Cannes: While he may or may not win the Palme d'Or with his Cannes Film Festival entry, 'Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood', Quentin Tarantino managed to scoop the top prize that this year's Palm Dog Awards.
The acclaimed filmmaker surprised audience members on May 24 when he turned up to receive the trophy in person at a ceremony on the Croisette in Cannes.
Running since 2001, the Palm Dog is awarded to the best performance by a canine (live or animated) or group of canines during the festival.
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The year's prize was given to Brandy, a rottweiler who stars in Tarantino's latest film alongside Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Receiving the award, which is a leather dog collar, Tarantino said he had no idea whether he was going to receive the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, but was knew he was "in a good standing to win the Palm Dog."
"I would like to dedicate this to my wonderful actress Brandy," said the filmmaker, "my wonderful actress Brandy that brought the wonderful Palm Dog back to home. Alright! I'll take this to America and enjoy and hey - we have a nice stand-in for Brandy right over here."
Tarantino said he wasn't aware of Brandy's abilities until he started editing the movie, and realized "she's kind of a good actress."
"I actually started seeing things in her face when I was cutting it together that I didn't see on the day. So whatever little difficulties I had went away when I saw what a great performance she gave."
The director then added that winning the collar may well be the first step towards him getting a dog of his own.
Speaking after the ceremony, Palm Dog founder Toby Rose said the jury "particularly liked the performance" between Brad's character and Brandy.
"When that film was on for its first screening, my telephone, because sadly I wasn't there because it was such a hot ticket, it just went off like a Christmas tree with all the jury saying, 'This is it,'" he explained. "So in answer to your question why did that dog win the Palm Dog, to quote the American constitution, this truth is self-evident."
With inputs from APTN
