What's in Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson's movie that scares wolves?

The US Department of Agriculture has found an unusual way to keep wolves away from cattle.

According to a report, the officials are using a blasting audio from Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach’s 2019 Oscar-nominated drama starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the film’s most famous scene, a raw, rage-filled argument between the divorcing couple, has been added to a playlist used in “wolf hazing” operations. 

Drones equipped with thermal cameras locate wolves near livestock at night, then play the shouting match through loudspeakers, alongside fireworks, gunshots, and AC/DC’s Thunderstruck.

“The idea is to make wolves believe humans are bad,” said a USDA district supervisor in Oregon. The strategy is intended as a non-lethal deterrent, since gray wolves remain on the federal endangered species list.

The approach appears to be working. 

After 11 cows were killed in 20 days in southern Oregon’s Klamath Basin, drones with the sound arsenal were deployed. Over the next 85 days, only two cattle deaths were reported.

Critics have long praised Marriage Story’s emotional intensity. Now, its award-winning performances are proving just as effective at unsettling wolves as they are at moving human audiences.