Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas movie storyline Journalist Raoul Duke and his lawyer Dr Gonzo drive from LA to Las Vegas on a drugs binge. They nominally cover news stories, including a convention on drug abuse, but also sink deeper into a frightening psychedelic otherworld. As Vietnam, Altamont and the Tate killings impinge from the world of TV news, Duke and Gonzo see casinos, reptiles and the American dream.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a 1998 American black comedy road film adapted from Hunter S. Thompson’s novel of the same name. It was co-written and directed by Terry Gilliam, starring Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke and Benicio del Toro as Dr. Gonzo. The two embark on an initially assigned journey with journalistic purpose which turns out to be an exploration of the Las Vegas setting under the effect of psychoactive substances.
The movie grossed $10.6 million at the North American box office, well below its $18.5 million budget. It has since become a cult film due in large part to its release on DVD, including a Special Edition released by The Criterion Collection.
According to Gilliam, there was no firm budget in place when filming started. Cinematographer Gilliam felt that it was not a well-organized film and said, “Certain people didn’t… I’m not going to name names but it was a strange film, like one leg was shorter than the other. There was all sorts of chaos.”
While Depp was on location in Los Angeles, he got a phone call from comedian Bill Murray who had played Thompson in Where the Buffalo Roam. He warned Depp, “Be careful or you’ll find yourself ten years from now still doing him… Make sure your next role is some drastically different guy.”
Shooting on location in Las Vegas began on August 3, 1997 and lasted 56 days. The production ran into problems when they wanted to shoot in a casino. They were only allowed to film between two and six in the morning, given only six tables to put extras around and insisted that the extras really gamble.”
Exterior shots of the Bazooko Casino were filmed in front of the Stardust hotel/casino with the interiors constructed with a Warner Bros. Hollywood soundstage. To get the period look of Vegas in the 1970s, Gilliam and Pecorini used rear-projection footage from the old television show, Vega$. According to the cinematographer, this footage heightened the film’s “already otherworldly tone an extra notch.”
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Michael Lee Gogin, Katherine Helmond, Larry Cedar, Michael Warwick, Laraine Newman, Richard Riehle
Screenplay by: Terry Gilliam, Tony Grisoni, Alex Cox, Tod Davies
Production Design by: Alex McDowell
Cinematography by: Nicola Pecorini
Film Editing by: Lesley Walker
Costume Design by: Julie Weiss
Set Decoration by: Nancy Haigh
Art Direction by: Chris Gorak
Music by: Ray Cooper
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: May 22, 1998
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