INTO%THE%WIL%
%
%
%
Into%the%Wild%is%a%2007%American%biographical%adventure%drama%film%written,%co-%
produced,%and%directed%by%Sean%Penn.%
It%is%an%adaptation%of%the%book%of%the%same%name%written%by%Jon%Krakauer,%and%tells%
the%story%of%Christopher%McCandless,%a%man%who%hiked%across%North%America%into%
the%Alaskan%wilderness%in%the%early%1990s.%
The%film%stars%Emile%Hirsch%as%McCandless%and%Marcia%Gay%Harden%and%William%Hurt%
as%his%parents,%and%features%Jena%Malone,%Catherine%Keener,%Brian%Dierker,%Vince%
Vaughn,%Kristen%Stewart,%and%Hal%Holbrook.%
The%film%premiered%during%the%2007%Rome%Film%Fest%and%later%opened%outside%
Fairbanks,%Alaska%on%September%21,%2007.%
It%was%nominated%for%two%Golden%Globes%and%won%the%award%for%Best%Original%Song:%
"Guaranteed"%by%Eddie%Vedder.%%
It%was%also%nominated%for%two%Academy%Awards:%Best%Editing%and%Best%Supporting%
Actor%for%Holbrook.%
The%film%premiered%during%the%2007%Rome%Film%Fest%and%later%opened%outside%
Fairbanks,%Alaska%on%September%21,%2007.%
It%was%nominated%for%two%Golden%Globes%and%won%the%award%for%Best%Original%Song:%
"Guaranteed"%by%Eddie%Vedder.%It%was%also%nominated%for%two%Academy%Awards:%
Best%Editing%and%Best%Supporting%Actor%for%Holbrook.%
%
%
%PLOT%
In%April%1992,%Christopher%McCandless%arrives%in%a%remote%area%just%north%of%the%
Denali%National%Park%and%Preserve%in%Alaska.%Noting%McCandless'%unpreparedness,%
the%stranger%who%drops%him%off%lends%him%a%pair%of%boots.%McCandless%travels%into%
the%wilderness%and%sets%up%a%campsite%in%an%abandoned%city%bus,%which%he%calls%"The%
Magic%Bus".%At%first,%McCandless%is%content%with%the%isolation,%the%beauty%of%nature%
around%him,%and%the%thrill%of%living%off%the%land.%He%hunts%with%a%.22%caliber%rifle,%
reads%books,%and%keeps%a%diary%of%his%thoughts%as%he%prepares%himself%for%a%new%life%
in%the%wild.%
Two%years%earlier,%in%May%1990,%McCandless%graduates%with%high%honors%from%Emory%
University.%Shortly%afterwards,%he%rejects%his%conventional%life%by%destroying%all%of%his%
credit%cards%and%identification%documents.%He%donates%nearly%all%of%his%savings%to%
Oxfam%and%sets%out%on%a%cross-country%drive%in%his%Datsun%210%to%experience%life%in%
the%wilderness.%McCandless%does%not%tell%his%parents,%Walt%and%Billie%McCandless,%or%
