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 She never expected it to help persuade the U.S. theme park
operator to stop breeding killer whales and end its signature "Shamu"
whale entertainment shows.
"I think 'Blackfish' struck a nerve," the Los Angeles-based
director said on Thursday. "I originally came into the film
trying to explore the trainer relationship and experience. I
thought of myself as a story teller that would pull back the
curtain on some things, but I didn't think the documentary would
effect change."
Animal activists and others were quick on Thursday to give
credit to "Blackfish" for what Cowperthwaite called a "giant
step" by SeaWorld both in halting its orca breeding program and
investing $50 million to advocate for an end to commercial
whaling and seal hunting.
"Huge respect to @blackfishmovie for putting orca captivity at @SeaWorld
on the agenda" Greenpeace UK Oceans said on Twitter.
Melissa Silverstein, founder of the website "Women and
Hollywood," said SeaWorld's action shows the impact of film.
"If you think a movie can't make a difference, see @blackfishmovie,"
Silverstein said on Twitter. "Congrats on getting @SeaWorld to
change its policies towards Orcas."
"Blackfish" has taken only a meager $2 million at the North
American box office, but after screenings on CNN, on demand
digital services and in schools, it has been seen by more than
60 million people, Cowperthwaite said.
Cowperthwaite interviewed former SeaWorld trainers and whale
experts to paint a moving portrait of the Orlando theme park's
orca Tilikum, who killed trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010, and how
he was captured in the wild in 1983 at the age of two.
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The Hollywood Reporter described "Blackfish" as a "damning
indictment of the SeaWorld theme park franchise."
By the end of 2013, Willie Nelson, Heart and Bare Naked Ladies were
withdrawing from music events organized by SeaWorld and Joan Jett
and others were asking SeaWorld to stop blasting their music during
its "Shamu" whale shows. Attendance at SeaWorld parks dropped and
the company's shares fell by about 11 percent in the past year.
Cowperthwaite, who has visited dozens of schools in the past three
years, said perhaps children had the biggest influence in changing
minds at SeaWorld.
"I think they have been the ones to guide their parents on where to
go for vacations. They're the ones who say, 'We can't go there
anymore,'" she said.
SeaWorld has been critical of the movie over the years and made no
mention of it on Thursday. However, Seaworld Entertainment Inc <SEAS.N>
Chief Executive Officer Joel Manby acknowledged in an op-ed in the
Los Angeles Times that "a growing number of people don't think orcas
belong in human care."
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia
Osterman)
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