Managed to become the legendary film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Actors and creators of the picture themselves are of interest to the public. But this film differs from many others not only in interesting acting, but also in a worthy story.
Plot
Journalist Raul Duke decides to go to the famous Mint 400 race in Las Vegas to write an article about them. In companions, he decides to take his friend Dr. Gonzo. And in order to make the trip faster and more interesting, travelers stuff the trunk of their car with drugs of different grades and colors.
On the way, Duke and Gonzo are met by many different people and end up in many alterations. And also they, like the audience, will have to constantly wonder what is real and what arose in front of their eyes under the influence of drugs.
Hunter S. Thompson and his book
The film “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” was shot based on a book by cult American writer and journalist Hunter S. Thompson. In the second half of the last century, he wrote for Rolling Stone magazine and went to Las Vegas to cover the races taking place in the city for publication. These few days on the journey turned out to be so memorable and vivid that they were first described in the magazine, and then they were the basis of the book. Almost everything that happens to the heroes on the pages happened to the journalist himself. Therefore, it was so important for him who would play the hero deducted from him.
Hunter S. Thompson - one of the icons of America of the last century. He not only wrote about what he knew and what he saw, but also did a lot to glorify the famous “American dream”. In search of this mysterious goal, he traveled almost the whole of America and met many people.
The journalist spent a lot of time with other bright personalities of his country - bikers from the Hell's Angels club. On the instructions of The Nation, Thompson was supposed to write several articles about the kings of the roads, and for this you need to live and ride with them. This work took the journalist's year of life and ended when several members of the club, unfamiliar to him, beat Thompson half to death. That year was consecrated in a series of articles and in a book dedicated to the "Angels of Hell."
Thompson wrote several works that became popular around the world. Among them, in addition to the story of a trip to the race, "The Rum Diary", "The Curse of Hawaii", "The Kingdom of Fear."
History of filming
The idea of ​​filming "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Actors were invited and dropped out of the project. The main role could play John Cusack or Keanu Reeves. For a long time I could not find the director. Initially, the film was to be shot by Jack Nicholson. But his attempt crashed. After that, they did not dare to take up the adaptation of the novel for a long time, fearing a new failure.
However, the story attracted. Therefore, after some time, Alex Cox took up the job, who by that time had become famous by shooting the film "Sid and Nancy" with Gary Oldman in the title role. Cox set about adapting the book to the script and invited Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro to star. However, he failed to make this film. After a conflict with Thompson, Cox left the project.
It was decided to invite the famous director Terry Gilliam, known for the surrealism of films, to participate in the project. And he had already finished work on the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The actors remained the same that Alex Cox invited.
The Nevada Desert, Las Vegas and Los Angeles were selected for filming. But these locations managed to change dramatically from the time when Hunter S. Thomson passed there. Therefore, before the first shots were taken, a team set out to “age” these places.
Johnny Depp
American actor Johnny Depp was one of the first who was invited to a role in the film adaptation. He was offered to play the journalist Raoul Duke, the prototype of which was Hunter S. Thompson. As the actor himself admitted, the book was a favorite read in his youth. He first read it at the age of seventeen and has since managed to learn it almost by heart. Because he was enthusiastic to play in the film adaptation. But the project lasted for many years. During this time, Depp managed to try himself as a director and make his own film “Brave” about the Indian Raphael, who sacrificed himself for the benefit of the family.
The actors did a lot for the success of the film “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. Depp has been preparing for the shoot for a long time. In order to understand his hero, he spent days at Thompson's house, listened to his stories, wrote down some details and asked questions. During this time, they managed to make friends.
In order to look more like his hero, Depp decided to change his hairstyle and shave his hair. But Thompson was dissatisfied with the change in his friend's appearance and said that his bald head looks unnatural. And then the journalist himself corrected Depp's hairstyle, bringing it closer to the one that he wore at that time.
Johnny Depp has repeatedly stated that the film “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” is one of the most important pages in his biography.
Benicio Del Toro
The famous Hollywood actor Benicio Del Toro, like Johnny Depp, was invited by Alex Cox. While the director’s elections were going on, places for filming were being prepared and a script was being written, he had time to prepare for the filming.
Everyone involved in the project was convinced that the actors and roles of the film “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” should be consistent. Because
Benicio Del Toro also had to change to be more like a satellite Hunter S. Thompson. The actor had to gain several tens of kilograms and grow hair.
The film “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” was not warmly received by critics. However, viewers paid more attention not to reviews, but to reviews. The film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is considered one of the most popular among low-budget.