You’re not at university anymore, so you’re not pretending you’re Hunter S. Thompson by doing lines of powdered sugar while wearing yellow-tinted sunglasses, but you can still appreciate Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a far better film than it has any right to be.
The 1998 film, based on a work of the same title by Thompson, remains a cult favourite as it approaches its 20th anniversary, and still offers plenty of words of wisdom.
And so, as with so many films of its vintage, which many still remember vividly but which still have a ‘90s scruffiness, it’s getting the TV treatment.
Well, sort of.
A TV show entitled Fear and Loathing is officially in the works, though it may well end up being based on Thompson’s broader life and experiences, rather than those documented in the 1971 novel and the film adaptation starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro.
Specifics are still being worked out, but MGM - who are putting the project together - have already taken steps to secure the services of an award-winning screenwriter.
Furthermore, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the man lined up as co-showrunner is already working on another series with links to a ‘90s film.
Davey Holmes, who won a Writers Guild of America award for screenwriting for his show In Treatment, is currently working on a TV adaptation of Get Shorty, the 1990 novel which was turned into a John Travolta film five years later.
The first season of the TV version, which stars Chris O’Dowd and Ray Romano, began its first season in August this year and was almost immediately renewed for a second.
Fear and Loathing is in the earliest stages of development, with cast members yet to be announced, but - providing it fully comes to fruition - Holmes would be joined behind the scenes by Bob Nelson, the Oscar-nominated Nebraska screenwriter.
Nebraska
“Davey is tremendously talented and has demonstrated that he can deliver quality programming that will resonate with viewers,” said MGM Television Group president Mark Burnett.
We will hopefully learn more about which aspects of Thompson’s life will be covered in the near future, while casting decisions - especially who plays the part of the late gonzo journalist - will be hotly anticipated.
(Images: Rex Features)
