EXCLUSIVE: Author Jack Kerouac set an ambitious task for himself when he pondered writing On the Road, his 1957 masterpiece that still reverberates in the American imagination.
“My purpose is to conquer knowledge of the U.S.A.,” he wrote, “to know it as I know the palm of my hand.”
Those words, immodest, carried away with possibility and essentially romantic, are articulated in the new documentary Kerouac’s Road: The Beat of a Nation, which makes its premiere this evening at Tribeca Festival in New York. Actor Michael Imperioli voices Kerouac’s writings in the film directed by Ebs Burnough and produced by Burnough, Eliza Hindmarch, and John Battsek. Watch an excerpt from Kerouac’s Road in the exclusive clip above.
Viking Press
The documentary interweaves “stories of modern-day travelers with insights from those influenced by or connected to the legendary author,” Tribeca’s Jarod Neece writes in the festival program. “The film retraces Kerouac’s restless journey across America while exploring how his emphasis on experience over material success, as well as authentic connection over digital convenience, speaks powerfully to our screen-saturated era.”
Burnough and team not only enlisted Imperioli but other prominent artists and admirers of Kerouac’s novel, including actors Josh Brolin and Matt Dillon, cultural commentator W. Kamau Bell, singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, and writer Jay McInerney.
Director Ebs Burnough
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
“I am a huge fan of Michael Imperioli, his work speaks for itself, but he digs deep, and it comes through in the work,” Burnough tells Deadline. “He is also a scholar and his knowledge of Kerouac, and his work is incredibly robust, and he is honest about how Kerouac has impacted him.”
Regarding Dillon’s participation in the film, Burnough describes the actor as “the consummate artist. He is everything I think Kerouac would have wanted to be had he not had such a complicated life and early death. Matt is a director, actor, writer, and a painter. And he too is honest about the book’s impact on him. I owe meeting Matt to my eldest son Bernie! We were having dinner and I said, ‘Matt Dillon really loves On the Road and he voiced the audio book and I have got to find him.’ And Bernie (perhaps my most reserved child) said ‘I know him, should I introduce you?’ LOL. That made Matt’s involvement all the sweeter.”
“Truly, it was incredible to work with all of our incredible cast,” comments producer John Battsek, “and hear the way that Kerouac’s work has touched or influenced their lives in so many ways.”
Author Jack Kerouac
Everett Collection
On the Road has sold millions of copies since it was published in 1957. Readers have been captivated by its syncopated prose, and its imperative to explore – both an outward journey to the wide open spaces of America, and a journey within of self-discovery.
“America is a vast country, ‘from sea to shining sea’ we are BIG, and there are around 340 million Americans in this varied geography; and yet hide as we might, or run as we might, we are all connected,” Burnough observes. “In the tangible sense, we’re connected by the incredible highway system that links grandma to grandson or friend to friend; but it’s the connection that we long for. It’s the feeling of getting out of where you are, the ability to hit the road and find yourself and at the same time know that you are not alone. Americans in particular hold a sense of independence, a drive that says if I hit the road the future is in front of me and whatever I am leaving is behind me. Keep pushing forward towards the unknown, but we know it is great inspire of not knowing exactly what it is.
“But I must say, it is not only an American impulse. Our landscape lends itself to getting on the road; but the concept is global. And that is where Kerouac truly understood human nature. In England and India and Africa and Asia, the roads may be different, the topography transformed, but the idea of finding YOUR place, the idea of traveling YOUR road of discovering your voice and your place in the world is as resonant as it is in America. We are all on our own individual journey and Kerouac gives us his manual which we are allowed to update (thank goodness) and alter as we see fit.”
Notes Battsek, “I was struck by the fact that even though the book was written over half a century ago, its themes of freedom, self-discovery, and rebellion still resonate in today’s world. In many ways the book is timeless because it captures the raw, restless energy of youth. I was struck by how Jack struggled so quickly with the success he received from the book and so it felt he wasn’t really able to enjoy his success.”
A still from the 1985 documentary ‘What Happened to Kerouac?’
Everett Collection
Kerouac, forever associated with the Beat Generation (he coined the term), published several books after On the Road, none of them approaching the acclaim of that novel. He died of alcoholism in 1969 at the age of 47. Kerouac was born in Lowell, MA to a family of French-Canadian descent (there is some dispute about his birth name, but he said it was Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac). He attended Columbia University in New York before serving in the Merchant Marine during World War II.
“New York was such a significant part of Jack’s story, and it feels fitting that we’re able premiere the film here. It’s going to be a really special screening,” Battsek comments. “I hope that the film surprises audiences and shows that Kerouac’s passionate and poetic quest for understanding is still relevant in our world.”
Commenting on the film’s implicit themes, Burnough observes, “What binds us together is stronger than what divides us. The road, the physical road that we travel is connective tissue (not the only one) but our system of grids and stop lights and highways brings us together, regardless of gender or race or politics. We all travel it one way or another. And it forces us to bump into one another and see each other as we are finding ourselves. We can travel these roads on our own or with friends and family, but we are all on them together. And whether you’re American or African or Asian or European, it’s all also a metaphor for the path we’re on in our individual lives. I hope this film reminds people that we’re all in this thing called life together!”
In addition to tonight’s world premiere, Kerouac’s Road: The Beat of a Nation screens on Friday evening and Sunday morning.
“This is the second film I have ever directed,” Burnough tells Deadline. “To be at Tribeca is a dream come true. To be premiering this in New York is a dream come true. I keep thinking to myself that I hope Jack would think this is pretty cool. But I am also very nervous! Actually, scared is probably a better word, just because we’ve worked on this for a long time and now it’s time to present it to the world and that is scary.”
Content shared from deadline.com.