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Flicka
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 Flicka Production NotesBased on the novel "My Friend Flicka" by Mary O'Hara, "Flicka" is set against the backdrop of a modern-day ranch in Wyoming. It tells the story of Katie (Lohman), a teenager who dreams of running her family's ranch, much to the dismay of her father (McGraw); his hopes are pinned on her older brother. In the tale, Katie finds a wild horse she names Flicka and claims it for her own.
In Flicka, a contemporary motion picture adaptation of Mary O’Hara’s beloved novel My Friend Flicka, 16-year-old Katy McLaughlin (Alison Lohman) dreams of fulfilling her family legacy by working on her father’s ranch in modern-day Wyoming.
But Katy’s father (Tim McGraw) wants more for her, insisting that Katy go to college. Katy finds a wild mustang, which she names Flicka, and sets out to make her a riding horse. But Flicka and Katy are more alike than she could have imagined. Like Katy, Flicka has a disdain for authority and is not about to give up her freedom without a fight.
The principal character in the book and in its two motion picture incarnations was an adolescent boy. But this new version tells the story through the eyes of headstrong Katy McLaughlin.
Katy is enrolled in a private school on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming, but her heart is with her sprawling family ranch in the state’s remote mountain region. Katy returns home to the ranch, and soon becomes enamored of a wild mustang filly she finds in the mountain woods. She names the long-legged, ebony horse Flicka, or “beautiful young girl,” in Swedish.
But Katy’s rancher father, the equally-willful Rob, sees nothing but trouble coming from the untamed animal and discourages his daughter from keeping her. Nonetheless, conflicted by a need to harness her own wild ways yet stay true to a free spirit within, Katy sets out to break through to Flicka and transform her into a riding horse.
Despite her father’s disapproval, Katy goes on and forms an unbreakable bond with the wild horse. Her relationship with Flicka becomes a catalyst for change for the entire McLaughlin family, which is at a major crossroads: Katy’s dad is considering selling the ailing ranch, brother Howard (Ryan Kwanten) wants to leave Wyoming for college in Boston, and her mother Nell (Maria Bello) is fighting to keep her family from falling apart.
Can Katy ultimately tame her beloved Flicka and prove everyone wrong about the wild-hearted mustang? Will Rob find a way to support his daughter yet still keep her safe through this momentous life passage? And can the McLaughlins hold onto the ranch that they’ve worked so hard to maintain throughout a sea of social and economic change?
The journey back to the big screen for the enduring story of “My Friend Flicka” began with a new script by veteran screenwriters Mark Rosenthal & Lawrence Konner, who have collaborated in the past on such hit films as The Jewel of the Nile and Planet of the Apes.
Recalls Rosenthal, “When [Fox 2000 President] Elizabeth Gabler approached us about adapting ‘Flicka,’ we went straight back to the novel and decided to maintain its tone, which was deeply felt, but somewhat dark.” Rosenthal continues: “We found its themes even more significant today, as the American West, particularly Wyoming, has become a playground of second homes for the new super-wealthy.
“The story of an average, hard-working family eking out a living on the land and raising horses seemed to take on a whole new relevance in light of our country’s current economic climate,” Rosenthal elaborates.
It was Gabler who came up with the idea to make the story fresh and contemporary by turning the book’s main character, a teenage boy named Ken, into “Katy.” It was a brainstorm that challenged and inspired the writers. Says Rosenthal:
“This new twist gave Rob, the father, an exciting dilemma: What if the child that really understood the land and the ranch was the daughter, and not the son? This coupled with her headstrong personality and sometimes irresponsible ways generated a new way to look at the material.”
“Things pretty much flowed from the one central new idea,” explains Konner, “allowing us to create a father-daughter story where both characters had to learn something about themselves and each other. Each one had to re-examine their role within a revised family dynamic.”
The next step was attaching a director to the project, and the script was sent to Michael Mayer, who’d just directed his first feature, the well-received relationship drama A Home at the End of the World. Though Mayer, an acclaimed and highly successful Broadway theatre director, had no direct experience with horses or shooting action scenes, his grasp of storytelling and portraying human emotion made him an ideal candidate for the character-based FLICKA.
“I thought it was a really beautiful, universal story about the coming-to-terms of a father and daughter,” says Mayer. “It just so happens that a wild mustang is at the fulcrum of their relationship.
With a completed script and a director on board, the cast for Flicka was then assembled. To play the pivotal role of determined young horse enthusiast Katy, the filmmakers zeroed in on the versatile Alison Lohman, who had impressed critics and audiences in such diverse films as White Oleander, Matchstick Men and Big Fish.
“Alison’s a great actress,” states the director. “Her performances have been amazingly soulful and truthful, with a depth that belies her years. I knew she could bring to Katy the exact combination of intelligence and emotional volatility.”
“I was instantly drawn to the character of Katy,” confirms Lohman. “I loved the fact that she’s not afraid to be opinionated. Even though she’s young, she stands her ground and knows what she wants. At the same time she’s also very soft and girly. I really liked that contradiction in her.”
The filmmakers then turned to music superstar – and rising actor – Tim McGraw to play Katy’s intractable, but deeply loving father, Rob. McGraw, who made an impressive acting debut in 2004’s hit football drama Friday Night Lights, welcomed the opportunity to play a more likable character. “Rob has his tougher moments, but he’s a good guy and solid family man,” says McGraw. “It was a great opportunity to do a movie that my kids – and kids for generations to come – could see and enjoy.
The filmmakers then turned to music superstar – and rising actor – Tim McGraw to play Katy’s intractable, but deeply loving father, Rob. McGraw, who made an impressive acting debut in 2004’s hit football drama Friday Night Lights, welcomed the opportunity to play a more likable character. “Rob has his tougher moments, but he’s a good guy and solid family man,” says McGraw. “It was a great opportunity to do a movie that my kids – and kids for generations to come – could see and enjoy.”
Family was also on McGraw's mind when he produced the film’s soundtrack and wrote the original song “My Little Girl” with Tom Douglas, which McGraw performs as well. “The song has special meaning to me both for the film and being a father of three daughters,” says McGraw.
For Maria Bello, who was cast as Katy’s strong and centered mother Nell, FLICKA was a departure from her edgier film credits like Permanent Midnight, The Cooler and A History of Violence. “I don’t tend to be attracted to what could be considered ‘lighter’ material,” notes Bello, “but when I heard Michael Mayer was directing I realized I should pay attention. When I read the script, with its beautifully written relationships, I knew exactly why Michael was involved, and I knew I had to be too.”
Up-and-coming Australian actor Ryan Kwanten was next cast as Katy’s collegebound brother Howard. Dallas Roberts, who starred in the director’s A Home at the End of the World, was brought on as the McLaughlins’ reserved, long-time ranch hand Gus. Danny Pino was then selected to play the ranch’s other hand, the cocky heartthrob, Jack. Kaylee DeFer portrays Howard’s wealthy, horse-loving girlfriend Miranda.
Before filming began, the director and his cast had to become as familiar and fluid as possible with handling horses. Since, aside from Tim McGraw, the group had little or no experience with the animals, a “Cowboy Camp” was created where they were able to train with the film’s wranglers and learn everything they could about horses in a few short weeks.
The camp, led by head wrangler Rusty Hendrickson, introduced the actors to the horses they’d be riding, and established an overall comfort level with the animals.
“Whether it was teaching them how to twirl a rope, get on and off a horse properly, or any other related nuance, the goal was to make sure the actors would be able to sell it on film,” explains Hendrickson. Though everyone’s aptitude around horses was different, the wrangler maintains “sometimes it’s easier to teach someone who’s sponging in the information, than someone who already knows everything. They just hear more.”
As the actor who’d be spending the most screen time on or around horses, Alison Lohman had the most to learn. “You can’t act like you can ride – you can either ride or you can’t,” asserts Hendrickson. “So the first piece of business was getting Alison in the saddle. We had to bring her along fairly quickly, but we were all surprised and impressed with how well she did.”
Says Lohman: “With riding a horse, I think it’s just a matter of doing it, of just practicing and being with the horses, touching them, spending time with them. It was daunting and painful at first, but after weeks of training, it eventually started coming together. I was really proud of what I was able to accomplish in a relatively short time.”
Lohman wanted to connect with the horses emotionally. Recalls Hendrickson, “Alison wanted to know what a horse needs and what she should expect in return. She was as hard-working about the relationship as she was with the riding.
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Katy McLaughlin (Alison Lohman) and her mother Nell (Maria Bellow) enjoy watching their horses in Flicka.
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