Category: Media

“Animal Instinct” – Spike Jonze

WILD THING: Spike Jonze, with a friend from Where the Wild Things Are, wonders if anyone could make a a film like The Black Stallion anymore.

Carroll Ballard’s The Black Stallion is a legendary piece of visual filmmaking. Spike Jonze studied it for Where the Wild Things Are, and explains how Ballard effortlessly tells a rousing story with few words.

By Rob Feld

He’s a rare filmmaker with such a delicate touch,” says Spike Jonze, settling in to watch Carroll Ballard’s The Black Stallion. “He’s like Terrence Malick in a way: very patient and confident.”

Jonze has chosen to screen the film about a boy and the horse he loves because of the influence it had on his last movie, Where the Wild Things Are. Maurice Sendak, who wrote the children’s book it was based on, had suggested he see it again. “I remember loving this movie as a kid,” says Jonze. “When I re-watched it, I was astounded by the beauty of the relationship. The first 45 minutes, with almost no dialogue, is always what gets me. It captures the point of view of a boy observing the world.”

Ballard’s treatment of Walter Farley’s novel follows Alec Ramsey (Kelly Reno), who saves, and in turn is saved by, a powerful black stallion. The boy is traveling with his father (Hoyt Axton) on an ocean liner, and Ballard introduces the boat as a wonderland inhabited by strange characters. “One of the great things about the film was the casting, the specialness of the boy Ballard found, and the way he worked with him,” says Jonze. “The boy had never acted before, but the movie wouldn’t have worked if they didn’t have this kid who’s face you could hold on in silence for long scenes, and understand what he’s feeling.”

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Roy Rogers Museum Closed; Memorabilia Sold

A time in history, never to be seen again, but what a ride it was.

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU!
THOSE WERE THE DAYS, MY FRIENDS!

The Roy Rogers Museum has closed its doors forever.  Here is a partial listing of some of the items that were sold at auction:

Roy's 1964 Bonneville
Roy's 1964 Bonneville sold for $254,500; it was estimated to sell between 100 and 150 thousand dollars.
  • His script book from the January 14,1953, episode of This Is Your Life sold for $10,000 (est. $800-$1,000).
  • A collection of signed baseballs (Pete Rose, Duke Snyder and other greats) sold for $3,750. Read more

Cowboys & Indians

kelly cass portweb

There’s a nice article in Cowboys and Indians Magazine next month (July edition) … “Favorite Famous Horses”.
Guess who is one of the featured ponies?
You got it “The Black Stallion”!!

Here’s an excerpt;

7 Special Horses
by ELIZABETH KAYE McCALL

They’ve galloped into hearts and minds, from films and fields and pages of books. Whether born of fiction or real-life legends, some horses are so distinctive they become part of the human story. In Part 1 of C&I’s Famous Horses series, we present seven who have the timeless quality of all great equines: the power to make life better.

THE BLACK STALLION

The budget on The Black Stallion wouldn’t even pay for most TV commercials these days,” says Tim Farley, son of the late author Walter Farley, whose vision of a wild black horse, a boy, and their amazing journey has touched millions around the globe for nearly 70 years. Partially penned on a kitchen table when the author was just 16, the story grew into 30 novels in 22 countries, three motion pictures, the Arabian Nights theatrical dinner attraction in Orlando, Florida (where the official Walter Farley’s Black Stallion performs live nightly), and a vibrant program from the Black Stallion Literacy Foundation that combines reading books and actual horse visits. The literacy project has also translated Farley’s once out-of-print Little Black, A Pony into Navajo.

As for the Black Stallion’s life-altering influence, consider the story of Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, president of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the international horse sport organization overseeing the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, and daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan. Sharing some personal insights with the local Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper about the impact of Walter Farley’s Black Stallion books on her early life, the princess said that as a sleepless child following her mother’s death, the novels were a source of consolation. It was Walter Farley’s books, she said, that led her to the horse country of the United States. www.theblackstallion.com.

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