Into the Wild, Onto the Screen

I'm re-reading the bestseller INTO THE WILD in preparation for the release of the movie on September 21. This may well be my favorite book, and I am eagerly anticipating the movie. Sean Penn wrote the screenplay and is the director of the movie. Judging from what I have read, especially in the latest issue of OUTSIDE magazine, which has the movie as the cover story, Penn has tackled this project with an iron will. For several years others tried to get permission from the family of the book's subject, Chris McCandless, to tell Chris' story. The tenacious Penn earned the family's trust after many discussions with them about how the young man's story should be treated. Penn promised the family that the movie would be the only project he would work on, and he did just that for two years until the movie was completed. In the Outside magazine article, Chris' mother says, "I want this movie to do what the book did: grip people in the heart. Make people think. Bring people and families together. It's a lesson." Penn went to great lengths to tell the story accurately. I have a feeling the film will be special. We'll see.