The Cup Is based on the true story of Damien Oliver who lost his brother just days before he was due to ride in the Melbourne Cup. Director Simon Wincer Gives us A glimpse behind the scenes.

It is a tale of triumph over adversity and one that’s very close to Australian hearts.

The Cup, a new film directed and co-written by Simon Wincer is the story of two brothers – Jason, who fell to his death in a horse accident, and Damien, left reeling yet determined to enter and win the Melbourne Cup in 2002.

“I am drawn to a story with a strong emotional thread,” Simon says.

Simon, who has a history of directing animals as well as people in movies from Phar Lap to Free Willy and The Man from Snowy River, has a love of horses, so it was no trouble for him to delve into the lives of those around horses and the race that stops the nation.

“I learned to ride when I was very young and I have been around horses all my life,” he says.

“I still compete in equestrian events.”

Simon lives on a farm in country Victoria.

The idea for The Cup, he says, came from a Texan journalist, who he met while filming a Tom Selleck western in Calgary.

Journalist and writer Eric O’Keefe later spoke to Simon about the idea of taking the story of young jockey Damien Oliver – whose brother died in a tragic accident days before the Melbourne Cup, and who subsequently won the race – and making it into a book.

The family had suffered a similar tragedy when their father died in a horse fall 27 years earlier.

“I said, ‘This isn’t a book, this is a movie’,” Simon says.

“We can write it together.

“So a Texan and an Australian wrote it together.”

This combination worked well for the Australian dialogue but not so well for the words of Irish trainer Dermot Weld.

“When Brendan Gleeson heard about it, he said he wanted to work more on the Irish dialogue,” Simon says, laughing.
Brendan plays Weld, the Irish trainer, who steered Damien and his horse Media Puzzle to victory and says he was drawn to the role because the movie had a lack of cynicism, with each character growing and showing redeeming qualities.

Stephen Curry (known for his roles in Cloudstreet and The Castle) is the real star of the movie, playing Damien.

“He said he couldn’t ride a horse, so he spent two years on my farm learning to ride a horse and he lost a lot of weight,” Simon says.

Stephen lost 12kg to be exact.

The movie, filmed at Flemington, features staged horse races with real horses.

“We had about 60 thoroughbreds,” Simon says.

“The thing is you need to own them, because you just can’t borrow them from the trainers.

“So we had to have these vehicles for the thoroughbreds and they take a particular diet.

“We actually sold 60 in an hour and a half at the auction after the movie.”

Filming horses is not the easiest of endeavours as Simon will attest.

“Thoroughbreds are skittish so you have to get them used to the people and the cameras,” he says.

Some of the action is not real, for example, when one horse takes a dramatic tumble during a race.

“That’s the magic of the movies,” Simon says.

“It’s a mixture of live action and an animatronics horse.”

Without endangering anyone, or a horse, Simon says the action sequences take your breath away.

The race scenes are also shot with small cameras on the sides of the horses.

“They are litmus cameras that are high definition,” Simon explains, saying that other cameras are too big and bulky to be effective, not the way he likes to shoot a scene.

“You can’t get amongst it,” he says.

It might seem like writing and directing could be an overwhelming challenge but Simon says both crafts work well together, and the more people he gets involved in his projects, the better.

“I wrote about 20 drafts of the script and Damien was very supportive,” Simon says.

“The more people involved, the more ideas you get, and that’s an advantage.”

Although Simon’s script is based on a true story, he says he was keen not to make it a documentary, but a piece of entertainment.

The family on which the film is based, loved it.

“Damien’s mother Pat – she lost her husband in the same way – said she loved it. Although it was very emotional,” Simon says.

“Damien was also very emotional in Melbourne.

“But he sees it as a tribute to his brother that will last forever.”

Simon says filming the movie was one of the happiest experiences of his career.

“Usually one person is a pain in the arse ...  but everyone got into it and was onside,” he says.

One of the funniest incidences was when Stephen fell off a horse on his first day.

“The horse got bouncy and he was flicked off,” Simon says.

“He was totally humiliated and his family were saying he shouldn’t be such a show-off, but he was totally unscathed.”

Simon’s next big endeavour is a movie also based on a true story, the tale behind the Australian classic song, Waltzing Matilda.

“It’s set at the height of a civil war when there is a shearer’s strike ... it’s a love story in which the central character is a swagman.

“It (the song) is an allegory.

“Every line has a hidden meaning.”

For Simon, it has the same inspirational basis he seeks in all his productions.

“Great stories make great movies,” he says. 

>> The Cup premieres in Melbourne tomorrow and is showing at Birch Carroll and Coyle Cairns City and Earlville from Thursday.

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