What Does A Rat Look Like

John Michael McDonagh on 'The Guard': a black comic Irish western that goes ...

A small, cheeky, energetic black comedy, “The Guard” was one of the happiest surprises of January’s Sundance Film Festival and, seven months later, is still one of the best pictures of the year.

With offbeat jokes, juicy acting turns, and wry bits of craft, it tells the tale of Sergeant Gerry Boyle, a drug-taking, prostitute-patronizing cop in a small town in the west of Ireland who finds himself called upon to help FBI Special Agent Wendell Everett bust a drug smuggling operation.  

To many, the film’s rat-a-tat dialogue and sidelong nods to genre movies recalls the work of Quentin Tarantino.  Others see Brendan Gleeson as Boyle ( Don Cheadle plays Everett) and recollect “In Bruges,” another black Sundance crime comedy in which he starred.  That comparison is especially apt considering that “The Guard” was written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, whose younger brother, playwright Martin McDonagh, wrote and directed “In Bruges.”

Comparisons are both odious and inevitable, but let’s just say that if you liked “In Bruges,” as many have done, you’ll almost surely like “The Guard” -- and maybe, as I do, even more.  

I was able to tell McDonagh that recently when we spoke about “The Guard” by phone.  Our ensuing chat about the film, below, has been edited for brevity and clarity.

You’ve got a film with spaghetti western-style music set in the west of Ireland and with themes that could come from a traditional western story.  You don’t go too far with that, but it was obviously in your head, yeah?

That was definitely my overarching plan for the film -- a ‘High Noon’  kind of feel with the sheriff in town and the outsiders and bad guys coming in on him.  I’m a big fan of John Ford, and I thought this kind of bleak Connemara landscape kind of lends itself to that sort of film.  And we had the bleak exteriors and then all the cherry reds and blues and greens inside.  I thought that was interesting visually.  But, yeah, he is the lonely, disillusioned lawman who has nothing in his life and is at the end of his tether and he’s facing down a big challenge.  It can be reduced to that in certain ways.

How do I make a clay rat laying on its back that looks like it is ...

I am doing a project for my photography class. Based off of the work of British graffiti artist, Banksy, we need to make a clay rat and take a picture of that rat in a public place revealing a social issue. My rat will be laying on its back on a therapist’s couch holding his tail like the cowardly lion. The issue will be over medication on America. I have looked for days on how to make a clay rat and the only thing I can find is a youtube video of how to make adorable Ratatouille rats. I need a large semi realistic rat on its back, that doesn’t look dead. Can you please tell me how and what I need to make this rat?

Best answer:

Answer by O. Noe Dint

Just keep modelling the rat until you get something that looks workable. You could try brushing the surface of the rat to get a fur texture, and use a wire armature (a coat hanger is fine) to support the body of the rat. Don’t just lump clay together- build it up slowly, adding and subtracting as you go. You might find it helpful to use little lumps of clay to add on to its body- you can use household utensils as well as your hands as tools to help you sculpt. Use a reference picture and keep it with you- this will help get the proportions right.

Consider going with a more stylized rat if you can- you don’t sound terribly confident in your sculpting skills, and this may be easier for you.

Are you using a natural or a synthetic clay to build the rat? Synthetics (Fimo, Sculpey, etc) may be easier to work with than natural clay and can be cured in a home oven. Natural clay (basically mud- the stuff we use to throw vessels on a pottery wheel is much cheaper and can air dry over the course of a few weeks, but it harder to work with, needs to be kept damp while you work on it, and is weaker while it’s damp than a synthetic clay is.

I’m honestly going to agree with another poster here, though- if it’s at all possible, you may want to just purchase a toy rat and alter it with paint, attachments, etc, or re-evaluate the pose your rat will be in. Sculpting it is going to be a fair bit of work, especially if this is not your area of specialty.

Best of luck!

RT @: “@: Look Like A Naked Mole Rat =|”•••what's does oomf mean?!?

One Of My Followers RT @ “@: Look Like A Naked Mole Rat =|”•••what's does oomf mean?!?

“@: Look Like A Naked Mole Rat =|”•••what's does oomf mean?!?

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