Gary Johnson | Thinking of Rob

Gary Johnson (Tai’s trainer) talks about Robert Pattinson 1 comment

Robert Pattinson was always willing to spend time with Tai… Rob, if we needed to rehearse something, he was more and more willing to accommodate. I just can’t say enough nice things about him, because he was great. He’s a big deal. To me, being a novice, he seemed to work very hard on this. I think he gave 110 percent. And he’s just the nicest person, not one ounce arrogant or anything.

Tai’s elephant memory brought some recognition when she reunited with her “Elephants” co-stars a few months after the shoot… After we finished shooting “Water For Elephants,” a couple months later, we wound up doing stills with Rob and Reese. It seemed like she kinda knew who they were. They both came over individually when we arrived to say hi, and I think she had a little recognition of them.

Read the full interview at Next Movie / via RP Life

Gary Johnson, Tai’s trainer, talks about Robert Pattinson, Tai, Water for Elephants and more 3 comments

Thanks to Rosteners for the translation

Do you and Tai have to work hard in this movie?
Johnson: Especially in this movie we’ve worked a lot. It was very exciting as well though. I loved everyone who worked on this movie. People were realy respectful and always friendly. The director Francis Lawrence was a real gentleman and did a great job in my opinion. He drove to our ranch in California a dozen times to watch the training and to spend time with Tai. That’s how he knew how to shoot the scenes with her later on.

How much time did Reese Witherspoon with Tai? The relationship between Marlena and Rosie is very important for the story right?
Johnson: Reese Witherspoon visited the ranch often to train with Tai, because she has some really physical scenes with her. She had to climb onto Tai, just how it is known from circuses when the girl sits on top of the elephant. Tai lay on her side and when she got up Reese had to learn to stand on her trunk. They had to train a few different options to climb on top then. In one scene Tai stands on her back legs and Reese directly beneath her. In another scene Tai does a headstand and Reese dances beneath her at the same time. That’s really complicated and we had to train those scenes with a choreographer. The timing had to be right. In another scene Reese stands on top of the elephant. Another time Tai sits on a base and stands on her back legs and Reese then climbs onto her back. They had to train that scene a very long time. Tai does things like that regularly and it’s part of her routine. She practices daily and a lot.

How difficult was that for Reese?
Johnson: She was extraordinary and told us she did gymnastics as a child. She grew up with animals and has always felt comfortable with them. All three main actors, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson and Christoph Waltz were very impressive. We’re very lucky that we were able to work with them. They’re just incredible.