Posted 11 October, 2007 in AZ News
Much of ‘Wild’ was filmed in Arizona
Carrie Watters
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 8, 2007 07:38 AM
Former Glendale resident turned movie producer John J. Kelly said Into the Wild is one of those movies that change your life.
The film weaves the true story of Christoper McCandless, who left behind his material possessions and headed West on a two-year journey to test his strength and find meaning. Much of the film was filmed in Arizona.
“There’s a lot of nice pieces of Arizona you will see in this movie,” Kelly said.
The movie is at times exhilarating, as it depicts the young adventurer’s sense of freedom, and tear-jerking, as he finds triumph and tragedy in Alaska.
Kelly spent more than a year working on the movie with director Sean Penn, who waited more than a decade to get the blessing of the McCandless family.
In the Valley, the movie is only currently being shown at Scottsdale’s Camelview Harkins Theater
As executive producer, Kelly’s role was to help set up camp at various locations, find props and bring the picture in on budget.
That was a challenge for the movie that strived for authenticity. While many movies shoot in three or five locations, Into the Wild was filmed in 36 locations in the U.S. and Mexico, retracing the McCandless’s journey.
The opening sceneshows McCandless, played by Emile Hirsch, being dropped off into the Alaskan wilderness. The driver is not an actor, but the actual man who gave the hitch-hiking McCandless a ride.
Hirsch wore McCandless’ own gold watch throughout the movie.
While ending in Alaska, the young man’s journey took him through much of Arizona. Scenes include the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Bullhead City, Parker, Page and Yuma.
The young adventurer had bought a kayak in Page and launched himself into the rapids of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.
The film crew even shot a scene of McCandless’s car swept away in an Arizona flash flood a half mile from the actual site.
Although the goal was to deliver authenticity, Kelly said he was pleased to see the final cut include shots of Arizona, such as Hirsch floating under a sign for Topoc Gorge.
“You work on a lot of movies,” Kelly said. “Some are jobs and some are relationships you don’t want to end. Into the Wild was among the latter.”
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