ANIMAL GROUP GIVES FILMMAKERS PAWS FOR THOUGHT.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer

As they wait between takes, luxuriating in their private pool and snacking on frozen fish, sea lions P.J. and Torey are the most watched-over actors on the movie set.

Besides the director and trainers, a field representative from the American Humane Association is on location at the Angeles National Forest every day of shooting, monitoring the sea lions' working conditions.

``Shade is a big deal, there has to be plenty of water, and the fish have to be cold,'' said Netta Bank, the humane association staffer monitoring the filming of the movie ``Stinkers.''

``We act as another pair of eyes,'' Bank said. ``Our whole purpose is to prevent abuse before it happens.''

Last year, the humane association's Encino office sent field representatives to 429 movie, television and commercial productions, after poring over 1,000 scripts.

A successful production will earn the films an endearing credit: ``All animal action was monitored by the American Humane Association and no animals were harmed in the making of this motion picture.''

Their charges are varied, from thousands of creepy-crawly cockroaches, snakes and flies used during the Los Angeles production of ``The Craft,'' to Tai the elephant in Disney's ``Operation Dumbo Drop'' filmed in Thailand.

``We're the only other people besides the director who can yell, cut!'' said Jim Moore, AHA spokesman. ``We can shut down a production if need be.''

The AHA's authority comes from a collective bargaining agreement between the Screen Actors Guild and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

It requires all productions using animals to consult with the AHA when they are using animals in filming and to allow the agency onto their sets to supervise.

Humane association representatives said they encounter very few dangerous situations on productions. And frequently, any potential problems are ironed out months before, when the humane association reviews scripts and shooting sequences, Moore said.

On the set of ``Stinkers,'' officials with the humane association were a welcome presence.

``I thought sea lions were like dogs, nothing prepared me for the reality - and it's been so helpful having their advice,'' said Director Barnet Kellman. ``I can't imagine doing a film about animals and making them miserable during filming.''

``Stinkers'' tells the story of a group of kids at summer school whose mischievous pranks include ``saving'' a sea lion at an aquarium and turning it loose.

Susan Francois, one of the trainers assigned to the sea lions, said she sees the AHA as a vital source of support.

``If the film people wanted to do something unsafe, we have their (AHA's) backing,'' she said.

Many humane representatives like Banks have completed a two-year exotic animal training and management program through Moorpark Community College.

Bank knows when a baboon is tired, when an elephant needs to be fed, and what would make a safe shoot for a dolphin.

``This is the best job in the world,'' Bank said. ``We do a good thing, and we want the public to know everything is watched and monitored.''

A private nonprofit agency, the AHA was established in 1877. Headquartered in Colorado, it also sets standards for local humane agencies and advocates in Washington, D.C.

The Encino office works to ensure that animals used in productions are humanely treated.

The agency's authority to monitor filming was first granted after a horse was killed in 1939 during the making of the movie ``Jesse James.'' A stunt man deliberately rode his horse over a 70-foot cliff into treacherous whitewater. After his horse died, the stuntman did it again, Moore said.

From 1966 until 1980, the agency lost its authority when the Motion Picture Association of America's censoring bureau, called the Hayes office, was shut down.

The closure dissolved a production code that ensured the AHA's authority.

Without the contractual agreement, abuse was frequent, Moore said. Frequent wire-tripping of horses killed many of the animals.

In 1979 during the filming of ``The Chisolms'' TV series, dead rabbits and birds were called for in one scene, so the animals were killed and scattered about the set.

That same year, a horse was blown up for the making of the film ``Heaven's Gate,'' Moore said. The AHA organized a national boycott of the film and led to the reinstatement of its authority.

Moore said their phone rings more often with complaints because of realistic, high-tech computer generated images, like those used in ``Operation Dumbo Drop.''

He explained that the public doesn't realize that most of the dangerous animal stunts they see in recent movies aren't what they seem.

In the film ``Twister'' a computer-generated tornado hurled a cow into the air.

``We got numerous calls,'' Moore said. ``People were outraged when they thought a live cow had been used.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) AHA field representative Netta Bank, s hown with trainer Scott Collins, is monitoring the treatment of the sea lions P.J. and Torey for the movie, ``Stinkers.''

(2) Animal trainer Scott Collins and sea lion P.J. confer with AHA field representative Netta Bank on the set of the movie ``Stinkers.''

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News