We Must Wonder How the Actors Felt During This Scene
Here’s the non-CGI version of the scene, where Dave Bautista pats Sean Gunn’s green-suited head. Bautista is still acting just as his character should – or would, since Drax is a bit of a funny character – but Sean looks like he could be acting, or it looks like he could be rethinking all of his life choices.
As we’ve seen a number of times, providing a base for CGI artists to work from is becoming a more and more important task in movies, but it’s still probably pretty strange to do so.
Lunch Break for the Robots
Even though we know this is a fictional story and a movie that lots of people put time and effort into, it can be jarring to see the dwarf actor Kenny Baker getting a little bit of sun with R2-D2's dome head tilted back, giving him space to enjoy his sandwich.
Kenny Baker's small stature made him perfect for his role of R2-D2, which while it didn't use his voice, his physical acting helped plenty of viewers fall in love with the snarky little beeping robot. We wonder how hot it was inside that metal can in the blazing Tunisian sun.
Alien Friends Share a Tender Moment
Drax, played by Dave Bautista, rubs Rocket Raccoon's head during a slow moment at what looks like the end of the first 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movie. Rocket Raccoon's voice comes from famous A-lister Bradley Cooper, and while his physical form was built using CGI, an actor still had to wear a suit that made it possible for artists to accurately recreate the movements and positions of this character.
The actor who did so was Sean Gunn, brother to the director of both 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movies, James Gunn.
A Boy and his Tiger
'Life of Pi' is a movie based on a book of the same name. The two main characters – at least those that last any amount of time – are a young boy and a fearsome, man-eating tiger, trapped together on a small lifeboat in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Obviously, it would be neither safe nor practical to film the scenes with a real tiger present, so the director had to use the now-standard CGI, but this was back before CGI had really exploded (despite it already being in use). The result was a completed movie, zero devoured actors, and a little more, too.
Life of Pi
This fantasy adventure movie is popular for its unique way of conveying spiritual discoveries and lessons through its shipwrecked character.
Luckily for Pi’s actors, including Suraj Sharma, they didn’t have to shoot the film in the deep dark ocean or around a real Bengal tiger that could easily slice a neck in one swipe with its sharp claws. Blue screen to the rescue!