Actor ‘quite enamoured’ with author’s horseback autobiography
Posted: Monday Jul 31, 2023
An obscure book by a Dunedin author has popped up in the biggest movie of the year and has won praise from one of its stars.
An obscure book by a Dunedin author has popped up in the biggest movie of the year and has won praise from one of its stars.
In the blockbuster Barbie, Ryan Gosling, who plays Ken, is seen holding the book Man and Horse: The long ride across America while saying "you caught me reading" to Barbie.
In a press interview for the Barbie movie, Gosling said while fellow star Margot Robbie gave the book about a trek by horseback across United States to him as a joke, he loved it enough he wanted to make it into a movie.
The book’s author, former University of Otago music lecturer John Egenes, who is originally from the US, said he "could not believe it" when his wife called him from the US and told him his book featured in the blockbuster.
"She called me and said, ‘look, I saw your book in the movie!’," Mr Egenes said.
He was happy Gosling seemed to be "quite enamoured" with the book.
Mr Egenes said he would like to see it on the big screen, not for himself, but for his horse, Gizmo.
"One of the main reasons I finally wrote this book is for his sake, he’s sort of this unsung hero, especially of mine."
But Mr Egenes was not holding his breath, as "the wheels turn slowly in Hollywood".
The book is an autobiography about Mr Egenes travelling coast to coast in the US on horseback.
He and Gizmo started at the Pacific Ocean in California and travelled to the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia.
He said it was something he dreamed about for a very long time, and over the years it just manifested itself.
"I was just out there with my horse, completely disconnected.
"It was like a different universe from today really."
He took Gizmo on the long cross-country trek in 1974.
"I had him since he was just a baby, I raised him and trained him and took him on this ridiculous ride."
Mr Egenes wrote the first manuscript not long after he and Gizmo finished the adventure, but he did not think it was quite good enough, so he just chucked it in a box and moved on with his life.
Five years ago, he started feeling like he really needed to finish the job, so he did.
The book is available on print and on audiobook.