Legal Commentary

"Gonzo" : New Hunter S. Thompson Movie Opens

By Jeralyn

Alex Gibney's new documentary about Hunter Thompson , "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson," opened Friday. Gibney's last film was the Oscar winning documentary about torture techniques, "Taxi to the Dark Side" and before that, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room."

The film focuses on Hunter in the 60's and 70's: [More...]

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Gibney's "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson" is a nostalgic tribute to Thompson's subversive, hilarious voice, whose absence is particularly felt in an era when many in the mass media lack the spine to challenge political leaders (Thompson shot himself to death in 2005). But the film also shows how Thompson's voice faded as he lapsed into drugged-out caricature. Or, as his contemporary Tom Wolfe puts it in the film, "He got trapped in gonzo."

Why that period?

[Gibney] chose to focus on an era when a journalist not only challenged the status quo but also redefined what it meant to be a journalist.

"Wouldn't it be interesting to do a film about a journalist who aggressively didn't play by the rules at a time when the people in power are manipulating reporters by forcing them to play by these phony rules?" Gibney said. "It seems that if ever there would be a time for Hunter S. Thompson, now would be it. But he's gone."

What's in it?

Narrated by Johnny Depp, the 118-minute "Gonzo" is illustrated with tons of archival photos and video and is chock-full of interviews - with conservative pundit Pat Buchanan, former President Jimmy Carter, Thompson's artistic co-conspirator Ralph Steadman, the writer's two wives and son, and many others. The movie focuses on Thompson's most creatively fertile period, 1965-75, when he cranked out books on the Hell's Angels and the 1972 presidential campaign, wrote "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and ingested the contents of several pharmacies.

There was a big party and screening for the film in New York this week, attended by literary and other media luminaries from Tom Wolfe to Jann Wenner, Candice Bergen, Arianna Huffington, Jimmy Buffett, Meg Ryan, Douglas Brinkley, Gay Talese, Dominick Dunne, Brian Williams and more.

Here's more on the film. I have a screener copy of the film at my office which I will pick up and watch this week. The film opens nationally on the 4th of July, a perfect date considering that Hunter really was a true patriot.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on June 30, 2008 (boomark / email).