‘The Mosquito Bowl’: How a Parrot Proved to Be Peter Berg’s Biggest Challenge — SkimNews
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- The Mosquito Bowl adapts Buzz Bissinger’s book about four college football stars called to serve in the Marines during World War II, starring Tom Francis, Nicholas Galitzine, Ray Nicholson and Bill Skarsgård.
- Peter Berg said Bissinger’s account of Tony sending his parents photos of a parrot required the production to find one, so he assigned producer Alex Gayner the task while filming continued.
- Alex Gayner and the team located a trained parrot in Queensland and brought it to set with four handlers, who directed the setup and ensured no one harmed the bird.
- The parrot was clipped to prevent it from flying away, but it bolted into a 100-foot tree when Berg called action, delaying filming for several hours before handlers coaxed it down.
- Ray Nicholson maintained silence and used hand signals to avoid startling the bird, earning Berg’s praise that he was “incredibly professional.”
- The Mosquito Bowl is playing in theaters now and debuts on Netflix on Nov. 25.
Why it matters: Berg’s decision to honor Bissinger’s parrot detail brought four handlers to the Queensland set, and the bird’s flight into a 100-foot tree delayed filming for several hours. Nicholson’s silent, hand-signaled performance secured the shot, which reaches Netflix on Nov. 25 after playing in theaters.
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