Development In January 1976,
Texas Monthly announced that
Larry McMurtry had signed a contract to write a screenplay for a film adaptation.
Martin Scorsese,
Ralph Bakshi and
Oliver Stone each tried to get the film off the ground, but were unsuccessful and moved on.
Rhino Films began work on a film version as early as 1992. Head of Production and the film's producer Stephen Nemeth originally wanted
Lee Tamahori to direct, but he wasn't available until after the January 1997 start date. Rhino appealed to Thompson for an extension on the film rights but the author and his lawyers denied the extension. Under pressure, Rhino countered by green-lighting the film and hiring
Alex Cox to direct within a few days. Afterward,
Dan Aykroyd and
John Belushi were considered for the duo, but that fell apart after Belushi's death in 1982.
John Malkovich was later considered for the role of Duke, but he grew too old as well. At one point
Woody Harrelson was almost cast, but was already involved in the movie
Palmetto of the same year. After Thompson met with Depp, he became convinced that no one else could play him. When Cox and Davies started writing the screenplay, Depp and del Toro committed to starring in the film. Dr. Gonzo is based on Thompson's friend
Oscar Zeta Acosta, who disappeared sometime in 1974. Thompson changed Acosta's ethnic identity to "Samoan" to deflect suspicion from Acosta, who was in trouble with the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He was the "Chicano lawyer" notorious for his party binges. The lead actors undertook extraordinary preparations for their respective roles. Del Toro gained more than 45 pounds (18 kg) in nine weeks before filming began, eating 16 donuts a day, and extensively researched Acosta's life. In the spring of 1997, Depp moved into the basement of Thompson's Owl Farm home and lived there for four months, doing research for the role as well as studying Thompson's habits and mannerisms. The actor went through Thompson's original manuscript, mementos and notebooks that he kept during the actual trip. Depp even traded his car for Thompson's red
Chevrolet Caprice convertible, known to fans as The Great Red Shark, and drove it around
California during his preparation for the role. Many of the costumes that Depp wears in the film are genuine articles of clothing that he borrowed from Thompson, who himself shaved Depp's head to match his own natural
male pattern baldness. Gilliam has stated in an interview "When we were writing the script, we really tried not to invent anything. We sort of cannibalized the book." Initially, the studio wanted Gilliam to update the book for the 1990s, which he considered, "And then I looked at the film and said, 'No, that's apologizing. I don't want to apologize for this thing. It is what it is.' It's an artifact. If it's an accurate representation of that book, which I thought was an accurate representation of a particular time and place and people." Gilliam, while speaking to
Sight & Sound magazine, highlighted if he had updated the movie to the 1990s it would just "be a story about two people going to excess". Keeping it set in the 70's, using the backdrop of the
Vietnam War and a perceived loss of the
American dream, offers reasoning to the characters' actions.
Writers credit dispute with WGA When the film approached release, Gilliam learned that the
Writers Guild of America (WGA) would not allow Cox and Davies to be removed from the credits even though none of their material was used in the production of the film. According to WGA rules, Gilliam and Grisoni had to prove that they wrote 60% of their script. The director said, "But there have been at least five previous attempts at adapting the book, and they all come from the book. They all use the same scenes." Gilliam remarked in an interview, "The end result was we didn't exist. As a director, I was automatically deemed a 'production executive' by the guild and, by definition, discriminated against. But for Tony to go without any credit would be really unfair." David Kanter, agent for Cox and Davies, argued, "About 60 percent of the decisions they made on what stays in from the book are in the film – as well as their attitude of wide-eyed anarchy." He felt that it was not a well-organized film and said, "Certain people didn't... I'm not going to name names but it was a strange film, like one leg was shorter than the other. There was all sorts of chaos." Shooting on location in Las Vegas began on 3 August 1997 and lasted 56 days. The production ran into problems when they wanted to shoot in a casino. They were only allowed to film between two and six in the morning, given only six tables to put extras around, and insisted that the extras really gamble. and the Arri 35-iii with a set of Zeiss Standard Primes and
Kodak 250D Vision 5246 photochemical filmstock in order to achieve the saturated look and the 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio the film has.
Soundtrack The music belongs to the psychedelic rock and classic rock genre. The
soundtrack contains songs used in the film with
sound bites of the film before each song. Most of the music is present in the soundtrack with a few exceptions:
the Lennon Sisters' version of "
My Favorite Things" from
The Sound of Music which plays at the beginning of the picture,
Jefferson Airplane's "
Somebody to Love" which is heard during a flashback,
Beck, Bogert & Appice's "Lady",
Tom Jones' "
It's Not Unusual",
Frank Sinatra's "
You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me",
Combustible Edison's "Spy vs Spy", the Out-Islanders' "
Moon Mist" from
Polynesian Fantasy,
Robert Goulet's "My Love, Forgive Me", and a recording of "
Ball and Chain" by
Janis Joplin.
The Rolling Stones song "
Jumping Jack Flash" is heard at the conclusion of the film as Thompson drives out of Las Vegas and back to Los Angeles. Gilliam could not pay the $300,000 (half of the soundtrack budget) needed for the rights to "
Sympathy for the Devil" (also by The Rolling Stones), which plays a prominent role in the book. The
Dead Kennedys rendition of "
Viva Las Vegas" is heard at the very end of the closing credits. ==Release==