Racing on the Salt Flats

Australian filmmaker Roger Donaldson shot much of his drama "The World's Fastest Indian" in Utah last year, and says he found the experience to be so positive that he's already making plans to return.

"I'll be back," he said by phone from New York City. "There's no doubt in my mind. Utah was great to me and my cast and crew,"

The film is based on the life of amateur motorcycle racer Burt Munro, who set several land-speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats during the late 1960s — when Munro was well into his 60s. The film's title refers to Munro's 1920 motorcycle. (The film opens nationally today.)

"Burt's story is so incredible," Donaldson said. "Here's a man who wouldn't give up on his dreams even as he got older, no matter how many people told him it wouldn't happen for him.

"And Burt was just such an incredibly charismatic man, so full of life. He's a legend in New Zealand, and he's a source of local pride to all of his fellow townspeople."

Donaldson met Munro in the early 1970s and even shot a documentary feature about him titled "Offerings to the God of Speed." Since then, he's been trying to develop a feature film based on Munro's story. "It's one of those projects that you want to get absolutely right. And it's taken me 20 years just to come up with a script that I felt did Burt's story justice."

Then there was the matter of finding the right actor to play Munro, whom the filmmaker described as a "real character." Enter Oscar-wining actor Anthony Hopkins, who starred in Donaldson's 1984 remake, "The Bounty."

"Anthony is a filmmaker's dream come true," said Donaldson. "He's an actor who gives everything to his craft. I'd already been looking for something that we could work on together, and my list of possible Burts pretty much began and ended with him."

But the film's most crucial role wound up being filled by the state of Utah.

Donaldson spent two weeks touring with Utah Film Commission officials, who sold him on the state's merits — especially its scenic locations. "There's such a variety of places out there. It was a huge relief to me when I realized I could shoot most of my movie in one state."

Still, there were certain incentives Utah officials used to seal the deal. "The World's Fastest Indian" received a 10-percent tax-and-services rebate from the state, saving the production $500,000.