"HUSTLER, AUGUST 1998" - читать интересную книгу автора (Thompson Hunter S)

Principal photography for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas began last August 2nd in Los Angeles. The cast soon moved to Las Vegas for three weeks of filming at the Stardust, Riviera and Binion's Casino. During the Vegas shoot and the following five-week stint back in L.A., a strict closed-set policy was enforced.

While a closed set is not uncommon for Hollywood productions, Gilliam made it clear that the film's producers were also unwelcome.

"Isnt' it amazing?" questions producer Nemeth. "It's a movie about a gonzo journalist who wouldn't take no for an answser, and who'll infiltrate anything to get his story. In the true spirit of Hunter HTompson, you'd have thought we'd bend over backward to make it work for the people who care."

Despite the secrecy and a budget that ballooned from an originally estimated $6 million to more than $20 million [Christine - I think the final figure was $35M], Nemeth is excited about the end result. "[Fear and Loathing] is going to be one of those anomalies that will have crossover appeal because it's recognized as one of the great pieces of American literature in the 20th century."

Despite Fear and Loathing's imminent release, legal problems - including a recent drunk-driving incident and a distant sexual-harassment suit - and drunken, incomprehensible book readings have prompted whispers of Thompson's demise.

"A lot of people say he's finished," says Ralph Steadman. "But some of these naysayers have never been anywhere near as good as Thompson. They use his phrases and adapt his style - the Fear and Loathing language. There's still a lot there, it just comes in bursts."

Thompson is accustomed to the negative press. He was the inspiration for Gary Trudeau's ;perpetually stoned Duke in Doonesbury, and David Letterman banned him from the Late Show because Thompson threatened "to bring four huge thugs over there" and shave Letterman's head on camera after being bumped from a taping.

"This vilification by Nazi elements within the media has not only given me a fierce joy to continue my work, but has also made me profoundly orgasmic, mysteriously rich and constantly at war with those vengeful, retro-fscist elements of the Establishment that have hounded me all my life," Thompson babbles with paranoid optimism. "It has made me wise, shrewd and crazy on a level understood by those who have been there."

* * *

Back at Owl Farm, Thompson will continue to raise peacocks and dobermans. He will continue to bike down the road to the Woody Creek Tavern for his meals. He will rarely answer his phone and continue to terrorize visitors to his home.

A contented recluse, Thompson's privacy will be invaded with a barrage of requests for magazine and television interviews because of the long-awaited release of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas on the big screen.

He will grant only a few: "I guess HUSTLER's okay for an article. Who knows? Not me - I'm just a country boy."