Ride Around the World Interview: Director/Producer/Writer Harry Lynch

Written by: BMZ Staff
Date: October 5, 2006

BMZ catches up with filmmaker Harry Lynch to discuss his first Giant Screen Film, RIDE AROUND THE WORLD, a film that takes a global journey exploring the lives of past and present-day cowboys.

RIDE AROUND THE WORLD is the Giant Screen debut for filmmaker Harry Lynch, who directed, wrote and produced the film. Ride explores the history and thriving culture of horse-and-cattle peoples through four continents, tracing its 1,500-year evolution from its earliest beginnings to the modern-day cowboy.

BMZ: How did you get involved in the Large Format genre, and in particular, the making of this film?

Harry Lynch: Several years ago we did a theatrical documentary on bull riding. It came out pretty well, and we had such fun doing it, that we thought, wow, bull riding would look amazing on the giant screen. That prompted an idea to do a rodeo IMAX, which morphed into the story of real life American cowboys, which morphed into a full-scale feature film-type recreation of an 1870s cattle drive. We eventually moved past all those ideas, to make the film you see now: the 1500-year untold history of the cowboy, as shown through high-action, present-day scenes in amazing locations which follow his global journey.

BMZ: This was your first Large Format film. How did your approach to filming for the LF screen differ from what you would have done for documentary TV, or DVD?

HL: The screen is huge, so you have to compose each shot differently, and find a different edit pace. That said, many large format films in the past have used long, slow shots, with very wide angle lenses, where the action is staged in front of the camera like a play. I was convinced that the format could do more, that the camera could move more. Even though it is a documentary, with real characters in their real locations, the scenes could be shot and edited much more like a feature film, to try to give the audience a more exciting, you-are-there experience. So that’s what we set out to do. And because the characters in the film lead very active lives, and race around everywhere on horseback, it allowed us to film some great action sequences.

BMZ: The film focuses on a number of different horse cultures from American cowboys to Argentinean gauchos. What led you to choosing those featured in the film?

HL: Three things: First, the history of the cowboy, which is far older, more mysterious, and more unusual than most viewers know, guided us to spectacular characters, like the Berber warrior horsemen, in spectacular locations, like the deserts of Morocco. Second, it’s a global story, so that meant we needed to follow it around the world, from North Africa, to Spain, to the far ends of South and North America. But in those places we wanted to be sure we shot locations that were not only amazingly beautiful but rarely visited, far off the beaten path, taking viewers to places they’d probably never get to go themselves.

And third, we wanted to surprise the audience. If they thought that a story of global cowboys would feature gauchos, they probably thought we’d film them on the pampas, the great plains of Argentina. Instead, we went to the swamps. Or in Canada, instead of shooting in Alberta, where it might be expected, we went high into the remote Coastal Range mountains of British Columbia.

BMZ: What appealed to you about making a film about cowboy culture? Have you always had an interest in cowboys and horse cultures?

HL: We felt like this is the story of an American icon, but it’s one that almost no one knows. Everyone is familiar with John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, with rodeo, with cowboy boots and hats. But no one knows where this culture, that seems to have always existed, actually came from – and that, like most American icons, its roots are actually very international. On top of that, there are few things more beautiful than running horses, so that’s always attractive to a filmmaker. John Ford, the great Western director, said it was his favorite thing in Westerns: running horses.

BMZ: Canada seems like an unlikely place to find cowboys. Can you tell us about the cowboy culture that evolved there?

HL: Most cowboys in Canada came up from the American West, states like Montana and Wyoming. Most of those cowboys came up from Texas or inland from California. And many of those came from Mexico. Cowboys, horses and cattle have been on a continual migration and evolution for 500 years since the Spaniards first brought them to the New World.

The cowboys we filmed in Canada were fantastic. They’re all part of the Foster family, who have a ranch in a very remote river valley in British Columbia, and graze their cattle high in the mountains during the summer. There are family ranches throughout the world, so I wanted to be sure we included one. Because they don’t have any hired hands, they work with trained border collies to round up and drive their cattle. The dogs are amazing to watch – they’re so skilled and enthusiastic for the job – and those scenes have been some of the audience’s favorites.

BMZ: The Four Sixes Ranch in Texas is prominently featured in the film. What made you choose this particular ranch?

HL: The Four Sixes is famous in Texas as one of the remaining really large, single-family owned ranches founded in the boom years of the American cattle drives, the 1870s. It’s known today for being a top class modern outfit; the land and herd are really well managed, and the ranch breeds and trains some of the best ranch horses in the world. And though their cowboys drive trucks, to trailer their horses between the enormous pastures, they still do all of their work on horseback, because that’s still the best way. So, the Four Sixes allowed us to show viewers the zenith of modern cowboying – and let them know that, even on a ranch like this, the traditional ways are very much alive.

Equally important, they actually agreed to us filming there. In total, the filming process took up more than a month of their time and disrupted their work completely. But I think the ranch owner and the cowboys agreed that the film was something important to their culture. It was something they wanted to be involved in. Maybe so they could be sure it was done right!

BMZ: How do you see the modern-day cowboy and horse culture evolving?

HL: Like the Four Sixes, many ranches today use trucks, and some use motorcycles and four-wheelers, but these are mostly for transport, hauling feed, and land management. Really, there is no substitute for the horse when it comes to working cattle, and especially over uneven ground. So, the horse will always be a part of cowboying, as long as the culture endures. It’s already lasted more than 1000 years, so I’m betting it has a few more centuries to go.

BMZ: You had to do extensive traveling for this film to many remote locations. Any locale you found particularly fascinating?

HL: One of the great privileges in making a film like this, is to get to travel and experience the many locations. We shot in 7 different countries on 4 different continents, and when we were scouting locations, hit 2 more continents. The culture, for us anyway, was most exotic in Morocco, and the food was probably best there as well. Patagonia had the most fantastic, otherworldly landscape. Mexico and Spain tied for the best hospitality. Texas had the funniest cowboys, great storytellers. We made some good friends there. Canada, the kindest, warmest people. And the best steak … Argentina!

BMZ: What were the unique challenges to filming cowboys, horses and herding all at once?

HL: So many it’s hard to list them all! These were not stunt horses or specially trained movie cattle, and they all had minds of their own. They didn’t know what the word “action” meant. We burned thousands of feet of film, and tens of thousands of dollars, trying to get herds of cattle or horses to go the right direction – in front of the camera. To film them at speed, we had to grade and water down roads through pastures, then run our 19,000 pound Titan crane, with it’s 7,000-pound arm, down them at 40 miles an hour chasing horses. Or have the cowboys hold the horse herd, then fly around them in increasingly smaller circles in our camera helicopter to acclimate them to the noise, before chasing them across a 10,000-acre pasture. Then there was the 100-plus degree heat (or 20-degree sleet in Patagonia), the sunstroke, the dust in all the camera equipment, rattlesnakes in Texas, piranha in Argentina, mosquitoes everywhere. It was a comedy of errors on many days, but we tried to keep a sense of humor about it and forge on. In the end, I think we all agreed it was worth it.

BMZ: Considering the time limitations for Large Format/IMAX films, were there any aspects of horse or cowboy culture that you wish could have been included in the film?

HL: Yes, absolutely. Australia is the one I really missed. But there’s also the butteri of Italy, the gardianes of the French Camargue, pantaneros in Brazil, llaneros in Venezuela, the list goes on. Maybe if we do a sequel…

BMZ: How and why did Ford Trucks get involved in the movie?

HL: When we were scouting big American ranches, we saw that they used fleets of pick up trucks, and more often than not, they were Fords. I asked the foremen of the King Ranch and the Four Sixes – both ranches that cover more than 500 square miles of difficult country – why they used that brand. They told me that the cowboys put more than 25,000 miles a year on each of the trucks, 90% of it on dirt roads or off-road. They had tried every maker, and Fords stood up to the job best. They spent less money on parts and repairs, and had fewer days with the trucks out of service. So for them, it was a business decision.

We thought that was a very powerful story, and instantly thought the guys at Ford would like to hear about it. So we called them, and the sponsorship talks began. There were already 40 red Ford Super Duty pick ups in the Four Sixes fleet – they were already an integral part of the life of the ranch. And Ford liked the idea of the film. They’ve long been a supporter of Western heritage and cowboys and horse people throughout the US, so they came on board.

BMZ: It seems many people simply perceive "cowboy" as something particularly American. What do you hope audiences take away after viewing your film?

HL: Of the many things that I hope they leave with, two stand out: That the American cowboy is really almost the last step of the evolution of the cowboy, not the first. The cowboy way of life – man and horse, working and living together as one entity, herding cattle or horses – began 1000 years ago, with roots long before that. It started in North Africa, moved to Spain, then to North and South America and other parts of the New World. The American cowboy benefited from, built upon, and really is a continuation of that long global heritage.

And second, because this is such an international culture, it is yet one more example of how all cultures have common roots, if you look for them, and people are connected by their natures around the world. I’m sure if we put our Texas cowboys and Argentine swamp gauchos together, they’d feel very different from one another for the first few minutes. Till they mounted up and rode out, and then they’d instantly realize how very similar they are.

BMZ: Can you tell us about any of your upcoming projects? Do you plan on making more large format films?

HL: I can’t tell you what they are just yet, but we’re beginning the fundraising stages for two more large format films. That’s usually very time consuming, so they could be a few years away from hitting the screen. Then, we have two feature films we’re developing. Whichever one finds funding first, is the next one we’ll produce. That’s always the way it goes in filmmaking.