The River Wild

Meryl Streep performed most of her own stunts.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Twenty-five years after the film's premiere, Meryl Streep's daughter Grace Gummer married Tay Strathairn, the son of David Strathairn.

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Kevin Bacon claimed that because the shoot always had stunt performers on hand, the cast was required to do most of their own stunts.

BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

Carrie Fisher was an uncredited script doctor on the film.

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Sam Neill turned down the role of Tom Hartman.

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Of the three sign language symbols the husband signs, the last is the sign for "I Love You."

DEEPER MEANING · SOURCED

It was initially planned for a summer release, but Universal pushed it to the fall to avoid competing with big box office hits such as Forrest Gump (1994) and True Lies (1994). The fall release brought only mediocre box office returns, though the film has since gained a following on home video and television.

PRODUCTION STORY · SOURCED

The score was first written by the late Academy Award-winning composer Maurice Jarre, but it was rejected after the film's test screenings went poorly and Jerry Goldsmith was brought in to re-score the film. In a documentary about the late composer, he and Curtis Hanson appear during the score's recording sessions.

CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

Seven years earlier, Kevin Bacon had appeared in White Water Summer (1987), in which he also played a villain in a film about whitewater rafting.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Kevin Bacon's character Wade slaps three of the four main characters in the face at some point: Rourke, for breaking his promise to keep Wade's gun hidden; Tom, when he catches Wade trying to leave him and Terry behind; and Terry, for falling asleep while he was supposed to be standing guard with the gun. The only character he does not slap is Gail, the story's protagonist, played by Meryl Streep.

CHARACTERS & CAST · SOURCED

Ray Liotta was considered for the role of Wade.

CHARACTERS & CAST · SOURCED

Production materials state that Meryl Streep did 90% of the river rapids herself.

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David Strathairn and John C. Reilly later appeared together in Dolores Claiborne (1995).

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The film's cast includes one Oscar winner, Meryl Streep, and two Oscar nominees, David Strathairn and John C. Reilly.

CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

One of the two hats worn by the boy Roarke is Wade's (Bacon) from the 1993 Lollapalooza festival, and the other is for the band Ministry.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

The 1970s crime series FBI has an episode with the same plot. In the episode "The Last Canyon," two convicts who robbed a married couple of their money camp out because their marriage is troubled. Using the couple's raft and outdoor skills, they head down the raging river and eventually reach its most dangerous section. Billy Bowles, a member of this film's crew, played a hiker who tries to warn the foursome (unaware of the situation), just as Benjamin Bratt does in the episode. Along the way there is also character-driven dialogue about the various camps, especially between the headstrong wife and the smarter of the convicts. In the original episode, the FBI closing in on them is almost a beat-by-beat expectation.

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The trailer was narrated by Don LaFontaine.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Kevin Bacon and David Strathairn also appeared together in Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1983).

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