Left pane: Hunter S. Thompson; Top Right: Hunter S. Thompson; Bottom Right: Benicio Del Toro, Hunter S. Thompson, Johnny Depp

Good afternoon finger lickers! One of my heroes Hunter S. Thompson sadly died just over two years ago. At the time I remember re-reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and thinking, “this man was pure genius.” I had a similar thought during a flight to the states where I read the book in just under 8 hours and on a Spanish holiday where I first discovered his work. What never changes for me when it comes to Hunter’s writing is the speed at which I can read and the extent to which I become engrossed. It is important to note that my fervor for the man is not because of his widely publicised glorification of psychedelic drug use, a component of his writing and life that I believe has receive too much attention. I attribute the longevity of my attraction to his work largely to his infectious prose and a fascination with the man’s life. So, it was with much excitement that I read, this morning, a report of a new documentary about his glory years.

Gonzo, the hyperactive first-person and ultra-subjective writing style for which he became famous, has been borrowed as the title of Alex Gibney’s documentary which focuses on the high point of Thompson’s career 1965 - 1975. According to spout.com, Alex Gibney has stated his documentary is a critique of the present day media’s obsession with “phony” objectivity. A cause I think we can all appreciate. Gibney hot off the back of his Best Documentary win at the Oscars for Taxi to the Darkside, a documentary focusing largely on American torture practices in Afghanistan and an innocent taxi driver who was tortured and killed in 2002, last week spoke and screened his new film at True/False film festival in Columbia, Missouri.

The film is reported to contain as yet unseen home movies, audio recordings and unpublished manuscripts. While I am very very keen to see the flick I hope that it does not give us too much of an insight into the “real” Hunter S. Thompson because one of the most endearing facets of the man, for me, was his enigmatic and perhaps mythical persona. Think of him fondly; read his work; watch the flick.

K