Scoop: Gossip is in a Pickle.

By WW Culture Staff
  1. WILD IN PORTLAND: The movie adaptation of Wild, Cheryl Strayed’s memoir about hiking part of the Pacific Crest Trail, will be filmed in Oregon, a source confirmed to WW. Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, Legally Blonde) is set to star as Strayed, who lives here. According to the source, filming will begin in late September or early October and will take place in and around Portland and Mount Hood. More arid parts of the state will probably double for Northern California. Because Strayed’s 1,100-mile solo journey ended at the Bridge of the Gods, that other totally sufficient Columbia River crossing will probably appear in the movie. Local grip and gaffer types are excited about the project: Last summer, Grimm, Portlandia and Leverage all shot in Portland, but Leverage has since been canceled.
  1. RUNS ON VINEGAR: Make way for the pickle bus. Artist Tara Whitsitt of Eugene recently launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking $28,000 to turn a biodiesel school bus into a mobile fermentation lab and living space. Starting in October, Fermentation on Wheels hopes to embark on a yearlong trip to “research fermentation and micro-agriculture at various farms across the country,” offering workshops and selling goods from her fermented foods business. “It’s going to be a lot of stuff, but I mostly want to focus on food,” Whitsitt says. “I can ferment pretty much anything.” She also wants to shoot an educational documentary and write a book showcasing sustainable fermentation methods. Whitsitt’s Kickstarter campaign ends Sept. 8.
  1. GINGERER: In Portland’s continuing campaign to exemplify every cliché about itself, our cloudy burg appears to have achieved the world record for assembling the most people who have reason to fear the sun. According to unofficial counts by organizers, the Redhead Event 2013 at Pioneer Courthouse Square on Aug. 17 managed to pull in more than the 1,255 participants needed to break the world record for a gathering of natural-born gingers. A full verification by Guinness World Records, however, may take up to three months.
  1. KNOCK KNOCK: Northeast Alberta Street is getting a new music venue. In September, the Knock Back is scheduled to open in the space previously occupied by Peruvian restaurant Del Inti. The bar will feature local-focused live music one day per week, with a DJ night once a month, says owner Will Platt. A former promoter and production designer, Platt—whose aunt and uncle own Andina in the Pearl—wants to avoid encroaching on Alberta dive the Know’s punk and metal bookings, and has already scheduled shows featuring Portland mainstays such as And And And and Minden. He’s aiming for a Sept. 1 opening, though that’s largely predicated on when employees get back from Burning Man.

WWeek 2015

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