She Likes to Watch

There’s weird, and then there’s Hunter S. Thompson weird.

Thompson, the godfather of gonzo journalism, left behind a legacy of brilliant, drug-addled literature when he went to that big freakout in the sky a couple years ago.

His essays about American culture and politics are so strange and insightful, so twisted and utterly true that they’re a big challenge to portray on the silver screen.* You’d have to be crazy to even attempt such a feat. In fact, you’d have to be Terry Gilliam.

Perhaps that’s what gave Gilliam — the former Monty Python member behind such quirky gems as “Brazil,” “Time Bandits” and “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” — the courage to make “Fear and Loathing.”

“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” follows Thompson’s alter-ego Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and his lawyer/sidekick (Benicio del Toro) as they travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas hopped up on every drug known to mankind.

Their journey leads them through a bizarre chain of adult playgrounds, as the fearsome duo examines the dark, psychedelic side of the American dream. It’s a journey well worth taking.**

“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” plays at 7 and 9:15 p.m. tonight at The Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo.

Tickets are $7.50.

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* Many have tried including Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone. As rumor has it, Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando once signed on as Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi considered the project at another point.

** Another screen adaptation of Thompson’s work worth seeing is “Where the Buffalo Roam,” starring Bill Murray as the cigarette-smoking, sunglass-sporting journalist.

Check it out and compare his Thompson to Depp’s version.

Photo above courtesy of MovieWeb.

Is your kid the next Steven Spielberg? Soderbergh? Sayles?

Young filmmakers have a chance to learn the craft this summer with a two-week workshop organized by the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.

Organizers will offer classes from July 14 to 24, thanks to a grant from the San Luis Obispo County Community Foundation.

“Young people are so inventive and have a different take on the world than adults do, so we are hoping to give them the skills they need to go out and make their own films,” said Wendy Eidson, the film festival’s executive director. “We are trying to encourage collaboration so that they learn how a ‘real’ film is made.”

Each workshop will be limited to ten young people. They’ll learn the basics of filmmaking by writing, producing, directing, editing and acting in their own short films, Eidson said.
The results will be screened for family and friends on the final day of the workshop. Audiences can also catch the short films at next year’s San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.

Two local filmmakers will lead the classes.

Aaron Metchik, a UCLA film school graduate, directed his first professional feature-length film this summer.

Alan Fraser teaches video production and photography at Arroyo Grande High School, and film courses at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. His feature film “Next Time” won best picture awards at the Hollywood and Long Beach Film Festivals.

Each session costs $200, with a limited number of half-tuition scholarships available.

Kids entering grades 3 to 6 will attend class from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday through Thursday.

Those entering grades 7 to 9 have class from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday. And future 10th, 11th and 12th graders will attend workshops at 6 to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

For more information or to register, visit www.slofilmfest.org or call Wendy Eidson at (805) 546-3456.

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Wendy’s daughter, Hanna Eidson, is pictured above with the camcorder.