In August, 2006, I sent the Cogburns an email (“I’d like to suggest a documentary idea”), and they immediately invited me to the ranch. I was given a three-hour tour of the property, during which D.C. discussed fences, flying altitudes, and a painful 7-million dollar lawsuit. All the ingredients of a fascinating story were presented to me on that first visit. But the thing that most captivated me was D.C. (“Rooster”) himself. His looks resemble Archy Bunker’s, but he has the business sense of a Henry Ford. He’s been an animal trainer, a rodeo clown, a bull rider, and owner of half a dozen businesses. He can speak to anyone. And his mind revolves around hugely ambitious plans. All his life he’s been extremely capable. But in 2005, when it came to fighting the insurance company of the two balloonists, he found himself severely handicapped. He believed that telling the truth would give him the upper hand. That, however, didn’t work. The jury was manipulated by the insurance company’s lawyers, and D.C. was left on the verge of bankruptcy. What upset him most was that neither the balloonists nor the insurance company was willing to acknowledge any responsibility for the incident. For me, his predicament has a universal theme that presents itself in the form of a question: To what extent are we responsible for what happens to us? |
