“He was already this amazing actor,” said writer-director Gus Van Sant, “but with this film, he was able to have an effect on what the film was becoming … He was very excited he could control the destiny of his character.” The most obvious example is the campfire confession in which Mike admits his true feelings for Scott, the Prince Hal figure played by Reeves. The dialogue was scripted by Phoenix himself and scribbled on napkins, the scene moved to the end of the shoot so that he could build up to it emotionally. “The character I wrote was blasé and noncommittal,” said Van Sant. “River made him gay and committal; he redeemed him with emotions.”
– The Guardian ranking River Phoenix's films (MOPI is no.1)
