The Parrot That Stopped Filming on The Mosquito Bowl

A parrot flew into a 100-foot tree the moment the cameras started rolling, and it held up shooting on The Mosquito Bowl for a few hours. Director Peter Berg described the episode to Variety on 31 October 2026, and he called the bird the hardest part of the shoot.

The film is based on Buzz Bissinger's book and tells the true story of four college football stars who were called up to serve in the Marines during the Second World War. It is set in the Pacific Theatre, the part of the war fought across the Pacific Ocean, and it was shot on location in Queensland, Australia. Nicholas Galitzine plays John McLaughry, Bill Skarsgård plays Bob Bauman, Tom Francis plays Dave Schreiner, and Ray Nicholson plays Tony Butkovich. Brent Comer is also in the cast.

The parrot came from the book. In Bissinger's account, Tony sends his parents photos of a bird perched on his shoulder. Berg said a jungle scene with Tony and an island parrot had him stumped, so he handed the search to producer Alex Gayner and kept the production moving. Berg learned the day before the scene that Gayner and the team had found a bird. It arrived with four handlers.

Then came the take. Berg said the parrot took off into the jungle as soon as he called action. The crew searched until the bird was found and coaxed back down, and filming stopped for a few hours while they did.

Animals on a film set work to their own timetable, not the schedule on the call sheet. Crews plan around that, but they cannot fully control it. A single bird can cost a day's light, a few hours of planned work, and a lot of patience.

The film is due on Netflix on 25 November. Variety has run a longer piece on the parrot under the headline "'The Mosquito Bowl': How a Parrot Proved to Be Peter Berg's Biggest Challenge."