I'll Say His Name: Jon Krakauer

If you've seen the latest issue of Esquire magazine, you've probably read about Sean Penn's latest directorial project, Into the Wild. What's blatantly missing in the article is the name Jon Krakauer, who wrote the book on which the movie is based. I read in the article that Penn has been in hot pursuit of the film rights for about ten years, and the film is getting pre-release rave reviews.

Funny though, that the article's author Scott Raab, chose to leave out the 1992 Best Seller author's name, but what more publicity does Krakauer need after that whole Into Thin Air controversy anyway, right?

As I've told a few blogger friends, I'm a big Krakauer fan, but for different reasons than you may think. While very popular amongst most readers, Into Thin Air is my least favorite book that Krakauer has written. It read like he was still in shock from all the events that happened that dreaded day on Everest back in May, 1996. Well, who wouldn't be? The problem is, he admittedly was affected by the altitude and exhaustion that day, and may not have recalled all the events accurately. My sister and I really got into reading everything we could on the matter. If we were blogging back when we read all the subsequent books, we undoubtedly would have had numerous posts and discussions about this.

Aren't you all lucky?

On the other hand, I found Into the Wild to be a compelling, well-written story. Krakauer has been criticized for annoyingly comparing his own life and adventures to his book subjects such as in this book but it didn't bother me. His obvious obsession with the story of the main character - Christopher McCandless was another intricacy to the book that I for one, enjoyed.

But that's not even why I like my fellow Boulderite. Mostly, I like Krakauer because he has my dream job. He gets paid to go out on adventures, to go climb, and then writes about it. I want to be him, or at least the female version of him. He's been spotted at the top of a hard rock or ice climb around here, kicking back, having a doobie, and writing in his little notepad. That beats me sitting inside all day, drinking Red Bull, and writing about computer geeky stuff any day of the week.

As for the movie, it's going to be a rare event for me. I'll actually go see it in the theater when it comes out and I suggest you do the same. I've read from more than one source that Emile Hirsch (soon to be Speed Racer too) does a fantastic job as McCandless, an intense rich kid who sets out to find himself in the back country of Alaska. I won't say more just in case you're not familiar with the story, but I'll give you a hint - Hirsch lost 41 pounds to play the role and he was only 156 lbs. to begin with.

The Esquire article revealed Penn, an intense person himself, pushed Hirsch during filming every step of the way. He wanted him to look so afraid during the river kayaking scene that he didn't let him practice or learn anything about kayaking before placing him in the boat. After surveying the white water section of the frigid river he was to float, Hirsch wasn't so sure about doing it. But Penn made him a deal - if Penn did it first, then he would follow, and that's how it happened.

As with Krakauer's pursuit of the McCandless story, I am not surprised that Sean Penn sought to tell this story in a movie. He's the exact Hollywood person I would have picked to do the story justice. I think the former twenty-something bad boy can identify with McCandless' tale.