HATS, HORSES, AND HOLLYWOOD

Robert Duvall featured the Petersons, a traveling rodeo family, in Ogallala, Nebraska in his 1974 release of the his documentary We’re Not The Jet Set. Rex Peterson, the fourth of 8 children, began trick horse riding at the age of 7 years old and left home in his late teens to follow his dream of becoming one of the worlds premiere horse trainers for film and TV, never to return to the land his grandparents homesteaded in 1890.

Hats, Horses and Hollywood draws the audience into the life of the often controversial showbiz career of Rex Peterson and his pursuit of excellence throughout his 45-year Hollywood career.

Having trained horses for many of the most memorable horse performances from the iconic Hollywood movies that we love, Rex is a man cut from the same cloth of the cowboy and the rugged self-reliance, toughness and manliness of the American West – an anachronism in the world of Hollywood. With interviews featuring A-list actors and directors, producers, stunt people, historians, siblings, and an equine neuroscientist. Hats, Horses and Hollywood looks deeply at techniques and trends in animal training and safety, representation both on and off the screen in the Western genre and the industry, and examines the impact of the sacrifices one makes to perform at the highest level of one’s craft without compromising safety in the fast paced, high stakes land of Hollywood film production.

MEET THE TEAM

Paul Brozen (Director / Producer) took an early interest in photography after the gift of a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera from his grandmother Ruth at age 7. Paul first met Rex eight years ago on the set of The Knick, an episodic set in the turn of the century. Rex provided the horses and wagons, while Paul provided period correct vehicles. Paul often jokes that he and Rex both work with horses; Rex’s limit is up to 8hp driving a stagecoach, while Paul deals with 350hp under the hood of a car. Rex and Paul started talking a few years ago about making a documentary about Rex’s life story. Rex finally agreed to the idea as he was thinking about retiring. Rex felt that his mentor, Glenn Randall Sr. had an enormous amount to share about horse training, but sadly took all his tales to the grave.

Andrew Saxe (Producer) is an accomplished film and TV producer with a noteworthy body of work in a career spanning 30+ years. Andrew has had the privilege of working with some of the most respected and awarded directors, actors, and production teams in the business, as well as broadcast, cable and streamers that include ABC, NBC, CBS, USA, FX, HBO, Universal, Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, Apple TV+, Amazon, and Netflix. Andrew's passion, creative sensibilities, and commitment to excellence have resulted in critically acclaimed and commercially successful projects, while his diverse production expertise continues to shape the landscape of filmed entertainment.

Executive Producers Robert Duvall and Viggo Mortensen

HOW YOU CAN HELP

With the trending desire for real stories about good people; this behind the scenes look at what it takes to film with a horse is enchanting and informative.  

Following the successful resurgence of westerns, Hats, Horses and Hollywood is guaranteed to wrangle the interest of folks of all ages.   

We are busily working on Phase 2, editing and cutting together our beautiful footage of these amazing animals with unrevealed stories and interviews by renowned filmmakers.

As with many documentaries, your financial help is needed and greatly appreciated, to bring our story to the finish line. 

Your generous donation is Tax Deductible and you’ll see your name in the credits.  If you are interested in a major contribution or in assisting in other aspects of completing the film, please reach out to our Producer Andrew Saxe, at 917.656.1917 or [email protected]. 

We appreciate your support and look forward to you joining us on our journey.