The River Why is an independent film based on the 1983 Sierra Club

Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...

 novel of the same name

The River Why

The River Why is an independent film based on the 1983 Sierra Club novel of the same name by David James Duncan.The film stars Zach Gilford, William Hurt and Amber Heard and is directed by Matthew Leutwyler.Showtime broadcast the film in August 2011...

 by David James Duncan

David James Duncan

David James Duncan is an American novelist and essayist, best known for his two bestselling novels, The River Why and The Brothers K...

.

The film stars Zach Gilford

Zach Gilford

Zach Gilford is an American actor best known for his role as Matt Saracen on the NBC television drama series Friday Night Lights. Gilford starred alongside Terrell Owens in the 2008 NBA Celebrity All-Star game....

, William Hurt

William Hurt

William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...

 and Amber Heard

Amber Heard

Amber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...

 and is directed by Matthew Leutwyler

Matthew Leutwyler

Matthew Steven Leutwyler is an American writer, director, producer.-Life and career:Leutwyler studied film at The San Francisco Art Institute. His first feature film was the dark comedy/road picture Road Kill starring Jennifer Rubin, Erik Palladino, Brian Vander Ark, Anthony Denison, Jeffrey Dean...

.

Showtime broadcast the film in August 2011.
The film is being screened in the USA in the fall of 2011 as a benefit for fish and river conservation groups and will be released on DVD/VOD/blueray on Nov 8, 2011.

Plot

The River Why is an adaptation of the 1983 Sierra Club novel by David James Duncan. The coming-of-age tale centers on a young man named Gus Orviston (Zach Gilford

Zach Gilford

Zach Gilford is an American actor best known for his role as Matt Saracen on the NBC television drama series Friday Night Lights. Gilford starred alongside Terrell Owens in the 2008 NBA Celebrity All-Star game....

) and his quest for an elusive rainbow trout, which is a metaphor for the man's internal search for self-knowledge. Amber Heard

Amber Heard

Amber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...

 plays his love interest, a tomboy fly-fisher named Eddy.

Cast

Actor	Role
Zach Gilford Zach Gilford Zach Gilford is an American actor best known for his role as Matt Saracen on the NBC television drama series Friday Night Lights. Gilford starred alongside Terrell Owens in the 2008 NBA Celebrity All-Star game....	Gus Orviston
Amber Heard Amber Heard Amber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...	Eddy
William Hurt William Hurt William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...	Gus's Father
Dallas Roberts Dallas Roberts Dallas Mark Roberts is an American stage and screen actor.Roberts was born in Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of Juilliard School. He is primarily based in New York City, where he regularly appears in theatrical productions...	Titus
Kathleen Quinlan Kathleen Quinlan Kathleen Denise Quinlan is an Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated American actress, mostly seen on television and in motion pictures.-Personal life:...	Ma
Brendan Robinson Brendan Robinson (actor) Brendan Robinson is an American actor known for playing Lucas Gottesman on the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars.-Career:Robinson started appearing in the web series Campus Daze, which he also co-produced...	Kernie
Nikki DeLoach Nikki DeLoach Ashlee Nicole DeLoach is an American actress known as Nikki DeLoach.-Life and career:DeLoach was born in Waycross, Georgia. DeLoach was a member of the Georgia 4-H Performing Arts group Clovers & Company from 1991 to 1994. She then joined the The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993.In 1998, she became a...	Young Ma
William Devane William Devane William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...	Dutch Hines
Gattlin Griffith Gattlin Griffith Gattlin Tadd Griffith is an American child actor, best known for portraying Walter Collins in the 2008 film Changeling. He also had episodic roles on TV series such as Supernatural.Griffith was born to Tad and Wendy Griffith...	Bill Bob
Robert Zorn	Fly Shop Owner
Breanna Aleigh Grimes	Marlene

Production

Since April 30, 2008, the film rights to The River Why have become the subject of a lawsuit by novelist Duncan, alleging copyright infringement

Copyright infringement

Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...

 among other issues. The lawsuit was settled and the case dismissed in November 2008.

In June 2008, actors William Hurt

William Hurt

William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...

 and Amber Heard

Amber Heard

Amber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...

 joined the cast; filming began in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

in July 2008.