the dog whom the story follows.
Gee said that using the script, the source material and all the resources on set helped her create the wonderful character she was able to portray.
“I feel extremely proud as an indigenous woman to be playing playing this role,” Gee said. “I got to work with a woman named Carol, who is a member of the Tinglit nation and they are the people who are indigenous to that land. She was a cultural advisor on the project. Her granny was a musher in the ‘20s and ‘30s, so that’s a very similar time frame. To know that there were, I mean, the indigenous people of that region invented dogsledding. To be a part of that story telling tradition was really important to me.”The soul of the movie attracted Gee to the project and she shared how it also attracted so much magic to the project.
The cast and crews dedication brought a whole new level to it and the cast was really able to emerge themselves into the world of “The Call of the Wild” and into Buck’s journey.
Gee said, “When I was cast, I was like ‘oh my god, I’m going to have to look a grown man in the face and pretend that he’s a dog,’ but he committed so fully to the role that I could look in his eyes and he became Buck.”Motions capture actor Terry Notary was played Buck while shooting and Gee said that Notary’s expressions gave Buck his personality on screen.
The storybook quality of the movie is a remarkable aspect which Gee said was amazing and a testament to the amazing visual artists.
As this was her first big project Gee was able to learn and get experience from the amazing cast and crew.
“This story is beautiful,” Gee said. “Chris Sanders our director, if you’ve seen any of his other films, there is so much magic in them. So, to get to tell this story in that way was a real privilege as an honor. I’m so proud of how it turned out.”Gee said she was really thrilled with this coming of age story. It’s one of the aspects which enticed her on the project.
THE CALL OF THE WILD
Opens In Theaters February 21
