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''Into the Wild'' is a 2007 American biographical adventure drama film written, co-produced, and directed by
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
. It is an adaptation of the 1996 non-fiction book of the same name written by Jon Krakauer and tells the story of
Christopher McCandless Christopher Johnson McCandless (; February 12, 1968 – August 1992), also known by his pseudonym "Alexander Supertramp", was an American adventurer who sought an increasingly nomadic lifestyle as he grew up. McCandless is the subject of '' In ...
("Alexander Supertramp"), a man who hiked across
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
into the Alaskan wilderness in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless,
Marcia Gay Harden Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American actress. She is the recipient of accolades including an Academy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards. Born ...
as his mother,
William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. H ...
as his father, Jena Malone,
Catherine Keener Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...
, Brian Dierker,
Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...
,
Kristen Stewart Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2012, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Aca ...
, and
Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...
. The film premiered during the 2007 Rome Film Fest and opened outside
Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the p ...
, on September 21, 2007. It received critical acclaim and grossed $56 million worldwide. It was nominated for two
Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
and won the award for Best Original Song: " Guaranteed" by
Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...
. It was also nominated for two
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
: Best Editing and Best Supporting Actor for Holbrook.


Plot

In April 1992, Christopher McCandless arrives in a remote area called Healy, just north of Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Noting his unpreparedness, his driver gives him gumboots. McCandless sets up camp in an abandoned city bus that he calls "The Magic Bus". He is content with the isolation, the beauty of nature, and the thrill of living off the land. He hunts with a .22 caliber rifle, reads books, and keeps a journal as he prepares his new life in the wild.


Flashback

In May 1990, McCandless graduates with high honors from
Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
. He is disenchanted with modern society after discovering that his parents lied to him, and he and his sister Carine were born out of wedlock. McCandless destroys his credit cards and identification, donates his savings to
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
and sets out on a cross-country drive in his Datsun 210 to experience life in the wilderness. He does not tell his parents nor Carine what he is doing, where he is going, and does not contact them after his departure. This causes his parents to become increasingly anxious. At Lake Mead, McCandless's car is caught in a flash flood; he abandons it and begins
hitchhiking Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads hav ...
. Burning what remains of his cash, he assumes the name Alexander Supertramp. In
Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
, McCandless encounters
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
couple Jan and Rainey. Rainey tells him that his relationship with Jan is troubled, which McCandless helps rekindle. In September, McCandless arrives in
Carthage, South Dakota Carthage is a city in Miner County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 127 at the 2020 census. History Carthage was platted in 1883. It was named after Carthage, New York. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, t ...
, and works for a contract harvesting company owned by Wayne Westerberg. He leaves after Westerberg is arrested for satellite piracy. McCandless kayaks down the
Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...
and, though told by park rangers he may not do so without a license, ignores their warnings and goes downriver to Mexico. His kayak is lost in a dust storm, and he crosses back into the United States on foot. Unable to hitch a ride, he jumps on freight trains to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
. Not long after arriving, however, he starts feeling "corrupted" by modern civilization and leaves. He is forced to resume hitchhiking when railroad police catch and beat him. In December 1991, McCandless arrives at Slab City, in the Imperial Valley, and encounters Jan and Rainey again. He also meets Tracy Tatro, a teenage girl who shows interest in him, but he turns her down because she is a minor. After the holidays, McCandless continues heading for Alaska. One month later, camping near Salton City, McCandless meets Ron Franz, a retired widower who lost his family in a car accident while he was serving in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
. He leads a lonely life in a workshop as a leather worker. Franz teaches McCandless leatherwork, resulting in the making of a belt detailing his travels. After two months with Franz, McCandless decides to leave for Alaska. Franz gives McCandless his old camping and travel gear, along with an offer to adopt him as his grandchild. McCandless tells him they should discuss it after he returns from Alaska.


Flashforward

Four months later, at the abandoned bus, life for McCandless becomes harder, and he makes several poor decisions. Trying to live off the land, he hunts down a large
moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...
with his rifle, but cannot preserve the meat and it spoils within days. As his supplies dwindle, he realizes that nature can be harsh. McCandless concludes that true happiness can be found only when shared with others, and he seeks to return from the wild to his friends and family. However, he finds that the
stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...
he crossed during the winter has become wide, deep, and violent due to the thaw, and he is unable to cross. Defeated, he returns to the bus. In a desperate act, McCandless gathers and eats roots and plants. He confuses similar plants and eats a poisonous one. Slowly dying, he continues to document his process of self-realization, and imagines what it might have been like if he had returned to his family. He writes a farewell note to the world and crawls into his sleeping bag to die. A post-script states that two weeks later, moose hunters found his body, and that shortly afterwards, Carine brought her brother's ashes back to Virginia in her backpack.


Cast


Production

The scenes of graduation from
Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
in the film were shot in late 2006 on the front lawn of Reed College. Some of the graduation scenes were also filmed during the actual Emory University graduation on May 15, 2006. The Alaska scenes depicting the area around the abandoned bus on the
Stampede Trail The Stampede Trail is a remote road and trail located in the Denali Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Apart from a paved or maintained gravel road for between Eight Mile Lake and the trail's eastern end, the route consists of a primitive an ...
were filmed south of where McCandless actually died, in the tiny town of Cantwell. Filming at the actual bus would have been too remote for the technical demands of a movie shoot. A replica bus used in the movie is now a tourist attraction at a restaurant in Healy, Alaska. Brian Dierker, who plays a major supporting role in the film as Rainey, had no previous acting experience and became involved in the production to be a guide for the rafting scenes.


Release


Critical response

The review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
reports that 83% of 200 reviews of the film were positive, with an average rating of 7.50/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "With his sturdy cast and confident direction, Sean Penn has turned a complex work of nonfiction like ''Into the Wild'' into an accessible and poignant character study."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
assigned the film an average score of 73 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...
'' gave the film four stars out of four and described it as "spellbinding". Ebert wrote that Emile Hirsch gives a "hypnotic performance", commenting: "It is great acting, and more than acting." Ebert added, "The movie is so good partly because it means so much, I think, to its writer-director, Sean Penn."


Accolades


Wins

* 65th Golden Globe Awards ** Best Original Song – Motion Picture (" Guaranteed") *
Gotham Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published o ...
**
Best Feature Film Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...
* Mill Valley Film Festival ** Best Actor ( Emile Hirsch) * Palm Springs International Film Festival ** Director of the Year Award (
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
) ** Rising Star Award Actor ( Emile Hirsch) * National Board of Review ** Breakthrough Performance – Male ( Emile Hirsch) * Rome Film Festival ** Jury Award (William Pohlad), ( Art Linson), (
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
) *
São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival ( pt, Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A non-profit event, the festival is organi ...
** Best Foreign Language Film (
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
)


Nominations

*
80th Academy Awards The 80th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2007. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During t ...
80th Academy Awards The 80th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2007. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During t ...
** Best Supporting Actor (
Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...
) ** Best Film Editing (
Jay Cassidy Jay Cassidy is an American film editor with more than 30 credits since 1978. Cassidy began his career in the 1970s working on documentaries and political advertising. He has had a notable collaboration with Sean Penn, having edited all of the f ...
) * 65th Golden Globe Awards ** Best Original Score – Motion Picture (
Michael Brook Michael Brook (born 1951) is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, music producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores. His collaborations with musicians around the worl ...
, Kaki King,
Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...
) *
American Cinema Editors Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...
** Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic (
Jay Cassidy Jay Cassidy is an American film editor with more than 30 credits since 1978. Cassidy began his career in the 1970s working on documentaries and political advertising. He has had a notable collaboration with Sean Penn, having edited all of the f ...
) * Broadcast Film Critics Association ** Best Film ** Best Actor ( Emile Hirsch) ** Best Supporting Actor (
Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...
) ** Best Supporting Actress (
Catherine Keener Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...
) ** Best Director (
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
) ** Best Writer (
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
) ** Best Song (" Guaranteed") * 34th César Awards ** Best Foreign Film * Chicago Film Critics Association Awards ** Best Picture ** Best Screenplay – Adapted (
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
) ** Best Supporting Actor (
Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...
) *
Directors Guild of America Awards The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards. Categ ...
** Best Director – Film (
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
) * Cinema Audio Society ** Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures *
Costume Designers Guild Awards The Costume Designers Guild, Local 892, is a union of professional costume designers, assistant costume designers, and illustrators working in film, television, commercials and other media. The CDG is not an employment agency, it is a labor union. ...
** Excellence in Costume Design for Film – Contemporary * Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards ** Best Foreign Film – English Language (
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
) *
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
** Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (" Guaranteed") *
Gotham Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published o ...
** Breakthrough Actor ( Emile Hirsch) *
Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...
** Best Original Song ("Rise") *
Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
** Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture ** Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role ( Emile Hirsch) ** Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (
Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...
) ** Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (
Catherine Keener Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...
) * USC Scripter Award ** USC Scripter Award (
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
) (screenwriter), ( Jon Krakauer) (author) * Writers Guild of America Awards ** Best Adapted Screenplay (
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
)


Top ten lists

The
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...
listed the film as one of ten AFI Movies of the Year for
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
. National Board of Review named it one of the Top Ten Films of the Year. ''Into the Wild'' also ranks 473rd in ''Empire'' magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007. * 1st: Ben Lyons, ''
The Daily 10 ''The Daily 10'' (also known as ''The D10'') is an American daily television entertainment news show that aired on cable channel E! from March 2006 to October 2010. Hosts count down the top ten entertainment news stories of the day. Segments In ...
'' * 2nd: Ann Hornaday, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' * 2nd: Tasha Robinson, '' The A.V. Club'' * 3rd: James Berardinelli, ReelViews * 3rd: Kevin Crust, ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' * 3rd: Peter Travers, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' * 4th: Kyle Smith, ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' * 5th: Claudia Puig, ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' * 5th: David Germain,
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
* 5th: Joe Morgenstern, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' * 6th: Carrie Rickey, ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...
'' * 6th:
Steven Rea Steven Rea (also known as Steven X. Rea) is an American journalist, film critic,
, ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...
'' * 7th:
A.O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis. Early life Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...
, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' (tied with '' The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'') * 7th: Noel Murray, '' The A.V. Club'' * 9th:
Christy Lemire Christy A. Lemire (née Nemetz; born August 30, 1972) is an American film critic and host of the movie review podcast ''Breakfast All Day''. She previously wrote for the Associated Press from 1999 to 2013, was a co-host of ''Ebert Presents at ...
,
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
* 10th:
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
, ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...
''


Box office

In North America, ''Into the Wild'' initially opened in limited release in four theaters and grossed $212,440, posting a per-theater average of $53,110. For the next several weeks, the film remained in limited release until it expanded to over 600 theaters on October 19, 2007; in its first weekend of wide release, the film grossed just $2.1 million for a per-theater average of $3,249. As of December 25, 2008, the film grossed $18,354,356 domestically and $37,281,398 internationally. In total, the film has grossed $55,635,754 worldwide.


Home media

''Into the Wild'' was released on March 4, 2008, on standard DVD, Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition DVD, and standard HD DVD. The special edition DVD and HD DVD contain two special features entitled ''The Story, The Characters'' and ''The Experience''. The
Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
edition was released in France on July 16, 2008. The Blu-ray edition for the US was released on December 16, 2008.


Soundtrack

The songs on the soundtrack were performed by
Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...
, lead singer of
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, g ...
, and Jerry Hannan. Vedder won a
Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
for Best Original Song for the song " Guaranteed". The score was written and performed by
Michael Brook Michael Brook (born 1951) is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, music producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores. His collaborations with musicians around the worl ...
and Kaki King. The music at the end of the theatrical trailer is "Acts of Courage" by X-Ray Dog, a company that supplies music for many movie trailers. Eddie Vedder said whilst writing the songs on the album "I spent three days giving him (Sean Penn) colors that I could paint with. Different sounds. It would be pump organ and vocal, or it would be an uptempo song. I just gave him 25 minutes of music, stuff I felt that were colors on the palette. And I really didn't think anything was gonna come out of it. Maybe a little piece or something".


Aftermath

The abandoned and decaying bus on the
Stampede Trail The Stampede Trail is a remote road and trail located in the Denali Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Apart from a paved or maintained gravel road for between Eight Mile Lake and the trail's eastern end, the route consists of a primitive an ...
where McCandless died became a pilgrimage destination for fans. In the 1940s, a road crew had taken the bus to a remote trail in
Denali Borough, Alaska The Denali Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census the population of the borough was 1,619, down from 1,826 in 2010. The borough seat and most populated community is Healy, and its only incorporated ...
, 30 miles (50 km) from the nearest town, according to Denali Borough Mayor, Clay Walker. Visitors had to cross the dangerous Teklanika River. In 2010, a Swiss woman drowned. In 2019, a newlywed Belarusian woman drowned in the swollen river on her way to the site. Five Italians were rescued in February 2020, with one suffering from severe frostbite, and a stranded Brazilian was rescued in April 2020. In total, 15 search and rescue operations for visitors were carried out between 2009 and 2017. On June 18, 2020, the bus was removed due to public safety concerns. It was air-lifted by a US army Chinook helicopter to an undisclosed location pending a decision about its final destination. On September 24, 2020, the Museum of The North at the
University of Alaska The University of Alaska System is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was created in 1917 and comprises three separately accredited universities on 19 campuses. The system serves nearly 30,000 full- and part-time stu ...
(
Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the p ...
) announced that it had become the permanent home of Magic Bus 142, to be restored for an outdoor exhibit.


See also

* ''The Call of the Wild'', a 2007 documentary about McCandless made by Ron Lamothe * ''
Grizzly Man ''Grizzly Man'' (2005) is an American documentary film by German director Werner Herzog. It chronicles the life and death of bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell and the death of his girlfriend Amie Huguenard at Katmai National Park, Alaska. The fi ...
'', a 2005 documentary about a man who perished in the Alaskan wilderness at the mouth of a bear * ''
Wild Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...
'', 2014 film about a woman's trek across the Pacific Crest Trail *
Survival film The survival film is a film genre in which one or more characters make an effort at physical survival. It often overlaps with other film genres. It is a subgenre of the adventure film, along with swashbuckler films, war films, and safari films. Su ...
, about the film genre, with a list of related films * ''Vagabond'', a 1985 French film that deals with a similar theme * ''Nomadland''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Into The Wild 2007 films 2007 biographical drama films 2007 independent films 2000s adventure drama films American biographical drama films American independent films American adventure drama films American nonlinear narrative films American docudrama films Drama films based on actual events Environmental films Films about buses Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Sean Penn Films produced by Art Linson Films scored by Michael Brook Films set in 1990 Films set in 1991 Films set in 1992 Films set in Alaska Films set in Arizona Films set in Atlanta Films set in California Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Mexico Films set in Nevada Films set in South Dakota Films set in Virginia Films shot in Alaska Films shot in Arizona Films shot in Atlanta Films shot in California Films shot in Mexico Films shot in Nevada Films shot in Oregon Films shot in South Dakota Journalism adapted into films Paramount Vantage films 2007 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films Films about camping