When I was re-reading Bill Bryson’s A Walk In The Wood recently, I thought to myself, ‘You know, with a little jiggling around, this would make a really good movie’. It seems Robert Redford has been thinking the same thing (or at least thinking it again after giving up on it for a while), as the LA Times reports he’s reviving his interest in A Walk In The Woods and it could well be his next movie.
Redford first showed interest in 2005, when he was viewing it as a possible reunion for him and Paul Newman, but sadly that never happened. Chris Colombus was attached to direct for a while, before making way for Barry Levinson. There’s no news if Levinson has anything to do with the movie anymore, or if indeed Redford might helm himself.
Bryson’s book is a memoir of a walking trip he took with an old childhood friend. However the friend, who Bryson hadn’t seen for years, is now an overweight, recovering alcoholic. The two plan to walk the Appalachian trail, which proves more difficult than either expected. While the book is filled with Bryson’s trademark humour and musings, it also has a strong emotional spine that many of his books lack, focussing on how we change as we age, and whether man has lost touch with nature. It’s a great journey and could make a very good film.
It appears Redford still wants to play the Bryson role, while Nick Nolte is being lined up to play the old friend, Stephen Katz.