.: THE RIVER WHY
:.
(Feature Film)
The River Why was the first novel ever published by Sierra Club Books.
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| Photo Courtesy of Dan Callaghan |
Set on the banks of a wild river, The River Why is the story of 20 year old Gus Orviston, the Mozart of flyfishing, who leaves his big city home in rebellion from his family.
In the process he comes in contact with an assortment of eccentric characters who help him in his journey to adulthood.
Most of all, The River Why is a love story.
The love of a man for the wilderness, and for a beautiful woman who comes to share it with him.
Critics have raved :
"A small national treasure." People Magazine.
A San Francisco
Chronicle poll ranked The River Why as the 35th best novel of the
20th century west.
Perhaps the most important acclaim has come from readers,
whose overwhelming heartfelt response is best demonstrated on Amazon.com,
where the average customer review (5.0 stars) ranks it higher than any
of the last 25 Academy Award adaptations.
WHO’S WHO
William Hurt actor
has expressed interest in playing the role of “H2O”, the father of Gus. He won an Academy Award for his role in Kiss of the Spider Woman and has been nominated three other times (A History of Violence, Broadcast News, and Children of a Lesser God).
Matthew Leutwyler director
has directed four features films including the romantic comedy, This Space Between Us. After forming the production company Ambush Entertainment with Miranda Bailey, Francey Grace, and The River Why producer Jun Tan, he directed the award winning comedy-horror-musical Dead & Breakfast. Ambush was one of the production companies on The Squid & The Whale, (Academy Award® nomination for best screenplay) starring Jeff Daniels and Laura LInney. Ambush also produced the comedy The Oh In Ohio starring Parker Posey and Danny DeVito, Wonderful World starring Matthew Broderick, Against the Current starring Joseph Fiennes and Leutwyler’s latest film, Unearthed, which premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.
Kristi Denton Cohen’s producer
feature documentary, Vertical Frontier, narrated by Tom Brokaw, is a character driven history of Yosemite rock climbing. It won 5 International awards, including “Best Film on Climbing” at both the prestigious Banff and Kendall Mountain Film Festivals and was an official selection at numerous international festivals.
Jun Tan producer
produced This Space Between Us when he and Matt Leutwyler teamed up in 1997. He recently produced Ambush Entertainment’s Dead & Breakfast and Unearthed. He also executive produced the romantic comedy The Oh in Ohio. Jun is CFO at Ambush Entertainment and is an accomplished graphic artist.
Thomas A. Cohen co-writer
is an entertainment lawyer who began his career in television production at KQED- TV and PBS. He produced and directed two independant features: hungry i Reunion and Massive Retaliation.
John Jay Osborn, Jr. co-writer
attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School where he gathered material for his first novel, The Paper Chase. Since its publication, he has written for the television series of the same name and several other novels including The Associates, which became an ABC television series. The Paper Chase was nominated for three Academy Awards® including one for best adapted screenplay.
Josh Murphy associate producer
is an award winning outdoor and action sports filmmaker with an additional expertise in shooting underwater, whitewater, and high angle platforms. His film Soul Slide screened at the X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival where it was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Story. He has a Master’s Degree in Fisheries Biology.