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Receive no more
telephone calls
from telemarketers
selling junk.
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| Released By: | Saul Zaentz |
| Year: | 1986 |
| Director: | Peter Weir |
| Screenplay: | Paul Schrader |
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"We eat when we're not hungry, drink when we're not thirsty.
We buy what we don't need and throw away everything that's useful.
Why sell a man what he wants? Sell him what he doesn't need!
Pretend he's got eight legs and two stomachs and money to burn.
It's wrong! Wrong. Wrong. Wrong."
Based on the novel The Mosquito Coast by author Paul Theroux, the film portrays the Fox family dropping out and leaving America for a new life in the South American jungle.
"Goodbye America, and have a nice day!"
Filmed in Belize on a tight budget, The Mosquito Coast was rubbished by the critics and was a financial failure. River's performance was highly praised however. "I felt much better about my work than I did about my performance in Stand By Me," River would later say.
Director Peter Weir wanted Wil Wheaton to play the role of Charlie Fox and turned River down on two occasions because he felt River was too old for the part. Eventually though, when Weir discovered the extraordinary similarities between the lives of River Phoenix and Charlie Fox, River was cast. Charlie Fox's parents were played by Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.
River was soon to look upon Harrison Ford not only as a friend but also a mentor and would receive tuition in the various acting techniques. "Harrison was very down to earth. He's very wise too," said River.
Of the character he brought to life, River said, "I had a kind of identity crisis. I liked Charlie Fox's character a lot and it was a great experience for me. I knew that character so well because I was the character. I knew his whole past."
John Phoenix, River's father, supervised his fifteen-year-old son throughout the making of the film but grew increasingly concerned about the movie's plot and the similarities with the Phoenix family's life as missionaries in Venezuela. Fearing his son was growing further and further away from him John constantly tried to persuade River to take a trip to Guatemala during the filming. Showing great maturity for a fifteen-year-old, River refused saying, "I have to learn my lines and I have a responsibility to be on the set and be rested."
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