According to an AP story, Sean Penn’s part-adventure, part-biopic Into the Wild led the Screen Actors Guild Award nominations this morning with four nods, including one for lead actor Emile Hirsch.
The film is based on the true story of Chris McCandless, a 24-year-old who traded a successful suburban life for a chance to trek across America for two years. His journey ended in the Alaskan wilderness, where he died trying to survive on his own. The McCandless tale has been inspirational to some and… well, just stupid to others. Was he an idealist to be admired or an idiot who wasn’t prepared?
I knew that part of the film was filmed in Carthage, a town in eastern South Dakota that McCandless passed through on his journey. He met a good friend there - a character portrayed by Vince Vaughn in the film. But I didn’t know until perusing the IMDb yesterday that the Black Hills also were used for filming. According to the site, portions of the movie were shot around Hot Springs, a town several miles south of Custer.
I haven’t seen the film yet (I love movies, but I need help justifying $8.50 a ticket), so I can’t say where the Hot Springs scenes might pop up. It’s a pretty distinctive town, with sandstone architecture, rocky cliffs and red soil.
If you’ve seen Into the Wild and you think you might know where Hot Springs makes its appearance, leave a comment.
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