LET'S HOPE THAT GUN IS POINTED AT EXPLOSIVES LINED ALL AROUND HOLLYWOOD
Hunter S Thompson is my favorite writer, hands down. His continued attack on the social injustices of the world ran far deeper than the "wild boy" carictaure that he was made into by...ironically....the press for which he worked. Most people emulate the way Hunter looks or talks or try to deify him in some way. The truth was that the man was loaded with faults and those faults were part of what made him such a brilliant writer and such a part-time douche bag. One of his earliest works was the bizarre, insightful and altogether scary one man insiders look at the Hell's Angels. Motorcycles, drugs, crime, gang rape, and ultimately Hunter's own beat down pepper a book filled with tremendous insight on how this one gang is a microcosim of society.
I guess it was only a matter of time before Hollywood started crawling up Hunter's ass again. So far there has been one good film about the man that wasn't a documentary. Most think it was Johnny Depp's Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas but I felt that was too cartoony, too self important and that Depp's portrayal of Thompson was more the caricature that he'd been stuck with not the man.
The film I'm talking about is Where The Buffalo Roam starring Bill Murray as Thompson. Murray nails the man and the film, while uneven, is a nice slice of life from the writer's legacy. Today Tony Scott has decided to take a crack at the film with writer Steven Gaghan. I'm interested on Gaghan's take on the book since I liked his work in Cyriana and the parts of Traffic that actually worked.
My problem is if Tony Scott directs it. Scott had a run there where he made some decent movies but between Domino and this awful re-make of Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 I fear he might make a movie filled with bluster and bravado and not pay attention to the novel itself. Most folks want to lionize Hunter S. Thompson instead of understand him. I can completely see why but to me it just cheapens all the man was.
Iann, I love you man. Lol! When I started reading this article, I thought "I hope he give some props to Murray and "Where The Buffalo Roam". This is why I'm a fan of yours.
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