Jack Black has revealed he was tricked by an iconic Australian prank while filming the reboot of the horror movie Anaconda on the Gold Coast. The 56-year-old actor told News Corp that his driver, Phil, warned him to beware of 'drop bears'—mythical creatures said to resemble koalas but that drop from trees and attack.
Black took the warning seriously, asking staff at his hotel on Tamborine Mountain about the danger. 'There was a lady from the hotel and I was like: “So, do we have to be careful of drop bears? Because there’s some high eucalyptus trees?”' he recounted. The hotel worker replied: 'There’s no such thing as drop bears, love, someone was pulling your leg.'
The next day, Black confronted the driver. 'I saw Phil the next day and said: “There’s no such thing as drop bears” and he laughed his a**e off,' Black said. He admitted he now wants to play the same trick on an unsuspecting tourist, adding: 'I’m a sucker for a drop bear and I have yet to get someone back. I want to pay it forward.'
The drop bear is a well-known Australian folklore creature, often used to prank visitors. Black is in Australia filming a reboot of the 1997 film Anaconda, which originally starred Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. The new version, co-starring Paul Rudd, Thandiwe Newton, and Steve Zahn, follows a group of friends remaking their favourite childhood movie.
