Interview: Randall Wallace of "Secretariat"

Randall Wallace, of “Braveheart” and “We Were Soldiers,” didn’t come to a love of horseracing until later in life. “I didn’t experience horse racing until I went to the Kentucky derby the year Barbaro won,” he told SixSeeds when we sat down in Washington, DC, “It was a great experience for me. Not just to watch the race but to see everybody stand up and sing ‘My Old Kentucky Home.’ I found it moving to see a hundred thousand people celebrating something that was unique to them and good and pure.”

That scene made it into his new film, “Secretariat,” opening today.  The story follows the unlikely rise of a horse named Secretariat in 1973, the first horse in 25 years to win the Triple Crown, a feat that has not been repeated since. His victories are even more unlikely, considering his emergence from a little known stable, his trainer a disgraced retiree (John Malkovich), and his owner the only female owner on the circuit. Diane Lane plays Penny Chenery, a housewife who found her passion for the winners circle after she inherited the long legged colt from her father.

“The soul of this story is why Penny is doing what she did,” Wallace said, “She was trying to find herself. She didn’t know for sure what her calling really was, where her true self lay. She wanted to be the best wife and mother she could possibly be. She wanted to be the best daughter she could possibly be. But when her mother died and the responsibilities began to be thrust upon her, there was a task in front of her. What her hand found to do, she did. As she began to do it, people resisted her and told her she should do it their way and not the way that felt right to her, the more her true spirit rose up. She discovered that defining part of herself.”

In a time when only a few women worked and none owned race horses, Penny sees something magical in the colt she called “Red,” something worth fighting for. This belief, rather than feminist philosophy, motivates her to enter a world of men and compete with them. She risks her finances, risks damaging relationships within her family, and risks public ridicule to bring her horse to the track. She also does something that was never done before. To save the farm, she convinces other owners to invest in Secretariat, with no guarantee of success.

“’Belief’ is a stronger word than ‘know,’” Wallace said, “Penny could not know that Secretariat was going to succeed. She could not know that she wasn’t going to lose her own money and that of everyone who had trusted her. She could not know that the decisions in training were going to be successful. She believed it. And the acting on the belief is what matters.”

Wallace is known for powerful stories of valor, told without cynicism that so often creeps into Hollywood’s offerings. “Secretariat” is no different. He says it’s all part of respecting your audience.

“No matter what our field, we have the constant danger of pride and of having contempt for other people. In Hollywood all the time, you can see that the filmmaker thought their audience was stupid, or they thought their audience was base. ‘Unless we have this scene, they won’t like it. They’ll walk out.’ It’s a tiny difference, but an enormous difference, in thinking ‘What’s the best way to tell this story?’ That’s different than thinking ‘I don’t really trust the audience I’m talking to.’ I believe the audience is looking for those moments that make their heart sing. I think they want to stand up and go ‘Yeah!’”

Unlike “Braveheart,” “Secretariat” works for the entire family. As a tale of passion and chasing outrageous dreams, it works very well. It will engage even the most horse-addled little girl as well as her sports-focused brother and offers enough insight for adults to be interested as well.

However, Wallace does see a common thread in his films, whether it’s a violent story of fighting for freedom or a family film about a winning horse. “With a story like ‘Braveheart’ and ‘Secretariat,’ I’m looking for the moment when the characters find what it is that matters to them, ultimately what they hold as sacred, where the line gets drawn. And that’s exciting and dramatic.”

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