Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is a documentary film about the life of the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

The film premiered in January of 2008, at the Sundance Film Festival. A new trailer was released in June in anticipation of the film's national release in July.

Fast Facts

1. Release: July 4, 2008
2. Running time: 120 min.
3. Director: Alex Gibney
4. Producer: Graydon Carter
5. Production company: Jigsaw Productions
6. Distributor: Magnolia Films
7. Voice-over and appearances by Johnny Depp, Sonny Barger, Tom Wolfe, Sondi Wright

The Film

The film focuses on Thompson's heyday from 1965 to 1975 and is constructed largely from archival footage including never-before-seen home movies, audio recordings and passages from Thompson's unpublished manuscripts.

Thompson was portrayed by actor Johnny Depp in Terry Gilliam's film adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. In the new film, Depp is used as a voice actor, reading from Thompson's work.

Background

Thompson, known to many for his novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a reporting style which inserted the journalist into the story on which he or she was reporting.

Thompson committed suicide on February 20, 2005.

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