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He was called the vibrant new voice of his generation — the avatar of the Beat movement. In 1957, on the heels of the triumphant debut of his groundbreaking novel, On The Road, Jack Kerouac was a literary rock star, lionized by his fans and devotees. But along with sudden fame and media hype came his unraveling, and, by 1960, Kerouac was a jaded cynic, disaffected from the Beat culture he helped create and tortured by self-doubt, addiction and depression.
Desperate for spiritual salvation and solitude, as well as a place to dry out, he secretly retreats to Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s rustic cabin in the Big Sur woods. But his plan is foiled by his own inner demons, and what ensues that summer becomes the basis for Kerouac’s gritty, yet lyrically told, semi-autobiographical novel, Big Sur.
One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur, takes the viewer back to Ferlinghetti’s cabin and to the Beat haunts of San Francisco and New York City for an unflinching, cinematic look at the compelling events the book is based on. The story unfolds in several synchronous ways: through the narrative arc of Kerouac’s prose, told in voice-over by actor and Kerouac interpreter, John Ventimiglia (of HBO’s The Sopranos); through first-hand accounts and recollections of Kerouac’s contemporaries, whom many of the characters in the book are based on such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Carolyn Cassady, Joyce Johnson and Michael McClure; by the interpretations and reflections of writers, poets, actors and musicians who have been deeply influenced by Kerouac’s unique gifts like Tom Waits, Sam Shepard, Robert Hunter, Patti Smith, Aram Saroyan, Donal Logue and S.E. Hinton; and by stunning, High Definition visual imagery set to original music composed and performed by recording artist, Jay Farrar of Son Volt, with additional performance by Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie.
Contest:
Post your favorite Jack Kerouac quote in the comments of this post, and write a paragraph about how it relates to you personally. You must include your email in the space provided when you leave your submission. It will not be publicly shared but it will be passed on to Kerouac Films. The contest will run until November 30, 2009.
Prizepack includes:
- CD and DVD
- 2 Mixed Field Notes 3packs
- 2 Field Notes pencils
- 2 Field Notes pens
- 2 Field Notes buttons
- 2 Field Notes rubber bands
Check out more about the film HERE!
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion. Jack Kerouac
November 24th, 2009 at 3:48 am
Thanks for the quote, Sophia! To count as an entry you also need to submit a paragraph talking about how this quote applies to you personally. I hope you come back and finish your submission!
Good luck!
November 24th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
”What’s in store for me in the direction I don’t take?” -Jack Kerouac
For years I was afraid to make desicions just about everything. I was always thinking about negative things that might happen, or what other people might think if I would choose a certain direction in life. A couple of years ago I got seriously ill, a number of people close to me died, and my life changed drastically.
I made a lot of changes in my life, and every time I have doubts, I think ”What would happen if I don’t take that direction or path?” Could I make a mistake? Fall flat on my face? Maybe. But that doesn’t matter anymore.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!”
Growing up in a middle class family from Kolkata, India all I learned to study hard, get a job and save money to retire one day peacefully. But at high school, I came across a group of people, inspired by beat generation (Ginsberg, Kerouac et all) and got into little mag publication and third theater. Fast forward 15 years, I am running a company in Singapore, enjoying every day of my life. And yes I lived dangerously last one decade, including running away from home, hitch hiking all over India, Nepal, Tibet and south east Asia. If one quote can change life – that’s the one!
BTW – got the link from your Tumblr.
November 28th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
“All our best men are laughed at in this nightmare land.”- Jack Kerouac
I came across this quote in high school. I had recently been sent to boarding school and was going through awkward adolescence, which was only made worse by a severe case of Tourette Syndrome. This quote thrust me into all the Jack Kerouac that I could get my hands on. During our senior skip day, the eight graduating seniors in my school sat around a table in a small coffee shop in Burlington, Vermont and read Jack Kerouac out loud to each other, each of us moved by a different quote. Jack had a way of making the reader feel understood, something that had deeply touched our adolescent hearts. Years later, as I started looking at my future, this quote stood out as I took my quirky Tourettic self and started doing both stand-up comedy and working with teens who have disabilities. Jack changed the way I viewed getting laughed at, by reading that quote, I felt understood and empowered.