Good Director! Dog-Centered Horror Flick ‘Good Boy’ Earns PETA ‘Good Boy, Great Filmmaking’ Award

For Immediate Release:
October 10, 2025

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Los Angeles –

On screen, the canine protagonist of Good Boy faces a litany of horrors. But on set, the filmmakers—husband-and-wife duo Ben Leonberg and Kari Fischer—pulled out all the stops to ensure that their star, portrayed by their own beloved dog rather than one from a shady Hollywood supplier, stayed safe, comfortable, and happy. Now, in recognition of their exemplary efforts, PETA is presenting Good Boy with a Good Boy, Great Filmmaking Award. A PETA video celebrating the film is available here.

Good Boy follows Indy the dog as he tries to protect his guardian from a malevolent force. But as Leonberg shared with PETA, “Indy’s comfort was our number one priority throughout the entire production process. It’s why my wife and I were the only people on set during filming and we moved at Indy’s pace.” He also gave PETA the scoop on some of the movie magic used to fake Indy’s frightening predicaments:

Shots of Indy “paralyzed with fear” were really him staring down a treat or tennis ball off-camera (which, of course, he got as soon as Leonberg called “cut”).
Sounds of Indy yelping in “distress” were actually isolated and treated recordings of him joyfully playing fetch.
Action scenes were often filmed in reverse—so the tension only appeared in playback—and/or used speed ramping, camera shake, and high shutter speeds to give the shots a sharper, more visceral edge.
The “blood” was a dog-safe combination of red foods.
The lines of human dialogue weren’t actually said on set. Leonberg stood in for the actor playing Indy’s guardian, and the only words said were instructions, encouragement, and, of course, “Good boy!”

“Good Boy’s responsible filmmaking measured up to its wonderful message, which is that to companion animals, their human family is everything, and it’s our duty to pay attention to them,” says PETA’s Director of Animals in Film and Television, Lauren Thomasson. “PETA is celebrating this outstanding film for showing Hollywood how to tell animal stories in a compassionate and ethical way.”

Dogs provided by Hollywood animal suppliers are typically kept in barren warehouse-like conditions and even deprived of food during training. PETA’s investigation of Atlanta Film Animals revealed that a 13-year-old dog named Frankie was kept in an unheated garage in near-freezing temperatures despite being blind and deaf and suffering from heart failure. Other dogs were left outside in cold, barren kennels. By featuring their own dogs, filmmakers can ensure that their canine stars are treated with respect and care on and off set.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.