Released in 2004, Sideways was perhaps the most influential wine-themed film in American history, also grossing $250 million for the producers in the process. It damaged Merlot’s reputation with a single line, and ostensibly caused the Pinot Noir sales to spike overnight- at least in the USA. Even six years later that trend has not visibly changed.
The film, directed by Alexander Payne, was based on a novel by the same name written by Rex Pickett who has now written the sequel Vertical. The self-published novel will be out on November 21 and will be available on Amazon.com.
The author was initially reluctant to write a book on the same theme. ‘But everywhere I went, when people found out I wrote Sideways, they’d say, "When’s the sequel coming out? I want to see Jack and Miles again." So I called my agent and told him I really want to write the sequel,’ says Rex in an interview with Wine Enthusiast.
Rex who likes to use one-word titles was quite happy about the title of his new novel as he found it has multiple connotations, ‘and Miles really does get vertical in the end. You'll find out what it means,’ he says.
The plot begins seven years after the movie. Miles is a successful author and a successful movie has been made of his novel. Jack is now divorced, jobless and drinks too much. Miles’ mother has had a stroke and she wants to be with her sister, in Wisconsin. He gets an offer to be the Master of Ceremonies at the International Pinot Noir Celebration, in Oregon. So he plans a scheme where he hires a van and hires a pot-smoking Filipina caretaker. With his mother’s Yorkshire terrier dog and Jack he takes off to Willamette Valley, the Pinot Noir region in the northwestern part of Oregon, on the way to Wisconsin.
On their way, they stop at Santa Ynez Valley for a night. Miles is a celebrity and is swarmed wherever he goes. He visits Justin Winery in Paso Robles for an event and then they go through Napa and Sonoma. They have lunch at Domaine Chandon, and then ‘Miles and Jack go to Gary Farrell’s winery, where they get pretty looped, and something happens with the dog. Then they park their butts for three days in Willamette Valley and do the whole IPNC (International Pinot Noir Convention) thing, the winery tours, the salmon bake. After that, they start dropping off, one by one. It ends very emotionally, with Miles and his mom heading to Wisconsin.’
Rex feels that there is a pretty good chance that the novel may be made into a movie by Fox Searchlight which made Sideways and owns the movie rights for the novel. It will depend a lot on Alexander Payne who directed the earlier film. Sideways was a smash and he hopes that Alexander is enthusiastic enough about Vertical to make the sequel.
To read Rex’s Blog click here |