That’s the problem with trying to turn Secretariat into a movie; there just ISN’T a movie-type story there.
Standard Hollywood fare works by presenting the audience with a protagonist they can root for. In order to introduce dramatic tension, the protagonist needs to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles; in the better movies those obstacles are both external and internal. So if you’re going to make a SPORTS story, you need the protagonist(s) to be 1. Underdogs, and 2. Beset by some sort of personal or team problem. Hence, the hockey movie “Miracle” worked, because the team was 1. A huge, huge underdog, and 2. for obvious reasons, lacked confidence in their own ability. They had to overcome both to win.
Secretariat was a ridiculously gigantic horse than ran really fast. He won the Triple Crown, as well as other races, because he was a ridiculously fast horse. There’s not really much story there; it would be like making a movie about the 1998 Yankees, or a movie about Mike Tyson’s most lopsided victory. You HAVE to introduce villains and make a lot out of Diane Lane’s character because otherwise what you have is s story where you’re saying “The fastest horse ran the fastest.” Whoop-dee-do.
One of the equestrian forums said that the problem with this movie is Disney is trying to turn a Goliath into a David.
Secretariat was an absolute phenomenon, a freakish talent. He didn’t run because he had “heart”–as outlined in Steven Crist’s review, Secretariat didn’t perform when he didn’t feel well (abcessed tooth, fever) and certainly didn’t stare horses down. (There are horses who do that, but he was not one of them.) He won simply because he was a monster.
Honestly, a movie taking that angle would have been more interesting.
From what I gather, Sham was David, and Secretariat was Goliath. And Goliath done whupped David’s ass, over and over. Not too Disney.
(Sham was a nice horse, both athletically and personality-wise. He is reputed to have been very gentle, even as a working stallion at stud.)
The scene where Penny is arguing about money with her husband and her brother, where they are arguing with her to do the sensible thing and just cut their losses and sell when they have a valuable property, and she decides to take a chance because she knows Red has the stuff, I kept thinking, yeah, but what about the people who take a tremendous risk and then lose everything? Those people don’t get movies made about their lives. This is another example of how a movie made about real events is hampered by the fact that you know what’s going to happen: even if you never heard of Secretariat, you know you wouldn’t be watching a movie about him unless Penny’s decision turned out to be the right one. But that’s the worst thing I can say about this movie.
And jockeys must be a particular breed of crazy.
Oh, and I loved that brown, 1970s dining room! Yes, kids, people really used to live like in houses like that. But I thought the daughter’s “radicalism” was just a harmless phase, nothing to get excited about.
And if they hadn’t addressed the sexism/women’s lib stuff at least a little, you would have thought they missed the boat. I think they barely mentioned it, really. I thought it was more about Penny doing right by her father’s memory to not just sell everything and walk away. But I was wincing at the stereotypically ugly Italian goombah portrayal of Sham’s trainer? owner? Maybe the guy really was like that? But, ew.
And that Salon article is just bizarre. Disney wants to make movies for Tea Partiers?
Yes. Yes, they are. Unlike other athletes who are, “Oh. I have pulled hamstring. I must sit out the next couple games.” with jockeys it’s more like “Oh. I have three ribs stoved in and a crushed pelvis.” Hell, one jockey didn’t let a little thing like being declared dead prevent him from winning the top rider award at Bay Meadows one year. As they showed in the denoument Ron Turcotte, Secretariat’s rider, is in a wheelchair thanks to a track accident.
Right. There really was No. Drama. Even the home-life stuff only edged towards drama - a bit of stress with the husband wanting his wife to come back home, and one of those cliche scenes in which the busy parent misses her kid’s school play.
That quote says it all right there…Disney did such a hack job on Sham’s trainer that people can’t even identify the correct ethnicity of Frank “Panco” Martin.
In order to boost the “drama” of the story, Disney needed an evil stereoptype; a non-white antagonist to pit against the heroic white woman…so they decided that Sham’s hispanic (Cuban) trainer would be the perfect candidate.
Only one problem - in reality, Sham’s trainer wasn’t the kind of man anyone could honestly consider a villian. Sure, he boasted before the Derby and Preakness that he would beat “Big Red” but anyone who knows the sports world, knows that there is a long tradition in American sports, of coaches and players predicting victory over their opponents - even more so, when everyone else is predicting your imminent defeat at the hands of a supposed “undefeatable” adversary.
Attempting to demonstrate true confidence and belief in your “team” has never been considered a fault even if you are ultimately defeated - Secretariat’s trainer and owner displayed every bit as much confidence in the victory of their animal.
The boasting alone wasn’t enough for Disney, however, to turn Frank Martin into the villian they were looking for so they just made everything else up, no problem.
The press conference before the Preakness, for example, is a complete fabrication.
Frank Martin is the kind of old-school guy who would (and at times has) punched-out anyone who dared disrespect a woman in his presence. A stout, bear of a man, who stands only around 5’10 but at over 200 pounds, had extremely “heavy hands” in his youth - according to all the old-timers around the racetrack, who have constantly pelted me with stories about his exploits. From all knowledgeable accounts, he was the man who stood up for anyone who was being bullied and couldn’t defend themselves.
His presence always commanded respect but he always showed equal respect for those around him. So to see the scenes where he rudely interrupts Mrs. Chenery in the middle of a press conference and makes sexist, boorish comments throughout his screen appearances, truly sickened me. That is not even remotely an accurate picture of this man; a man who has helped countless of “down-on their-luck” “backstretch” (the stable areas of a racetrack) workers throughout his life.
Disney couldn’t even be bothered to get basic details right. Frank Martin has a thick, and very distinct Cuban-American accent. His projecting voice and pronounciation are very colorful and have brought many smiles to racing journalists and fans alike. Nestor Serrano’s “imitation” is non-existent. As the poster I quoted reminds us, it’s hard to tell at times that Frank Martin has an accent at all and when you do detect one - it sounds slightly Italian.
Of course, a villian can’t be well dressed, so again Disney plays “fast and loose” with the facts. If there’s anything Frank Martin has always been known for - it’s his sharp sense of style. Ask anyone who has been around the NY racing scene since the 60’s and 70’s and they will all tell you, Frank Martin wouldn’t be caught dead in that polyester, mis-matched garb Serrano sported throughout the flick. In that press conference scene, he had the stereotypical 70’s “mobster/pimp” style dress; with an open shirt, collar folded over his jacket lapels - too ridiculous.
Frank Martin has always dressed impecabbly in finely tailored, hand-made suits and a tie - whenever he went out to the races.
Now we get to the portrayal of “Pancho” as a womanizer & adulterer. Yes, in his younger single days, he was known to have quite a few female admirers/girlfriends, however, by the time he encountered Secretariat, Martin was married to a much younger and strikingly beautiful woman - Charlene, whom he is still happily married to. As she recalls, it would have been difficult for Frank to have accompanied three different women to the Derby, Preakness and Belmont - as the film portrays - considering that she was at his side for all three events; presumably she would have noticed another woman on his arm.
…But these are just minor and major factual misrepresentations, not very important in the grand scheme of things, especially when you’re telling a"true" story. I’m just wondering out loud here - Is Disney and the people involved in the making of this film racist? incompetent? careless? or all three? :smack:
That quote says it all right there…Disney did such a hack job on Sham’s trainer that people can’t even identify the correct ethnicity of Frank “Panco” Martin.
In order to boost the “drama” of the story, Disney needed an evil stereoptype; a non-white antagonist to pit against the heroic white woman…so they decided that Sham’s hispanic (Cuban) trainer would be the perfect candidate.
Only one problem - in reality, Sham’s trainer wasn’t the kind of man anyone could honestly consider a villian. Sure, he boasted before the Derby and Preakness that he would beat “Big Red” but anyone who knows the sports world, knows that there is a long tradition in American sports, of coaches and players predicting victory over their opponents - even more so, when everyone else is predicting your imminent defeat at the hands of a supposed “undefeatable” adversary.
Attempting to demonstrate true confidence and belief in your “team” has never been considered a fault even if you are ultimately defeated - Secretariat’s trainer and owner displayed every bit as much confidence in the victory of their animal.
The boasting alone wasn’t enough for Disney, however, to turn Frank Martin into the villian they were looking for so they just made everything else up, no problem.
The press conference before the Preakness, for example, is a complete fabrication.
Frank Martin is the kind of old-school guy who would (and at times has) punched-out anyone who dared disrespect a woman in his presence. A stout, bear of a man, who stands only around 5’10 but at over 200 pounds, had extremely “heavy hands” in his youth - according to all the old-timers around the racetrack, who have constantly pelted me with stories about his exploits. From all knowledgeable accounts, he was the man who stood up for anyone who was being bullied and couldn’t defend themselves.
His presence always commanded respect but he always showed equal respect for those around him. So to see the scenes where he rudely interrupts Mrs. Chenery in the middle of a press conference and makes sexist, boorish comments throughout his screen appearances, truly sickened me. That is not even remotely an accurate picture of this man; a man who has helped countless of “down-on their-luck” “backstretch” (the stable areas of a racetrack) workers throughout his life.
Disney couldn’t even be bothered to get basic details right. Frank Martin has a thick, and very distinct Cuban-American accent. His projecting voice and pronounciation are very colorful and have brought many smiles to racing journalists and fans alike. Nestor Serrano’s “imitation” is non-existent. As the poster I quoted reminds us, it’s hard to tell at times that Frank Martin has an accent at all and when you do detect one - it sounds slightly Italian.
Of course, a villian can’t be well dressed, so again Disney plays “fast and loose” with the facts. If there’s anything Frank Martin has always been known for - it’s his sharp sense of style. Ask anyone who has been around the NY racing scene since the 60’s and 70’s and they will all tell you, Frank Martin wouldn’t be caught dead in that polyester, mis-matched garb Serrano sported throughout the flick. In that press conference scene, he had the stereotypical 70’s “mobster/pimp” style dress; with an open shirt, collar folded over his jacket lapels - too ridiculous.
Frank Martin has always dressed impecabbly in finely tailored, hand-made suits and a tie - whenever he went out to the races.
Now we get to the portrayal of “Pancho” as a womanizer & adulterer. Yes, in his younger single days, he was known to have quite a few female admirers/girlfriends, however, by the time he encountered Secretariat, Martin was married to a much younger and strikingly beautiful woman - Charlene, whom he is still happily married to. As she recalls, it would have been difficult for Frank to have accompanied three different women to the Derby, Preakness and Belmont - as the film portrays - considering that she was at his side for all three events; presumably she would have noticed another woman on his arm.
…But these are just minor and major factual misrepresentations, not very important in the grand scheme of things, especially when you’re telling a"true" story. I’m just wondering out loud here - Is Disney and the people involved in the making of this film racist? incompetent? careless? or all three? :smack:
These blantant falsehoods and inaccuracies are even more contemptible, when you consider that Frank Martin is one of Horse Racing’s greatest living legends and one of the most accomplished of Hispanic heritage ever. He is a member of The National Racing Museum Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs.
Other than Sham, he has trained many good horses including two National Eclipse Award Champions. His crowning accomplishment is maintaining the #1 spot on the yearly NY trainers list for 10 consecutive years (one of the toughest racing circuits in the nation & an almost impossible feat that may never be equalled) - simultaneously, his success garnered his primary clients - Mr. and Mrs. Sigmund Sommers - the #1 spot on the National Owners list for those same 10 years.
Truly, Disney and everyone assoicated with this film should be ashamed and embarrassed that they had anything to do with this travesty - what a disgrace!!!
We had one of his grandsons in my old barn (washed out from track life without ever racing). He was a puppydog of a horse, and a babysitter to two little girls. Secretariat was also supposed to be pretty laid back, which was untypical of the Bold Ruler line.
How many of Secretariat’s descendants have made something of themselves in racing? It sounds like there really is no guarantee that the grandchild or great-grandchild of a great horse will be anything special.
A couple of years ago, when that horse dropped dead right after winning the Kentucky Derby, I read something about how all racehorses are basically descended from the same small pool of horses: the gene pool is too small, and so every generation becomes a little less remarkable. Does this sound right, or am I badly mistaken?
Secretariat produced 2 stars: Lady’s Secret (Horse of the Year in 1986) and Risen Star (won 2 legs of the Triple Crown in 1988; could have won all three with a better Kentucky Derby trip). He was a bit of a disappointment as a sire, but not as a broodmare sire. Secretariat’s daughters are very productive broodmares - apparently they carry the “big heart” gene that he carried, since his heart was 2.5 times the size of a typical racehorse, unlike the Grinch.
Yeah, you’re mistaken. No one “dropped dead after winning the Kentucky Derby” - Eight Belles broke both forelegs after finishing 2nd in 2008, and had to be euthanized. Part of that disaster was that her sire was Unbridled’s Song, who produces very fast but very unsound runners. He ought to be pensioned from stud.
I can’t comment on the gene pool issue, but there are several theories about why we haven’t had a Triple Crown winner in 32 years. My feeling is that current training and medication regimens (legal ones too) result in horses being able to run better “peak efforts” but requiring more time off to recover from those efforts.
Secretariat is considered a greater producer of quality broodmares than racing stallion colts. His daughter Weekend Surprise, was the dam of A.P. Indy (1992 Horse of the Year, & whose daughter Rags to Riches won the 2007 Belmont Stakes) and Summer Squall (Preakness winner). Secretariat’s daughter Terlingua produced Storm Cat (the leading sire in North America in 1999 and 2000).
Actually, the controversy goes further back than that, six generations to Native Dancer who has proven so popular you’ll find him represented in almost every horse racing today. If you look at Eight Belles’ pedigree you can see how often he (marked in red) and his son Raise a Native (marked in black) show up.
I’ve been forgetting to mention: A couple years ago, DesertRoomie was in Oklahoma to look at a horse and on the farm was Longshot Max, who’d just been sold to be one of Secretariat’s stand-ins for the movie. The only shot she was sure was him was the one where Chenery and Sweat were in the barn talking with the horse looking over the dutch door between them.
I knew Frank pancho Martin and his son gregory when I was a very small boy. His son Gregory was extreamly ill behaved and I recal if anyone tried to coral this kid, including Charlene, gregory would threaten to tell his daddy.
Thanks for this, first time I’ve laughed all day!