Congratulations to Brandy, the pit bull in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” who just won the Palm Dog Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Although she wasn’t on hand to receive the award herself, director Quentin Tarantino accepted the prize on her behalf. And he was joined for a photo-op with a “stand-in,” a large Cane Corso named Haru who happened to be in attendance.
Tarantino said, “I have to say I am so honored to have this. I’ve told everybody, I have no idea if we’re going to win the Palme d’Or.. But I did feel that I was in good standing to win the Palm Dog. So I want to dedicate this to my wonderful actress Brandy. She has brought the Palm Dog home to America.”
However, Brandy, who plays stuntman Cliff Burton (Brad Pitt)’s dog in the film, won’t be getting the coveted red leather collar. “I’m not going to give this to her — it’ll go on my mantelpiece,” the director said.
According to IndieWire, Brandy has “a very juicy role in the final act” of the film, which is set in 1969 Hollywood.
Journalist Toby Rose, who founded the awards in 2001, told Deadline, “Brandy delivered an amazing performance, appreciated by Tarantino, who told me he totally admired Brandy’s commitment to the role.”
Other prizes were awarded to the canine performers in “Little Joe” and “Aasha and the Street Dogs” while the Palm Dogmanitarian prize went to Google for their support of dogs in the workplace. The Underdog award went to “The Unadoptable.”
Previous Palm Dog winners include the chihuahua from Italian drama “Dogman,” the bulldog from “Paterson,” and the poodle from “The Meyerowitz Stories.”
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