"KAW" (2007)

Rod Taylor will play the town doctor in this TV horror movie that is scheduled to air on the Sci Fi Channel April 7, 2007 (at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.) and April 12 (at 9 p.m.). The show originally had been scheduled to premiere in October of 2006.

An official KAW Web site was launched in early December 2006, indicating that release of the TV movie might be closer..

Rod filmed his role in November-December of 2005. A Nov. 25, 2005, column in the Toronto Sun noted that the made-for-TV fright flick was shooting in the Hamilton, Ontario-area town of Westover. Production was scheduled to wrap up Dec. 9.

"KAW" also includes Sean Patrick Flanery and a cast of Canadians. It is being directed by Sheldon Wilson, a well-regarded horror-movie-maker whose most recent effort was "Shallow Ground."

The Toronto Sun column describes the premise of "KAW":

"The plot involves an outbreak of mad cow disease on a Mennonite farm, with the virus somehow being transmitted to ravens who eat the carcasses. The crazed birds then descend on a small American town, where a heroic sheriff (Flanery), the local doctor (Taylor) and assorted other citizens must band together to survive."

In addition, the Sun notes: 

"The producers say 'Kaw' isn't meant to be a sequel to 'The Birds,' but getting Taylor on board wasn't just a coincidence. The filmmakers sought him out, and were delighted to discover he was happy to do the film."

Actually, he wasn't all that thrilled at first with the idea of working with birds again. Rod told Playback Magazine, "When they called and asked me, I told them to fuck off," Taylor says, laughing. "The birds in the original could be so unpleasant. Now you don't have to deal with them so directly."

In an article for

Fangoria magazine, Rod elaborated:

"I thought the script was fun. But special effects have changed now. Much of it is done by computer, whereas when we did 'The Birds,' there were thousands of real birds used on the set.... They really only have about a dozen real birds on the set of 'KAW.' "

Another difference between "KAW" and "The Birds" is that  Alfred Hitchcock’s classic never really gives a specific reason to explain the birds’ behavior. Furthermore, "KAW" producer Gordon Yang said, "This script ties into a lot of popular anxiety around natural disasters and things like the avian flu."

 

Preview photo of Rod in "Kaw," 
from Fangoria  magazine.

 
LINKS
Internet Movie Database: Full cast and credits

Official KAW site
with trailer, photos, etc.

Birdman of the movies: Toronto Sun column Nov. 25, 2005.

Rod Taylor gets the birds again in KAW: Fangoria, Nov. 23, 2005.

Kaw ... The last sound you'll ever hear: HorrorChannel.com.

Revenge of the psychotic birds: Playback Magazine, Dec. 5, 2005

"The Birds"

www.rodtaylorsite.com