Dog Names Meaning Long

The filmmaking industry is as innovative as it is entertaining.  Have you ever stopped to consider the variety of techniques, equipment, and personnel required to put together a one to a two-hour movie?  Frequently, the screenplay, supposedly the basis for the undertaking, gets manipulated, ultimately, the final tale hardly resembling the original story.  This transformation takes place for many reasons, and one of the more prominent causes falls into the realm of actor/actress behaviors or interpretation of their roles in the script.  Our pop culture spotlight for today is Max, perhaps better known as “Milo” in the film “The Mask,” and he fits this theme as his massive presence is responsible for some of those great script changes in canine flesh!  

Max is a determined dog who had longevity in the field of canine acting due to his never-give-up spirit. He is a Jack Russell Terrier who almost didn’t make the cut when auditioning for the film.  Because MGM cast a Jack Russell Terrier in the movie “Clean Slate” and the TV series “Frasier,” the directors of “The Mask” didn’t want to appear to be “copy-dogging.”  And, that position could have left Max out in the cold, except that Max had other ideas.  You see, Max grew up in horse and coyote country, and loved running and playing along the endless miles of dirt and dusty roads of his home.  He loved the outdoors almost more than eating, his enthusiasm spilling out of him during the audition, setting him far apart from the pack.  Not only did his “presence” get everyone’s attention that day, but this attribute blossomed when filming began, Max adding his own “flavor” to everything they asked of him.  Most of us are familiar with the primary human actor, Jim Carrey, and have laughed until we cried at his antics, a great actor in his own right.  However great an actor is Jim, his co-star outshined him quite often as they put the movie together, frequently, putting in the retakes for the original scenes because they were made so much better at the paws of Max in his role of “Milo.”  

Max certainly needed some training for his part beyond what his personality contributed, and to this end, his trainer credited the secret behind the success - fig newtons!  You see, while on the road with his owner, Joe McCarter, Max became addicted to Fig Newton cookies, and yes, he did love them almost more than the great outdoors!