Wednesday
Dec302009
1859 Interview of David James Duncan
Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 12:02AM 
In this 1859 magazine interview DJD discusses water, salmon and the poicies that are killing them. His take on The River Why movie alone is worth the read.
They wrote a crappy screenplay, filmed in a rush to outrace my lawsuits, used a non-fly fisher to play a "Mozart" of a fly fisher, used a rubber salmon to play a wild chinook, and so on. I wish them the best because at this point, why not. But as for their movie's chances, how to put it?
Read the rest. LINK (Via: 1859)
tagged 1859, david james duncan, legends of fly fishing in Legends, News, Politics, Writing, fly fishing
1859, david james duncan, legends of fly fishing in Legends, News, Politics, Writing, fly fishing
Reader Comments (12)
I've read The River Why and I've wondered if David James Duncan actually speaks as poetically as he writes. If that was an "off the cuff" interview then my suspicion is confirmed. He's heavy, I'm sure sharing a campfire with him would be extremely fun, interesting...and stressful.
Good press for the salmon. Kind of a downer for the movie though. I was trying to remain naive about it.
I just finished a 2 week study of Coho Salmon in a major trib of a well known Oregon river system. The ODFW had no idea that Coho were even a viable part of this system. I watched the dance of life many times at my feet. When you witness, and "understand", this process as Duncan has, it is life changing.
This interview was better than any movie could hope to be.
The river why???
Thats a good question, Why?
Any time someone puts conservation first I am a fan. Most people that think of conservation as a crazy liberal movement do not see the link between healthy waters and every thing they touch - including people, children, pets, cars and their homes. Great post.
Great interview.
And, well said Jonathon.
I responded to David's comments about the movie in a letter to the editor of 1859 magazine. Here is the letter:
Dear Editors:
Further evidence of my admiration for the writing and views of David James Duncan is confirmed in 1859’s recent article. He also is one of this country’s greatest thinkers and environmentalists.
But as the producer of the film The River Why, I must dispute several of the claims he makes.
After the film rights had been shopped around Hollywood without success, my husband, Tom Cohen secured them in the mid-1980s. He offered David the opportunity to write the script. David was appreciative of the offer, gave it a shot, but then acknowledged he did not have “the Zen beginner’s mind” to do so, so Tom then hired John Osborn (author of The Paper Chase) to co-write the script with him. David read an early draft of the script in 1984, but has not read one since. Tom planned to direct, but the recession of the late 1980s’s forced him to put the project on the back burner and he became a lawyer.
We always planned to shoot the film in Oregon, even going so far as to scout locations on our honeymoon there in 1987. We had occasional inquiries regarding the rights throughout the 1990s, but no serious interest. So, in 2004, following the success of my documentary, “Vertical Frontier”, I decided to give The River Why one more shot and produce it myself.
We filmed in Oregon in 2008. What motivated us to shoot that summer was not the threats of David’s lawsuits (I did ask him to join me in the effort to make the film in 2004, but he wasn’t interested), but rather 1) two of our principle actors – William Hurt and Zach Gilford – only had small windows in which to work because of their other projects – William on “Damages” and Zach on “Friday Night Lights” ; 2) the outdoor shooting season is short in Oregon and we couldn’t shoot in January when Zach would be available again. Zach Gilford is an avid outdoorsman who still leads wilderness trips for kids when his schedule allows and we wanted him in the role and 3) because of the threat of the SAG strike that summer and the slow down in production, we were able to work with some of Oregon’s finest film crews.
I hope our movie is successful for many reasons, but I can outline two here. Part of the film has been funded by what I call “socially responsible film investing”. About one-third of the money was donated. This amount will be “re-gifted” to non-profits that support rivers and fish. If the movie is successful, that amount will grow. It is my hope we will be supporting some of the very issues David discusses in your article.
The other reason is, no matter how the movie does, sales of the book The River Why will increase. The book is a classic and should be enjoyed by many. Its story is so universal, that like many stories since long before Shakespeare, it is open to more than one interpretation. I hope your readers will enjoy ours.
Is that picture photchopped or does he have creepy, pale vampire eyes?
What a douche bag
rend #1: Oregon is a special place, but it shares the fate of the world. In 1952, I was born into a world of 2.6 billion humans. We now live in a world of seven billion. This is huge, and devastating. But this too shall pass. Someday a sustainable world of one or so billion of us may marvel at the time when poor Mother Earth managed to house seven billion in the ragged shelter of her atmosphere.
So I guess the answer is to stop breeding kids and then kill yourself and others to save the salmon and the earth. You first
Too many trends to keep track of from over here in Montana. Last time I was in Bend, the Deschutes Library folks put me up in a deluxe condo with tennis courts and a mall and a restaurant and deli and pub and golf course. My room -- and hot tub -- were overlooking the Deschutes. After a couple days I realized a little stand of junipers by a spring near the canyon rim looked familiar. I then realized I used to drive over from Portland and camp there, in what was then “Wilderness.”
Funny how he "remembered" this spot after he was already there.
This guy is a militant asshole
If the world goes from 7 billion to 1 billion people on earth, the remaining 1 billion will have bigger problems then saving the earth or salmon. Thats called near species extinction like the dinosaurs.
Until I read this interview I never really grasped that one could be a douche bag and enlightened at the same time. Mr. Duncan surprised me, he's shown me it is possible, however he's mostly a douche bag who wrote a lovely novel but now stews in his own self righteousness & bitterness. I hope I'm wrong but I fear I'm not.
This is perfect that people are able to receive the credit loans moreover, that opens new chances.