OK! OK! I'LL TALK!
This is where I come to cry. Smelling like Teen Spirit since 2003. Existing since the late eighties. You know, kinda short, big wall o'hair, face like a frying pan?
“Brother River. You chose to speak out about injustice, the welfare of animals, human rights and the planet. You believed we all have a responsibility to each other. You believed speaking the truth carries no risk but silence in the face of things that matter has the potential to destroy us all. You believed in the truth inside each of us. You didn’t let ignorance, cruelty, bigotry, racism, sexism or the selfishness in our culture make you apathetic. You knew there was a choice. You chose to choose differently. You inspired a generation. Here’s to your timelessness as you continue to inspire for generations to come”
RIVER PHOENIX: “Cinema is a mirror of reality and it is a filter.”
Stand By Me, age 15. A group of boys take a journey into the forest to find the body of a missing boy. River’s troubled character Chris had a heartfelt scene where he confesses his problems with trusting the adults around him. To get into character, River was told to think of a time that an adult had disappointed him or let him down. When the scene was over, River couldn’t stop crying and was held by director Rob Reiner, who recalled “It took him awhile to get over it, there was something very hurtful to him in his life that he connected with to make that scene work.” The epilogue to the film tells Chris’ tragic death. The troubled character had gotten his life together and became a lawyer. One night he tried to break up a fight outside a restaurant and got stabbed in the throat, dying instantly. “As the story is told, the image of River fades from the screen, dead too soon.”
The Mosquito Coast, age 16. An inventor uproots his suburban family to live in South America in search of a perfect utopia. Like himself, River’s character Charlie lived in a foreign country in his parent’s attempt at a more spiritual life. Charlie is exiled from this family’s town after he voices distrust in his father’s ideals. River said the story is about “trusting someone you love,” however it is clearly about how someone you love can take you places you shouldn’t go. But that is a thought River didn’t want to say out loud, or admit to himself. The film has a parallel to his upbringing in the Children of God cult, that his father remained a faithful believer in long after they left. River commented, “I knew that character so well because I was that character. I knew his whole path. [The director] didn’t steal my life story, I just misplaced it.”
Running on Empty, age 18.River’s character Danny, the eldest son of a fugitive family, comes of age and wants to live a life of his own. River voiced his disdain for people who compared the Phoenix’s to his family in the film. However, both families were devout to each other and distrustful of the outside world, the Phoenix’s being weary of American society in general. Both moved constantly and changed their names. Danny Pope wanted to disband from his family, while River, in the midst of Hollywood, still wasn’t sure. When he was less defensive, River admitted “There’s a connection there, I think that’s maybe why the film script appealed to me from the start.”
My Own Private Idaho, age 21. A narcoleptic hustler searches for mother on a roadtrip with his friend. Mike Water’s longing for his mother is similar to River’s struggle for a stable home life. Mike spends his time being used for his body and looking for love and acceptance in all the wrong places, much like how River was stuck in the middle of corrupt Hollywood. Unable to cope with the instability of his life he does hard drugs, a habit River picked up while filming. River identified very strongly with Mike, practically becoming his character (more info here). At the end of the film, In the last scene, “Mike Waters is stranded, without any obvious future… Mike peers into the distance and staggers into sleep, escaping from the world.”
“Back in the day, when man still developed pictures in a darkroom, or sent it off to get developed, I worked as a college journalist. In 1989, the film I Love You to Death was being filmed in Tacoma, Washington. One night, while enjoying a seafood buffet at The Sheraton Hotel with friends, my buddy Glenn, says, ‘Hey, there goes River Phoenix.’ I said, ‘I liked him in Stand By Me.’
From that point forward, I had a goal. I was going to see as much as I could about the filming process, and if I got lucky, maybe get a picture of a celebrity. The day after seeing River at the Sheraton, I assumed I’d see him again, and assumed he was staying there. I happened to see him and another guy entering an elevator. I got in with them. I politely asked if I could get his picture for my college paper, and told him that a lot of people thought he was quite the talent, especially women. He said he knew a spot where I could take his picture, which was a seldom used door that was in back of the hotel.
We talked for a little bit, and he asked how I became the Photo Editor of our paper. I told him that the prior Editor had hanged herself in our darkroom, and that I found her, and that I had a certain amount of talent, so I was appointed to the spot. He seemed kind of blown away. Before I took his picture, his buddy kind of messed up his hair and made a dumb giggle. I discovered later that his buddy was Keanu Reeves. Shit, had I known that, I’d have taken his picture.
A couple of days later, my newsroom associates pranked me and told me that River had called and wanted to talk to me. Having heard this, I called the Sheraton, and left a message for him that I was returning his call. He hadn’t actually called me. I left my number, and wouldn’t you know, he called me back, and left a message on my answering machine. He seemed kind, and as confused as I was. Sadly, I sold my answering machine to someone with the message still intact, and that was that. I don’t have negatives for the River picture, which did have a ‘fixer’ issue in the darkroom anyway, so this is just a picture of a picture, from a twenty-seven year old twelve page newspaper”
Although the presence of Ford was not required in the prologue scenes of the film, he moved to the locations to encourage River Phoenix and give him advice on the character. The truth is that Phoenix later declared that he had felt protected at all times by the team. (x)
River Phoenix with Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas on the set of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 1988
"At some point, he’s got to make a more commercial choice. But he’s very smart at choosing good roles, connecting with the audience and projecting a tonality that we haven’t seen before. The comparison for me: He has everything we loved about River Phoenix and Heath Ledger. Those guys in their day were revelations as young actors."
David Unger, CEO of Talent International, talks comparisons with Timmy. Via Vulture. (via nothing2fic)
‘ “i will start with the fact that i am homeless, as that is a given. then for a back story, i will pepper in the fact that i am gay.” — which, i know it’s tough for gay youth on the streets, but that’s not like, a reason for money. you can't be like “hey, would you help me out ? i am very gay , i'd like a few dollars.“ ’ —– john mulaney, new in town
