Last week, Beyond The Box Set pitched imaginary sequels to Alexander Payne’s Sideways. Little did we expect that one of our listeners would turn out to be the man who created the movie’s universe. Novelist, filmmaker and accidental wine connoisseur Rex Pickett has written three novels following the middle-aged misadventures of depressed author and Pinot Noir enthusiast Miles and his larger than life best friend Jack, the first of which was adapted by Payne and his writing partner Jim Taylor for the enormously successful 2004 movie starring Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church.
Speaking from his home in Del Mar, California, Rex provided a candid and wide-ranging insight into his novel’s unconventional journey from page to screen, how the success of the movie changed the face of the Santa Ynez wine scene and why the time may finally be right for a Sideways sequel…
You can listen to the full interview on iTunes, Stitcher, aCast or any of the podcast hosting links above. As a taster, here are some of the major revelations from our conversation with Rex…
The Sideways movie almost didn’t happen
Jack is less of a man child in the original novel
Virginia Madsen’s wine speech wasn’t in the original script
The movie’s original ending was much darker…
A sequel to the movie may be on the cards… in Chile
You can listen to our Rex Pickett interview in full using any of the links above. To find out more about Sideways and Pickett’s other creative endeavours, you can follow him on Twitter or visit his personal website. You can also connect with Beyond The Box Set on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and right here on our website. If you like what you hear, we’d really appreciate a subscribe and a review on your chosen podcast hosting platform. It really helps us to continue doing what we love – i.e. making up ridiculous sequel ideas to classic movies and occasionally goading their creators into joining us for a chat.
