When this 1958 Testarossa arrived on set on the Arizona/Utah border, I
was struck by its curvaceous beauty. Our initial leaning was to shoot
head on and we did exactly that, but when I saw the car in profile, its
length and ground hugging architecture was visually arresting. I knew
that I had to play on this and where better to do this than in Monument
Valley - John Ford’s favourite playground? He kept returning here as he
knew he had found a topographic stage without equal. In his own words
“it afforded him an extra character for free”. John Ford was a stickler
for horizons and camera angles. Anyone who watched the Fabelmans,
specifically the last scene, will know what I am getting at. I am a
lucky man. To be filming with this car, in this most grand of settings,
with the female powerhouse that is Brooks Nader, is like getting the
first, second and third at the Kentucky Derby. When I set the shot up, I
wanted to glorify the length of the car and the vista behind stirred
the alchemy that gave us this celebration of life on earth. It is a
beautiful world. Ferrari gets it, John Ford got it and I am learning all
the time.