Flushed with critical praise for his work on The Motorcycle Diaries, Salles received a call from Coppola summoning him to a meeting at his vineyard in California to discuss the possibility of bringing On The Road to the big screen. Salles was understandably flattered by the interest, but concerned that as a Brazilian, he wasn't immersed in the social and cultural history of the novel. Together, the two came up with a plan to remedy the situation.

Salles would embark upon his own journey of discovery around the US, talking to afficionados of the book, including a number of real-life figures such as Caralyn Cassady and Al Hinkle upon whom the book's characters were based. Salles' findings were filmed throughout, and compiled into a documentary entitled Searching For On The Road. The film will be completed and released after On The Road has arrived in cinemas…