 
Many of you probably know Sean Penn as an actor, but he’s been directing flicks since 1991. His latest, Into the Wild stars Emile Hirsch as a young, idealistic kid who abandons life as most of us know it for the Alaskan wilderness. Based on the bestseller by Jon Krakauer, and inspired by a true story. The movie also stars Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, Kristen Stewart, William Hurt, and Marcia Gay Harden. Check out the trailer after the jump.
[myspace]http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2038412085[/myspace]
Into the Wild hits theaters this Fall.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Wow, if you know anything about Chris McCandless (or read Krakauer’s book), you know the ending isn’t one that mainstream audiences would consider uplifting. Still, cinematography looks fantastic, Hirsch is a talented young actor, and Sean Penn’s an actor’s actor (and a good director), so count me in.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:23 pm
This looks really awesome in my opinion. I’m going to read the book before it’s release though I believe. Can’t wait to see it.
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:35 am
This movie looks like it’s going to be terrific. Sean Penn is a talented actor and director. And this book is a moving account of a guy who wants to experience life in the raw.
After reading this book, I was encouraged to take more risks and live differently. It is well-written and moving. Read the book. See the movie on it’s first day out. Let’s give a bravo to Sean Penn for challenging the status quo with this films and life.
Kris Kemp
http://www.myspace.com/kriskemp
http://www.passporttowealth101.com
June 23rd, 2007 at 1:45 pm
I’m from Alaska, and believe me, this guy is nothing to look up to.
he was arrogant, and in turn, lacked respect for the environment he attempted to live in. if he would’ve simply prepared himself for the harsh elements of interior Alaska, he would’ve easily lived. he carried no map of the area, no large-caliber rifle, no ax…etc. these are essential items if you want to survive ‘in the wild’ of Alaska.
do you realize there was a hand-operated tram just upstream from him so he could cross the river? if he would’ve had a MAP - he would have simply WALKED out of there. for someone to die of starvation 15 miles away from a highway is simply asinine. but Hollywood continues to glorify this irresponsible behavior.
this is along the same lines of the guy who went to Alaska and hung out with the bears until he got eaten by one. simple lack of respect for the very environment that they claim to love.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:46 pm
This is awesome! Jon Krakauer is one of my favorite authors and this is one of his best books! I can’t wait!
June 25th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
I read the book a couple of years ago for a common book project that my university was doing. All of the incoming freshmen were required to read this book, and most didn’t like it. However, I thought it was a great read, and I will be surprised if Penn can make the movie as good as the book. I agree–the ending will be upsetting to most people, but the lesson behind the book is a good one to learn. Props to Sean Penn. I hope people actually go see this film and are inspired to read the book!
June 27th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
If you are talking about Chris and blaming his death on a lack of a map, compass, etc., I don’t think you understood his journey very well. I just read the book, which I found an excellent read. Chris was not about maps, directions, or conventional adventure travel. He was about himself, finding his route through life, not one predetermined by a map.
I personally would not have done it this way, but he did what he wanted to do, and obviously was not afraid to pay the price. Is it unfortunate, from my point of view, yes, but was it from his? Who know’s, but I think he lived the life he wanted.
July 1st, 2007 at 12:15 am
If Sean Penn’s talent is any indicator, this movie will somehow be inspiring even at such a great loss of life. The trailer leaves me wanting to see this movie as soon as it hits. Sean Penn appears to do projects for a reason, so I am anxious to see the message that he will be sending. He is articulate, brilliant and extremely talented. I will of course see the movie as I am always fascinated by Mr. Penn’s talent. Hopefully we will be seing Mr. Penn on the screen again soon. His incredible talent is unsurpassed.
July 3rd, 2007 at 3:12 am
Best of all… Eddie Vedder is writing the whole soundtrack!!!
July 3rd, 2007 at 12:12 pm
This book is also my favorite of all time, and when i found out that they were going to be making a movie out of it, i flipped out, I can’t wait to see this movie, I can only hope that it gets released into major circulations as I live in a rinky tink town that never brings movies like this to its theaters. Eddie Vedder is doing the sound track? Now i’m really hooked
July 4th, 2007 at 1:07 am
Yep - that’s correct - he’s written a full solo album’s worth of material as the films soundtrack to the film and had input into the music score.. Ed seems to really thrive when he collaborates with Penn, his musiccal insight and penns direction are a killer combiniation in my book !!! Can’t wait for it’s release! Apparently a lot of the movie was filmed in Seattle?? Not sure how correct that is but I’m sure Ed was very inspired both by the storyline, the fact it was filmed in his backyard and obviously he’s a huge admirer of Penn’s work
July 5th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
To jerry seinfeld,
Read the book. He survived just fine for a considerable amount of time. He chose not to bring a map. And was actually doing ok hunting with the small caliber rifles he had. His death was not of arrogance or poor preperation. He prepared for his trip to the extent he wanted to. I’m not going to tell you how he came to starve to death, but it wasn’t from lack of food. Read the book and you’ll see. Jon Krakauer was right saying that people from Alaska all think he was arrogant and didn’t respect the land for which he claimed to love. Those people aren’t reading the book and seeing that this was how he lived his life. He wanted to push himself to the limits. Read the book might change your opinion. Can’t wait for this movie!
July 8th, 2007 at 11:52 am
I too am from Alaska , and i have also read the book , am so glad sean took on this project , i thought this an awsome story that needs to be told , I think what this young man did , was beyond brave , but i also belive he was trying to find himself , and we will never tuly know if he ever did . But he wont be forgotton , and i thnk thats important ,
July 8th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Tami if I offended you in anyway as an Alaskan I apologize, but I was a little heated about the above post and I just think people shouldn’t write such harsh things about someone they don’t know anything about except his death. There was more than meets the eye with Christopher McCandless and unless you know the story his death might seem to be stupin and arrogant. Thanks for showing me the understanding side of Alaska natives.
July 12th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I am extremly excited for this movie. The book was good, but mostly just facts put together to make an outline of his life. The movie seems like it will use the facts as a basis and build a
story from it. The cinematography looks amazing.
Can anyone tell me what the music is from during the end segment of the trailer?
July 17th, 2007 at 10:21 am
That is the best trailer I have seen in a long time. Can’t wait to see it. Looks fanastic.
July 21st, 2007 at 5:35 pm
I’ve been waiting over a year for this film to come out and, man, I wish the post by the person from Alaska would’ve been deleted because it gives away the ending! Jerk/Jerkette!!
I live at the semi-desolte Salton Sea, a surreal inland ocean in the middle of the desert, and it was a big event for us when Sean Penn and his crew came out here a year ago to film part of this film. The lady that runs our only market/post office here in Salton City framed the picture that she took with Penn and it hangs near the front counter. I remember stories of how violent he used to be with people taking his picture, but he was really sweet, smiling, joking, and posing with his arm around the beaming Korean lady.
(PS: If you live in CA, please help us keep overdeveloping San Diego from siphoning the great Salton Sea. It will make the environmental problems we already have into a toxic
ecological apocalypse. California’s largest lake is worth saving and so are we. Tell on them to Arnold. Thanks.)
July 26th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
In Alaska, we do not celebrate those who come here, unprepared, to “find themselves” in the Great Land and end up losing their lives. Alaska is a wilderness, unforgiving to those who take her for granted. We celebrate people like Susan Butcher (musher extraordinaire), Colonel Norman Vaugh (centurian Antarctic explorer), and Don Sheldon (king of the bush pilots!) These people are truly inspiring…they have taken on Alaska and lived to tell about it. Read about these people if you want to know what the spirit of adventure is all about.
July 27th, 2007 at 6:46 am
Jerry and Shelia- I don’t think anyone here is celebrating or looking up to this main character of the story, but rather excited about it because it was a good book. I think all of us who have read the book would acknowledge that he was not prepared for the environment of Alaska, I think Jon Krakauer makes that apparent in the book. I do not take inspiration from this character but I do find the story interesting and that is why I am excited to see it transformed into a movie.
Let us also not forget that this book is not solely about Alaska, because it isn’t, he just ends up there. This book is about a young man who wanted to break away from his life and explore America. He traveled through and lived in many states and story ends at Alaska, but that doesn’t mean the book is about Alaska.
And lets not act like Alaska is the only place in America with dangerous wilderness. It is very trecherous and the conditions are very harsh, but I know that these conditions are also prevelent in the Rockies and possibly other areas of America. The “wilderness” as a whole is something that you must be very prepared for with the proper survival gear no matter where it is.
August 31st, 2007 at 5:02 pm
A person can inspire others through spirit, and through courage. Success is not a prerequisite for any of these. Was Chris unprepared? Absolutely. Did he lack respect for the power of mother nature? Possibly, but mother nature sometimes surprises us all. To truly see what this book is about, you must look past the surface.
When people like myself read this book, we are inspired not through his successes and failures, but by the courage he had to live up to his ideals, despite the fact that they went against everything humanity taught him. We are inspired by his drive to fully be himself, and to find his inner soul. THAT is what the book is about.
Many people (myself included), often have things that we truly want to do, but are often too scared to do them. Maybe their family won’t approve. Maybe they’ve gone too far down a path, and turning back would be too hard. Most of the time however, people are simply too scared of change.
Chris is an inspiration to many people because of his inner drive, the fearlessness that told him to do what he felt was right, regardless of what society told him to do. Part of what drove Chris lives within all of us, but rarely surfaces.
September 1st, 2007 at 3:41 am
Thank you Variable303. You managed to put my feelings about Chris into words I couldn’t express!!!
September 1st, 2007 at 10:10 pm
A great story. Potientially a great movie. Remember, there is more to Chris that we will ever know. All we can see of him is through what others saw of him during the short time they were with him. Collectively, we think we also may think we too know him. Chris had his own reasons to face life as he saw fit. No judgements here. Enjoy his journey as he would have wanted us to, and not as what you think would be best for youself. How often have we followed our dreams to the extent Chris found his? This movie should make us all think a bit deeper about things. Happy trails, Chris!
September 8th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Jerry seinfeld, you sound just like all the other “Alaskans” in the book that said “he had no business being there unprepared”. Well if you would have read the book instead of watching a trailer from a movie and making all your assumptions you would have found out a that Chris’s fait was not that of being unprepared.
Do you think the first people to visit Your Alaska had all the knowledge, equipment, books on what was edible and what time of year. Chris was an inspiring person who was well educated and felt the need to resist to be burdened with the luxuries we have today and made an amazing discovery within himself for witch we will never know. So please don’t sit there in your cosy chair or you worm sofa (on a lap top) and pass judgement on someone’s who just wanted to feel what it was like to make it without “THE BIG GUN” and find a place where he could be free from our cynical society. to go without and say i made it. or i didn’t and take responsibility with his life. i commend Chris for his bravery. i only wish he had not eaten those wild potatoes.
September 17th, 2007 at 9:26 am
The American Audience is so used to ‘the happy ending’ and as such, often ignorantly bases a films credibility and value on whether or not we receive it. Sadly, not all stories end in happily. Do all stories end happliy in life? I for one would prefer truth to fiction and enjoy the journey of all emotions. Take the film American Beauty for instance. Many ‘happy ending’ types thought the movie was horrible when in reality…it was a masterpiece (the awards speak for themselves). I read Krakauer’s book and am quite excited to go along with McCandless through Sean’s film. I don’t think Chris was stupid at all….he did what most of us will only ‘talk about’ doing. I don’t berate anyone who lived, and died, for their dream.
September 20th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Wow so many comments on this person. I also read the book. I also know about Timothy Treadwell the “bear guy”. Alaskans seem to have alot of bitterness towards both of these fellows. But they did what they wanted and on there own terms without doing harm to anyone else. They respected and loved the outdoors. This is still a free country for all who love her. At least they weren’t out murdering people and selling drugs and harming animals and or children. People are still free to live there lives as they wish. At least they both died doing what made them feel happy. They “lived” their lives and probably had no regrets when their time came. I live in a small town in a depressing life. I will probaly never experience the things these people did in thier full but short lives. No one has the right to pass judgment on an one else. I can’t wait to see the movie. ” you go” Sean Penn for telling this story.
September 20th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Better to live dangerously than not live at all.
September 23rd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
A most important movie at a very fragile time. This movie is about one thing: searching for love through truth. The only way to find it…. Changed my life, for the better…thanks to Jon and Sean..keep ‘em coming.
September 23rd, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Jason sorry it took me so long to respond , No i thought what you wrote was very decient , its the ass from alaska that thinks he knows it all , i understand how he lived and how he chose to live , very brave , and that other idiot could not have stood in his shoes for long ,. thanks Tami
September 23rd, 2007 at 3:06 pm
ok i am really getting sick of these people that say they are from alaska , no i am sure they ended up there in a cush job , or are hiding out , so quit saying your from alaska , BIG diff , people from alaska would not write the crap you have , and one more thing , either your from alaska born and raised , or your hiding from somthing , what are you big mouths hiding from ??
October 1st, 2007 at 4:00 pm
I saw the movie on Saturday. Let me get this straight, a kid that came from a well to do family that paid for his education to a very pricey college and upon graduation was offered a new car refused it because he thought his parents were concerned about his junker in the neighborhood (which was not the case) not only refused but got mad and acted like the ungrateful spoiled brat that he was. Then he gave away “not his mind you” but his parents 24k that was to go toward his education to some charity and splits without even a goodbye to his family. No calls to his sister or parents for a year and a half, even the people he hobo’d with said he should call because of the agony they must be going through. So off he goes to Alaska totally unprepared nieve and stupid and dies & he’s a hero…. I think I’m going to throw up………I bet if you had kids you would love to have them do that to you…Get real…….
October 16th, 2007 at 4:29 am
Oct. 16/07
I saw the movie last night and as a parent felt sick for Chris’s parents, his sister and for Chris. If he had lived after experiencing his adventure, he would have been changed and possibly more appreciative of the life he had, the people who loved him or he might have lived in the bush forever being lost. He seemed to be able to form relationships but wasn’t prepared to invest more in them so that he was free to leave again. Our son finished university and had a six month adventure (pre planned) through Europe travelling on his own and meeting other travellers. We are so thankful that his trip was more than he expected and he returned home safely to us before his 24th birthday. The spirit of adventure is a wonderful thing and should be explored. We get into jobs and life obligations that get in the away for adventures. That’s why so many of us are now wanting adventure holidays. I think the movie is excellent and had a profound affect on me.
October 17th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Funny. All that some concentrate on is whether C. McCandless was some arrogant rich kid who underestimates the power of the Alaskan wilderness … and the “bigger dog” debates begin. Wow. I’ve read and taught this book for years - and have recently seen the movie. For the first time in my life, I see a film as superior to the text. But the essential question isn’t the underestimation of the wild; it’s this kid blowing away conventions in every sense… something many of the “native Alsakans” who’ve written so far (apparently) can’t begin to conceptualize. Risky? Yes. But far better than the unexamined lives led by most people. By the way, J Seinfeld’s response is almost lifted verbatim from the book.
October 17th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
I haven’t read the book and should for comparisons to see how accurate the story is or if Hollywood has changed it to “sell” it better. Yes, it was risky and always the mistakes become more evident after the fact….he lost but he lost doing what he wanted and had to do. Too many of us take the “safe” road and forget that life is an adventure and those adventures form us. I don’t know what kind of background Chris had with camping experiences which might have prepared him for such a trip but the magnitude of it was much more than he imagined or could cope with. How many of us have been in situations have a good result through just plain luck and circumstances. When I was 21 travelling through Europe, situations I found myself in could have worked out much worse than they did….I was lucky. Chris was lucky meeting fellow travellers and others along the way until he was on his own entirely. So what does this tell us? That it is not a weakness to be involved with people or care about this kind of interaction in life. Being completely self absorbed and a loner is not good long term…short term, it might give you some clarity.
October 27th, 2007 at 6:18 am
The movie had so many inspiring messages for me. IT was about a man running from the dysfunction and lies his family led. It was about moving above “things” and materialism and finding joy in the simple pleasures of life, people who are real, people who do not define themselves by their trappings. This young man inspired me to live a simpler life. The movie showed the pain parents cause their offspring by lack of living in integrity which this family came to after his death by embracing the filming of the movie.
THe movie demonstrated a man living in the moment, the present, savouring life without that which most of us require. His connection to nature fed his soul, his ability to overcome challenges in the rapids, etc.
Inspiring, well directed, well written, the actor was phenomenal. A truly sad loss of life, but a life lived the way he chose, not dictated by society, he had the balls to ditch societal expectations and for that I applaud him. How many of us think of it and never do it?
Faith
November 21st, 2007 at 9:29 pm
I just saw the movie; thought it was excellent. I’m halfway through the book, but couldn’t wait to see the movie. I sympathize with his desire to escape the pain of life and to stake out his own identity, etc. I do think that, as he was portrayed in the movie, he had some of the same ‘arrogance’ he claimed to detest in others.
The idea that he could survive with so little preparation, that everyone who warned him about his ‘adventure’ (and turned out to be right) was wrong, that HIS view of how life should be enjoyed was ‘right’, while Mr. Franz’ view was ‘wrong’ and needed changing? I don’t think he meant any of that as arrogance, but that’s how it strikes me. But … just my opinion.
Seems he could’ve done a lot of good in life had he not ignored all the warnings and died so needlessly.
Don’t mean to ‘judge him’ but, he certainly didn’t hesitate to judge others he deemed to be wrong, misguided, or whatever. Anyway, see the movie. It’s very very well done.
December 31st, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I read the book “Into the Wild” and recently saw the movie. I enjoyed both very much, and would recommend both wholeheartedly. I think there is some truth to all the comments made. Yes, Chris comes off as somewhat arrogant and reckless. Yes, he should have prepared himself better for the Alaska wilderness. However, I know that personally I was inspired by his journey, and by his courage to free himself from the burdens of modern society. Maybe the lesson to be learned here is an old one. BALANCE! Could he have still taken this journey and found what he was looking for without totally abandoning his family, his money, his identity, etc.. I think so.
January 5th, 2008 at 4:26 am
Good film, if a little slow paced… I haven’t read the book but I have read as many articles on Chris as the internet allowed.
Now, for the important bit, the argument about this kid who died in the bush.
I have spent time alone in wilderness Australia and Africa but not Alaska (conceptually the same). I get the whole living for yourself and putting your finger up at the western world that spawned you thing - it makes sense when you are only thinking about your own emotional fullfillment.
Now, I have my own family and let me assure you, the kid in this film, no matter how much his parents deserved to suffer, was selfish. The old man knew it - that is why he offerred to adopt the kid. he knew that Chris was in a selfish cycle of despair and that only forgiving his parents and himself would break him out.
Running away from your emotions into the bush isn’t freedom, it is the opposite. It is fear.
It wasn’t lack of knives or guns or maps that killed the Chris in the film - it was the lack of being in the correct place mentally. Which, oddly enough, is exactly the place all you college types think you should be (bet that will change once you age a bit) and exactly the point all you Alaskan types miss.
January 20th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Excellent movie. Lot of great commentary. I don’t know if I missed anyone mentioning the animals, especially the moose. I am trying to figure out if any animals were harmed in the movie? I’m really hoping that was a fake moose?!
March 14th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
trying to contact brian dieker in this movie.. into the wild….my husband is a clone for this man…everything about him…my husband was adopted…please help me..i know this is crazy, but he always wondered if someone out there was related…i know without a shadow of a doubt this is a sign from heaven…my husband has had cancer and needs to close this…help if you can…..desperate……his loving wife……………
March 17th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
No one knows how he died. John K wrote a book and took a guess as to how he died. Penn wrote something else. No one knows if he ate seeds that made a plant that was edible but if taken in the form of seed, they were toxic–that was John’s guess. No one knows if he ate a poisonous plant, that was Penn’s guess.
I wish he had brought a map. I wish he had walked alongside of the river until he saw a way to get across. The fact that he weighed 67 lbs when he died is very telling. The fact that he wanted to be out of his element, as a 23 year old, shouldn’t surprise anyone. He was young. It’s tragic that he wasn’t more prepared and didn’t make it out.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:11 am
This movie depressed me to no end. I hated how Sean took great liberty to extend the agony. I just got back from the wilderness in one piece. Watching this movie made me very upset, my wife even woke up in the middle of the night upset.
I would recommend the book more then the movie. It would take you about as long to read as to watch, a very short book.