[FWP] The camel steals the show

[Uri Guttman <uri@sysarch.com>]

The following message is a courtesy copy of an article
that has been posted to comp.lang.perl.misc as well.


[posted and emailed to fwp]

an amusing read about a nice camel.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/120/living/The_camel_steals_the_show+.shtml

The camel steals the show

By Susan King Los Angeles Times, 4/29/2000 

HOLLYWOOD - Steve Barron, director of ABC's "Arabian Nights,"
describes one of the stars of the four-hour fantasy that begins airing
Sunday night as "brilliant," with a most "expressive" face.

Indeed, this actress, who makes her film debut in the movie, more than
holds her own opposite British actor Rufus Sewell, who plays the
infamous Ali Baba. In fact, she dominates every scene she's in with
Sewell - no small feat considering she's such a newcomer to the
business.

Who is this budding talent, this fresh face, this unexpected vamp? Her
name is Safra. An 8-year-old camel, she literally stumbled into her
calling as an actress just in the nick of time.

Safra so enchanted the cast and crew of the production in Antalaya,
Turkey, last year that they named her character in the spectacle after
her. In her role as Ali Baba's sidekick and confidant, Safra spits her
disapproval over her master's actions, is very vocal in her opinions,
and is far more clever than her master. She can express more with her
all-knowing deep brown eyes and strong face than many actors can with
even the most sharply written dialogue. No animatronics or enhancements
needed.

"She does one look which is so knowing and so human," says the
British-born Barron, who fell in love with camels and desert sagas after
seeing "Lawrence of Arabia" as a child.

When Safra arrived on the set, she was thin and undernourished. Slated
to be someone's main course - camel meat is common in Turkey - Safra had
just been rescued when she was brought on the set to audition for the
role of Ali Baba's trusty camel.

The animal wrangler tried her out and discovered, says Barron, that
unlike most ill-tempered camels, Safra had a sunny personality. And from
all reports, she was brighter and more willing to follow commands than
any camel they had encountered.

Because she was so scrawny, the craft services crew on the set began to
fatten her up. So much so that she began to pack on the pounds, which
led to a continuity problem. "She got a bit too fat," says Barron,
"and then they got her in the right state."

There was talk that Safra would emigrate to England after production
wrapped, but a spokesperson for "Arabian Nights" said there was too
much red tape and paperwork involved in having her make the journey.

So Safra is now enjoying a life outside of Antalaya with the person who
rescued her. Although she hasn't acted since the ABC movie, according to
Barron, Safra is now something of a local celebrity.


uri

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