The movie Into The Wild was a 2007 film directed by Sean Penn and by his screenplay as well. It was a true to life story of Christopher McCandless who was portrayed by the actor Emile Hirsch.
Christopher McCandless was once marveled by the beauty of nature and so journeyed the wilderness trying to find peace and genuine happiness. He donated all his savings into the charity, left his comfortable life in the city and excitingly ventured the complexity of life on his own. Every detail of his adventure was written in his journal. Little did he know that the nature could be a bit tricky sometimes and unfortunately, deadly. It was a great beginning but had concluded with a tragic ending.
The story of Christopher McCandless was all over the news years ago. It was a mishmash of reactions from many people as some of them had thought that what he did was inspiring and very admirable but some had thought what he did was foolish and suicidal.
Well then, the movie was a true masterpiece of Christopher’s life. Haven’t watched it yet? Then, you should! Before you do and after you did, take a look at these interesting facts about the movie that you should know.
1Christopher McCandless’ Watch
While watching the movie, you may have noticed the watch Emile Hirsch was wearing. Well, in fact, it was Christopher McCandless’ real life watch and was given to Emile as a present.
2Weight Loss
One of the words written in Christopher’s journal was his entry on July 30, 1992 which said, “EXTREMELY WEAK. FAULT OF POTATO SEED. MUCH TROUBLE JUST TO STAND UP. STARVING. GREAT JEOPARDY.” He must have had difficulty finding a way to survive. He probably had lost too much of his weight as he was only 30 kilograms when he was found dead. He had starved and eventually, died. To portray this excruciating moment, Emile Hirsch had to make it real. For his role in the movie, he had lost 40 pounds.
3No Stunt-men or Doubles
In the movie, Emile Hirsch had faced, let’s say, challenging and difficult scenes such as an encounter with a grizzly bear, crossing the river rapids, rock and mountain climbing. He did all of them without stunt-men.
4The Making of the Movie
Sean Penn must have had the idea of making McCandless’ life as a movie but he had not taken the opportunity right away. Sean had to wait 10 years before he had started the film in assurance of McCandless’ family’s approval of making Christopher’s life into the big screen.
5Tracy’s Song’s co-writer
Okay, another spoiler here. Yes, our Twilight actress, Kristen Stewart was part of the movie who Christopher had a bit of love story with. Kristen portrayed as Tracy Tatro and as you see in the photo, she had played and sang some songs in the movie. One of the songs she sang was the Tracy’s Song. And this actress couldn’t be more talented as she had co-written some of the lyrics of it.
6The Movie Location
In the movie, Christopher McCandless would always talk about going to Alaska, his greatest adventure as he said. The movie was indeed shot on the same location but not the bus scenes to pay respect for the McCandless family. Sean Penn had this idea, though, but still pursued another concept. They had built a set in the wilderness with the exact replica of the bus.
7A Shrine for Christopher McCandless
In the movie, his final message said, “I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS US ALL.” It was actually Christopher’s last words before he died. And you may wonder if the bus where Christopher McCandless’ had camped and died is still there. Well, yes, it still exists. There’s even a shrine in honor of Christopher McCandless’ death.
8The Parents’ Visit
It was not mentioned in the movie if Christopher’s parents had ever visited the place in Alaska where their son had camped. But in the book, it was. It was then, ten months after they had found their son’s death when they traveled to Alaska through a helicopter ride. They had visited the camp, the bus, had placed a plaque inside the door and had arranged a beautiful bouquet beneath it.
9Tragic Fandom Endings
The movie was based on the book Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer. As soon as the book was released, many fans were inspired and moved by Christopher McCandless’ life. Many of them also ventured on their own and had traveled to Alaska. Unfortunately, not all of them made it to the site and were able to survive.
In 2010,  the couple Claire Jane Ackermann and Etienne Gros had their own adventure and trekked McCandless’ route. The woman, unfortunately, was pulled by the rapids of the Teklanika river and drowned. However, the man survived. Two years later, another teenager named Jonathan Croom ventured by his own and was found dead in the mountains of Oregon. Lastly, in 2013 another fan, Dustin Self went missing and his dead body was found in October 2014. Dustin was able to communicate with his ex-girlfriend and father and told them that he was lost in the southern part of the country.
Photo Source
The information written above were sourced from IMDB, Outsideonline.com and Cliffnotes.com.
