“BUY THE TICKET, TAKE THE RIDE: HUNTER S. THOMPSON ON FILM” STARZ ENTERTAINMENT’S ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY ON THE LEGENDARY GONZO JOURNALIST
Special Focuses On Thompson’s Overlapping Relationship With Hollywood Celebs & Films Adapted From His Books
Interviewees Include Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Bill Murray, John Cusack, Benicio Del Toro,Tom Wolfe, George McGovern, Ed Bradley, William F. Buckley and Many Others
Narrated By Nick Nolte
Englewood, CO –– "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." These are the immortal words from Hunter Stockton Thompson, a.k.a. Doctor Gonzo and Raoul Duke. Principal photography is nearing completion on Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film, Starz Entertainment’s insightful look at the man whose last wish was to have his ashes blown out of a giant cannon. The special is set to air on Starz, December 12 at 10:00 p.m. (et/pt).
The original documentary is a personal, intimate look at Thompson with a special emphasis on his Hollywood relationships. It will capture the legacy and “gonzo” spirit of one of this century’s most notorious figures – a man whose life and work regularly intersected with some of the biggest names in the world of film, politics, journalism and sports.
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride… narrated by Academy Award® nominated actor Nick Nolte, features interviews with Hunter’s inner circle of family and friends, but the thrust of the documentary is focused on the manner in which his life often overlapped with numerous Hollywood celebrities who became his close friends, such as Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas); Bill Murray (Where the Buffalo Roam); Sean Penn, John Cusack, Hunter’s wife Anita, son Juan, former Senators George McGovern and Gary Hart, Tom Wolfe, William F. Buckley, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, Ralph Steadman and others.
“Hunter S. Thompson will always be remembered first and foremost a writer,” says Christopher Black, producer of the documentary. “But the breadth of cultural luminaries from all walks of life who were personally touched by his incisive wit, intellect and colorful lifestyle is astonishing. Few people in the history of contemporary American journalism has had a greater impact or influence than Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.” Michael Ruggiero and Stephan Shelanski are executive producers.
Woven throughout the documentary will be commentary on the two adaptations based on his life and work (Where the Buffalo Roam and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film is produced and directed by Tom Thurman who produced and directed the SEG original documentaries Sam Peckinpah’s West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade and John Ford Goes to War. Thurman’s other works have included documentaries on Western icons Ben Johnson and Warren Oates.
Other recent Starz Originals exploring the world of films and filmmakers include Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, Bullets Over Hollywood; Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream, the lone documentary officially selected at last year’s Cannes Film Festival; The Art of Action: Martial Arts in the Movies; and The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing.
Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz® and Encore® brands with approximately 14.9 million and 26.6 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Starz On Demand and VongoSM. Starz Entertainment is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation that is attributed to Liberty Capital Group, www.starz.com.
