Actor-director Emilio Estevez has provided an update on 'Johnny Longshot,' his full-length feature film about a former thoroughbred jockey looking to make a comeback in the harness racing industry.
Estevez, 50, explained in an article on masonbuzz.com that the film's three-month pre-production has begun.
The Hollywood veteran returned to Ohio's Lebanon Raceway last week and said that the track has been very accommodating. “They’ve been great," Estevez said. "They’ve been very, very cooperative.”
The news of Estevez getting into the sulky for the film attracted much attention when it was announced last fall, but he can rest assured that he will be surrounded by some real pros when the cameras get rolling for the racing scenes.
The masonbuzz.com report explains that the film could end up seeing hundreds of local harness drivers in its finished product.
“There are seven races in Ohio (in the film), and in any given race, up to 10 drivers," Estevez said. "There could be hundreds of harness drivers when it’s all said and done.”
In addition to filming that will be taking place at Lebanon, Turfway Park and possibly Scioto Downs, Estevez stated that his cameras will also be rolling in another state on the industry's biggest day: Hambletonian Day, August 3 at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
“We’ll shoot the big race in New Jersey, and get back here (Ohio) as quickly as possible and shoot all of August and into September," said Estevez, who reitterated that the the bulk of the film is in Lebanon.
(With files from masonbuzz.com)
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