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Response: simply click the up coming articleFly Fishing | Blog | Photos | Podcasts | Travel | Gear | and More - Moldy Chum - DJD statment on The River Why Movie
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Reader Comments (16)
Dude ,don't give up the fight, get with Nat. Geographic ,Discovery channel and do a little documentary on the truth behind the film. just my 2 cents , prolly aint worth 2 cents but its all i got
Where does the impulse to make great books into mediocre movies come from? Greed and stupidity.
His idea for the film version of his book, the book that was so entrenched in Oregon, was to move it to Idaho?
Thank god he didn't get a chance to make the movie first. I can only imagine how PO'ed I'd be walking out of the movie he wanted to make after being bludgeoned over the head with a message about salmon that plays out in the news and in our rivers ever day.
He's a great writer. I love the book. I give the book to people all the time. I don't think he'd make a good movie. I don't want to see his version in film.
I can't wait to see the movie.
I'm with Bjorn on this one.
Any form of art is so darn subjective. Adaptations/reinventions/interpretations of music and literature are even more so. I encourage everyone to read the latest blog on our website www.theriverwhy.com. I think Jam-Tex makes some very good points when comparing the book and the movie.
It is obvious David has a different vision for a film about “The River Why” than ours. I say go for it. Different points of view make life interesting. Some might like his film better, some won’t. Some might like our film better, some won’t. Some might like both films. Some won’t like either. But the fact remains, the book and the film remind our audiences to pay attention to the issues that are most important to us…and to learn/experience something new in the process. As one audience member said to us: “This movie changed my life.” I know many people who have read the book feel the same way. It can’t get any better than that.
And for those of you who want a documentary about the “truth” behind the film, I urge you to remember there are at least two sides to everything.
This dude wrote thje Dam Book. He knows better than anybody else how it plays out. The dam story started in his head way before it was a book. The movie is a Rip-Off to the ARTIST!!! I really don't understand why sombody is allowed to make a movie from his writting then chop it up like that. My suggestion is a second book that continues with first book. But some how undermines the story of the movie. Yes i agree about a Documentry about the truth. How his story was stolen from the artist that created it. I would spew the REAL TRUTH all over the place. Because when it's the real truth & not a Lie. The real truth makes people angry.
... then he doesn't have a leg to bitch with. If he wanted to make a movie, he should never have settled in 2008. Tough shit for him now.
Kristi. I'm so happy that David has YOUR approval to make a different version of HIS book. And yes I zeroed in on one aspect of your comment and blew it out of proportion because I am very passionate about his “art” and what the book has meant to me, and I'm sure many others. I read The River Why at home, recovering from a shattered TibFib I sustained in Iraq walking down the wrong street at the wrong time. The book literally changed my life because it ignited a passion for fly fishing in a way that a film could not possibly have. I was able to read it when it was rainy, when my leg was too swollen to stand and fish, or when I lost all of my flies in the surrounding trees.
But it’s a free country, and apparently you have legally won the right to make your film without the consent of the author. However, every filmmaker who has made an adaptation worth a damn that I’ve listened to (albeit that’s not a lot, I don’t pay that much attention to Hollywood) has said they make their films with the intent of pleasing the author and the fans. Obviously you guys don’t care about that, so I wouldn’t be so shocked at our reaction to this film.
Odds are this movie, like most movies based on a good novel, will be mediocre at best. I've always said that Hollywood ran out of movie ideas in the 70's, so they've resorted to making repeats of movies already made (how many Batmans have there been?) or stealing someone's book idea and turning into a movie.
Too bad any new ideas for books/movies have the rights stolen or sold before the originator can take any real credit for thinking differently.
Brett,
I’m sorry to hear about your injury and am glad the book gave you such comfort.
Disputes between filmmakers and authors are, unfortunately, not unusual in this business. PJ Travers was never happy with Disney’s interpretation of “Mary Poppins”. Ken Kesey wasn’t happy with Michael Douglas’ interpretation of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Those are just two well known examples. There are many more.
Perhaps it will help if you have some background on the making of “The River Why”. Much of what follows was in a response to some comments David made to an article in 1859 Magazine.
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 is being funded by what I call “socially responsible film investing”. So far, close to 25% of the budget has been 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 the 1859 article.
As David says on his website, “I was awarded a settlement”. He was also paid for the rights to make the film. He cashed the checks from the 1980’s agreement and again from the settlement in 2008.
He also says “Peace”. We both want that. He's an incredibly brilliant author and a good man. There's enough acrimony in the world without us trying to make more.
Seriously, DJD sold the rights to the film years ago. He lost any say in the making of the movie at that point. Tough. The fact that he keeps bitching about it makes him look petty. If he wants to save the Snake runs, maybe he should write another book as captivating and influential as The River Why.
To me, he will always be a quitter. The fight got too tough here in the PNW so he hightailed it off to Montana.
I would have liked to see the collaboration with Sherman Alexie. He's one of my favorites. Shame that these sorts of things happen in our little Pisca-topia.
DJD is kind of an asshole.
I have empathy for his position. I understand his claims.
He sold the film rights the 80s when he was young and naive.
Water under the bridge.
I saw the movie. It sucked balls!
oh kristi. just shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
oh you are all just trying to make a buck. Hense the word success being used in half..... neh funk it, you are all not worth it.