This afternoon I had a wonderful opportunity to chat with director and producer Keith Scholey. Keith is the co-director of DisneyNature’s newest movie, African Cats, which is scheduled to be released in the United States on Earth Day, April 22, 2011. The other African Cats director is Alastair Fothergill (Earth, Planet Earth).
Keith Scholey was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He is a British producer of nature documentaries, in theaters and on television. Keith has a PhD in Zoology.
In 1983 Keith started working as a researcher for the BBC Natural History unit on David Attenborough’s series The Living Planet. He also worked on Attenborough’s award winning series, The Private Life of Plants. Keith has also created and produced the original series, Big Cat Diaries, as well as produced several wildlife specials.
I had the opportunity to chat with Keith for a while and ask him a few questions about African Cats. I must let it be known that I spoke with Keith over the phone. I do not have a way to record conversations so I have to rely on note taking. Keith’s responses to my questions are based upon my notes from the conversation. A few years ago I did a phone interview with Kenny Loggins and a few people commented that it wasn’t a “real review” because I didn’t quote the conversation with Kenny verbatim. Since I am not going to quote Keith’s every word, word for word, I shall refer to this as conversation with Keith rather then an interview.
The first thing I was curious to know is why they chose African Cats to feature in this film over other animals, such as Pandas or Monkeys?Keith explained to me that they spent a lot of time with the African Cats so they knew they could find a story out of them. The cats offer a range of strong characters that people can relate to. Take for example Sita, one of the cats featured in the film. She is a single mother raising her five cubs. The lions are also very social creatures. Both sets of cat families featured in the film interact with not only their own species but also with the other animals that share the Masai Mara with them.
The hope of the film makers is that this real life nature film can compete with other movies currently released in theaters because it offers movie goers a look into the real lives of these cats. Their stories are not made up. This is the story of how these cats live on a day to day basis including their joys, struggles and will to survive.
I wanted to know how the film makers came to choose these specific cat families, and if there was a specific criteria they were looking for? Keith emphasized again that these cats were strong characters. They know that their social dynamics would lend it’s self to some kind of plot that they could use in the film. Take for example Sita. She had five cubs to take care of by herself. They knew that she would be facing a lot of challenges caring for her young family. The other family features Fang, an elderly male lion who needs to defend his injured mate, Layla, and her child, Mara, as well as the other lionesses in his pride against rival male lions who live across the river. They knew that these African Cats lives were compelling enough to make a great film.
I was surprised to learn that African Cats took two years to complete. Keith explained to me that it would take a minimum of two years to film such a documentary. Three years would have been better. They needed at least two years because it takes around 18 months for the cubs to grow up into young adults. The film makers wanted to follow the lives of Sita’s cubs and Mara from their childhood to adulthood. They started shooting the film in August of 2008 and wrapped up filming in September of 2010.
I could not imagine what the film crew had to face trying to capture these magnificent creatures on film. After all lions and cheetah’s are potentially dangerous creatures. I asked Keith if the film crew ever found themselves face-to-face with any danger? I was surprised to hear that the movie was actually filmed from the safety of vehicles. The Masai Mara has been protected for the past 40 years and there is a lot of tourists who drive through the reserve. The animals that call the Masai Mara home are actually used to the vehicles and tend to ignore them.
Keith told me that the entire crew slept in tents on the reserve during the filming of African Cats. He said they would hear strange sounds at night which was scary. He also told me that elephants would walk through their camp. WOW! That sounds exciting, yet scary at the same time.
Now that the film has been completed and will soon be in theaters across the country, I was interested in knowing what has become of the African Cats featured in the film? I would hope that they were protected some how. Keith assured me that the cats are fine. They live on the nature preserve so they are protected against hunters. The cats feel like a part of their family and they receive regular updates from the locals who keep an eye on them.
I am sure that directing human actors and actresses has its challenges. But I can’t imagine trying to direct animals who don’t follow a script and can be totally unpredictable. I was wondering if it was difficult to direct living creatures compared to humans? According to Keith directing a nature film such as African Cats does have its challenges, however the performance that you get is genuine. You cannot plan for anything when filming nature, and it takes time to get the footage that you are hoping for. Keith feels that directing life as it happens lends its self to a certain kind of artistry in movie making.
With so many great charities available, I was curious to know how the charity Save the Savannah was chosen to benefit from the proceeds of African Cats? Keith told me that DisneyNature’s conservation teams ultimately decided upon Save the Savannah as the charity to benefit from the African Cats opening week and advance ticket sales.
In case you were not aware of it, during the opening week of African Cats (April 22, 2011 – April 28, 2011) a portion of the ticket sales will be donated to the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), through Disney Worldwide Conservation, to ensure the future of the cheetahs, lions, zebras, elephants and other animals that call the Savanna their home.
Advanced ticket sales for African Cats have been selling like crazy! According to Keith $1.7 million dollars in advanced ticket sales have already been recorded. He is hopeful that by the time time the movie opens on Earth Day (April 22) that there will be upwards of $2 million in advanced ticket sales. WOW! I am truly amazed by that amount. The proceeds from the ticket sales will help a lot of reserves on the Savanna and protect the corridors between the parks offering more protected space for the animals to live and thrive on.
Lastly I asked Keith if he was working on anything new now that African Cats is completed. Keith is currently working on a new BBC series that will focus on the animals of North America. He is also the executive producer of the series will be shown on TV on the Discovery Channel.
As for Alastair Fothergill, the other director of African Cats, he is currently working on the next DisneyNature movie called Chimpanzee, which is currently in post-production and will be released in theaters in 2013. It is a nature documentary about a family of chimps living in the Ivory Coast and Ugandan rain forests.
To learn more about African Cats please visit http://disney.go.com/disneynature/africancats. There you can watch the movie’s trailer, view the gallery, download beautiful images of the African Cats, find educational information and more.
Here is the movie’s trailer.
DisneyNature’s African Cats will open in theaters on Earth Day April 22, 2011.
Kimberly
*I was not compensated for this post in any way. Disney helped to arrange the interview opportunity. Any opinions expressed are my own unless otherwise noted.
** Keith Scholey photo from www.WildHorizonsltd.com.
Lisa from life with lisa says
I am definitely going to see this…it looks great. 2 years is a long time but I’m sure the efforts paid off.
Little BGCG says
I love watching movies like this, it’s amazing how they relate them to people!
Elizabeth says
Our family can’t wait to see this. The kids were talking about it again this morning.
turning the clock back says
Thanks for the great info! My kids would love this!
Terra says
I hadn’t heard of this movie. We love nature shows and I think the kids will enjoy seeing this,even the teenagers Thanks for sharing.
Gwen says
I really want to see this movie. Great conversation with Keith.
Alicia says
Looks awesome. My son will love this!!
Michelle says
We often take these types of movies for granted and don’t think about the time and unpredictability that goes into filming wildlife. It was good to see you point this out in your article as a reminder to us as we watch and enjoy what they have captured on film.
Lynsey @MoscatoMom says
I am SO excited to see this film. As a Leo, married to a Leo, we love ANYTHING having to do with Lions. We believe they are the most beautiful creatures alive.
Also, I know this is going to be a well done film just simply by looking at the cover – SO many Lion images make them look all mean – this one is regal and beautiful. A great attention to detail.
Great post, great interview, and I am sure great film!!
Jenn says
I am so excited to read about this interview! I am going with a friend to see this tomorrow and I have been trying to talk my daughter into getting excited about seeing it with me. Now she is! 🙂 I am such a freak about these nature & animal shows, I just love them.
Lee says
Wow. 1.7 million already! This is awesome. I hope it raises a ton of money!
Lee
Courtney says
This is absolutely incredible! I’ve always been intrigued by wild life (not enough to buy-own), but I love watching. I can’t believe they shot from vehicles! The quality is amazing. Can’t wait to see it! 🙂
Frantic Holly says
I can’t wait to see this.