Hunter
S. Thompson became a mythic figure for generations of young Anericans from
the 1960's till today who desperately wanted to remain rebellious, free thinking
individuals ubstoppable by "The Man," Thompson's death in February 2005
prompted his family and Johnny Depp to arrange a private memorial where his ashes
would be blasted out of a cannon over his fortified compound.
In
a film by Sara Booth,
Molly Kaufman and Jen Bain, two aspiring writers, set out from NYC to Colorado
to crash Hunter's memorial and write an article documenting rheir exploits. Can
an iconoclast, drug addicted, gun-loving wildman who came to celebrity status
in the 1960's possibly help guide two young women today?
The
first film on Hunter since his death, features appearences by Douglas Brinkley,
George McGovern, Ron Whitehead, Gerald Tyrell and editors from Scanlons and Rolling
Stone.
NYC
filmmaker Sara Booth's new film, Road To Hunter, received the Special
Judges Award for innovation and creativity in the field of documentary film
from Cityvisions,
NYC and also played at The
Bluegrass Film Festival.
Rated
R (29 Minutes) Direxted
by: Sara Booth, Produced by:
Gabriel Sedgwick, Direcor of Photography:
Carmen Vidal, Edired by: Taewood Lim.
Keep
Louisville Gonzo!
Ron
Whitehead's suggestions for Hunter S. Thompson's hometown Louisville, Kentucky
to pay Tribute to Hunter
1)
Courier-Journal (Kentucky's main daily newspaper) devote entire Saturday SCENE
(arts/culture section) to Hunter's life and work.
2)
LEO and Velocity (Louisville's weekly alternative newspapers) devote entire issues
to Hunter's life and work.
3)
WFPK 91.9fm (all music) and WFPL 89.5fm (all news) (Louisville's Public Radio
Partnership, NPR affiliate) devote one week of programming to Hunter's life and
work.
4) Baxter
Avenue Theatres (Louisville's art film theatres) start Annual Hunter S. Thompson
Film Festival.
5)
Place historic marker in front of Thompson Family home on Ransdell Avenue in Louisville's
Highlands neighborhood. Purchase the home and turn it into Hunter Museum similar
to what Kentucky did for Bill Monroe's Rosine, Ohio County, Kentucky home.
6)
Place giant Hunter photo banner on downtown highrise, visible from Interstate
64, near new Muhammad Ali museum, same as Muhammad Ali & Pee Wee Reese banners.
7)
Rename The Louisville Free Public Library (the main library at 4th & York
downtown) The Hunter and Virginia Thompson Free Public Library. Hunter's Mom Virginia
retired, as librarian, from same library. Have a Hunter S. Thompson Room for students
& scholars.
8)
Rename Louisville's Cherokee Road Hunter S. Thompson Road.
9)
Move the Daniel Boone statue (Daniel with rifle), at entrance to Cherokee Park,
to Boone County. Replace it with statue of Hunter with typewriter, gun, and other
necessary Hunter items.
10)
Rename Cherokee Park Hunter S. Thompson Park.
11)
University of Louisville start Annual Hunter S. Thompson International Literature
Symposium. University of Louisville Rare Books and Archives purchase, catalogue,
and exhibit Hunter's entire archives.
12)
City of Louisville designate July 18th Annual Official Hunter S. Thompson Day,
Public Holiday, No School, No Work, Concert on The Great Lawn at Ohio River Waterfront,
downtown. Musicians/Bands perform their own but especially some of Hunter's favorite
songs.
13) Keep
Louisville Gonzo!
Also
Of Note Ron Whitehead produced the official Hunter S. Thompson
Tribute at Memorial Auditorium in Louisville December 12, 1996 featuring Hunter
S. Thompson, Johnny Depp, Warren Zevon, Douglas Brinkley, David Amram, Roxanne
Pulitzer, Harvey Sloane, The Sheriff of Pitkin County, Hunter's Mom Virginia,
Hunter's Son Juan, Gerald Tyrell, and others. Over 2,000 attended the standing
room only event.
Shortly
after Hunter's suicide, Ron & Sarah Elizabeth Whitehead produced The
Hunter S. Thompson Tribute to a packed house at The Rudyard Kipling
on March 9, 2005.,
"I
have long admired Ron Whitehead. He is crazy as nine loons and his poetry is a
dazzling mix of folk wisdom & pure mathematics." - Hunter
S. Thompson -
