14 DAY TRIAL // A few days ago, The Hollywood Reporter ran a piece detailing how, during the filming of “Life of Pi,” a tiger nearly drowned. The publication also said that an American Humane Association worker covered up the incident, most likely because she was romantically involved with one of the people working on the movie.
Director Ang Lee decided not to let The Hollywood Reported have the last word on this matter, and told the press that, although it was true that a tiger came close to death on the “Life of Pi” set, the incident was blown out of proportion by said publication.
According to Daily Mail, Ang Lee maintains that the tiger’s near-death experience was an “accident,” and that the animal was very well taken care of afterwards.
“The crew worked hard to rescue the tiger and then showed him a lot of care, giving him five-star treatment,” the director reportedly told the press. “We gave a lot of care to the tiger, as much as we possibly could,” further argued.
Whatever director Ang Lee might think or say, odds are that animal rights activists would still like to see “Life of Pi” stripped of its “no animals were harmed in the making of this film” label.
The same source tells us that, following The Hollywood Reporter's running their article, the American Humane Association told the press that Gina Johnson, i.e. the person accused of failing to inform authorities about the incident, was no longer working with the organization.
The Association also pointed out that, from its standpoint, the publication's article was not true to facts, and that The Hollywood Reporter had no business picking on an entire organization for something that just one person had done wrong.
“[The article] distorts the work and record of a respected nonprofit organization that has kept millions of beloved animal actors safe on film and television sets around the world,” the American Humane Association said in a statement.