Neil Young's Film Lounge

Neil Young’s Film Lounge – Breakfact With Hunter

BREAKFAST WITH HUNTER

6/10

USA 2003 : Wayne EWING : 92 mins

AT THIS POINT WE WERE FORCED TO SWITCH THE NARRATIVE INTO THE STRAIGHT GONZO MODE.

THE REST OF THE OHIO SECTION COMES STRAIGHT OUT OF THE NOTEBOOK, FOR GOOD OR ILL.

Hunter S Thompson

Fear and Loathing : On the Campaign Trail ’72 (1973; p193)

I

“I think it’s the attitude that makes it kind of enduring”

1996 – Viper Room – “HST SOLD OUT” – celebs in audience : Jh.Cusack (his shiny hair), Jh.Depp

HST preaching to converted: “Whoo!!” “Yeah!!!”

construction of / contribution to HST personality-cult

retrospective nature of documentary … HST at best is about the now

docu footage filmed in 1996 — why the 7-year delay? … presence of Depp is clue? … was BWH originally intended as DVD add-on for Gilliam’s Fear & Loathing?

II

“People have gotta stand up to the police”

1970 footage – Thames TV – Brit accent: “A man who openly smokes grass – marijuana – … a shaven-headed writer”

1996 retrospective to 1970 : HST still banging on about his failed bid to be elected in Aspen, Colorado!
(Norman Mailer – likewise stood for NYC mayor – doesn’t harp on about it so much as HST)

HST in 1970 : “The American dream is really fucked…”

HST in 1996 on 1970 : “The sixties were kinda over…” (for HST, the 60s ended not at Altamont but right there in Aspen)

HST visits offices of Rolling Stone magazine – lets off fire extinguisher – egged on by presence of camera? Jann Wenner in office, amused/mock-outrage: “There are no windows!”

Ralph Steadman’s testimony (greater artist than HST?) : “He’s overdone it”

HST with guns in Aspen back yard – cf W.S.Burroughs, guns in Lawrence back yard

BWH itself not much of a gonzo document – perhaps that’s apt

all to do with HST’s charisma – surrounded by laughing groupies/acolytes of mostly negligible talent

“The epitome of the modern eccentric. Literary maverick. The champion of fun. Thompson has been known to videotape his shenanigans”

Stoking his myth … Quote about W.Faulkner walking over his own grandmother to get book finished

III

“Why didn’t he take me on that trip?!” - Steadman on F&LLVegas

Wrecked at the 1970 Kentucky Derby … Brit journalist fan Robert Chalmers reads it out (vicarious thrills)… WSB : St Louis/ HST : Louisville [site of K.Derby, and HST home-town, also M.Ali, M.Tyson]

Warren Zevon on stage!

“The dangerous company of America’s greatest writer”

Another ‘Louisville Lip’ – as with Ali, HST’s speech has deteriorated

The cult of Jann Wenner – a “rat”

Licensed buffoonery

Matt Dillon (bleachy hair, conspiratorial) : “What are you smokin’?”

Folks around HST laughing in background, like cohorts of A.Capone

Admiring the writing and/or The life? : “Hunter we love you!”)

Carefully assembled BWH : neatly labelled. Contributors scored tastefully : guitars. HST cries out for wild Steadmanescu dogme treatment.

At tribute event, in monotone, besuited HST’s son reads from lectern in monotone: “That’s where the – fun and excitement – was – in not knowing – what’s gonna happen.”

IV

“Gonzo’s gone respectable.”

“PhDs will be written about [HST]” – P.J.O’R.

Hagiographic : contains much footage of the saint acting infantile. (Russian ‘Holy Fool’?)

: Random House apparatchik positions “Hunter Thompson as an important literary slash journalistic figure”

Scotch-swilling

Bobby Fischer like feuds with authority

“Making literature out of what might be seen as craziness”

1996-1997 … multiple retrospective layters

Louisville tribute / Viper Room appearance … Gillam movie in the works

Depp reading out from HST book on stage with Beat-Generation-ish piano accompan., as if J.Kerouac!

“Victory over ‘old and evil” – “We had all the momentum”

Gloomy retrospect – elegaic – tinkly piano – ugh!

Back when Alex Cox was director Vegas movie! (“Lyle Lovett is on the phone”)

Protracted scene documents Disastrous Visit by Cox and writer to chez HST, who is appalled at idea of “cartoon tidal wave” : “I will sue you!” he fumes.

Squabbles with Cox and writer, on-camera. HST: “I despise that!” Cox: “Read the script!”

Their patience snaps (they exit). And so does ours?

Doomed Vegas project – enter GILLIAM!

V

“We have Johnny for that start date”

BWH : too neat, in assembly, though camerawork often hand-held.

In Chateau Marmont, they watch Cox footage with producer & B.Del Toro. Producer laughs. Firing of Alex Cox. Cox bemused at getting the “HST treatment”. Organised chaos.

American writers : subsumed by own myth, become caricatures of self … Raoul Duke. Ironic that HST doesn’t want cartoonization suggested by Cox.

BWH doesn’t avoid cliche.

Depp’s pet bird in distress… Depp giggling… Few pics can have so many people giggling and laughing in approval of subject’s quips and ‘bad’ behaviour…. more they do so, more audience is inclined to question/resist

Protracted scenes, too long: HST & Depp’s bird: teaching bird to speak [5/10? 6/10?]

‘American Pie’ on strack

“Craziness justified by literature” – but when was HST’s last decent book? More famous now for his ‘persona’…

McGovern 75th birthday party in DC: meeting up with old pals. Hijacked by HST.

F.Mankiewicz on FLCT72: “most accurate and least factual” – his best book.

VI

“That’s a goddamned depraved child!” HST on seeing C.Ricci

30.5.97

Deppism. “Making of FLLV” . BWH could do with tighter edit. Or perhaps a looser one.

HST not about ‘cool’ – devil’s bargain to bolster his mythos (as BWH will do of course… primary intent?) … Make money… Booksignings where he can’t sign any books. A 21-year-old fan: “I think it’s so cool…”

HST technique: puts self in story. BWH director Wayne Ewing conspicuous by his absence.

HST bad-tempered sod.

HDS (Harry Dean Stanton!)

Transgressive buffoon – but he’s better than that. Or was, until the cult took over (which BWH chronicles/contributes to??)

BWH ends with FLLV premiere. Geo.Plimpton! Ubiq!

Conventional docu? Always watchable : HST’s charisma… gallery of freaks and hangers-on.

What has Wayne Ewing learned from HST? In making this pic – the direction, editing, photography?

30th June / 2nd August 2004
(seen on DVD, 30th June, Sunderland)

to order a copy of the DVD Breakfast With Hunter, go to www.breakfastwithhunter.com tell them we sent you

by Neil Young

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