DOG MAN: The last thing anyone wanted with a Red Dog sequel was a film that felt rushed and cynical, explains director Kriv Stenders

When Red Dog was released in 2011 its director Kriv Stenders, writer Daniel Taplitz and producer Nelson Woss obviously hoped the film would be a success.

What they didn’t expect, however, was that their film about the legend of a real dog that wandered the Pilbara would itself become a legend.

Red Dog took a mammoth $21 million and generated much speculation about a sequel. Mindful of the pitfuls of churning out a quickie cash-in follow-up, Stenders and his team worked hard to come up with something fresh and respectful to the movie brand they had created.

Taking the tried-and-true origin backstory route, Red Dog: True Blue is a prequel that tells the tale of the dog on which the first film was based.

Made for around the same budget of $5 million, the film stars Bryan Brown, Jason Isaacs and John Jarratt.

On the eve of the film’s release on Boxing Day,  Stenders (speaking on a mobile while on holidays) explains the type of film the Red Dog team didn’t want to make, the challenges of releasing a film in the Hollywood-dominated movie marketplace and reflects on the phenomenon he created.

Please enjoy.

For the interview with Kriv Stenders, please click here:

To view a trailer for Red Dog, please click here: