Jean-Jacques Annaud escapes Kodiak attack on the set of The Bear
The director recounts how the film’s massive bear almost killed him, before becoming his biggest French hit.
Trailer · L'OursDuring a lunch break on the set of The Bear, director Jean-Jacques Annaud slipped under the enclosure of the Kodiak, the nearly 800-kg bear, which then charged at him. He escaped death by playing dead, recalling that, according to him, working with animals is like working with very small children. The film, released in 1988 and starring the late Tchéky Karyo, attracted more than 9 million viewers in France, far ahead of The Name of the Rose which counted 4.95 million, according to AlloCiné. Annaud concludes by recalling the mornings when, before each take, he and the animal "exchanged breaths".
