"HUSTLER, AUGUST 1998" - читать интересную книгу автора (Thompson Hunter S)

[sic*] Several years later, Hell's Angels, a candid examination of America's infamous motorcycle gang, hit bookstores, and Thompson's role as demented observer of America's seedy underbelly was cast. He next set his sights on another corrupt and blighted institution: Las Vegas.

"So we have a parcel of drugs in the trunk of the car and take off for Las Vegas," says Steadman in his best Thompson imitation - an octave or two below Tom Waits.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, first seriallized in Rolling Stone, became an overnight success. Talk of adapting Thompson's masterpiece began soon after and continued for more than 25 years.

Martin Scorsese, who wanted to direct Jack Nicholson in the main role, was the first to tackle Fear and Loathing. He failed. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were also unable to get anywhere with the project in 1975. According to Thompson, others who have expressed interest include Larry McMurtry, David Lynch and Dennis Hopper.

The copius drug use and nefarious business in the book have always been sticking points for the successful production of a film version. Picture Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin wearing tan polyester, inhaling ether and harassing tourists. Today, $5.99 all-you-can-eat-prime-rib diners are in abundance on Vegas's main drags. In Thompson's world, buffets consisted of cocaine, grapefruits and Wild Turkey.

"There was a time when you couldn't do anything in movies about drugs," says Thompson. "This is the time in Hollywood to do just that - because it's been so repressive.

"Besides, I enjoy drugs. Coffee's a drug, aspirin's a drug...It's all a matter of how much. Too much of any drug can make you act like a beast."




*Hell's Angels was published in 1966, FLLV in 1971. All Scanlan's articles were published in 1970. What does sic mean? It's Latin for "as it was found". In this same paragraph, the Canadian version of Hustler said that the Angels in question were Canadian. Hustler and Screw get around customs laws by having their own publishing plants in Canada, so the Cdn version, which is hiding somewhere in my closet, may differ more than the American version. How's that for a SNED? (something new every day)

Six years ago, producer Steve Nemeth made it his mission to battle Hollywood's censors and bring Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to the screen. Allied with Rhino Records' fledgling film division, the producer acquired the book's film rights from Blade Runner director Ridley Scott's production company after Scott gave the movie the ax.

An unforseen problem developed. It was determined that one of Thompson's ex-girlfriends, Laila Nabulsi, actually owned the movie rights. According to one of Thompson's former assistants (Thompson's life is plagued with ex's of one sort or another), the writer had granted Nabulsi the rights scribbled on a cocktail napkin.

Legalities were eventually settled. Nemeth is producing the film along with Nabulsi and Patrick Cassavetti. Their first challenge was marketing the project in a form that would convince talent to sign on, and, eventually, fill theaters.

"Because Fear and Loathing has been one of the bestsellers on college campuses, people who were in school 25 years ago up through today will come and see it," says Nemeth. "It can be viewed as a horror movie because it's so creepy and scary. The film's also a satire on American culture; so it's a comedy."

Like any good Hunter S. Thompson story, the saga of bringing Fear and Loathing to the screen is a convoluted and twisted tale.

A film script of the book has floated around Hollywood for many years, and dozens of screenwriters have taken a crack at the adaptation. According to director Terry Gilliam, who cowrote the final draft of the script with Tony Grisoni, the most challenging aspect of penning the screenplay was "trying to get an admission from the Writer's Guild of America that we had adapted it." It is still the subject of a heated debate among several writers who will be credited with authorship.

The practice of rewriting scripts over and over, a golden rule in the film industry, dosen't sit well with Thompson. "Fear and Loathing is a masterwork," Hunter says. "True gonzo journalism, as I conceive it, shouldn't be rewritten.

"Take the ending, for instance. There was no ending in the book. I had to get the second half of the magazine thing in. The deadline came; I had to wind it up in the Denver airport."

The next ordeal came with the selection of a director. Alex Cox, of Sid and Nancy fame, was originally slated to bring the nightmare commentary on American culture to the screen. However, a few months before filming began, Cox and his version of teh script were unceremoniously dumpted, and former Monty Python star Terry Gilliam took over.

Rumors vary, but insiders say leading man Depp and Cox butted heads over the director's script and his take on Raoul Duke. Before Cox left, he made omnious comments on the potential success of the film: "[Fear and Loathing] can't be a mainstream movie because it's so countercultural and demented."

New director Gilliam seems the perfect replacement. His own legacy of dementia includes Time Bandits, Brazil, The Fisher King and Twelve Monkeys. His revamped vision proved more in sync with the assembled cast, especially the man hired to portray Thompson.

"Johnny Depp held a loaded gun to my head and threatened my children," recounts Gilliam. "He said that he would not shoot me if I didn't do the film. He was never very good when it came to issuing threats.

Gilliam's screenplya even drew grudging acceptance from Fear and Loathing's author. "The new script isn't bad," admits Thompson.

* * *

With shaved head, Depp is a spitting image of a young Hunter S. Thompson. Prior to filming, the 34-year-old actor spent several weeks with Raoul Duke, studying his mannerisms. They relaxed at Owl Farm and were spotted at several of Thompson's book signings.