#THE FOG MOVIE MOVIE#
The movie played twice in Vegas and was received very enthusiastically, largely due to Harry’s charisma. Harry had never been to Vegas and was all set to make the trip but as it turned out, come June, he was simply too sick to go. It was particularly bittersweet for me because the movie was finally seeing the light of day, due to make its premiere at a film festival called CineVegas. Harry soldiered on for several months and finally passed away in June. It felt like I got kicked in the stomach when I heard the news. I couldn’t believe that he was so sick and I couldn’t believe that he could joke about it. I used to joke with him and Greg that I needed one of them to die so that I would have a dramatic ending for my film and, true to form, Harry called me when he first got the news that there was a tumor - “Hey John, I think I have an ending for you.” I couldn’t believe it. Harry somehow maintained a sense of humor through it all. When they went in, they found that the cancer was everywhere. If they discovered that the cancer had spread, however, the only option would be to close him up and figure out how best to make him comfortable in his final days. The plan was to open him up, get the lay of the land, and cut out the cancer. The doctors knew he had some kind of tumor near his pancreas and that it was malignant but they didn’t know if it had spread anywhere else in his body. For those who didn’t keep track of the saga of Lost in the Fog, Harry was diagnosed with cancer about fourteen months ago. Sadly, Harry’s gone now and by the same fate as his beloved horse. I’m pleased with the final film but, more importantly, I was pleased to get to know Harry. I took on the story in 2005 and it turned into the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. Well, I’m definitely one of the lucky ones. Lost in the Fog’s trainer, Greg Gilchrist, told me one time that I was lucky because Harry either likes you and will do anything for you or he doesn’t like you and he won’t talk to you for a thousand years. He took a shine to me immediately and was infinitely generous since day one. I think that made a difference when I first went into his office to introduce myself.
We ran the same streets and played in the same parks albeit 50 years removed from one another. In fact, his family store and home in Noe Valley were less than two blocks from the house in which I grew up. We both grew up in the same neighborhood in San Francisco. From the first moment I met him, I felt a kinship with him. However, the story is really more about the horse’s owner, Harry Aleo, and his curious blend of charisma and ill humor. On the surface LOST IN THE FOG is the story of a racehorse an unlikely champion that went on to distinguish himself as a horse for the ages.
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