The Peanut Butter Falcon

Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz met Zack Gottsagen at a camp bringing together artists with and without disabilities. When they talked about the obstacles facing him as an aspiring actor, Gottsagen challenged them to write a part only he could play. The script turns to Mark Twain, moving Huckleberry Finn into the present, the hero chasing professional wrestling rather than acting. His roommate Carl, played by Bruce Dern, helps him out of the care home. The $6.2 million production began in Georgia in July 2017 and continued in North Carolina. Real ring names joined the cast, Jake Roberts and Mick Foley among them. It screened at SXSW on 9 March 2019 and won the audience award in the Narrative Spotlight section; Roadside Attractions picked up distribution after the festival. It opened on 9 August in 17 theatres for $205,200, then widened to 991 two weeks later. Audiences polled by CinemaScore graded it A+. Shia LaBeouf and Gottsagen presented the live action short film award together at the 2020 Oscars. A good fit if you want to watch what happens when a part is written from scratch for one performer, and how Gottsagen works with the camera. Not for anyone expecting the river trip and the wrestling section to stay realistic, or resistant to a closing turn into fable.