As a boy John Cleese fell in love with ring-tailed lemurs. But it wasn't until preproduction on Fierce Creatures that, as costar Jamie Lee Curtis puts it, ''he gave them his underwear!''
That touching gesture was made on orders from animal consultant Rona Brown. Once the four mischievous ringtails portraying leading lemur Rollo grew accustomed to Cleese's scent, they were comfortable using him as a climbing post. Other tricks came more naturally, since the button-eyed primates native to Madagascar are pure Method actors. ''Unlike chimps, lemurs don't understand the concept of role playing,'' admits Brown. But having swung from a loo chain installed in their enclave, Rollo could flush a toilet on the set. Firing a gun thrown their way in a pivotal scene, though, was out of the question. Besides, ''they don't have the strength,'' says Brown.
It turns out that playing a zoo animal targeted for elimination in Creatures comes a bit too close to the truth. Most lemurs are endangered. The film's Jan. 16 L.A. premiere benefit helped finance the reintroduction of rare ruffed lemurs into the wild in order to increase the gene pool. Having been around for 50 million years, lemurs are entitled to a recurring role.
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