New Line Cinema Presents

written and directed by Bruce Mcculloch

starring

   1. Natasha Henstridge
   2. Luke Wilson
   3. Janeane Garofalo
   4. Kathleen Robertson
   5. Bruce Mcculloch
   6. Amie Carey
   7. Harland Williams
   8. Kristin Lehman
   9. Gordon Currie
 10. Mark Mckinney

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About the Production

McCULLOCH and CAVAN were very particular casting the dogs in the story. SHERRY DAVIS, a professional dog trainer, assisted in the selection process and the filming. Obedience and trick performance abilities were assessed and only dogs "who were capable of working in a group" were considered. The DOG PARK set included canines ranging in weight from 3 to 135 pounds and of every breed. Casey who plays Mogley, is Border Collie/Australian Sheppard and Blackie, a nine year old midget Newfie, plays Peanut.

The human/canine mix on the set offered its own comedy. Janeane Garofalo noted, in her customary dry wit, "They are really sweet, wonderful dogs, but they are not really aware of takes and time and marks and noise ...." Gordon Currie went a step further and used his canine counterpart to find a perspective for his role, " I have to get past Mogley to get to Cheryl, so really, it's a kind of triangle relationship between Mogley, Cheryl and me."

Hollywood romantic comedies "didn't reflect my life or the life of any of my friends" explains McCULLOCH. So he wrote a story which he could relate to. DOG PARK is "about finding love and trying to get over ex-boyfriends and make-ups and break-ups and how we're all connected in our relationships. The canine connection was an easy segue because it's also about the late 1990s loneliness with people putting love in their dogs which they can't seem to find in their lives."

Dog Parks certainly seem to be a sign of the times. As a social gathering point in the late 1990’s, McCULLOCH believes a dog park encompasses elements which attract the people who congregate there. "They attract singles; are anonymous but are safer, less 'loaded', friendlier, and less narcissistic than the bar or gym scene."

Although real life dog parks provided the inspiration for McCULLOCH’s script concept, the heart of the story revolves around the people. The dogs in DOG PARK are inevitably affected by the emotional lives of their owners.

McCULLOCH is very careful to point out that his goal is to tell a story about the human heart, not to satirize it. "I don't make fun of things. It's always about the character of a person and the weird situations the character is in."

Since the story is a character-driven piece, the right casting was crucial. McCULLOCH and CAVAN worked in Los Angeles with Casting Director, CHRISTINE SHEAKS (BOOGIE NIGHTS)and in Toronto with DIANE KERBEL (GOTTI). McCULLOCH recalls, "I found Rachel first in Amie Carey, then it all fell into place. In the past, Natasha has been typecast as a hard action babe, but she's funny. Luke's this nice, slightly shy, polite Texan."

At the heart of the film is the relationship between Andy and Lorna. Andy is a serial monogamist who has a history of getting involved with women who are ultimately wrong for him. Unlike the other women, Andy realizes that Lorna is "the real thing". Everything from her job as Miss Bookworm straight through to her attractive sense of humour and underlying vulnerability, Lorna is a solid character.

McCULLOCH based his characters' stories on the real life experience of trying to connect with other people and the frustrations of searching for your life partner. On the way to a mature relationship with Lorna, Andy finds himself involved in an ill-fated liaison. "Keiran is an aggressive dater," says Kristin Lehman, "She's the transitional-rebound girl for Andy before he goes on to find his soul mate."

Rachel, Lorna's confidante, used to be extremely popular and dating every night. Now she sits at home alone, eating the same thing every night and theorizing over her lack of dates. Amie Carey, who plays the part, sees Rachel's theory of the dating chain as representing a "piece of her desperation."

Jeri and Jeff are the ill-chosen relationship role model for Andy. Jeri is the kind of girl who thinks if she just keeps moving ahead and brushing her teeth everyday , everything will be all right but Jeff has a very dark philosophy about monogamy.

DOG PARK is McCULLOCH’s first feature screenplay and marks his directorial debut. He also costars. When commenting on the triple role he explains, "People keep saying it is different, but it's all work like the kind I've done before which is figuring out what to do, and how much something is going to cost, and when we can get it done. The biggest surprise is something I already knew - as a director, you work for every actor and every prop person."

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Read the actors' thoughts on dog parks...

Natasha Henstridge, who has experienced the West Coast take on dog parks, agrees, "It's so true to life, in a comical way. I live in Los Angeles and the dog parks there are meeting places for sure."

Mark McKinney is more blunt when he calls dog parks "the singles' bars of the 90s".

Janeane Garofalo observes, "I don't know if it's a new trend or I just didn't notice it before, but starting a few years back in LA, I noticed a lot of flirting going on. People would dress to the nines or wear as little as possible. Then in the New York dog park I use, I see these guys hitting on one girl, pretending to be interested in her dog."

Natasha Henstridge gushes, "Bruce is fantastic as a director. He's got it mapped out in his head, so, he knows what he wants. He's got a great on-set demeanor which is a great way of opening you up and letting you explore yourself."

Mark McKinney, who worked with McCULLOCH on KIDS IN THE HALL, welcomed the opportunity to reunite with his old compadre. "It was a chance to work with Bruce and I trust his eye on what I'm doing."

When asked to describe how his perspective has influenced DOG PARK, McCULLOCH explains, "I am cynical and optimistic and emotional all at the same time, and I think the film is all that."

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ABOUT THE CAST

LUKE WILSON (Andy)

He is 27 years old and a long, long way from Dallas, Texas. Luke Wilson has a CV dotted with gems. His first feature role was in BOTTLE ROCKET, then TELLING LIES IN AMERICA. In HOME FRIES, directed by Dean Parisot, he plays a son enchanted with his step-father's pregnant girlfriend. In SCREAM 2, a Grade A version of splatter movies, he plays Billy Loomis in "Stab" (the movie within the movie based on the first Scream). You’ll soon be able to see Luke starring in BLUE STREAK with Martin Lawrence. Luke came over to the doggie side with his pet Labrador named Ted. Ted is part of a long canine tradition in Luke's life, as he (Ted, not Luke) is the son of Blue, Luke's first dog which he got when he was 12.

NATASHA HENSTRIDGE (Lorna)

Natasha may well be too beautiful for her own good, but so far, it hasn't gotten in her way. If anything, it helped pave her way to the first of many magazine covers, including the French Cosmopolitan, when she was just a teenager. She was born in Springfield, Newfoundland and raised in Fort McMurray, Alberta. At 14, she moved to Paris to work in the fashion industry and television commercials. Her acting career launched in 1995 with appearances on "The Outer Limits". Her first major role was as Sil, the half-human/half-alien looking for a mate, in SPECIES which won her a nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance and Best Kiss ( which she shared with Anthony Guidera) at the MTV Movie Awards. The first SPECIES begat a second, in which she took on the role of Eve. Natasha also appeared in the thriller, ADRENALINE, opposite Christopher Lambert and in MAXIMUM RISK (1996) opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme. Natasha is currently shooting Miramax’s BOUNCE, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck.

In a moment of complete honesty, Natasha confesses that she does have a dog named Kitty. But just in case anyone gives Kitty a hard time about her name, one should note that Kitty is a Rotweiller.

JANEANE GAROFALO (Jeri)

Janeane actually thought that she would grow up to be a secretary. It would have been a short career for this comedian-turned-actress-about-to-turn-author. Nominated for two Emmy's (1996, 1997) for her performance as Paula on THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW, and nominated again in the Best Comedic performance category for the MTV Movie Awards for her lead role in THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS, Janeane is not too worried about keeping up her typing skills. She was seen, most recently, in MYSTERY MEN.

Janeane's credits have been multiplying exponentially since the early 1990s. Her television work includes SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW and THE BEN STILLER SHOW. Film highlights include KIDS IN THE HALL: BRAIN CANDY, LARGER THAN LIFE with Bill Murray and an elephant; THE CABLE GUY; ROMY AND MICHELLE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION and the starring role in THE MATCHMAKER opposite Braveheart's David O'Hara.

Between CATS & DOGS, LARGER THAN LIFE and DOG PARK, Janeane has a definite animal motif in her aura, but that's fine with her. As the owner of two Pomeranians and a Labrador Retriever/ Pit Bull/ Ridgeback, she maintains, "If I start looking like my dogs, it would really be great for my career."

KRISTIN LEHMAN (Keiran)

Kristin is moving up. A dependable television regular, with a powerful combination of guest leads and reoccurring roles in STRANGE WORLD, POLTERGEIST, THE X-FILES; EARTH: THE FINAL CONFLICT; John Woo's, ONCE A THIEF; KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES; and DUE SOUTH, Kristin was primed to make the leap to the big screen when she landed the principal role of Florence in the 1996 adventure, ALASKA. In addition to DOG PARK, 1997 was a madly busy year with appearances in "HEMOGLOBIN and the US/Canadian comedy, DINNER AT FRED’S, with Parker Posey. Kristin is currently starring in WAY OF THE GUN opposite Ryan Phillipe.

AMIE CAREY (Rachel)

Amie’s got this wonky career thing happening. Born and raised in Mendham, New Jersey, she attended acting workshops and schools in New York City and then fast-forwarded to the University of California's School of Theatre to do her Bachelor of Fine Arts (and yes, she did graduate). There she was discovered by Eric Bogosian and Richard Linklater while she was acting in the lead role for the stage production of the school production of Bogosian's SUBURBIA. She followed her role as Sooze to the screen version of the play for her cinematic debut in 1997. This coincided with her television debut in "Chicago Hope" as Marisella from 1996-97. Carey has just finished, ARCHIBALD, THE RAINBOW PAINTER an independent film due out in the spring.

One of Carey's qualifiers for her role in DOG PARK, aside from her talent, is that she owns a 4 year old Rotweiller named Cleopatra who wears a spike collar. Carey lives in Brooklyn, New York. We are not sure which came first- Cleopatra or the Brooklyn residence.

MARK McKINNEY (Dr. Cavan)

The former Chicken Lady from THE KIDS IN THE HALL went on to 2 seasons of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. He plays the role of Greg in Paramount’s, THE OUT OF TOWNERS and is featured as Mr. Fish in Salter Street’s JACOB TWO TWO MEETS THE HOODED FANG In early 1998, McKinney appears as Graydon in SPICEWORLD, the film featuring the Girl Power British pop band, Spice Girls, as well as a cameo in Wilt Stillman’s THE LAST DAY’S OF DISCO.

Now living in New York, McKinney won't have a dog for reasons which range somewhere between compassion and extreme embarrassment, "It's too cruel, they get neurotic. The people are bad enough; the pets are pathetic."

HARLAND WILLIAMS (Callum)

One look at Williams' filmography and you have to admit that he has an impressive career. If he is not playing the state trooper in DUMB AND DUMBER, he is Simon, the lead in the Tri-Star television series, SIMON which aired last year. He is an actor, comedian and author. With the title role in ROCKET MAN and solid parts in WAG THE DOG and HALF BAKED, he idles away what little spare time he has by writing and illustrating a series of children's books featuring a brontosaurus named , Lickety Split.

Williams is an animal lover, of sorts as long as they are bizarre animals. "I have two dogs, a little Chihuahua named Fisherman Bob and a very rare Mongolian Wisenback who looks like an albino, part polar bear, part whistler monkey, if those even exist."

CASEY (Mogley)

The lead woof (age withheld because it makes getting younger puppy roles more difficult) is hardly a new position for Casey who is already known to many teenagers from guest spots on GOOSEBUMPS. With favourite incentives being boiled chicken or beef, in a pinch this canine, a fine blend of Border Collie with an added touch of Australian Sheppard (for attitude), will bark for kibble. One of almost 3 dozen dogs on the set of DOG PARK, Casey is a professional actor and only complains when asked to play dead or roll over on wet grass. Other than that, there are no signs of a prima dogma attitude.