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 3 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.

“What moved me most is how hard the family tries to make it all work. Everyone has the best intentions; there are no villains other than the vagaries of time and circumstance.”

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.”

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