My Own Private Idaho

My Own Private Idaho is a 1991 independent film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1. The story follows two friends, Mike (River Phoenix) and Scott (Keanu Reeves), as they embark on a journey of personal discovery that takes them to Mike's hometown in Idaho and then to Italy in search of Mike's mother. Van Sant originally wrote the screenplay in the 1970s, but shelved it after reading John Rechy's 1963 novel, City of Night, realizing that it dealt with the subject of street hustlers better than what he had written. Over the years, Van Sant rewrote the script, which comprised two stories: that of Mike and the search for his mother, and Scott's story as a modern update of the Henry IV plays. Van Sant had trouble getting any Hollywood studio to finance the film, and at one point considered making it on a shoestring budget with a cast of actual street kids. He sent copies of his script to Keanu Reeves and to River Phoenix, assuming that they would turn it down, and was surprised when both agreed to star in the film.