An Alberta stunt coordinator and horse wrangler employed during the
shooting of Texas Rangers, due to open on Friday, has told the
Calgary Sun that he counted 20 “horse-related accidents” that
occurred during the production.
Describing the teen western as
“unreleasable” (after being shelved for nearly two years, it is finally
opening in 17 theaters) the horseman, John Scott, said: “The film was
plagued with problems from day one and those problems produced an
atmosphere of carelessness” on the part of riders.
However, one of the
producers of the Miramax film, Frank Q. Dobbs, told the Sun that
Scott’s criticism appears to “put the blame on the Alberta wranglers and
stunt men and that is grossly unfair. …There are always minor
incidents whenever you are using horses on a film.” Dobbs acknowledged
that Texas Rangers “is definitely not the best western, but its
faults have nothing to do with the competence or dedication of Alberta
filmmakers, wranglers and stunt people. It is unconscionable and
self-serving for John Scott to suggest differently.”
