The Rafael Hosts a 20th Anniversary Screening, Wine Tasting, and Book Signing of ‘Sideways’ with Author Rex Pickett
It’s time to raise a glass and toast one of the cultural touchstones of our era—Sideways, the beloved film about romantic contretemps in wine country, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. In its honor, the Smith Rafael Film Center hosts a celebratory screening, wine tasting, and book signing tonight with its author, Rex Pickett.
Quick refresher: The misadventures begin when Miles (Paul Giamatti), an un-recovered divorcé and would-be novelist with a wine fixation, decides to gift old college buddy and washed-up actor Jack (Thomas Haden Church) with a celebratory trip to the vineyards of the Santa Ynez Valley the week before Jack’s wedding. Emotional chaos ensues.
Directed by Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt), the film changed the landscape of wine culture forever (particularly for producers of the famously and unfairly maligned merlot varietal) and the life of the author on whose book it was based. Though fiction, Rex Pickett poured much of his own experience into Sideways, particularly the character of Miles, whose experiences are inspired by his own (including various memorable tasting room moments as depicted in the adaptation). He showed his ex-wife. Her advice? “Burn it.”
“She just thought it was too personal. ‘Why would you want to do something so personal? It’s just going to ruin your career.’ Of course, I laugh because [at the time] I didn’t have a career, so how’s it going to ruin my career?” recalls Pickett with a laugh. “But you have to be willing to take those risks. And when they pay off like this and it’s still remembered, I like to think now that the pain and anguish was worth it.”
The machinations of the publishing industry, let alone the film industry, can be glacial, but through a series of small miracles, the manuscript landed in the hands of director Alexander Payne, who could see the film within its pages. In 2004, the film and book were widely released.
Sideways became a cultural force and spurred intense interest in pinot noir, as well as a 2009 Japanese adaptation of the film, a musical in the works, myriad staged versions (one is currently going up in Latvia), and a handful of sequel novels by Pickett that continue the wine-soaked odyssey.
Despite its enduring success, Pickett doesn’t think Sideways would be greenlit these days. “I think it’s too unique and original,” he says, pointing to a box office culture driven more by spandex and existing intellectual property than seriocomic yarns for grownups. “It’s a very autobiographical work. It’s very personal.”
And as they say in creative writing workshops, the personal is universal—hence the embrace of Pickett’s story over the past two decades.
“It’s a fickle world. It can drive you crazy,” Pickett says of the writing game. “So to have something endure and be here 20 years later brings tears to my eyes, quite frankly.”
The Smith Rafael Film Center hosts a prescreening tasting, courtesy of Moshin Winery & Mill Creek Winery, at 6 pm, followed by an introduction and screening at 7 pm, Wednesday, Aug. 14. Tickets are $14 for general admission, $10.50 for seniors, and $8.50 for CAFILM members. The film center is located at 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael. More info and tix here.
