RICKY SCHRODER ON HIS ALL-FAMILY FILM, ‘OUR WILD HEARTS’
When I reached Ricky Schroder on Thursday, the
actor/writer/director was in New York
City, emotionally preparing himself for Friday’s
grueling event: being the guest of honor at a Friar’s Club Roast, hosted by his
LONESOME DOVE co-star D.B. Sweeny, with a panel that includes Gilbert
Gottfried, and Ricky’s SILVER SPOONS parents Erin Gray and Joel Higgins.
RICKY: Hopefully they
won’t cut me up too bad, but I’m sure they’ve got lots of material ready. If
it’s funny, heck yeah, I’ll put it on YouTube.
HENRY: Speaking of
YouTube, a little while ago I was watching WHISKEY LULLABY, the music video
you directed and starred in, for Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss. It must be a kick to know that fifteen
million people have looked at it on YouTube.
RICKY: It’s so
cool. Actually I hadn’t seen the video
forever, and then last week I was at my house with some friends who are
songwriters. We watched the video, and I
saw that many hits, and I was like, WOW!
That is a lot of people who
have seen it! It’s a special part of my
career, that video. It really touched
people. That video was inspired by, well
obviously the song, but it was dedicated to my grandparents. He was a World War II soldier, and part of
what I used for inspiration.
HENRY: Well, first
let me tell you that I really enjoyed OUR WILD HEARTS. That’s the first thing that I’ve seen that
you directed, and I was very impressed.
RICKY: Thank you for
saying that; I’m glad you enjoyed it.
One of the best parts and surprises of making OUR WILD HEARTS was getting to know my family
better, by working with them, and letting them experience what it’s like to do
what I do and to live the life I’ve led.
My wife and daughters and sons had an opportunity, by working with me,
to understand their dad, and I got to know my kids better as well. It was an unexpected bonus of the whole
event.
HENRY: I had a great
talk with Cambrie. She’s a charming
young lady. You must be very proud.
RICKY: She is an
amazing young woman. She is a great
student, great athlete, great person, and just very talented, with raw
potential with her acting, incredible work ethic. So yes, I’m very proud of my daughter. Of all my kids, but we’re talking about
Cambrie, and I’m extremely proud of Cambrie.
HENRY: The audience
knows you mostly as an actor, but you’ve written three movies; you’ve directed
seven, including a horror movie in Bucharest
– that really surprised me.
RICKY: HELLHOUNDS.
HENRY: Right. Now tell me, have you ever worn as many hats
in one production as you do in OUR WILD HEARTS?
RICKY: You know, my
very first movie (as a director) was called BLACK CLOUD, and I wrote and
directed and produced and had a small role in it. This film I have a very large role in,
compared to BLACK CLOUD. So this was
unique in that I was a co-star of the movie.
So I was oftentimes confused. I
had to prepare as an actor; I had to prepare as a director; I had to make
budget decisions. So I was constantly
morphing from one position to another within a day’s work.
HENRY: That’s got to
be pretty demanding.
RICKY: It was fun,
I’ll tell you. I had such a blast making
the movie. Really good time.
HENRY: You’re
directing your daughter – actually two daughters and two sons – in one movie –
RICKY: And my wife.
HENRY: Oh, which
character is she?
RICKY: She’s the
masseuse. She did a cameo. The rich lady, Barbara, who wants to buy
Bravo, she’s her masseuse. So all six
Schroders are actually on-camera.
HENRY: Is it
difficult to be objective and direct people you know as well as your own
family?
RICKY: Oh no. When I’m directing, they’re not my family. (laughs)
They’re an actor or actress, and they have a job to do, and I have a
certain expectation of performers. I
expect them to show up prepared; I expect them to know their lines, to come to
the set with an idea for the scene, with an idea for how to bring it
alive. I expect quite a bit from people
I work with because I expect a lot from myself.
And I didn’t cut my family any slack in that regard. If anything, I was probably tougher on
Cambrie than on others.
HENRY: Well, I think
it pays off, because the performance is there.
RICKY: Well thank
you. You know we made this film with a
lot of heart and soul behind it, but limited resources. So we had to maximize every moment of
daylight we had. I called in friends and
favors to come work on the film. Our
cinematographer Steve Gainer, who I love making movies with, and who also is a
producer, I was able to get him. And
typically on these sorts of budgeted films, you can’t get some of the quality
production value that we were able to achieve.
And everybody pulled together for that reason. Everybody wasn’t there because they were
getting a big fat paycheck. They were
there because we wanted to make a movie.
And we wanted to make a fun movie, and a family movie, and that’s what
we did.
HENRY: Usually when
we’re talking about a western, it’s a story set in the 1870s or 1880s. But this is a present-day story. Do you consider OUR WILD HEARTS a
western?
RICKY: Oh yes. OUR WILD HEARTS is definitely, in my mind, a
modern western. There’s the villain
Grizz, who is trying to catch Bravo, and then trying to kill Bravo. So it’s got the elements of the good guys and
the bad guys. It’s got guns shooting in
it. It’s got the scenery of the
west. I consider it a modern western.
HENRY: I was watching
LONESOME DOVE just the day before I watched OUR WILD HEARTS, and it struck me
that there are major parallels between your LONESOME DOVE character of Newt,
and your daughter Cambrie’s character of Willow –
RICKY: -- Wow! I
never even thought of that, but you’re right!
HENRY: While your
lives are very different, both of your lives have been blighted by not knowing
who your father is. And hurt by their
fathers not having a place in their lives.
RICKY: I was not
conscious of that, but now that you’ve pointed that out, the theme of Newt not
knowing… Well, actually Newt knew he was
Call’s son, but he was never acknowledged, he was never treated as a son. So it’s a slight difference, but the theme is
the same; you’re right. Willow, lacking that
father figure, that role, that man in her life, as Newt did. I wasn’t conscious of that at all when I was
writing it. Very astute of you to make
that observation.
HENRY: Thank
you. Where did the idea for the story
come from?
RICKY: It came from
my wife and daughter. My daughter has
wanted to perform, and be an actress, since she was six years old. She was actually in WHISKEY LULLABY, the Brad
Paisley, Alison Krauss video I directed when she was about six years old. And so ever since that experience, she’s
said, “Daddy, I want to do this more.”
And so she’s gone to acting classes and studied, and I’ve worked with
her. She’s gone on a few auditions over
the years. But I wanted to be the first
person to direct her. And I wanted it to
be a time in her life where she could remember it, and she could appreciate it,
and if she wanted to pursue this career, she could have a chance of
success. Where if you start when you’re
six years old, it’s very unlikely you’ll have a career as an adult.
HENRY: This is true;
your career is very much the exception rather than the rule. Because how old were you when you first
started?
RICKY: I made my
first movie when I was seven. And I
started when I was five, doing TV commercials and things.
HENRY: The story
concerns a girl who is seeking out her father, and her relationship with a wild
stallion. Now I know you are a very
serious horse person. Is Cambrie?
RICKY: She’s more
serious – she’s probably spent more time in the saddle over the past ten years
than I have. She did all of her own
riding, including bareback. She didn’t
do one of the most dangerous stunts, when the horse had to turn over and rear
on top of her. That was actually the
only moment in the movie when I didn’t treat her like an actress. (laughs)
I really treated her like a daughter at that moment because I was
scared, not that I wouldn’t be scared for my actress, or any person, doing a
stunt on a horse, because I am aware of the danger. But there was an extra feeling of protectiveness
with Cambrie, because she was my daughter.
HENRY: Where did you
shoot that beautiful herd of horses?
RICKY: We shot the
film just north of Simi Valley,
believe it or not. Where they shot
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. It’s just
outside of Los Angeles,
and Tonia and Todd Forsberg, who were my wranglers and producing partners, they
provided all of the livestock and horses.
We even got some footage of real wild mustangs, which we intercut in the
movie, which I got from a wonderful documentary filmmaker who’s shooting a
documentary about the wild horse. The
whole movie was shot on that mountain range and that ranch. My home is actually Willow’s home in the movie. And the exterior of Grizz’s home is my
neighbor’s home, and the interior of Grizz’s home is my home. So we used our farm, where we live in the Santa Monica Mountains. We shot at my farm for three days. We shot in Malibu for a day. We shot the rest up on that ranch.
HENRY: About how long
was the whole shooting schedule?
RICKY: We shot the
movie in fourteen days.
HENRY: Wow! That’s remarkably fast, as you know.
RICKY: That was remarkably fast, and we finished
on-time. I work very fast. I haven’t been given the budgets yet to have
the luxury of time. So we accomplished a
lot with the resources we had.
HENRY: What were the
biggest challenges you faced making OUR WILD HEARTS?
RICKY: Time. Time is the enemy when you’re making a
movie. The lack of time. You always want more time; you don’t have
enough time. So every day when you show
up to work, you look at your day’s call sheet.
And you prioritize. Where am I
going to cut corners today? And where am
I going to spend my extra time? And so
you have to prioritize as a director.
Every morning, when you show up.
And there’s a whole bunch of things that factor in, like weather, and
sometimes working with animals when they don’t want to cooperate. Other variables that come at you. You can have done all the planning that you
want, but you have to be able to adapt, because all of a sudden, let’s say the
last shot of your movie, and it’s overcast, and looks like June gloom, with
white-out. So you have to be able to
scramble and have a cover scene, where it’s not as important to have the
beautiful golden-hour light. So the
enemy is time.
HENRY: Cambrie is in
high school. Is she going to be doing
more acting now, or finishing her education first?
RICKY: She’s out
looking for the next project, yes, but she’s like a racehorse, she’s a
thoroughbred, my daughter. She just
wants to race into everything. So I’m a
bit concerned that I’ve opened up the door now.
And that she’s going to perhaps loose focus on the goals that I want her
to achieve. But it’s really not what I
want her to achieve, it’s what she ends up wanting to achieve. Of course I want my daughter to finish high
school, and go to college. And she’ll
only be a better actress as time influences her. So I’m not really excited for her working
again soon.
HENRY: How about your
sons, who are also in the movie, as Grizz’s sons. Are they planning on acting careers?
RICKY: No. My youngest son is exploring a military
career, and so he’s waiting to hear if he’s been chosen for one of the
academies. He’ll find out this
summer. My other son is more interested
in business. So my sons don’t show a
desire for it (an acting career), and that’s absolutely fine with me.
HENRY: Your movie is
premiering on the Hallmark Movie Channel,
but I believe you made it independently.
RICKY: Hallmark came
along during the post production process.
We actually began production, making it as a family independent project,
and thankfully Hallmark came into the project during post, liked what they saw,
and acquired it.
HENRY: Were there any
changes that they required?
RICKY: No, they liked
what we had.
HENRY: Martin Kove is
your cheerfully nasty villain, competing with you to capture Bravo. Had you two worked together before?
RICKY: No; but he’s a
riot. He’s fun to be around. And he loves his horses and his westerns. He rides the Hole-In-The-Wall-Gang Ride every
year. He was so much fun to have on the
set, and what a pro.
Martin Kove flanked by evil sons
Holden and Luke Schroder
HENRY: I was
surprised and delighted to see Cliff Potts as your father. A fine actor in westerns and everything else,
but I don’t think I’ve seen him in a dozen years.
RICKY: He hasn’t
worked forever. He lives close to
me. I know his son. And his son said, “Hey, you should meet my
dad.” So I met Cliff, and with the first
words out of his mouth I knew he was Top.
He was the right guy. What a nice
guy he is too, and what a pro. I sure
hope we get to make a sequel to this movie or – who knows – turn it into a
series. I would just have a blast every
week, working with these people.
HENRY: It’s funny, I
was thinking of a sequel, but I didn’t think of the potential for a
series. But it certainly could be.
RICKY: Oh yeah, in my
mind I have it partially developed. Now
I’ve just got to get Hallmark to come on-board.
HENRY: Any other
upcoming projects we should know about?
RICKY: I’m writing a
script that I can’t really talk about it right now, but it’s very current. I do have another project; I don’t want to
say much, but it has been produced, and it’s in the can. And it’s for the U.S. Army. And it’ll be premièring, potentially, around
the Army’s birthday, this June. It’s an
interesting project, called STARTING STRONG.
I’m excited for that project to see the light.
HENRY: If I could
just ask a few LONESOME DOVE questions.
Where was it shot?
RICKY: The original
was shot in New Mexico, Angelfire in Montana, and Delrito,
Texas.
HENRY: When I
watching it, I remembered that it was a Robert
Halmi Production, but I was surprised to see the Motown logo.
RICKY: Suzanne de Pas
was involved. She was at Motown.
HENRY: The director,
Australian Simon Wincer, went on to do hits liked QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER and FREE
WILLY. What was he like to work with?
RICKY: Very pleasant
man. Very pleasant to be around, as are
most Australians. Very calm, capable.
The genius behind LONESOME DOVE; it was not Simon, although he did a
wonderful job. It was the script (by
Larry McMurtry and William D. Wittliff), and it was Duvall, and the source
material (the novel by Larry McMurtry).
That was the genius.
Ricky Schroder as Newt in LONESOME DOVE
HENRY: Any particular
memories of the production? Of Robert
Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones?
RICKY: Tommy Lee I
don’t think said two words to me besides what was in the script. He didn’t interact like that with me. Maybe he was just playing it the way (his
character) Call played it, which was he didn’t acknowledge Newt. So I didn’t get to know him at all. Duvall is still a friend to me, and we talk
at least every three months or so.
Memories? I remember one morning
I was walking down a cow trail, out in one of the cactus-covered paddocks they
had there. And I was hunting javelina
with my bow and arrow. Prickly-pear
cactus is as thick as you can imagine, all around you. Rattlesnakes just love prickly-pear cactus,
because pack-rats like to live in there.
So the rattlesnakes go in there and eat ‘em. I’m just about to put my foot down, stepping
over a cactus, and there was the biggest rattlesnake I’ve ever seen. And I’m not kidding you; it was an
honest-to-goodness six feet long, and as fat as a baseball bat. And I took that skin off that snake, and I
sent it to Tony Lama (the great boot-maker), for a custom pair of boots. And when they got to me, they finally caught
up with me, those boot were too small. So
I gave them to my father. He probably
has them to this day. I remember going
over to Mexico
a few times, having some fun over there with the Teamsters. And I remember Duvall would always have a
gathering. Whenever he could get people
together to go to this little local Mexican restaurant where they had live
music. And he would dance – he loved to
tango. He was always the life of the
party. He was fun to be around. He was Gus.
HENRY: Sounds like he
and Tommy Lee were very close to their own characters.
RICKY: They actually
were. Duvall was just so magnetic that
people flocked to him. As opposed to
Call, who you just couldn’t get close to.
HENRY: Any memories
of Diane Lane?
RICKY: (laughs)
Yeah. Diane Lane I had a crush on. I was seventeen and making LONESOME DOVE, and
turned eighteen making it. I remember,
one afternoon, she was staying in the town-house next to mine. And I got the courage to knock on her
door. She opened the door, and she said,
“Hi Ricky.” “Hi Diane.” “What are you
doing?” “Want to hang out?” She said, “Sure Ricky. Come on in.”
So I went in and sat with Diane
Lane for about fifteen minutes. Just wanting to be around her. And she was just as sweet as could be. And then she said she had to go to the airport
to pick her husband up. She’s got one
brown eye and one blue eye. She was awesome. And Danny and Angelica. And Tim Scott, who played Pea Eye, he was a
heck of an interesting guy to be around.
And nice. Perfect for that
role. He’s not with us anymore. Larry McMurtry’s son James, a truly talented
musician. He would play once in a while
after work. Really good memories.
HENRY: It was about
four years later that you returned as Newt in RETURN TO LONESOME DOVE. How did the second experience compare with
the first?
RICKY: The source
material wasn’t the quality of the first.
Jon Voight, I actually got him involved (as Call, Tommy Lee Jones’
character). It’s funny how my career
began with him (in THE CHAMP), and then we crossed paths again. It was beautiful where it was shot. It was Montana,
which is spectacular. It was Reese
Witherspoon and Oliver Reed. What a
powerful actor he was. It was a good
time. It was a good western; it wasn’t a
great western. LONESOME DOVE is a great
western.
HENRY: When they went
on to do the LONESOME DOVE series, they got Scott Bairstow, who sort of
resembled you, to play Newt. Did you have any interest in doing that
series?
RICKY: No. I remember there was some early discussion of
that with me, but I wasn’t ready to move to Alberta.
I had a life and kids and a ranch in Colorado, and it was just too big of a
change.
HENRY: Right. And frankly, talking about something that was
not up to the original, I thought the series was a huge step down.
RICKY: I never saw an
episode, but I imagine it was.
HENRY: In 1994, you
were back at the Alamo Village in Brackettville for JAMES MICHENER’S ‘TEXAS’.
RICKY: With my buddy,
Benjamin Bratt. That was a lot of
fun. I played Otto McNab. Gosh it was hot. I remember there were actors passing
out. We were wearing wool uniforms, and
it was 100 degrees and 90% humidity. It
was awful, awful hot. But that was
definitely a fun project.
HENRY: Any more
westerns on the horizon?
RICKY: I’ve got a
western script I’ve been trying to get made since I was nineteen years
old. And I obviously can’t play it
anymore – the lead role. But hopefully
one day I’ll get that one made. It’s
about the greatest moment in the history of the Pony Express.
OUR WILD HEARTS – Movie Review
There is something to stories about teenaged girls and
horses that is just ‘a natural’, and a natural is just what OUR WILD HEARTS
is. The film, a present-day western, is
a Schroder Family affair. Actor Ricky
Schroder co-wrote the script with his wife Andrea, as a vehicle for their
eldest daughter, sixteen-year-old Cambrie Schroder, and Ricky directed and
co-starred as well. But while this is a
small movie, it’s not a vanity production, and Cambrie, who must carry the
movie, is up to the job. She also has
her two brothers, sister, and mother along for back-up.
Cambrie plays Willow, a
privileged teenager growing up in Malibu,
an only child with a loving-but-busy mother, played by Angela Lindval. What is missing in Willow’s life is a father, or even the
slightest indication from her mother of who her father is. A casual conversation with a girlfriend
triggers a blow-up between mother and daughter on the subject. At home, Willow goes poking through boxes of mementoes
and pictures from her mother’s youth and finds a picture of Jack (Ricky
Schroder). It’s one of those rare times
in movies when this sort of moment actually works: the resemblance between
father and daughter is so great that denying it would be foolish; and after
some hesitation, mom admits the truth.
Without preamble, daughter flies to Wyoming and appears at the ranch doorstep of
a father who had no clue she existed, and he welcomes her with startling
ease. She has no idea of the kind of
turmoil she has strayed into. Her father
and grandfather Top (Cliff Potts) are in imminent danger of losing the family
homestead without an influx of cash.
Because this is mustang country, their best hope is to capture a
celebrated wild stallion known as Bravo: Jack has a buyer (Eloise DeJoria) who
would pay a small fortune to acquire Bravo, and put him out to stud.
Unfortunately, Jack’s ranch is all but surrounded by the
property of a swine, played by one of the west’s finest swines Martin
Kove. Kove, as Grizz, assisted by his
equally swinish sons (played, ironically, by Ricky Schroder’s sons Holden and
Luke), wants to acquire Jack’s property, and sees capturing Bravo as a way to
make this possible.
As both teams set out to capture Bravo, a further
complication appears. A close, maybe
mystical, connection between Willow and Bravo
develops, and rather than let either man have the horse, Willow thinks he should be free.
Among the nice surprises in OUR WILD HEARTS is the
reappearance of Cliff Potts in the role of Ricky Schroder’s father. For many years a very busy actor, whether in
leads or supporting roles – SILENT RUNNING, SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION, THE LAST
RIDE OF THE DALTON GANG – he’s been off the screen for nearly fifteen
years. Also, Willow’s romantic interest, ranch-hand Ryan,
is played by Chris Massoglia, recently seen as the title character in CIRQUE DU
FREAK: THE VAMPIRE’S ASSISTANT.
Director Schroder makes good use of Cambrie’s skills as a
rider and as a dancer, some lyrical sequences giving Cambrie, cinematographer
Steve Gainer and music director Michael Lord a chance to show their talents. Although most of the story is set in Wyoming, Gainer’s camera never left Southern
California, but the rolling green hills and beautiful herds of
wild horses are more than convincing – they’re invigorating to watch.
I won’t give away more of the story, but there is hard
riding, shooting, roping, romance, and a down-to-the-wire climax. It’s not only an enjoyable movie in its own
right; it may even be a sneaky and effective way to covertly introduce teens
and tweens to the western genre. OUR WILD HEARTS premieres on Saturday night, March 9th, on the Hallmark Movie Channel.
CAMBRIE SCHRODER ON HER FIRST MOVIE AND FUTURE PLANS
HENRY: I understand
from your dad that I’ve been mispronouncing your name – it’s not Cambrie with a
short ‘a’, but Cambrie with a long ‘a’.
CAMBRIE: That’s
right. I’ve never met another Cambrie,
actually. I think it’s because my
grandpa went to Cambridge
University. But Cambridge
was too long, so they shortened it and made it Cambrie.
HENRY: I just watched
you last night in OUR WILD HEARTS, and you did a fine job; you carried the picture.
CAMBRIE: Thank you,
I’m glad you liked it. Because I haven’t
really shown it to anybody, so I haven’t heard any feedback.
HENRY: Now in the
story, two things that are very important to your character are dance, and
horses. Is that true in real life?
CAMBRIE: It’s
definitely is. I’ve been raised around
horses and animals, and so they’re are a passion. I was able to make that connection with
horses when I was really young. So
acting with horses was really natural for me.
I’ve also been dancing since I was about four years old, so dancing and
horses are two of my biggest passions, along with acting.
HENRY: How old are
you now?
CAMBRIE: I’m
sixteen. I like to think of my self as
an adult, but I’m really not.
HENRY: I’m sure your
parents remind you of that.
CAMBRIE: Every
day. They’re like, ‘Cambrie, you’re
sixteen: enjoy your childhood.’ Ever
since I was four years old I’ve been wanting to be sixteen. But I’m actually enjoying being sixteen. I feel like it’s my great year, my golden
year – I’m having a lot of fun.
HENRY: Growing up,
did you see a lot of your father’s TV shows and movies?
CAMBRIE: Well actually I hadn’t seen too much of his work
until we moved to Spain,
where we had a lot of free time on our hands.
And then my sister and I watched a whole season of SILVER SPOONS. It was really strange to watch him (as a
kid). So I’ve seen SILVER SPOONS
now. I’ve seen THE CHAMP. He doesn’t watch any of his work himself, so
it’s kind of hard for me to find it.
HENRY: When were you
living in Spain?
CAMBRIE: We were
living in Spain
in 2010. I was 13. We went there just to escape our busy life
and take a break and reunite as a family.
I loved it so much – I learned fluent Spanish there; I was the only one
who learned Spanish because I was at the perfect age to learn a language. My parents were (sing-song) a little bit too
old, my sister was a little bit too young, and my brothers just weren’t that
interested.
HENRY: Speaking of
your brothers and sisters, are they all in the movie?
CAMBRIE: They
are. My two brothers play the two
enemies, Marty Kove’s sons. My little
sister doesn’t have a speaking part, but she has an extra onscreen appearance,
she’s at the barn party scene, dancing.
So you’ll see them all in the movie.
My sister’s still so upset about it: “I’m the only one who didn’t have a
speaking part.” And she just did an
episode of SHAKE IT UP on the Disney Channel, so that made up for it.
HENRY: When did you
decide you wanted to act?
CAMBRIE: I’ve always
been intrigued by it, as long as I can remember; just watching my dad at work,
becoming a character on-set, and then coming home as my dad. It’s always been an interest of mine, and
then when I was about ten years old, I started going on auditions. My parents weren’t encouraging, but they
weren’t discouraging. They wanted me to
explore it and see if it was really something I would love to do. And so soon enough they saw that I was going
to do it with or without them, they were like, ‘We want to be the ones there to
guide you on your first movie, and make you feel comfortable.’ And my dad’s so experienced that he had so
much to offer and so much to teach me, that it was perfect.
HENRY: You’re in high
school now. Do you plan to try and do
more acting; do you plan to finish your education first?
CAMBRIE: Both acting
and an education are really important to me.
I’m currently a full-time student, and trying to keep really high grades
up so I’ll have the option of going to college.
If other acting jobs come along, I’ll still have that to fall back
on. I can also pick the time to take off
school, and have the flexibility to go and act.
I’m reading scripts and waiting for the next best script to come along. I’m keeping my eyes open, and excited to see
what my future holds. But I will be
acting again, for sure.
HENRY: Are there any
actresses that you particularly admire, that you think, ‘I’d like to play her
kind of role?’
CAMBRIE: Actually
last night I was looking up all about Jennifer Lawrence, and I love her. She’s never taken an acting lesson in her
life, and she’s able to transform into totally different characters, and not
act as a different character, but become a different character. I really admire that – not acting, but becoming. So I really admire her. I also love Angelina Jolie. I’d love to do an action film. I’d love to do some edgier stuff. But both of those ladies are magnificent – I
look up to them so much. And Meryl
Streep, oh! There’re so many good
actresses.
HENRY: What was the
best part of filming OUR WILD HEARTS?
CAMBRIE: It was my
first experience filming a movie, so having my family there was the best,
because they were able to be honest with me in trying to get my best
performance, but also being super-encouraging and making me feel comfortable.
But I also loved working with the horses.
It was super fun because it made me look forward to something. And working with Tommy – he was such a great
horse, so well behaved and so well-trained.
HENRY: So Tommy is
the stallion the whole story revolves around?
CAMBRIE: His name is
Bravo in the movie, but in real life his name’s Tommy.
HENRY: What was the
worst part – was there anything you did not like, or did not anticipate?
CAMBRIE: There was
really nothing that went wrong. Everything
that could have gone wrong went right.
But I knew it was a lot of hard work, because I’ve seen my dad work, and
I know it’s not as glamorous as they make it out to be. But I don’t think you understand how
difficult something is until you actually go through it. I worked long days – five in the morning,
late nights, studying my lines, coming home and being exhausted; I worked
really hard. It was a very challenging
experience, but it didn’t stop my love for it at all.
HENRY: Outside of your family, was there anyone that you
particularly we enjoyed working with?
CAMBRIE: Yes, I loved
working with Chris Massoglia. He plays
my love interest. He’s an amazing actor,
but he’s also a great person. He has
great values, and he’s done a lot of other films and is really talented, so he
was able to guide me. And also, the
wranglers of Tommy were very encouraging too.
I loved our cinematographer, Steve Gainer. He’s a great cinematographer, but a great guy
too. He kept the set light, because my
dad and I sometimes get too serious. He
would always crack jokes to lighten the mood.
When it’s raining and cold and everyone’s tired, grumpy and hungry, he
keeps it positive and light hearted.
Because the whole experience is meant to be fun, and he made sure that
would happen.
HENRY: Anything else
I show know?
CAMBRIE: You might
not have known that I did almost all the stunts. I did all the riding, and I had to ride
bareback – I couldn’t walk the next day – that’s for sure! I thought it was important for me to actually
be the one riding, and when Bravo rears, before I fall off, it was scary, but
fun, because I knew I was safe. My dad
didn’t like to watch that happen. Then I
wasn’t the one to fall off – we had a stunt person do that, but that’s the only
thing I didn’t do. I did everything
else.
THE WRAP-UP
That's it for tonight's Round-up! Got some interesting things cooking for next week, but none of it's definite yet.
Happy Trails,
Henry
All Original Contents Copyright March 2013 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved
