In a couple weeks, The River Why will be released on DVD. Below I present several pieces of information and open up the topic to debate: to watch or not to watch the movie.Here you can read a press release from the producer on the release of the film, with some notes on the background of the making of the movie.
Here you can read a review of the movie from Tom Bie, editorr of The Drake.
Here is an old post from Moldy Chum about this topic. The link to David James Duncan's statement on the movie is broken, but there are some interesting comments. I read Duncan's statement on the topic when that post was made and he essentially asked his readers/fans not to watch the movie. His vision was to move the setting of the movie to Idaho in an effort to raise awareness on salmon and Snake River dams.
Here is an interview with Duncan in which he discusses the movie briefly at the end of the interview. Says he: "If I make a River Why movie, Patrick Markey (who produced “A River Runs Through It”) and Matt Salinger (a film and play producer in New York) would produce. I’d transfer it to Idaho so the LSR dams and endangered salmon would figure in. Sherman Alexie would co-write, with carte blanche to create hilarious Nez Perce characters, as only he can do. I had this ball rolling, 'til the current film was shot. If the current film bombs we may reconvene and do it right."
Here is the film's official website.
And here is the trailer:
From the trailer alone I see one main issue, among others:
-Both Gus and Eddy clearly don't know how to fish.
Other items to be considered:
-A River Runs Through It was made into a very good movie.
-"The Eddy character cannot be personified, she exists better in the dreams of everyone who reads the book." - CPSC
Can a movie truly spoil a book that's sacred to you?
