"He was a star-crossed man from the beginning of his life to the end. He faced tremendous hurdles in bringing Seabiscuit to the top of his sport. He was repeatedly injured, and he was blind in one eye.
"He was abandoned at a racetrack as a boy. I identify with Red because I face serious health problems of my own. I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
"I have difficulty finding the strength to leave the house (in Washington, D.C.) and sometimes to work. So it was a long push. But I very much enjoyed researching the lives of these men and this horse. It made it an escape from my illness."
Production began in October, with release of the film scheduled for next July. Santa Anita Park will be the background for some filming in December. Key characters are:
*Trainer Tom Smith, a virtually silent mustang breaker, who came from the vanishing frontier with little experience training thoroughbreds. He's played by Chris Cooper.
*Owner Charles Howard, a former bicycle repairman who rose in General Motors to become sole distributor of Buick and Oldsmobile in the West; he paid $7,000 for the 3-year-old. Jeff Bridges gets this role.
There has been no mention of what animal will portray Seabiscuit. Hillenbrand's description of the American legend:
"The colt's body, built low to the ground, had all the properties of a cinder block . . . blunt, coarse, rectangular, stationary. He had a sad little tail, barely long enough to brush his hocks. His stubby legs were a study in unsound construction, with huge, squarish, asymmetrical 'baseball glove' knees that didn't quite straighten out all the way, leaving him in a permanent semicrouch."
It may be the most difficult part to cast.
(Writer's note: Check out www.pbs.org/amex/seabiscuit for an upcoming TV special on the great champion.)
The copyright of the article Seabiscuit: The Movie in Horse Racing is owned by Greg Melikov. Permission to republish Seabiscuit: The Movie in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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