- Hercules was in training for months to perform the swimming scenes
- He was specifically chosen because of his love of water/swimming
- He'd been taught to jump in from the left side of the pool, grab a toy attached to the stunt actor in the pool, and pull her to safety
- On the day of the TMZ footage, they attempted to shoot the same scene but have Hercules jump in from a different starting point
- As soon as it became apparent he wasn't comfortable doing it, they stopped immediately (right after the footage cut off) and brought him back to the side of the pool he'd been taught to enter from, and he did the stunt no problem
- During the filming, an American Humane Representative was present at all times, approving and documenting every shot
- Whenever Hercules was in the water there were two trainers poolside, one trainer in the water, a safety diver, as well as stunt personnel.
- The day before the scene was filmed, Hercules and his trainers did a comprehensive rehearsal at the pool location with safety and stunt teams to make certain that safety measures were in place to insure that the dog was not put in any danger
From Gavin Polone (the film's producer):
- TMZ’s edited version is intentially misleading to give the impression that the dog was thrown in and eventually drowned, since the two parts seem to be connected
- They weren't, they were from completely different shots/days
- Whoever shot the video held onto it for a year and a half before selling it to TMZ so they'd get more $$
- PETA has been circulating a clip from the trailer where a dog jumps into a scary river
- That scene is computer-generated, and no real dog was used during the filming of it
- The only time Hercules was near water was in this controlled environment with trainers, safety divers, and a heated pool
apparently the filmmakers are trying to get all of the footage released to the public to prove this. thoughts??
SOURCESOURCE