Director Steven Brill was in town recently and fielded questions from the audience during a private screening. He beamed with enthusiasm about his new film. A veteran of many successful films, including the Mighty Duck series, Brill explained how he put together this new outing. Much of the crew who worked on "Without a Paddle" had just finished 3 years of shooting for Peter Jackson on the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

These guys get in way over their heads stuck in the wilderness. The characters are developed so the audience cares for the guys. Brill says he likes a "fish out of water" story with good character development and comedy content. Some of my favorite parts involved the relentless bear, the fishing with a flashlight sequence, and the encounter with the beautiful girls in the tree house.