What a dashing dog!
Uggie, the canine costar of The Artist, looked his absolute best ascending the podium to accept the Best Picture Oscar alongside director Michel Hazanavicius, stars Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo and other cast and crewmembers.
For his big moment, Uggie wore a custom-made Chopard bowtie of 18 carat gold and satin. Designed by Chopard's Co-President and Artistic Director Caroline Scheufele, the dog-boned shaped charm featured Uggie's name; now that Uggie's big night is over, the piece will be auctioned off with proceeds going to The Amanda Foundation, which helps homeless animals.
Sadly, the 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier (who is the constant companion of Dujardin's character, George Valentin, in The Artist) is retiring from film due to a mysterious neurological disorder, one he suffered through while shooting the film.
"It comes and goes," trainer Omar Von Muller told the Daily Mail recently. "It is a shame this has happened when he is getting the biggest success of his career, but we feel the best thing to do is to retire him after the Oscars."
Director Michel Hazanavicius added to Reuters that his flick would "never have been the same movie without the dog."
Sarah Clifford helped train Uggie for the film and marveled about his dramatic skills. "There was a take where Uggie actually reached out and tried to pull the gun out of his (Jean's) hand with his mouth. He put his mouth on Jean's hand and started pulling his hand. We were so stunned. He wasn't told to do that."
