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St. Paul, Minn.

Bill Pohlad goes 'Into the Wild'

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"Into the Wild"
Emile Hirch stars as Chris McCandless in "Into the Wild," written and directed by Sean Penn, and produced by Minneapolis-based Bill Pohlad.
Image courtesy Paramount Vantage

Later this week the film adaptation of Jon Krakauer's book "Into the Wild" opens in the Twin Cities. It's the true story of Chris McCandless, a recent college graduate who gave away all his money and headed into the Alaskan wilderness to live off the land.

Krakauer's book showed how McCandless wanted to experience the wonders of nature, but he was also trying to escape the influence of his parents stormy marriage.

Bill Pohlad
Minneapolis-based film producer Bill Pohlad says he was drawn to Jon Krakauer's book "Into the Wild" when it came out in 1996, but it has taken until now to make it into a movie.
MPR photo/Euan Kerr

Krakauer used the journal McCandless wrote about the trip, and interviews with his parents and sister about the anguish caused by his two-year disappearance.

The film adaptation is written and directed by Sean Penn, and it's produced by Minneapolis-based Bill Pohlad. Pohlad's other films include the "Prairie Home Companion Movie" and Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain."

Pohlad told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr he was drawn to the book because of the spirit of adventure, and because of its ambiguity.

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Into the Wild
Emile Hirch stars as Chris McCandless in "Into the Wild," written and directed by Sean Penn, and produced by Minneapolis-based Bill Pohlad.
Image courtesy Paramount Vantage