mr. butts on the plan 10 film set
by max adams
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Mr. Butts, a thirteen year old Staffordshire Bullterrier, has just embarked on a new career -- in show business.
Mr. Butts is making his film debut this fall in PLAN 10 FROM OUTER SPACE, playing opposite Karen Black in three cameo appearances as a space dog, a pioneer dog, and a citizen of Salt Lake City -- and believe you me, you've missed something special, if you've missed Mr. Butts in his space suit.
Of course, in show business, the old saying is, "It's not what you know, it's who you know," so it's perhaps not surprising Mr. Butts' owner is Trent Harris, writer/director of PLAN 10 FROM OUTER SPACE.
Mr. Butts and Trent hooked up twelve years ago when Trent "liberated Mr. Butts from some cocaine dealers." At the time, Harris was just starting out in film, living in a not so wonderful neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The nearby dealers had purchased Mr. Butts, presumably to protect their "investments," but after spending two thousand dollars on guard dog training, only to discover their pit bull puppy was not interested in biting or viciously attacking anyone, they dumped the puppy in the backyard and forgot about him.
When Harris began sneaking food and water into the yard, no one was complaining except Mr. Butts, who had sores covering his feet and "butt" and wasn't doing so well. Finally, Harris knocked on the door and told the woman who answered he was taking a trip to the desert and thought Mr. Butts might enjoy the ride. The woman began crying, and Harris thought the jig was up, but she surprised him, saying that was the sweetest thing she'd ever heard, and yes, Harris could take Mr. Butts to the desert. Harris and Butts headed for the desert, and never came back.
Trent and Mr. Butts now live happily in Salt Lake City, where Trent's filming PLAN 10 FROM OUTER SPACE, and Harris says, when he first suggested they put Mr. Butts on the moon set, the film crew thought he was joking. But when Trent said he was serious, the set designer rigged up a space suit, made from beer cans, string, and anything else they could scavenge from the set on short notice (who says they don't drink beer in Salt Lake City?), and Mr. Butts' film career was born. From there, Mr. Butts' roles increased, no doubt because he's an incredibly talented performer, and these days, Mr. Butts contentedly spends his afternoons in the editing room with Trent, watching the film take shape.
And what inspires Mr. Butts' acting performance? "Anchovi pizza," says Trent. "Mr. Butts will do anything for anchovi pizza." So, while cameras were rolling, Trent stood off camera, dangling a slice of acting incentive, and Mr. Butts acted his heart out -- which leads one to wonder if maybe those two thousand dollar attack dog trainers couldn't learn a thing or two from Harris about dog training and incentive.
The three bravest things Mr. Butts has ever done, according to Trent, are, first and foremost, stick with Trent. (Trent says, during the last twelve years, he's had eight girlfriends, but only one dog -- and he'd prefer not to dwell upon the implications there.) Second, when Trent and Mr. Butts encountered a rattlesnake on a hiking trail, Mr. Butts ran one and a quarter miles back to the car for help. And third, Mr. Butts once ate an entire foam rubber mattress, which left Mr. Butts unable to "poop" for a week and required vast quantities of cod liver oil to recover from.
When Trent and Mr. Butts aren't editing film footage, Mr. Butts considers the back seat of the car the best place to be, as he and Harris do a lot of traveling together, but when Trent must travel alone, Mr. Butts visits Trent's mother. "Grandma" rises early each morning of the visit to make Mr. Butts a cheese toast breakfast, and while Trent's not convinced the cheese toast breakfasts are a great idea -- Mr. Butts is on a diet and Trent's mother never makes Trent cheese toast -- Grandma insists, and cheese toast does keep everyone happy while Trent's away.
And will Mr. Butts be appearing in future Harris films? That depends on Trent's next project, but if there's an opening for a dog on the set, it's assured Mr. Butts will be on the set, which gives Mr. Butts a leg up on other aspiring canid performers applying for the role.
*originally published in Dog Fancy nov. '95
*copyright Max Adams
