The project is currently called ‘Fear & Loathing’
An authorised biographical project about Hunter S. Thompson, the American journalist, cult author and founder of the gonzo movement, is in the works for television.
As the Hollywood Reporter reports, the creator of 90s-set comedy drama Get Shorty Davey Holmes is working on the project. The show will be called Fear & Loathing, after Thompson’s collection Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.
In a statement, Mark Burnett, the president for the production company backing the show MGM Television Group, said: “as we look to the future of MGM Television, it is imperative that we forge long-term relationships with creators who have an eye for dynamic storytelling. Davey is tremendously talented and has demonstrated that he can deliver quality programming that will resonate with viewers.”
The project will focus on Thompson’s hectic and exciting life, a lot of which has been explored in his writing and gonzo journalism. On the project, Holmes said, “after resisting overall deals for years, I couldn't be more excited or proud to be embracing this one” adding "it's a partnership with a studio that makes some of the most exciting television out there. I can't say enough about the intelligence, daring creativity and overall support MGM has brought to our collaboration.”
There’s opportunity to create something outrageously weird and beautifully expansive: there’s his days in the Air Force and shadowing Hell’s Angels, hazy times spent writing, the documenting of the bumpy 1972 presidential campaign run, deep dives into psychedelic drugs, his intense prank on Jack Nicholson.
Johnny Depp played Thompson in Terry Gilliam’s 1998 acclaimed film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but no word yet on who will play the eccentric writer in this upcoming series.