‘Lost on a Mountain in Maine’ movie now slated for November release

By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff

The cinematic adaptation of the classic survival tale “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” is now slated to hit theaters this November.

Blue Fox Entertainment, which acquired the distribution rights for the film produced by Sylvester Stallone’s Balboa Productions, will begin its theatrical run on Nov. 1, according to Variety.

“Lost on a Mountain in Maine” was previously expected to hit the big screen this summer.

The movie — filmed in 2022, directed by Andrew Kightlinger and written by Luke Paradise — tells the true story of Donn Fendler, who became lost for nine days at age 12 in the Katahdin wilderness in 1939, surviving only off his wits and determination. The story captivated and frightened people from all over the world, and when the boy was finally found by a search party it made front page news at the Bangor Daily News.

His book of the same name was required reading in Maine classrooms for generations, and Fendler gave talks in schools for decades up until his death in 2016 at age 90.

The film stars Camden native Caitlin Fitzgerald (“Succession,” “Masters of Sex,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7”) and Paul Sparks (“House of Cards,” “Boardwalk Empire”) as Fendler’s parents, and Luke David Blumm (“Where the Crawdads Sing,” “The King of Staten Island”) as Fendler.

Its producers, Ryan Cook and Derek Desmond, both Mainers, released a documentary in 2013 titled “Finding Donn Fendler.”

The Bangor Daily News’ Emily Burnham contributed to this report.