Audio from the film Marriage Story, featuring arguments between Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, is being used in the US to scare wolves away from livestock. The Wall Street Journal reports that the emotionally charged scenes are considered so upsetting that they are deployed via drones to deter wolf attacks on cattle.
A US Department of Agriculture district supervisor in Oregon explained the strategy, saying, 'I need the wolves to respond and know that, hey, humans are bad.' The drones are equipped with thermal cameras to spot wolves, then blast audio from the film along with fireworks, gunshots, and AC/DC's Thunderstruck.
The practice, known as 'wolf hazing', is used instead of culling because grey wolves are on the federal endangered species list. In the Klamath Basin of southern Oregon, where 11 cows were killed by wolves in 20 days, drones were deployed. Over the next 85 days, only two cows were killed while drones were on patrol.
Marriage Story, directed by Noah Baumbach, received six Oscar nominations and won one award. The film's central argument scene was praised by critics, including the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw, who called it a 'central rage-filled confrontation'.
