Interview
Running the Race'Braveheart' writer Randall Wallace brings his faith into his work as a filmmaker, and now again as director of 'Secretariat,' opening this week.Mark Moring | posted 10/05/2010 01:47PM
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When Randall Wallace first met Mel Gibson, he was pitching a script for a movie about a 14th century Scottish hero most of us had never heard of: William Wallace. (And no, Randall isn't related to him.)
Randall Wallace
Gibson listened as Wallace became more and more animated, till he was pounding on the table and saying things like, "If you are faithful to your heart, even if they cut it out of you, you prevail" and "If you don't want to make that story, you should go somewhere else." Gibson wanted to make that story, and the rest is Braveheart history.
It was a long way from Durham, North Carolina, and Duke Divinity School, where, more than 20 years before, Wallace was studying theology and considering becoming a pastor—till his own minister urged him to consider his true calling. That ultimately turned out to be Hollywood and making movies—first as a writer and later as a director.
Wallace was nominated for an Oscar (and won the Writers Guild of America award) for his Braveheart screenplay in 1995. He went on to write scripts for The Man in the Iron Mask, Pearl Harbor, and We Were Soldiers, the last of which he also directed—and which starred Mel Gibson in the lead role.
Next up for Wallace is Secretariat, opening in theaters this week. Yes, it's the story of the great race horse who won the 1973 Triple Crown, but moreso, it's the story of owner Penny Chenery, who overcame hardship, bucked the odds—and doubts and criticisms in a male-dominated sport—and practically willed the horse to victory. It all adds up to an inspiring, family-friendly film that includes, hands-down, the best horse racing footage ever seen on the big screen (including Seabiscuit).
We recently sat down with Wallace to talk about Secretariat, how his faith informs his work, the legacy of Braveheart, and what he thinks of Mel Gibson's recent scandals.
Why did you want to tell this story?
It was exciting. It had dimensions of surprise. I didn't know how spectacular the horse Secretariat was, and I knew nothing about the woman who owned him and her courage and vision. And it was a story that everyone in the family could enjoy.
Was Penny's story the main reason for making it into a movie?
It was a big factor. Before, I hadn't known about the interplay between the horse and the woman. It is dangerously romantic to believe that that horse would not have run in the same way had his owner not been who she was, but I began to feel that that horse—in his non-cognitive mind, that well of instinct—drew from her.
Not in a weird Horse Whisperer kind of way, but some human-animal connection like we have with our pets?
Yes. I'm not big on airy-fairy, woo-woo. But I believe this woman found something in the horse that informed her decisions. I believe the horse's willingness to go out and try to do what no horse had ever done before had some direct connection to her life. These race horses have a spirit. In seminary, I learned what "spirit" means in biblical terms—it's related to the word for "breath." When "spirit" appears in the Old Testament, it's the same as when we describe a spirited horse—one full of life and fire. The evidence of this is that when a horse is beaten in a race he is much less likely to win again. His spirit has been broken.
Diane Lane as Penny Chenery, who had a special bond with the horse
Really? Statistics support that?
Yes. It's like they are running to establish the pecking order. So it's a fabulous burst of spirit when a horse overcomes a loss and that "loser" label, if he can come back and win against the same horse. That's an amazing achievement, as it is in life when we have labeled ourselves as "broken" and "flawed" and "loser." I believe that this is what Jesus did in Zacchaeus or the fishermen who became disciples.
The film opens with a passage from Job, as spoken by Penny in a voiceover. That's not necessarily a popular decision in secular moviemaking.
We wrestled with that. There was a discussion about whether this movie should be called Secretariat at all. You want the title to be compelling, intriguing, something that draws people in. I consulted some friends and said I'd love a passage like Chariots of Fire, something that feels biblical and powerful and iconic. They came up with that quote from Job, and it works really well. It's a great setup for the movie.
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