I don’t know if any of you liked the film of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, starring Johnny Depp. I didn’t, though I don’t think the problem was Depp but rather a basic mismatch between filmmaker Terry Gilliam’s showy visual stylizations and the raw material, which could have used a more naturalistic treatment. Anyway, I’m not sure if it’s good or bad news that Johnny Depp will be playing Hunter S. Thompson again in a new film of “The Rum Diary”. I guess I’ll make up my mind after I see the new “Willy Wonka”.
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I’ll be surprised if I like
I’ll be surprised if I like Wonka
All the previews I’ve seen of the new Willie Wonka film just rub me the wrong way. Why remake this film? And why does Depp look so…my God, I don’t even know…impish twerp…
Well, anyway, Hunter Thompson is the subject of this piece. Hunter, Depp, and the Vegas movie. I think Depp did a great job as Thompson. I think of that scene where he tells his attorney, in that low but focused voice, “Your gonna kill me with that goddam knife…”
He sounds just like Hunter S. Thompson the time I went to see him speak at a college.
I have a philosophy about movies based on books. I can accept a movie as a “companion” to the book; in other words, you’ll like the movie more if you’ve already read the book. This was true with Dune (for me, anyway) and also true with Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. I liked both movies but they didn’t replace the books, they augmented them. I bought the Rum Diaries a while back so I really better read it now, before the movie comes out.
The Good NewsAs a long time
The Good News
As a long time HST fan, I’m only thrilled that Depp will be playing the lead in The Rum Diary. I’ll admit he’s way too old for the material, but the original lead was supposed to be Josh Hartnett. Whoever that is. HST apparently approved because he made the last “Honor Roll” at the end of Hey Rube. Johnny Depp should play the lead in every movie. Except when he’s on vacation, then Gary Oldman could be his substitute.
YesI heard about this a while
Yes
I heard about this a while back but I think that Gilliam movies only go through about half the time. I enjoyed Fear and Loathing tremendously but now that you mention it, Depp is a bit of an impish Twerp. He just doesn’t have the balls that Thompson (or Bill Murray) had. But I thought the visuals and the screenplay were amazing, and the movie could not have been more entertaining. Del Toro, great in FAL, is directing The Rum Diary which makes me wonder if Gilliam backed out, which in my opinion would be a bad sign.
As for The Rum Diary, it is one of those magnificently brash novels that can really affect someone. It is my favorite Thompson book to this day. This diary reminds me of Tropic of Cancer in the sense that you are reading about the impoverished conditions of those involved, yet all you can think about is how much you’d like to be right there suffering with the characters. It is the book I still give as a gift to friends who don’t read very often.
It never got weird enough for me!