Into The Wild movie coming out in Sept.

[JD Mandrell]

I think the media just wants a gripping story. I'm guessing that movies about someone going into the woods and coming out again in fine fettle aren't big draws, unless he kills lots of people or does something sensational along the way.

Gordon

Well said, I know I can come across pretty harsh about those two, especially Treadwell, but that's what bugs me. Why can't Hollywood make a great decent outdoor movie about guys like Heimo Korth and his family, or any of the others that went "out to the woods" and did it right. Instead the guys who do everything wrong that get the attention.

Sorry, rant mode off!

 

[TDahlgren]

Any movie directed by Sean Penn, will have an extreme, left wing bias. It will be anti-capitalism, anti-logging, anti-mining, anti-hunting, anti-Republicans, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

McCandless was an absolute crystal gazing fool. He died because of his own New Age idiocy and total lack of understanding of the reality of Nature.

You couldn't pay me to watch any piece of left wing trash that that communist loving Sean Penn directs, much less pay money into his pocket.

L.W.

Pretty much sums up my feelings about Penn.

But I'm hopeful; stopped watches and all that...

But, realistically it's just not likely. People who read books are willing to deal with subjects that few, if any moviegoers want to see. Including the pathetic end of a clueless narcissist. Young adults self destruct eight ways to Sunday, this one just happened to be more than a bit unusual and earned the attention of a gifted author. Any movie that closely follows the facts is going to be all but unwatchable.

Edit: that Wikipedia entry says he carried a hunting rifle in Alaska, I seem to remember it as being a .22 - anyone still have a copy of the book?

 

[runningboar]

Edit: that Wikipedia entry says he carried a hunting rifle in Alaska, I seem to remember it as being a .22 - anyone still have a copy of the book?

Remington nylon IIRC.

 

[Alberta Ed]

I'd go to see it if Sean Penn got mauled to death by a grizzly.

 

[ADD]

Politics aside :yawn:, Penn has a reputation amongst his peers in the industry as a helluva an actor...

 

[heavenablaze]

I read the book and to me it seemed that he was sick of our culture and the materialistic society that we live in today. He longed for an escape and the only place he knew of that still seemed "wild" was Alaska. No matter how idealistic or misguided he was, at least he was living his life how he wanted to live. In the end, though, he got what he deserved.

 

[JD Mandrell]

P I seem to remember it as being a .22 - anyone still have a copy of the book?

Yes, it was a .22.

 

[TDahlgren]

I read the book and to me it seemed that he was sick of our culture and the materialistic society that we live in today. He longed for an escape and the only place he knew of that still seemed "wild" was Alaska. No matter how idealistic or misguided he was, at least he was living his life how he wanted to live. In the end, though, he got what he deserved.

Yeah, I'm sure the anti-materialist, antisocial/counterculture aspects are what has drawn Penn to the project. I will not be surprised to see his actions heavily romanticized in the film. If this kid had been more of a survivalist/rambo-esque/ooo-rah type Penn would not touch his story with a ten foot pole.

But there is absolutely nothing inherently noble in 'living your life how you want to live.' Most every foul creature that has ever soiled the earth with their existence (choose your own example - serial killer, dictator, terrorist, etc.) could likewise be described as living their life upon the same terms.

I'm not even convinced he got what he deserved.

In the one sense yes. He was a narcisssistic kid who loved the Jack London motif. His big problem was that he wanted to be the star within just such an adventure. What he failed to realize is that the wilderness, not the characters, was the real star, eveyone else was, and is just a supporting character - and often dies as such. Give Mother Nature a clean shot and she'll kill you most every time. So, in that sense he learned his lesson the hard way.

In another sense no. He was an alienated antisocial kid (for as much as people seemed to like him he was somebody who never seemed to form any lasting personal bonds) who over romanticized and misunderstood nature. It appears he himself is to become something over idealized, romanticized and receiving an undue level of attention for someone so vain, foolish, and ultimately inconsequential.

 

[JD Mandrell]

Give Mother Nature a clean shot and she'll kill you most every time.

Wow, now that's a line to remember! Well put.

 

[mrostov]

Idealism to the point where you ignore reality is nothing but raw stupidity with a fancy excuse.

That moron finally wandered into a place where the thin veneer of civilization wasn't close enough to buffer his mistakes, and due to his stupidity, his mistakes were just too serious to survive without the necessary skills or mental outlook.

Most of todays eco-nuts, enviro-commies, and soft headed leftists are of a similar mentality.

Judith Kleinfeld wrote in an article entitled "McCandless: Hero or dumb jerk?" in the Anchorage Daily News, that "many Alaskans react with rage to [McCandless'] stupidity. You'd have to be a complete idiot, they say, to die of starvation in summer 20 miles off the Parks Highway.

 

[bcornelis]

Why can't Hollywood make a great decent outdoor movie about guys like Heimo Korth and his family, or any of the others that went "out to the woods" and did it right. Instead the guys who do everything wrong that get the attention.

I totally agree with you!