Author: Linni Kral
The Movie
There is a feeling associated with finishing a great book. You can’t start another for a while because it has left you with so much to mull over. It infects your life, seeping into the far corners of consciousness. John Krakauer’s book Into The Wild had this effect on me and I’ve waited with bated breath for the movie adaptation.
The book had a similar affect on Sean Penn in 1998, when he first picked it up and read it twice in one day. He started trying to obtain the movie rights the next day. His persistence recently paid off through releases of his movie based on the book in New York and Los Angeles on September 21, though I was privileged enough to view a press screening at the Paramount lot.
Into The Wild tells the story of Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsch), who graduated from Emory University in 1990 and donated the $24,000 in his bank account to charity, cut up his social security card and set out for Alaska.
In the two years that followed, McCandless constructed a makeshift family across the country. He met parental figures Jan & Rainey, (Brian Dierker and Catherine Keener) who picked him up in their colorful van and let him live with them at a hippie desert community called Slab City. He finds employment in South Dakota from Wayne Westerberg (Vince Vaughn) and encounters grandfather-figure Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook), who provides the last real connection McCandless makes before entering the Alaskan wilderness.
The 224-page work of non-fiction is incredibly detailed, but the movie manages to stay true to all of it. It runs over two hours, but the music, put together by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, complements stunning shots of the American landscape to keep the audience riveted.
No, this film does not try to entertain you in the classic Hollywood way. The philosophies expounded by McCandless force you to reflect on your own path in life. When he says to Franz, “Careers are a 20th-century invention and I don’t want one,” a chill went through the theater and I felt every audience member second-guess their day’s routine.
We follow McCandless’s journey through quotes from his journal, where he touts the benefits of solitude. Perhaps the most tragic moment occurs later in Alaska, when he reads in Dr. Zhivago that happiness is only real when shared. It is after delighting in this realization that he attempts to depart the wild, only to find he has made some unfortunate mistakes. McCandless dies in the Alaskan wilderness, resulting in a climactic montage of his life that is painful to watch, yet peaceful and calm.
This movie brings out the wanderlust in all of us, and you can’t help but mull over it for hours and even days afterwards. It will have college students everywhere questioning their paths and possibly finding new meaning in them. It may sound idealistic or na’ve, but those who read the book will find themselves transformed, and those who see the movie will not be disappointed.
The Junket
As soon as the valet took my keys at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons, I was transported to another universe. I knew as Samuel L. Jackson strode through the elevator doors, trademark Kangol beret in place, that I was in for a wild ride at the Into The Wild press junket.
The jitters of being starstruck did not let up all day. Strolling through the elegant courtyard, who should I stumble upon but Sean Penn. My eyes widened as I kept walking into the conference hall, where reporters were encouraged to fill up the first two rows. The farthest audience members sat no more than 20 feet from the table where Sean Penn and Eddie Vedder would soon take their seats.
The conference lasted an hour and was extremely personal. Both men drank coffee and chain-smoked-Penn proudly displayed his additive-free American Spirits. The two were wearing heavy jackets despite the cloudless 80-degree day, perhaps as an homage to the separation anxiety Penn spoke of experiencing since the conclusion of filming in Alaska.
Penn had written the script to be told in part by songs, purposefully leaving out narrative on occasion. He didn’t choose Vedder for the project until halfway through filming. “What Emile was bringing was the soul of Eddie’s voice-a voice that has sat me down many times,” Penn said.
The highlight of the conference occurred after Vedder mentioned the prospect of selling his music to Viagra commercials if illegal downloading continues. About 10 minutes later, Penn said he was distracted by trying to imagine a Pearl Jam Viagra commercial. He then impulsively burst into a rendition of “Jeremy,” mimicking Vedder’s characteristic warble while miming a growing penis with his arm.
On my next lobby walk-through I encountered Aidan Quinn of Benny & Joon and Practical Magic, as well as Bill Slattery of Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives. A gourmet lunch buffet was set up for us next door in a small room with a table fit for no more than eight people. It was here that we would be conversing with the actors.
Kristen Stewart and Brian Dierker were the first to enter. Dierker, who made his acting debut in Into The Wild, was originally hired to do marine work for water scenes and was asked multiple times before agreeing to play Rainey. “[Penn] saw something in me he wanted Rainey to be,” Dierker said.
Stewart, who sings with Hirsch in the film, said she had pre-recorded in a studio but was told by Penn to perform it live for the scene. “He’s not big on rehearsal,” Stewart said. Hirsch was our next guest, jarringly clean-shaven and unsoiled in comparison to his role in the film. He described the drastic weight loss he underwent, saying that, unfortunately, diet and exercise is the only method that works. Hirsch had first heard McCandless’ story on a 20/20 episode as a child. “It was only 10 or 15 minutes I watched, but it really moved me,” Hirsch said. “As a kid, it was impossible to comprehend; I couldn’t even sleep with the lights off.”
Hirsch was placed in many frightening situations during filming, including a scene where he skins an actual moose and one where he encounters a live bear. “I thought I was bear-ly gonna make it out of there,” Hirsch joked. Now working on Speedracer, which is almost entirely done on a green screen, he described the transition like being in a sauna then jumping into an ice bath.
Jena Malone and Marcia Gay Harden were next-they played McCandless’s sister and mother, respectively. The two actresses had clearly formed a close bond while filming. When asked what people should take away from this film, Harden deferred to Malone, saying she liked her answer the best. “Take away is from McDonald’s,” Malone said. “If I tell you what to take away from it, I just shot myself in the foot trying to put on a shoe.” Harden said she personally took away a memory of herself she had forgotten, one that had been lost in her busy schedule, among other things. Harden, as well as many of the other actors, said they were in mourning upon walking off the film set.
When it came time to conclude these stimulating conversations about the nature of humanity, I too was in mourning. Not even the sight of Adrian Grenier next to me at the valet booth, obtaining the keys to his black hybrid car, could cheer me up.
OK, maybe it helped a little.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
