Here’s What the ‘Bird Box’ Monsters Were Supposed to Look Like (Photos)
Brian Welk
Canada’s House of Commons on Wednesday passed a non-binding motion saying that Netflix should compensate the people of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, for using footage of a tragedy that took place in the city for the film “Bird Box,” according to the Associated Press. The Canadian Parliament voted unanimously to condemn Netflix and demanded that they remove the images from “its fiction catalogue.” “Netflix: Remove those images. This is not entertainment,” Pierre Nantel, a legislator with the New Democrat party who introduced the motion last week, said in a tweet. Also Read: 'Bird Box' Star Sarah Paulson Is Apparently the One Person in America That Hasn't Watched 'Bird Box' (Video) Netflix had no comment, but it did share a letter it sent to the Canadian minister of culture and communications Nathalie Roy from Netflix’s director of public policy Corie Wright apologizing for the use of the footage and promising to take steps to avoid such mistakes in the future. However, Netflix made no mentions of plans to remove the footage from “Bird Box” or pay compensation. Read the full message below. TheWrap reported that “Bird Box” contains a scene using stock footage that matches news footage from a real-life tragedy. The footage seen early in the film shows the aftermath of the 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, in which an unattended freight train carrying crude oil derailed in downtown Quebec. Multiple tank cars exploded and sparked a fire, most of the city’s downtown was destroyed, and 47 people were killed. The same footage also appeared in an episode of another Netflix show called “Travelers,” and in both instances the stock footage was supplied by the same third party company, Pond5. The footage was removed from “Travelers,” but not from “Bird Box.” At the time of the initial reporting, Netflix had declined to comment. Also Read: YouTube Bans 'Dangerous Challenges and Pranks' After 'Bird Box Challenge' Netflix initially earned a rebuke from the mayor of Lac-Mégantic, Julie Morin, who said she spoke with the streaming service and was satisfied that a similar incident would not happen again. At the time, Pond5 said in a statement received by TheWrap that the “footage was taken out of context” and it wanted to “sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended, especially the victims and their families.” Read Netflix’s letter to Canadian minister Roy below: Minister Roy, Thank you for your letter regarding the unintended use of footage from the 2013 Lac-Mégantic tragedy. Netflix was not aware of the source of the footage and understands that many feel frustration and sadness at seeing images of this tragic event. We regret any pain caused to the Lac-Mégantic community and have expressed this directly to Mayor Julie Morin. The use of stock footage is a widespread and long-standing practice in the film and television industry. As a result, stock images are commonly used within content on Netflix and on other services. This widespread use prevents us from making the changes you request on finished content. But going forward, we (and the broader industry) can do better. We have begun discussions internally about best practices to avoid future uses of this and similar footage. We apologize to the Lac-Mégantic community and to Netflix members who were saddened by seeing this footage. We will take measures to avoid its use in future. Read original story Canadian Parliament Members ‘Condemn’ Netflix for Using Tragedy Footage in ‘Bird Box’ At TheWrap
Netflix claims that over 45 million people saw “Bird Box” in its first week on the streaming platform, but not one of them actually “saw” the monsters that terrorized Sandra Bullock in the film.
Well on Saturday, special effects artist Andy Bergholtz shared some photos on Instagram of what those monsters were supposed to look like, saying that a nightmare sequence in which they appeared to Bullock’s character was ultimately cut from the film.
Bergholtz shared several photos of a veiny, cragged, baby face, which he said was meant to play into Bullock’s fears as an expectant mother at the start of the film.
“Considering her pregnant state and emotional arc thru the movie, the producers felt Sandra’s nightmare would have something to do with a twisted, demonic baby creature attacking her (that’s as much as I could gather about the context of the scene anyway),” Bergholtz said on Instagram. “I sculpted at least three or four variations on the design before it was approved, which began as a more aggressive, monstery look and was revised to be a bit more subtle in the end.”
Bergholtz, who additionally did the special effects for the similar “A Quiet Place,” also clarified that most likely, the monsters would be different for each person, as the visions that cause people to kill themselves each play on the individual’s worse fears. He also dispelled previous reports that said the monsters would look like a “snake-like green man, clarifying that an actor in a spandex green-screen suit was intended to be a giant CGI creature with a monstrous body to be added later.
Still, he wasn’t too disappointed that his creations never made it to screen.
“In the end, I actually really liked the movie and think it was better off NOT showing the makeup,” Bergholtz said. “Kudos to the director for sticking to her guns on that one.”
See the photos below. “Bird Box” is available for streaming on Netflix now.
