Hunter S. Thompson in "Gonzo"
(Credit: Magnolia)
No longer was the reporter just a passive observer; in Thompson’s world, he was the story. Whether following Nixon on the campaign trail, riding with the Hell’s Angels, or attempting to cover a motor cross event in Las Vegas, Thompson's flailing narratives were seeped in his own perspective (which was usually soaked with booze, drugs and guns). He was a voice for the '60s counterculture, viewing the world through the altered perspective of a generation fighting against the establishment.
“Gonzo,” a new documentary from Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney (“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”; "Taxi to the Dark Side"), draws back the curtain of Thompson’s life, revealing the man behind the words. Interviews with Thompson’s family, friends and political subjects shed light on the "good doctor's" life as the '60s and '70s fizzled away, leaving him with the new challenge of living up to his self-made mythology.
Thompson struggled with his health into the '90s, ultimately taking his own life in 2005. He left behind a legacy of unforgettable works—including "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," which was adapted into a 1998 film starring Johnny Depp, a Thompson friend and fan who also narrates "Gonzo."
To learn out more about the phenomenon of Thompson and “Gonzo,” Metromix chatted with Gibney about guns, drugs, politics and what it means to be Gonzo.
How would you describe Gonzo journalism?
The Gonzo style of journalism is being in the story. You wouldn’t just see what Hunter sees. You’d be seeing it through Hunter’s eyes. He was a first person journalist. I think more than that, the Gonzo style is a series of riffs: partly truth, partly fiction--sometimes pure fiction—with serious reporting.
I also think it represented being “gone”—being able to ingest a lot of drugs. Hunter was Gonzo in that sense too.
Thompson and Johnny Depp have a connection beyond the film version of “Fear and Loathing.” Before the filming, Depp lived with Thompson at his compound in Colorado, and eventually he financed Thompson’s elaborately eccentric funeral [which is seen in “Gonzo”]. Could you talk about the decision to include Depp as the voice of Hunter in your film?
When Johnny reads Hunter’s words, it really has a bit of Hunter in them. He did a magnificent job. There’s something about the way he intuits Hunter and can channel him that I think suggests that they had some sort of deeper psychic connection that they developed when they were hanging out together. He goes out of his way to write forwards to [Hunter’s] books, he’s even going to [star in the film adaptation of] “The Rum Diary.”
Some people have pointed out similarities between the Presidential elections of 1968 and 1972 and the upcoming election of 2008. Why don’t you think that there’s a Hunter S. Thompson coming out of our generation right now?
The world has changed. Nobody has a solid audience now. The [media] is so fragmented. There’s no one channel that everybody listens to. Hunter was the countercultural reporter. He was a novelist in a journalist’s body. He combined that great elegance of prose with fierce anger and wild sense of humor. It’s a tough combination to have such an original voice, and to have a platform so universal. You can see some hints of Hunter in everyday life, but you can’t see the whole package.
How did the Presidential election of 2004 lead to Hunter’s depression?
I think that he was looking for a ray of hope, but he didn’t see it. I think that it took its toll on him. He was personally very vulnerable. The booze had caught up with him, and he was in terrible shape physically. And so the personal and political were merging in 2004 and there was despair in each.
Hunter had what he called “a gun problem.” He lived for the gun and ultimately died by it. What did the gun represent to him?
Hunter was an explosive character, and he liked things that exploded. He was also a real frontier American in that sense. There was something wild about him. He loved to blow things up. He loved to shoot guns.
Do you think his use of drugs and guns was more about a love for freedom?
He had the mentality of “Don’t tread on me. I will go where I want to go, when I want to go.” And that’s a very appealing part of his character.
There’s also an element of self-destruction—from the drugs and booze to his decision to hang out with the Hell’s Angels, where he got his ass kicked. Where do you think that came from?
Maybe there was part of him that had a lot of self-loathing. I think that part of it was that he wanted to live on the edge. He was always exploring that fringe.
Would he have been as famous if he hadn’t done as many drugs?
No. I think that he created himself as a sort of action figure. He fit into a certain moment.
In his books, his character is larger than life. But in the film you introduce us to his family, who he usually leaves out of his books. How do you think that they felt about Hunter? Were they resentful of his lifestyle?
I know that his son [Juan] was resentful at times that his father wasn’t there more often for him, in a traditional way. At the same time there was something exciting about having this wild counterculture father.
[Hunter’s first wife] Sandi talks about that time [Hunter] ran for Sheriff [of Pitkin County, Colorado in 1970]. Everyone was turned on by him and his charisma. He made everyone want to become something bigger and better. I think that there must have been some resentment at times, but it came along with pride.
What role did his riding with the Hells Angels play in the development of his persona?
Well, there he was: The ultimate outlaw journalist hanging out with the ultimate outlaws. He not only hung out with them, he also got a chance to see how wrongly they were being portrayed by the “straight” media.
It doesn’t seem like anything special to hang out with the Hells Angels today. Lots of reporters do things like that now. But back then reporters were the kind of characters that wore pressed trench coats, [went] out in the field for 15 or 20 minutes and said, “So, tell me what it means to be an Angel.” With the Hells Angels, Hunter was very much a part of the story. He became a journalist who wrote about what he saw, and what he felt.
Find showtimes for "Gonzo."
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