INTO THE WILD opens friday in select the aters

“screenplay and directed by Sean Penn”

“Has all the makings of a good flick if you've read the book. However, since Sean Penn, one of Hollywood's top jerkwads will make a buck or two from it, I will not attend and will discourage everyone I know from also attending.”

“I read the book a few years ago. Not sure if I'd want to see the movie.”

“On the basis of being a 'jerkwad' you should turn off your television, radio, internet, and forego some large percent of the greatest art made by some of the most immoral jerks th'rout time in Western history.

If you don't want to give Sean money, there's always the .avi file.”

“I'll see the movie when it goes to Blockbuster”

“they made a book? how did they write it so fast? the movie just came out!”

“I haven't yet read the article in Outside on it, but did read the one in National Geographic Adventure.

Don't be so fast to jump to conclusions. According to that article, Penn and Krakauer held off on making it for 10 years because the mother didn't want it made. Finally she said OK (Penn has had the option that long).

They have added some stuff (per usual Hollywood) like having McCandless raft the Grand Canyon. He wouldn't do it until after Penn had attempted it - and he got to see how quick a rescue crew got him. Then the acter did make it through.

Actually, Penn sounds pretty reverent in the article, which was written by a prof Krakauer had in college.”

“I was just gonna post was lizs said. From the 3 articles I read Penn worked very closely with the family insuring that reality was portrayed as much as possible. Though they didnt use the original bus or its location. He felt that filming at the site (where Chris' personal effect still lie) would be inappropriate.

I will wait for the video though. Not worth $20 in tix.”

“lizs and birch, Slate has a little difference of opinion with y'all.

......But Penn performs one bit of sleight-of-hand on the book that's borderline unforgivable. In an attempt, perhaps, to justify Chris' decision not to communicate with his parents for more than two years (he failed to notify them before he hit the road, and they never saw him alive again), Penn inserts a flashback back story that shows the McCandless' relationship as abusive and violent. In grainy Super 8-style scenes, the parents (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden) drink and push each other around as the young Chris and Carine look on. It's a Lifetime TV rule that this movie should have risen above: Every questionable moral action must be explained by an equal and opposite childhood trauma. In Krakauer's account, McCandless's father, Walt, was something of a remote perfectionist but certainly no wife-beater. As for Billie McCandless, she sewed the sleeping bag in which her son would eventually meet his end (a heartbreaking detail that, had Penn left it in, might have cast his proudly self-sufficient hero in a less idealizing light). If I were a member of the McCandless family, I'd be furious at this insertion, but Penn waited years for the parents' permission—presumably, they allowed him the license to fictionalize as he saw fit.

http://www.slate.com/id/2174396/nav/tap3/”

“emphasis added.”

“Duh.... ;-)”

“wow, you mean movies arent like real life? wow. thats new”

“Interesting about the Grand Canyon. When I saw the trailer my first comment was, "I don't remember him rafting/kaying?" I figured it was bad memory on my part.”

“he had a canoe. I would like to see him shooting those rapids in a canoe.”

“Dani & I saw it today. I don't really care how close to the real story it was. It was powerful as hell and very moving. And the dying at the end, which I'm thinking was not fiction, was heart wrenching. I went in thinking the dude was an idiot only to be shown I was dead wrong.

I will look for the book now.”

“I never thought he was an idiot. He was a free spirit enjoying his life. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“The book was powerful. I can't wait to see the movie.”

“I entered for a pre-release free showing of this film in Nashville- hope I get it or I will wait for netflix!”

“I hope this means we won't have to look at the same dang banner ad any longer.”

“it isn't playing here yet. I am tired of waiting. I hate it when a good flick is in limited release.”

“BM - The trailer makes it looks like he's bumming off people and living in a bus. Like he wants to be outside in nature, but still depends on society. Also, looks like it would be impractical for 99% of society to do what he did. You said he wasn't an idiot, but died in the end? What was moving about it?”

“I'll read the book then go see the movie and leave the theater pissed as always when they make books into movies. The book has ben on my "to read" list for a while. I'll probably pick it up next week.”

“you can borrow my book, I'll bring it the next time we meet up”

“I never thought he was an idiot. He was a free spirit enjoying his life.

split the differenece. he was an idiotic free spirit”

“There is a very long line of idiotic free spirits who died to soon. He's in good company.”

“he's rotting in a bus. darwin would be pleased”

“maybe his soul is, but they drug his body out”

“yea, i know that. try not taking that last statement so literally”

“do you have children, cb?”

“try not to take my last statement so seriously”

“why are you making this about me, bm?

lazy comeback, hyway”

“simple question. needs one word”

“im not saying he deserved to die or that it wasnt tragic. quite the opposite, in fact. i'm just saying, lets not glamorize the guy. people act like he's some modern day daniel boone.

a soldiers death on the battlefield is a noble death. dying to protect a loved one is a noble death. dying of ennui with modern life is not a noble death”

“no, bearmagnet, do you?

whether or not i have children has no bearing on whether or not i think he is an idiot

whether or not i think he is an idiot has no bearing on whether or not i feel compassion for his family
last edited: 10/13/07 7:59:04 PM”

“mean, ive got the book with me at work right now. about 20 pages left. ill let you borrow it when im done if you'd like. then we can see the movie and have a rant about how ridiculous it is when they try to make a literary work into a major motion picture.

although i respect the effort, and will even see the movie myself... if you want the REAL story, READ THE BOOK.”

“I see. He had a dream. He died doing it, no? He #&%!$ed up. But still, he tried where many just dream. Not glamorizing him.”

“I agree with you 100%, Crash. I am just saying don't demonize him for the efforts of others to make him a hero. (Not saying you are trying to demonize him, but some people do).

He followed his own path and died doing it. Nothing more nothing less.

The book was great, could have been better with a little less of Krakouer inserting himself into the story.”

“Glad to see others were thinking along the same lines.

What exactly was special about this guy? Sounds like he unsuccessfully tried to make a point, and only partially followed his own rules. The tragedy is this man's dillusional behavior.”

“I've read the book, and now saw the movie. I didn't realize he was up there in the Spring and Summer of 92' roaming and working from 200-500 miles away from his location. I know we had a huge volcanic eruption in June, which dumped about 3" of ash all over the place. I wonder if that had any significance in his death, i.e. plant life dying/etc. It was "raining" ash for about 3 days, and that stuff stayed on the ground until I left at the beginning of September. There was no mention of this in the book or movie though. I wonder if his area (he was due north of the eruption while I was due east) wasn't hit becuase of the jetstream?

Anyway the movie was a great depiction of the book. The scenery brought back some memories! I remember that besides Mt. Spurr erupting and Chris's unfortuante demise, the locals were calling that year "the year of the maulings" - quite a few people were mauled by bears that summer, including Darcy Staver.

Thanks again to Tarabull, who reccomended the book many years ago.”

“Stinks that the movie isn't out here. I wonder if it will just skip on by?”

“My fear is that the movie will create enough interest that idiots will flock to the bus and strip out all his effects and anything remotely associated with his stay there. Most likely it is already starting to happen.

For that reason I liked it better when it was just a book that was mostly only read by backpackers and Krakauer fans. Other than that the movie looks promising.
last edited: 10/21/07 7:19:59 PM”

“SS, on the Slate website there is a comment apparently from his sister responding to that article saying that that scene was real, and that she helped write that scene. The family apparently had a huge amount of oversight on the script.
Good movie all the way around, the end was a bit over the top however.”

“I may just go see it Fri Night- 2 theaters in Nashville are showing it nearby.”

“From Rolling Stone's review...

If you read the book and pegged Chris as a wacko narcissist who died out of arrogance and stupidity, then Penn's film version is not for you. If, like Penn, you mourn Chris' tragedy and his judgment errors but also exult in his journey and its spirit of moral inquiry, then this beautiful, wrenching film will take a piece out of you.

I guess I'll skip it then. LOL!”

“What if you pegged Chris as a wacko narcissist who died out of arrogance and stupidity, but you also exult in his journey and its spirit of moral inquiry? I bet I would like it.”

“hyway exults in stupidity

so do i”

“Thats why I love TT”

“i am going to wait until they come out with the book before seeing the movie. you can get so much more out of reading a book.”

“books are delicious”