The real life of Sideways author Rex Pickett wasn’t that far off from his book’s main character, Miles Raymond, who is his alter ego. Both were underappreciated writers in the throes of a mid-life crisis. Like Raymond, played by Paul Giamatti in director Alexander Payne’s Oscar-winning film adaptation, Pickett was an unpublished author trying to scrape by in Los Angeles when he wrote a short story that blossomed into a manuscript. But every publisher who read it rejected it—then it landed on Payne’s desk. Hot off the success of Election, Payne was eager to adapt the story into a film. When Pickett returned home to a flashing message on his answering machine about striking a deal, he’d just had his credit card declined for a $6 charge at Baja Fresh.
While it seemed like it would be smooth sailing from there, as you’ll hear from Rex, it wasn’t all easy going after that. The making of Sideways didn’t immediately change his fortunes, but it afforded him two decades of adventure through the wine world—and a certain amount of malice from Merlot producers.
Pickett has just published Sideways: New Zealand and is currently at work on the fifth book in the series. The original novel has recently been released in hardcover for the first time to mark the film’s 20th Anniversary. Find it at RexPickettbooks.com.
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This Article was originally published on Wine Enthusiast
