Move over Chris Hemsworth and Co, the NSW Northern Rivers has some new movie stars in its midst.
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Introducing Wendy the magpie and her sidekick Gerry, two local birds that have a starring role in the new Naomi Watts film, Penguin Bloom.
Wendy and Gerry, who live in Ballina with twin sisters Sophie and Bridget Thomson - aka The Wildlife Twins - play Penguin, a magpie that helped change the life of Sydney mum Sam Bloom after she become a paraplegic.
Based on the best-selling book of the same name, the film tells the true story of Sam's recovery after a shocking, near fatal accident in Thailand in 2013. With her world turned upside down, she slipped into depression and hopelessness until her son Noah found a frail, injured magpie chick.
Hand rearing the little bird (which the family named Penguin for her black and white plumage) provided a welcome distraction for the Bloom family, and eventually made a profound difference to Sam's life, teaching her how to live again.
Often maligned because of their tendency to swoop, Penguin Bloom depicts magpies in a different light. Penguin is affectionate, intelligent and playful. Wildlife educator Bridget says this is a more accurate representation of what the birds are really like.
"A lot of people just assume all magpies swoop, when actually only 8-10 percent of magpies swoop and 99 percent of those magpies are males.
"They are protective of their babies - but what animal isn't?
"That's not what they're all about."
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She says magpies are 'super entertaining' and intelligent birds that can remember up to 60 individual faces.
"That's the other thing - if you treat a magpie well and develop even a small relationship with one, they will spread that throughout the mob and then you won't be swooped.
"But if you go the other way - if you maybe do something naughty to a magpie - he'll remember you."
Bridget says like Penguin, both Wendy and Gerry were hand-raised, which made them a perfect fit for the movie- although Wendy did require some help from the make-up department.
"Many people don't realise but you can get nine different sub-species of Australian magpies.
"Wendy is a white back and Gerry is a black back, so Wendy actually had to get charcoaled on her back to emulate a black back, because that's what Penguin was."
The magpies have different personalities, too, according to Bridget: "Wendy is quite a stoic, still kind of animal. She'd sit on Naomi's shoulder looking very majestic, and she's the one getting those still shots. Gerry on the other hand, our black back, he's playful and cheeky - he was really popular among the crew."
The magpie duo are not the only creatures the Wildlife Twins have helped to hit the big screen in recent times. Their snakes scored parts in the series Nine Perfect Strangers and feature film Bosch and Rockit, filmed in the region last year; and their diamond python, bearded dragon, and two dogs appear in the film clip for Byron Bay band Skeggs' latest single, Fantasising, filmed at the Eltham Pub.
"I've got all these animals around me that have been in many movies.
"And you know what? The best thing about these guys is that their ego just stays at the same level," Bridget says.
