Nim's Island
NG Kids talks to 12-year-old Nim's Island star Abigail Breslin about filming in Australia and meeting her animal co-stars!
Abigail Breslin: I thought that I was a really good swimmer, until I got there, and they told me to do all this stuff, and I couldn't do it! The stunt crew were really nice, and I started to respect them because they work so hard, and do so much, but there was a pool at the studio and they would take me there and we'd practise doing all this stuff.
NGK: You filmed Nim's Island in Australia. What was that like?
AB: I really liked Australia. It was actually winter when we got there and we were expecting it to be warm, but it was actually a little bit chilly. But not too bad, and it was really fun! And everybody was really nice there. I also got to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef, so that was really cool. I did like it but I gulped a lot of salt water.
NGK: What was the scariest part for you?
AB: There was this one scene in the water where I rescue co-star Jodie Foster and they put this black tent over the water, with a metal bar and these huge tires, and that was kind of scary. And they took down the bar, but once it was over I felt a lot better.
NGK: What other things did you get to do that never done before?
AB: I got to ride on a sea lion which was really fun! That was probably the funniest thing I got to do! And I learned that sea lions don't like their whiskers, their face or their head touched.
NGK: What about the zip lining from tree to tree?
AB: It was a little bit scary because it was really high up, and I'm a little bit afraid of heights, but it was still really fun! When you do it, you have to look straight ahead, and you can't look down. But the thing was the camera was straight ahead and I didn't want to hit it but I never did!
AB: When I got to dance with a seal lion. That was really fun. We practised it a little bit, but they showed me the moves to do, and it was really fun!
NGK: Is it true co-star Gerard Butler sneaked up on you and pretended to be an animal?
AB: Oh, we were all staying in treehouses on the island and walking upstairs and he was in his treehouse, so when you're walking up there are a bunch of steps and bushes. So we were walking up and we heard this noise and we were like, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" And we screamed and put up a flashlight and it was Gerard! He started cracking up. He thought it was really funny!
NGK: How did you feel like working with lizards?
AB: I liked them, but the first time I had one on my shoulder I was a little scared. And during camera tests, it would always kind of plant itself on me, and then they would ask if I could stand up straighter, and make me turn around while it dug its claws in! But I started to get less afraid and liked them a lot by the end. I'm afraid of spiders so that would have been a different story!
NGK: Do you have animals in real life?
AB: Yes, I have two dogs, two cats, and a turtle. One of my cats is named Blue Reed and he's so cute! We named him Blue Reed because he's a Blue Siberian, and my brother likes Lou Reed, so that's why we named him that. My other cat's name is Amy, and she’s really cute. My dogs are called Curtis and Stormy, and my turtle's called Manny.
Nim's Island is out on DVD on 25 August © 2007 Walden Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Artwork & Packaging © 2008 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.