Alexander Payne films have often caught the eye of audiences upon their release, and some titles gained more success than others. Some of his early works gained praise, like Election being heralded by fans as one of the best election movies ever.
However, some of the director's works seem to rise above the rest. It is hard to argue that Sideways isn't one of Payne's sturdiest movies. Viewers might wonder how the Oscar-winning film came to audiences, and what secrets lie behind the movie's facade.
Fans of Sideways know that wine is a big part of the movie. As Paul Giamatti's Miles Raymond and Thomas Haden Church's Jack Cole travel through wine country in southern California, Miles often lets his pretentious opinions of wine be well known.
One of Miles' funniest lines comes from his dismissal of merlot during a heated exchange with Jack. Furthermore, he spouts emotional words about his love for Pinot noir. Several publications, including The New York Times, reported that after the film's release, sales of merlot dropped, while Pinot noir sales went up in the Western U.S.
Sideways is based on a novel of the same name by Rex Pickett. In an unusual instance, both the book and film were released in 2004. Considering the time it takes to shoot, edit, and release a movie, this means Sideways was filmed before the novel from which it is based was published.
Rumors say that the book was only published after Alexander Payne got the rights to the movie, and the book was published no earlier than a few months before the film premiered.
The popularity of Sideways brought attention to Rex Pickett, and the author produced two more novels following the film's release. They are titled Vertical, which was published in 2010, and Sideways 3 Chile, which came to readers in 2015.
The Drinks Business reported that while promoting the third installment, Pickett released his own wine called Sideways. Unsurprisingly to fans of the movie, the wine was a Pinot noir. However, unlike many of the wines in the movie, the wine hailed from Oregon.
Sideways is one of Sandra Oh's highest-rated movies. She plays Stephanie, Jack's love interest who he and Miles meet during their journey through California. Fans might not know that Oh was married to director Alexander Payne during filming.
The two have been divorced since the mid-2000s, but they appear to be on good terms. Oh told Vanity Fair that making the movie was an amazing experience and that she thinks about it fondly.
Audiences perhaps recall a sequence in which Miles and Jack visit Miles' mother and the three share a meal together. It isn't one of the most memorable moments of Sideways that makes for laughs or tears. However, it presents an interesting behind-the-scenes tidbit.
Giamatti reveals in the film's DVD commentary that after this sequence, both he, Thomas Haden Church, and Marylouise Burke got food poisoning.
George Clooney and Alexander Payne are not strangers. In fact, Payne's The Descendants is one of George Clooney's highest-rated films. However, before they worked together in the 2011 movie, Clooney wanted a part in Sideways.
The Whidbey Island Film Festival reported that the famous actor wanted to play Jack Cole in the movie. He and Payne talked about the part, but Payne never ended up going forward with the actor. Of course, they would get to work together a few years after Sideways was released.
It's not hard to see why Jack easily falls for Sandrah Oh's Stephanie. The character is nonchalant, cool, and charming. Audiences see her ride a motorcycle and sweep Jack off his feet.
BoomsBeat reported that Sandra Oh actually rides a motorcycle in the film and that she learned to ride in preparation for her role in Sideways. However, Stephanie riding a hog wasn't originally in the script.
Wine is unpacked extensively in Pickett's book, and there are several wines that are described in the film. Alexander Payne wrote the screenplay with Jim Taylor and the task forced them to develop their wine knowledge.
Payne picked the "wine list" presented in the film, and he and Taylor produced a companion book detailing the wines mentioned in the film. Fans can only wonder if a merlot is mentioned on the list.
