Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver’s Argument in Marriage Story Being Used by USDA to Scare Off Wolves and Save Cattle

Now that’s scary. According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, the sounds of Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver screaming at each other in Noah Baumbach’s 2019 film, Marriage Story, are being used by the United States Department of Agriculture to frighten off wolves from killing cattle on farms throughout America.

The fight between Johansson’s Nicole Barber and Driver’s Charlie Barber is one of the recordings broadcast through loudspeakers on “drone cowhands” alongside other sounds like fireworks and gunshots. These quadcopters also use thermal cameras to detect “any wolf lurking in the darkness and bathe it in a spotlight,” as described in the report.

“I need wolves to respond and know that, hey, humans are bad,” a USDA district supervisor in Oregon explained.

The practice, known as “wolf hazing,” also employs the sounds of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” to stave off wolves from attacking vulnerable livestock.

It seems to be working; in an area of southern Oregon where 11 cows were killed by wolves over 20 days, only two were killed over 85 days after “wolf hazing” drones were employed.

This is not the first time the US has used music and sound as a form of torture. In 1989, the US Army blasted aggressive music from the likes of Van Halen and The Clash to help drive General Manuel Noriega from a makeshift bunker in the Vatican’s embassy in Panama City, after President Bush invaded Panama. The practice continues to be part of the military’s psy ops operations.

Marriage Story earned six Oscar nods, including Johansson and Driver receiving Best Actress and Best Actor nominations, respectively, for their frighteningly realistic performances.