New Hunter S. Thompson Flick Coming Out

Well, I guess this is what I get for not frequenting The Great Thompson Hunt more often...I missed the boat on the upcoming documentary, Gonzo, about Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.

The New York Times reviewed it yesterday and I will have to get up to the Cedar Lee to check it out sometime after it opens here in the rust belt next week.

Just going on the review, it seems that the documentary might fall prey to the trajectory that the Good Doctor's career did...his public image later carried him much more than his earlier literary genius did. In his last 15 years or so, Thompson's writing, in my opinion really fell off and he had to rely on the (partially-fabricated) persona of a drugging, hard-drinking mountain man, rather than the astute observer of American life who many of us fell in love with.

It's a real shame, too. Fear and Loathing On the Campaign Trail '72 is one of my favorite books of all time. If you can cut through some of his fantastic side stories, it's really the most compelling campaign narrative I've ever read. To pull a McGovern staffer's quote from the review article, it was "the least factual, most accurate account" of the election.

All this said, I'll be sure to check it out. My only hope is that they don't waste time with hanger-on John Cusack, who seems to get his mug in every Thomson post-mortem I come across.

Mr. Bad Example

Hunter S. Thompson left his brains on his desk 3 years ago today.

I don't have too many new and interesting observations on the good doctor, except that I bitterly regret not being able to read what he would think of the current crop of has-beens, wanna-bees and perverts running for the WH in 2008.

I threw together a short slideshow of another Zevon song, Things to do in Denver When You're Dead, recorded live.

Rest in Peace, Doc.

Band/Artist: Warren Zevon
Date: December 11, 1991
Venue: Bearsville Theater
Location: Woodstock NY

Source: FM
Lineage: FM > ? > CD-R > EAC (secure, offsets) > Adobe Audition > FLAC (level 8, sectors aligned, shntool verified)

Good News on the Movie Release of HST's The Rum Diary

I started following some of my own links around after the Hunter S. Thompson birthday post the other day to check up on the scoop for the movie version of his novel, The Rum Diary.

The project has languished in a pre-production state for the last few years.  Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro, who starred in 
Thompson's other movie adaptation, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, are said to be involved.

Variety reported in April that a new production company has picked up the project.

Hope springs eternal.  Rarely have I anticipated a movie release like this one.

I'm generally not the biggest fiction fan in the world, but if you have any interest in this sordid tale, and a nice primer to the Doctor's style, I give it five stars.

Here's a little video of Hunter talking with Charlie Rose about the novel.

Happy Birthday, Good Doctor

Dr. Hunter S. Thompson would have turned 70 years old today.

While his writing undoubtedly slipped in the last few years of his life (he reminded me of tapes of Jerry Garcia towards the end...you could hear him scratching at old tricks that used to work but ended up sounding like someone trying to imitate himself...not-so-successfully), Hell's Angels, On the Campaign Trail '72, Rum Diary and innumerable magazine articles endeared him to many, including yours truly.

No one else compares in expressing the disappointment and anger that some of us see when looking at the state of this country.

I might just have to dust off my copy of Fear and Loathing tonight.

Rest in peace.

It's Derby Weekend

In honor of this weekend's Kentucky Derby, we should all take a moment to reflect on the fact that an article on this race, in 1970, was the frist instance of Gonzo Journalism by Dr. Hunter S. Thomson.

Check out the wiki on The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved, which includes a link to the original article.

RIP, Doc!