Palm Dog Award at Cannes: Brandy the pitbull wins for best performance by a canine in a film

Quentin Tarantino accepted on the dog's behalf for his performance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 
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Lauren Keary25 May 2019

Step aside Air Bud, Brandy the pitbull is now the most famous dog in Hollywood. Brandy took home the Palm Dog award at Cannes for best performance by a canine in a film.

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Brandy starred alongside Brad Pitt in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which follows the story of a has-been actor and his stunt double as Hollywood changes. The film’s famous pup was on-screen quite a bit but played a huge role in one scene, warranting his new title of Palm Dog.

Brandy couldn’t make it out to Cannes, but Tarantino was there on his behalf to accept his collar award. “I want to thank the jury from the bottom of my black heart,” the filmmaker said. “At least I don’t go home empty-handed.”

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He went on to praise Brandy’s acting skills. “When I was editing the movie I realized, she’s a great actress. I actually started seeing things in her face when I was cutting it together that I didn’t see on the day, so whatever little difficulties we had on set just really melted away when I saw what a great performance she gave.”

It’s safe to say Brandy didn’t have a whole lot of competition for the award this year. “As ever, dogs do their best, but maybe weren’t offered as many key spotlight positions as last year,” Palm Dog founder Toby Rose said regarding the Palm Dog contenders.

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After winning the prize, Tarantino cracked a joke about Rose’s comment. “They were like, ‘Oh, not so many frontrunners for the Palm Dog this year, they’re kinda weak on the dog selection,’ and I’m like, ‘Ha ha ha, little do they know what’s coming up!’”

Brandy may have been the star of Cannes, but let’s not forget the pups in her shadow. Bello from the sci-fi horror film Little Joe and the canine cast of Aasha and the Street Dogs also received honors. With all these shaggy stars, it really is a dog’s world, and we’re just living in it.

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