Jesse Eisenberg’s new film “Sasquatch Sunset” may be making its rounds in limited theaters with an expansion plan set for April 19, but it seems to have already made an impact in the most unexpected quarters – the ape community. According to a quirky incident shared on “The Tonight Show,” Eisenberg’s portrayal of a member of a Bigfoot family was met with a less than pleased reaction from a bonobo monkey named Kanzi.
The actor recounted the amusing and somewhat enlightening experience of showing the film to Kanzi, who is housed at an ape initiative in Des Moines, Iowa. Eisenberg mentioned, “The smartest nonhuman animal is the Bonobo monkey at this ape initiative in Des Moines, Iowa, named Kanzi,” and revealed that “Kanzi watched the movie.” Initially, Kanzi seemed to be a fan, having built a nest around the TV and watching intently. However, the peace was short-lived as, according to Eisenberg, “casually, about two seconds after this beautiful shot was taken, casually, Kanzi just slammed his fist into the screen at my face,” much to the actor’s bemusement.
The incident prompted host Jimmy Fallon to suggest, “Maybe he was taken by the realism?” to which Eisenberg humorously agreed. Further sharing insights into his character, Eisenberg said Kanzi “was really angry. You know, I like to think competitive,” elaborating on how the bonobo may have been driven by the urge to dominate any unfamiliar creature.
The film has Eisenberg and co-star Riley Keough undergoing what they termed “sasquatch boot camp” to prepare for their roles as Bigfoot creatures. This involved developing a specific vocabulary for the sasquatches, with unique vocalizations for different expressions such as calling out or showing anger.
“Everything was super helpful because I didn’t know how to even prepare for this,” Keough said. “We kind of had to learn how to do everything as a sasquatch. So, by the time we got to set, we knew how to pick things up properly, or how to get from sitting to standing. We had practiced all of that.”
“We came up with a vocabulary that we would use,” Eisenberg added. “Calling out for other sasquatches was a high-pitched squeak, while anger or eating had a different kind of vocal quality.”
Relevant articles:
– Jesse Eisenberg showed ‘Sasquatch Sunset’ to a monkey and it tried to punch his character’s face
– Jesse Eisenberg showed “Sasquatch Sunset ”to a monkey and it tried to punch his character’s face, Yahoo Canada Shine On, Sat, 13 Apr 2024 19:41:17 GMT
– There’s Never Been Anyone More Relatable Than Bigfoot, Yahoo Canada Shine On, Sat, 13 Apr 2024 19:52:08 GMT