Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods makes it to the big screen

they'll Ross and lovely to have you on the program it's wonderful to be here thank you so Robert Redford is playing the movie version of you you've totally won at life haven't you well with this win yes and I was very very lucky I brought all kinds of reasons but when he it was his company that bought the rights in the movie and for me that was a complete comfort right from the very beginning because you know Robert Redford just makes intelligent movies seriously bill even for you this is ridiculous why because you think I'm too old no it's not cuz I think you're too old it's cuz you are too old it's just something I feel I have to do Jesus to barrister you right up the initial thought was that it was going to be a reunion movie for Robert Redford and Paul Newman and and for a long time I mean for two or three years that was the plan and then Paul Newman got sick and unfortunately never got well and died and then everything seemed to fall into abeyance and from my perspective I just just didn't hear anything for some time I guess behind the scenes they were still doing this but it took him a number of years to get it up and running again and then when they finally got it all together then it seemed to me to happen really quickly they were just announced that they were going to start filming and they did weeks later and the next thing you know they've kind of movie if Paul Newman had still been alive he would have been available for the project he would have played your friend Stephen Katz who people who've read the book will remember probably quite fondly as a lovable yet symbolic character how long have you in he been friends for yeah well we met in middle school when we were about 13 he cats the real cats came to kallen and junior high school middle school in Des Moines Iowa essentially because he'd been expelled from all the Catholic schools in the district and he'd this was his last chance he was even then he was he was a handful he was he led quite a lively life shall we say and when he when we got too many years later when we got to middle age we were hiking the Appalachian Trail he was by that point he was a recovering alcoholic he was trying for the first time the age of about 44 to lead a life of quiet life and to behave himself we're having fun this is a trail here we are we're not even halfway there no way that's the scale it says not to scale you know I had a career I had a family and I was was you know pretty productive and very busy he meanwhile was living a life of just spectacular dissipation and and was really you know I didn't take the want my children to be exposed to him he was quite quite a handful and it was only when he sobered up and started to behave himself again the that it became possible for us to reunite and go off and do this hike together you once said that America was like your mother England was your wife and that you're very content with that arrangement and then you came to Australia and it felt like you were taking a mistress that you fell for this gorgeous chick unexpectedly perhaps you know I might have expressed it more elegantly but you know I wouldn't want to reduce Australia's just this thing I have a fling with but but it is essentially that because every night you know I mean America is really genuinely where I come from it is my mother country and England is that the one I married and and then that you really did unexpectedly in middle aged come to Australia for the first time I thought I'd like it I mean I didn't have any reason to suppose I wouldn't like it but I really fell for it I mean it was kind of head over heels this is a fantastic place and oddly it was it was because I went to Melbourne and within the wintertime that I think it was raining it was cold it was actually quite miserable and I thought this country is nothing like the Southern California place that I thought I was coming to it because all all countries of course have cliches about you know what they're like like that Australia is this Southern Californian Wonderland and Brits adore and whatnot are their truths in those stereotypes do you think yeah and I do think that we you know we all trade on them and I mean I think Australia trades on that I mean that's the image that tends to get sent out to the world if you you know once I don't watch so I may be a little out of touch but things like home in a way and they always do seem to be sort of cavorting on beaches and enjoy fine weather and and living this you know they all seem to have being incredibly attractive and have great teeth and great hair and everything so naturally you you know this is this is the impressions you get in a foreign country of what Australia is like you've spent a number of years away from actually writing about places you've been writing about science and various other things what's then lured you back into wanting to write a book about a place well partly because I hadn't done it for a long time and partly because I went to lunch with my publisher in London and he said you know it's been 20 years its 20th anniversary since you did notes from a small island which was my book about traveling around Britain and that book was really big in Britain that was the book that sort of made me well known over there and and he said you know why don't you let him do it again see how things have changed in 20 years and I was a little bit reluctant at the idea of it and I so I eased myself into it and I went out and I did a little traveling and thought about what would I write about and I thought that actually Britain has changed a lot and since I did the last book and I've changed an awful lot and so I thought well maybe it would be interesting to travel around Britain again and have another look at it and that was that's the book I've been working on the last 18 months or so and I just had the time of my life I mean for one thing as I'm sure you'll picture I had a really good time making jokes about the British I haven't done that for a long time but it's been quite a long time since I've made jokes at all in a book I mean just for the purpose of making jokes and and that was a real treat to do that will look very forward to reading a Bill Bryson thank you very much thank you they

Channel: ABC News (Australia)

Views: 46,901

Rating: 4.8757763 out of 5

Keywords: Australia, Bill Bryson (Author), A Walk In The Woods (Book), Robert Redford (Film Actor)

Id: lSe_SLw1XpU

Length: 6min 3sec (363 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 11 2015