Brooke Shields has had a long and successful modeling career. and film/television actress and continues to be part of the fabric of pop culture. One of her most iconic films came early in her career, as Emmeline in Randal Kleiser’s film. The Blue Lagoon. The 1980 adult drama was a huge success, but it was made under a number of wild conditions. And Shields recently recalled the nudity, pneumonia, and rat infestation that came out during filming.
The Blue Lagoon is set in the Victorian era and follows two young men (Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins) who are shipwrecked on a remote island. Eventually they go through puberty and fall in love, while wearing next to nothing. In a recent episode from his podcast Now that? with flow shields (opens in a new tab), she and her co-star met and swapped war stories about their crazy experience on set. Atkins shared a recent conversation she had about how the film wasn’t going to be made now, and Shields responded with her:
These things and what we experience in this film, he’s right. Never again will a film be made in this light, never. I mean, they wouldn’t be allowed
So what exactly happened during blue Lagoonphotography? To start with, the two young actors were almost naked even during the shoot Brooke Shields who was only 14 at the time. That alone is enough to make you think, but she and Atkins have had many remarkable stories from their time working together decades ago.
How they appeared together in Now that?Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins got to dive into their experience in blue Lagoonand how much the film continues to mean to generations of fans. He referenced animals injured during production, thanks to scenes like the one where he had to fish with a spear. It was then that Shields began to reveal why filming where they did it was so difficult and even dangerous. As she said
I take a child, I put him in water… The bugs were crazy, the wild crabs were crazy, the wild horses were crazy. And then the rat infestation is another. And what people don’t know is that Blue Lagoon was on an island that was on a coral reef. So if I had some sort of cut this would be all we had since we were barefoot and wore little strips of clothing where my hair was pinned to my body to cover my breasts… If I had some sort of cut and you were in the water, pieces of coral got stuck in the cut. And it would become completely infected and ulcerated.
Oh. Of course, the props were no joke during filming. The Blue Lagoon. It makes it all the more impressive that Brooke Shields managed to secure him and film the project at such a young age. But things certainly looked dicey for the cast and crew during the film’s shoot in Fiji.
As if infected rats, bugs and cuts weren’t enough, Brooke Shields has revealed that she contracted pneumonia while she was blue Lagoonprincipal photography by . In fact, it happened while filming the birth scene, with the cast and crew seemingly in awe of her “performance” as she struggled to breathe. She explained:
You remember I caught pneumonia at the delivery scene. When I should have the baby I start uncontrollably and can’t breathe and have a coughing fit. Everyone was like ‘What a great choice of actor!’ I’m like ‘I can’t breathe’.
Time blue Lagoon could have won Brooke Shields a notorious price run , there’s no denying that she really went through it to bring her character to life. And the things he was asked to do at age 14 probably wouldn’t be asked of him by any other child actor today. Luckily, he seems to have the perspective and sense of humor to bring this iconic film to life.
The Blue Lagoon is available to rent from a variety of streaming sources. Brooke Shields has two upcoming film projects and recently appeared in the Christmas romantic comedy Christmas harmony. Be sure to check the Movie release dates 2023 to plan New Year’s theater outings.
Source: Cinemablend
