Gonzo: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson

  • Posted by Eric
  • June 19, 2008

Update: For all those in Cbus awaiting the 7/11 date, I just spoke with the Landmark “Gateway 8″ theater (south campus) and they won’t be playing it then. It is being pushed back a week, so expect it on 7/18 or that weekend.

I’m a big Hunter S. Thompson fan. He was from my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky so it’s no real surprise. I came to him later than I did Muhammad Ali (also from Louisville). I’ve been a lifelong fan of Ali. It’s probably best I came to Hunter late. If I had read him in High School who knows what would have become of me. I remember first reading Hunter on a business trip and not being able to put the damned book down. I read at dinner, at the bar, back in the room, and snuck in pages even while working. His style, whit, and storytelling ability hooked me. He’s been an inspiration in my writing and activism since.

So it’s no surprise then that I jump at the opportunity to screen the upcoming film “Gonzo: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson”. The film is directed by Alex Gibney, who was the executive producer of “No End in Sight“, which was excellent.

I can’t wait to see and will get out to see it in either Dayton or Columbus when it comes out. The Ohio dates are:

7/11 - Cleveland Heights, OH: Cedar Lee Theatres
7/11 - Columbus, OH: Gateway 8
7/18 - Dayton, OH: New Neon Movies

Here is the trailer:

For more information on the movie, visit the official site. If anyone is up for a night out, let me know and we’ll grab some beers and toast the good doctor!

Mahalo.

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June 19th, 2008
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
David
Posted on:
June 19, 2008 at 9:09 pm

Hell yes. Hunter was a f’ing genius. I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas after my freshman year at OSU (’97) and it literally changed my life (not sure if it was for the better, but it definitely encouraged me to make the most of every minute…no regrets). It all worked out (graduated law school in ‘06), but Hunter will always live in me and millions of others. He would have been an extremely useful voice right now, and for what it’s worth, I think he would have loved Obama.

I have a buddy who saw the film last month at the Jacksonville Film Festival, and he said it was terrific. I’m definitely going to try to make it up to Ceder Lee for the screening up there. Do they sell tix ahead of time for that?

“Buy the ticket, take the ride.”

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Eric
Posted on:
June 19, 2008 at 9:16 pm

Don’t think so. They still have it listed as “Coming Soon”

http://www.clevelandcinemas.com/comingsoon_mov.asp?id=1246

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
David
Posted on:
June 19, 2008 at 9:20 pm

Right…I just checked that too. You know, they were actually showing this a couple of nights down at Bonnaroo (a music fest in Tennessee that I just returned from) and like an idiot I couldn’t squeeze it in to my otherwise busy schedule of drinking, sunning, and listening to music. Quite a productive weekend…I know. Desperately needed and appreciated though. Won’t miss it again now that I know it’s going to be up in Cleveland. Thanks for the heads up…and I’m digging the blog (fairly new to it).

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Eric
Posted on:
June 19, 2008 at 9:23 pm

Bonnaroo. YOU SUCK! I’ve been wanting to do that for years now. I will some day if they are still having it by the time my life settles down. LOL.

Thanks on the blog. Really appreciate it.

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Eric
Posted on:
June 19, 2008 at 9:24 pm

PS - Always great to meet a fellow HST fan.

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
David
Posted on:
June 19, 2008 at 9:30 pm

Most definitely…with this one post, I went from randomly swinging by Plunderbund from time to time, to bookmarking you guys and linking to you on my blog (as halfassed a blog as it is). Keep up the good work!

Bonnaroo was great by the way. I went the first two years, but haven’t been back in 4 years. Don’t know what my deal was…but I’m going to try to make it back as often as I can. Definitely worth checking out though (although be prepared to rough it for 3-4 days). Just working through the post Bonnaroo haze/hangover now, but got to see some really phenomenal performances, so it was worth it.

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
Joseph
Posted on:
June 19, 2008 at 9:58 pm

I’m still pissed Johnny Depp played him in the 1998’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas movie.

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
David
Posted on:
June 19, 2008 at 10:16 pm

You know though, I thought he did an amazing job…he and Hunter got to be quite close. There is actually a great story in Fear and Loathing in America (a collection of essays and stories) where Hunter tells the story of Depp visiting Owl Farm, and he describes how after a day of debauchery, Hunter leads Depp down to his room, and as Johnny is putting out his cigarette on a big cylinder device (being used as a nightstand), he asks Hunter what the thing was. Hunter responds that it was a live bomb leftover from WWII. He said Depp turned white. I’m paraphrasing the story, but it’s hilarious the way Hunter tells it (pretty much applies to almost everything he wrote).

I actually read an article about how they were making the movie while I was reading the book. I thought to myself that they would never be able to recreate the images Hunter describes and my mind conjured. But, Terry Gillam did an amazing job in directing the film, and Benicio Del Torro and Depp were amazing. That movie definitely exceeded my expectations.

For comparisons sake, check out Where the Buffalo Roam and consider Bill Murray’s take on Hunter. I love Bill Murray, and he does a good job, but when you compare his interpretation of Hunter with what Depp did…it makes Depp’s performance that much more impressive. I think I read somewhere Depp is involved in putting together a script/film for The Rum Diaries. So look out for that.

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
angii
Posted on:
June 27, 2008 at 7:05 pm

My fiance and I won tickets to bonnaroo and the gonzo movie was one of the things i was most excited about. We waited in line, in the blazin sun for an hour just to get into the cinema tent. after sitting inside for a while watching some movie that wasn’t gonzo, people started bitching. finally a girl came over the speakers and said that their DVD had been stolen!! i was so upset… and i thought i would be able to come home and find it here on the wonderful internet, but no luck :(
so, some loser douchebag theif messed up a lot of HST fans’ only chance to see it early… i hope karma bites him in the ass hard…

Comment Number:
10
Written by:
Eric
Posted on:
July 7, 2008 at 4:44 pm

For all those in Cbus awaiting the 7/11 date, I just spoke with the Landmark “Gateway 8″ theater (south campus) and they won’t be playing it then. It is being pushed back a week, so expect it on 7/18 or that weekend.

I’ll be in Kansas City on vacation, but just found out there will be a screening there!

Comment Number:
11
Written by:
David
Posted on:
July 8, 2008 at 3:26 pm

Cool video review from today’s NYT
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=e8ad9f7875073b4f8231bda17c9ff06f3b8a38e6