Summary: <br> <br> A conversation with Aron Ralston<br> <br> <br> <br> In 2003 <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAron_Ralston&ei=CCA1UKyQI-iK2wW-54GoAg&usg=AFQjCNFM2u8w1EAd2Dg4RhczBJA2VLg4Tw&sig2=GYMAcUjImfurOj2U5LzDrg">Aron Ralston</a> was brash young man looking for adventure. But while exploring the slot canyons of the Utah desert he found himself trapped miles from home deep within a underground chasm his right arm crushed and pinned by a massive boulder. There he lay stranded with no hope of rescue for five days. Rolston’s story was portrayed in the 2010 film <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxsearchlight.com%2F127hours%2F&ei=KCA1ULT5LsW42wXG5YGgDA&usg=AFQjCNG9jn0tux7MUKayBPMjuAI1t3FIuw&sig2=LBpMI67NyF-KaHBv58r7sw" target="_blank">127 Hours </a>starting <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0290556/" target="_blank">James Franko</a>.<br> <br> In order to escape from circumstance that would have meant certain death Ralston was forced to amputate his own arm. But he would go one to inspire millions through his incredible story of survival and perseverance through his bestselling book <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/166562.Between_a_Rock_and_a_Hard_Place?auto_login_attempted=true" target="_blank">Between a Rock & a Hard Place</a>. Ralstonwas the keynote speaker at the bi-annual meeting of the <a href="http://www.conservationalliance.com/" target="_blank">Conservation Alliance</a> during 2012 <a href="http://www.outdoorretailer.com" target="_blank">Outdoor Retailer Summer Market</a> in Salt Lake City Utah. Immediately following his presentation I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his ordeal and what inspired him to live to tell his story.<br> <br> JTP: Many people have seen the film and have read the book. The film is called 127 Hours. And the book is called Between a Rock and a Hard Place and it tells your story of a very harrowing experience in the Utah desert. I'll leave it to other people to get an idea as to what it is that, that story meant to them, but perhaps you can give me an idea. In the film, how accurate was James Franko's portrayal of your story? What did they get right? What did they get wrong?<br> <br> Ralston: Well I worked with the film team for seven years as it was to take it all the way from when I wrote my book to turn it into a script and then selecting a director and working with them to choose James as they did to depict me and my experience. And even working with James then to coach him through the actions. He's admittedly not an outdoorsman and to get him familiar with the desert, to get him an understanding of my experience. Not that he was trying to impersonate me so much, but to take an audience through my entrapment, the psychological aspects of the ordeal that I endured and then the liberation, the release, the triumph of it all too. And I thought it was very accurately portrayed, both from the overarching emotional stories, the themes that they highlighted about love and family and also the very physical and factual aspects of it too, all wrapped up in this extraordinary film adaptation of my experience. I think that people who watch it they know what I went through. You feel it really as you watch the film. So I was extremely pleased with what they did. I was that the point where I'm watching it with my sister a couple of times and as she's seeing it for the first time she's like elbowing me and slapping me on the knee saying , "That's so you! They totally nailed it!" Even with my family they saw how genuine it was and to do that and at the same time really make a film that moves people? That's not an easy thing. You usually have to choose one or the other,
