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‘John Wick’ Producers Recall Keanu Reeves “Stood Up” For Puppy Death Scene


Although investors warned them the death would "alienate the audience," 'John Wick' went on to spawn three sequels, a TV spin-off and more to come.

“‘It’s Old Yeller, you can’t do this!’ ‘No one will want to see this on screen; you’re going to alienate the audience.’ And I’m like, ‘We’re going to execute people at close range; killing the dog is one thing, but what about the brutal massacre of all these human beings? But when thugs still his prized car and kill the puppy his late wife gave him, Wick sets out on a bloody quest for vengeance, which pits him against the criminal enterprise to which he once belonged. We were going to use a baby lens; John gets hit hard in the head, so it’s going to be dream-like; the dog death happens off-camera, and all you are going to see in the aftermath is this trail of the blood making it look like the puppy tried to crawl to him.

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