Russell Brand “On the Road”
by Sean McGahey
Did anyone get to see the Russell Brand “On the Road” documentary on BBC 4? It was pretty good..anyway here’s all the blurb from the BBC….
Jack Kerouac’s classic novel, On The Road, turns 50 this year. This semi-autobiographical account of Kerouac’s crazy, hedonistic travels across America has inspired countless hipsters and restless souls to “hit the road”.
To mark this auspicious birthday, Kerouac-devotee Russell Brand embarks on his own coast-to-coast adventure in homage to his literary hero. Quirky and impulsive, Russell Brand’s stream-of-consciousness style is the comedic equivalent of Jack Kerouac’s spontaneous prose.
Travelling with his BBC Radio 2 colleague, Matt Morgan, Brand begins his journey by visiting Kerouac’s home town, Lowell, in Massachusetts. After perusing the writer’s personal papers with Kerouac’s brother-in-law, John Sampas, and paying a visit to Kerouac’s grave, they set off across America to soak up the spirit of the Beat Generation.
Dictated by the original journey, they drive to New York and then set out across America’s vast heartland bound for San Francisco. Along the way they visit many of Kerouac’s old haunts, meet up with characters from the book and discover friends from Kerouac’s past.
This personal adventure reflects Brand’s fascination with Jack Kerouac, and is also a journey of his own self-discovery.
http://the-beat.co.uk/on-the-road-the-movie/
December 13th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
yeah I thought it was pretty good – but why the fuck was it hidden away on bbc4???
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Yeah I missed it! Kept scouring the a-z but never saw it. Its not on BBC Iplayer anymore either! :(
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