The Scott Ranch, which today includes livestock and buffaloes, has been in the family for generations.
John’s grandfather homesteaded the property in 1904, and John purchased the ranch from his uncle’s estate in 1975.
“I’ve been around farming and ranching all my life,” he said.
John’s first experience in film and television came on the 1970 film Little Big Man.
The movie stars Dustin Hoffman as 121-year-old Jack Crabb, who recounts his life, which includes being raised by the Cheyenne, working under Gen. Custer and surviving the Battle of Little Bighorn.
At the time, John was involved in the rodeo circuit, and the movie’s production company asked him for help.
“They asked me to put some horses and riders together,” he said. “I started as a riding extra making $25 a day. Then I got moved up with the stunt guys and made $100 a day.”
During the filming process, executives told Scott his land is prime for shooting westerns and other movies needing rural types of settings.
“They looked at me and said there’s no parking metres, no telephone poles, no skyscrapers. It’s perfect,” he said.
Scott took that information and paired it with some of the supplies his grandfather had at the farm.
“He still had wagons, and harnesses, and some other pieces here and there,” he said. “I started putting a little outfit together until I had one of the biggest ones in Canada to be able to supply the movie business.”
After Little Big Man finished filming, Scott received an invitation to head to Hollywood to learn more about stunt production and other aspects of moviemaking.
“I worked for free for three months,” he said. “I cleaned manure out of trucks just so I could get on the sets of Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and other productions. That’s where I learned the business.”
Scott’s movie business is called John Scott Productions & Motion Picture Animals.
His business has three sets built on the ranch.
In 2023, Scott’s ranch along with two others in Alberta – CL Ranch and Albertina Farms, won the Location of the Year award at the Global Production Awards, which are held during the Cannes Film Festival in France.
In total, Scott has been involved with seven movies that took home Oscars.
And he has bumped elbows with some of Hollywood’s biggest names.
He taught Jackie Chan how to ride for Shanghai Noon and helped Brad Pitt get ready for his role in Legends of the Fall. In addition, he was the late Gene Hackman’s stunt double in movies like Prime Cut, Superman, and Unforgiven.
Scott has also been hired as a stunt coordinator, stunt performer, or wrangler for productions like Lord of the Rings in New Zealand, The Revenant, and Heartland.
Despite their celebrity status, the actors are not above putting in the work to prepare for their roles, Scott said.
“They’re great people and they want your help because they respect your expertise and the animals,” he said. “Pitt rode seven different horses for Legends of the Fall, and I think he looked great on all of them. Jackie Chan came here with no riding experience and worked at it so hard that after two weeks you’d think he had years of experience.”
Having production companies come to Alberta is always the preferred choice for Scott.
He tries to promote the province and knows the kind of impact these productions can have on the surrounding community.
“The spinoff from a movie dollar is roughly five or six to one,” he said. “The hotels, lumber yards, car rentals, restaurants, all do so well when a movie is in town. If it’s a western, you can imagine how well tack shops, hay suppliers, and farriers do. We need these dollars coming to the province to support jobs and our communities.”
And seeing a movie or show and knowing Alberta is producing the backdrop brings a sense of pride, Scott added.
Making a movie and running a farming operation have multiple similarities.
Both need the right location, and a certain amount of risk.
“They’re both gambles,” Scott said. “You’re always financing and hoping to make a buck by the end of it.”
And of course, there’s Mother Nature.
The third season of Billy the Kid is being shot on Scott’s ranch, but production had to stop.
“Just yesterday there was so much smoke from the wildfires out of B.C. we had to shut down because the air quality wasn’t safe for the horses to work in,” he said.