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PETA not monkeying around with 'Speed Racer'

By Jeannette Walls
MSNBC
Updated: 1:55 a.m. CT July 2, 2007

There's more than speed racing going on on the set of Emile Hirsch and
Christina Ricci's upcoming film. A chimp bit an actor on the set of
"Speed Racer" — and there are allegations that the chimp was beaten.

"We are in receipt of information that may upset you," PETA wrote to
the producer Joel Silver, the man behind such megahits as the "Matrix"
and "Die Hard" series. "We've received several troubling complaints
from people who have been on the 'Speed Racer' set and report that the
main chimpanzee 'actor' has been beaten and has bitten one of the
human actors." PETA urged Silver to stop using the live critters and
switch to animatronics.

"We appreciate the concerns of your organization," came back the
letter from movie company Warner Bros. "We also respect the vision and
choices of the filmmakers with which we work. Every option on a film
is carefully weighed, and for this production, the decision was made
to use live animals."

A spokesperson confirmed that a chimp did chomp on a young actor, but
said that the actor was treated and the animal was given a rest. She
sent along assurances from the American Humane Society that no animals
were being abused.

PETA isn't satisfied. "No humane representative is closely monitoring
those animals while off-set or during pre-production training, the
very places where abuse is most likely to occur," the organization
wrote back, "so we regret to say that the assurances you offer are
meaningless."

Jeannette Walls Delivers the Scoop Mondays through Thursdays on MSNBC.com
(c) 2007 MSNBC Interactive