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"The name's Owl, Grey Owl"
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Pierce Brosnan as Grey Owl.
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By MICHAEL PEAKE
Che-Mun
The cameras are apparently set to roll this spring on the oft-delayed biopic of the legendary lecturer and author - Grey Owl.
We must thank "The Spirit of Grey Owl", Phil Chester, for keeping us up to date on this project which has languished for many years but now seems ready to proceed.
The casting is interesting. Pierce Brosnan, perhaps most well-known for his latest role as James Bond, 007, will play the title role. Daniel Day Lewis was originally thought to get the nod. Richard Attenborough will direct and shooting is scheduled to begin in England and Canada in June. Attenborough, known for his biographical movies of larger-than-life men such as Gandhi, has a deserving subject in Grey Owl.
Attenborough has also said that he's been fascinated by Grey Owl since he saw him lecture 62 years ago.
"He was an unbelievable celebrity, said Lord Attenborough. "He was as big as the Beatles later became and had massive charisma."
As most Canadians know, Grey Owl was Englishman Archibald Belaney, who, masquerading as an Ojibway, was world-renowned for his books and speeches on the Canadian wilderness and wildlife. Unfortunately, too many people think the big story about Grey Owl was that he was a fake native. That bit of truth came out shortly after his death. The real story is that he was the father of the conservation movement and instilled in a generation an awareness of the wild world.
Attenborough recently sent a message to a dedication to Grey Owl in his home town of Hastings, England; "As many of you know, I have been trying for the past four or five years to get up a feature film depicting the latter years of (Grey Owl's) life. Archibald Belaney, the Hastings schoolboy who reinvented himself as Grey Owl, was the world's first celebrity conservationist. He used his extraordinary fame to sound an early warning about our environment. He was also mainly responsible for saving the Canadian beaver, surely one of the world's endearing creatures, from extinction. For all his faults - and they were many - Grey Owl is one of my heroes."
Phil Chester also mentioned that a Grey Owl Foundation is being formed in B.C. Its mandate is for the preservation of Canada's lakes and rivers. The word is that Brosnan will front the foundation, instantly raising its profile.
There is potential for a wonderful film here - and a great deal of good to be done to the oft-tarnished reputation of Grey Owl. We'll be watching.
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