Hunter S. Thompson luxuriated in being the center of attention. Imagine how the late journalist would have strutted, knowing that a documentary all about him was closing the San Francisco International Film Festival. He'd be first in line for "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson," wearing his trademark fisherman's hat and tinted aviator glasses, and brandishing a cigarette holder with ashes piling up - never mind the ban on smoking. The only thing that would have made him happier is if "Gonzo" were opening the festival Thursday.
It somehow seems appropriate to end a 15-day marathon of 105 movies and special programs with a tribute to this occasional San Franciscan and master of gonzo journalism. He came up with "gonzo" to describe his freestyle, drugs- and booze-fueled writing found in books such as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72." Chunks of both were composed in the Bay Area. While Thompson's home was in Woody Creek, Colo., his heart and soul were in San Francisco.
This was his kind of town, and he was witness to events that became part of the city and all of Northern California's tapestry. Thompson was the caretaker of the Big Sur Hot Springs in 1961, right before it became Esalen. He moved to the Haight-Ashbury in the mid-1960s, arriving just as hippies were settling in. He became a familiar, boisterous figure at local watering holes for years while churning out lengthy pieces for Rolling Stone and other publications.
In the early and middle '80s, he was a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and night manager at the O'Farrell Theatre, where the Mitchell brothers put on nudie shows. Thompson had yellow business cards printed up, although nobody was exactly sure what he did, short of hanging out with the strippers, who adored him, and making music recommendations to the DJ.
"Hunter's affection for San Francisco is greater than for any other city," said Jann Wenner, the publisher of Rolling Stone, who was Thompson's editor and friend for 35 years. "He loved to come out there and work in our office. We would hang out together and carouse. We were in North Beach a lot. He was a really charming guy, and he knew how to flirt with women. He was charismatic."
An early scene in "Gonzo" shows someone meant to be Thompson driving a motorcycle through Golden Gate Park late at night and continuing onto the Great Highway with no helmet and no attention paid to speed limits. A voice-over intones, "I needed the curves to clear my head." That's Johnny Depp, who narrates the documentary and played Thompson in the movie adaptation of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," speaking his buddy's words.
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