OFF: preview of fear and loathing movie]

[M Holmes]

I thought some Gonzo fans might be interested in this...




> From www.drudgereport.com


INTENSE 'FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS' SCREENING HAD SOME IN
AUDIENCE LOOKING FOR EXIT

UNIVERSAL sneaked its movie FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS Tuesday
night in North Hollywood. Being described as "one of the most bizarre
films ever made," the Terry Gilliam project based on a Hunter Thompson
took them to hell and didn't let them come back during its 2 hour
screening.

"I got sick afterwards," one attendee told the DRUDGE REPORT. "Like
they laced my popcorn with angel dust or something."

Thompson's 1971 fuss-novel hits the screen after literally 25 years in
development and 17 different scripts. Names like Nicholson, Scorsese,
John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd have been attached over the years. The
story follows the adventures of a ROLLING STONE magazine writer
[Johnny Depp] who is sent to Las Vegas to cover a Narcotics
Enforcement convention. Dark Comedy.

No sex, very little violence, it was scenes of graphic drug-tripping
- -- scenes that make the TRAINSPOTTING boys look like aspirin chewers
- -- that shocked the crowd and had some looking for exit.

One scene that goes down in a Casino has Depp hallucinating lizards.

The 10 minute scene comes early in the film and sets tone. "He's in
this Casino and all of a sudden every one in it starts to turn into
creepy lizard-like creatures," describes a viewer. "Very disturbing...
wacky."

Depp smokes a cigarillo throughout the film making his continuous drug
rants even more over the top, at times reducing him to nothing more
than a mumble. "Whenthegoinggetsweird, t h e weird turn pro," or
something like that. Depp acts out ether binges, coke tokes, LSD
attacks with surprising ease. Camera effects simulate the highs for
the viewer.

One extended exchange between Depp and his attorney, who is tripping
out hard in a bathtub, was so intense and disturbing that several in
the screening audience walked out of the theater. [More than a dozen
found exit during the film, according to one estimate.]

The drink and drug road trip of writer Depp and his attorney is set
for release in late May. Just how a new generation will relate to
Thompson's "Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream" is an
open question at UNIVERSAL. One executive hints that Depp's Hawaiian
shirt may become a fashion trend. The movie's soundtrack, said to
feature 70's lounge, may also start something.


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