Ah, Spring. That time of year for showers and flowers.
And final projects, final papers and the end of school!
And the Black Stallion reading program is coming to a classroom near you!
The program has tightened up over the last few years but, like NASA – lighter, cheaper and faster!
We keep moving along.
Here’s an article from out in Oklahoma where the first grade is having a wonderful time with Little Black, a Pony.
Here’s an interview by my friend Elizabeth McCall at the Turner Classic Movie festival this summer. A wonderful screening of the Black Stallion film at the landmark Egyptian theater in Hollywood.
The movie was introduced by gifted screenwriter and equestrian wonder woman Jeanne Rosenberg and the renowned TCM film critic and historian writer Leonard Maltin.
Take a listen and drift away … back to riding alone on the beach!!
Never doubt the impact of a college course on life. Los Angeles screenwriter Jeanne Rosenberg can vouch for it. “I had written a script analysis of my favorite childhood book, The Black Stallion, when I was in film school,” says Rosenberg about the door that opened her screenwriting career. “After I graduated, I found out that they were making it into a movie and Carroll Ballard was directing it. I wrote him a letter. I had done a script analysis. He called and said, ‘I really like what you wrote. We have to get together.’ Time passed, we didn’t get together. I called again. ‘Oh, they’re in Canada in pre-production.’ I called him again. He apologized for not getting back to me.”
Crazy about horses from her earliest girlhood memories in Illinois, Rosenberg grabbed the reins of her own destiny. “I said, ‘Oh, I’m coming your way. Do you mind? Maybe I’ll just stop in.’ I was flying from Los Angeles to the Midwest and they were in Toronto.” She arrived in the midst of chaos. “People were tearing their hair out because Carroll wouldn’t commit to anything,” she recalls. “We were supposed to meet for coffee one morning. He was late. I was making some notes on a napkin. He showed up, grabbed the napkin out of my hand and kept my notes. I went home and got another call. ‘Carroll would like you to come back. We need help on the script.”
Rosenberg’s initiative paid off. “It was total chaos when I arrived in the pre-production phase. Melissa Mathison [who later wrote “ET”] got off another plane and we met and became this writing team as we were about to shoot,” she describes. “Carroll hadn’t committed to a screenplay! All the actors were there. Everyone was. The art department didn’t know where to go to dress the set. They didn’t even know the locations. Do we need a farm house? Do we need a race track? What do we need? Carroll liked to keep everything open and see what developed. To have an entire film crew that had to be told [what to do] at every moment and to get that information from a guy who doesn’t like to make decisions is tough,” Rosenberg laughs. “He was driving everyone crazy, of course.”
A graduate of USC Film School [now USC School of Cinematic Arts], Rosenberg planned on a documentary film career. “I remember being forced to take a writing class and thinking, ‘This is ridiculous. There’s no way I’m writing.’ And, here I am,” adds the real-life horsewoman and reining competitor, whose scores of film credits include family favorites like “White Fang,” “Bambi II,” and “The Young Black Stallion.”
The date “The Black Stallion” started shooting in Toronto is etched on Rosenberg’s mind. It was 7/7/77. “We shot the second part of the movie first,” she notes. Meanwhile, preparations were underway to move the crew overseas to film the first half of the movie. “Carroll kept refusing to let us write the island sequence,” says Rosenberg. “Of course, we did it anyway. He has an amazing eye and is quite a storyteller. But he was really more used to being a one-man band, making all of the decisions on the fly.”
Now the mother of two grown children, Rosenberg writes from an office with a view of her American Quarter Horses. She revisited the production that launched her career this summer, when film critic Stephen Farber held a 35th anniversary screening of “The Black Stallion” in Los Angeles.
From a personal standpoint, Rosenberg shares that “The Black Stallion’s” magic remains. “It was fun to see again,” she says. If any scenes can be favorites, these made Rosenberg’s list: “The shipwreck sequence is amazing and scary. The whole island scene was everyone’s favorite. When the boy wakes up on the beach and is staring straight at a cobra ready to strike, and The Black comes and saves him—that’s a wonderful scene. Of course, the boy climbing on The Black for the first time is brilliant. But it all goes back to Walter Farley’s novel,” adds Rosenberg. “He wrote such a wonderful, descriptive story.”
After 25 years and thousands of shows with millions of cheering fans Arabian Nights is closing it’s doors at the end of the year. We all have great memories and it’s a sad day.
A heartbreak for everyone but the times have changed and been tough on so many horses – as you all probably know too well. See the show one last time before it’s too late.
Here’s the news’;
KISSIMMEE, Fla. —Arabian Nights dinner attraction in Kissimmee is closing its doors Jan. 1, owner Mark Miller announced Friday.
After 25 years and more than 10,000 performances for more than 10 million guests, Miller says the local attraction can no longer provide a product cheap enough for consumers.
Despite the closing, Miller says staff will remain dedicated to providing the best show possible for its last scheduled shows.
“Our mission now is to present the best possible product for the rest of the year so that the people who have loved us over the years will be able to come back and experience the magic of our show one last time,” Miller said. “Then we will be concentrating on how to assist our incredible staff in handling this transition.”
Miller praised his staff, saying, “There is no question that the skill, dedication, work ethic and people skills of our employees have enabled [us] to be the best there is. Anyone looking for an incredible employee after the first of the year should call our human resource department immediately.”
While the staff continues to perform its annual Christmas show, ending Dec. 31, Miller is offering half-price admission to central Florida residents.
There were some GREAT Horse Tales Literacy Project events this month. Hope you had a chance to be part of the fun. And for all the hard work from our incredible volunteers a BIG THANK YOU!! Check Out all the photos; HERE – http://horsetalesliteracy.phanfare.com/2013/
From Old town Tucson to the Wildwoods of Florida with all the cowboys and the mounted police, too! We have a fine time.
If you ever have a day, or even a minute, and want to join in — please send us an email : Horse Tales Literacy Project
