Synopsis: A nonfiction biopic of the renegade Rolling Stone journalist, who killed himself in February 2005.
The backstory: After Thompson’s death, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, a producer on the film, called Gibney and proposed the idea. Production began at Thompson’s funeral in August 2005.
Budget: $1.5 million.
Financed by: Magnolia Pictures, which will also distribute the film in May.
Sundance moment: “I ruptured a disk in my back before the festival,” Gibney says, “so it was amusing promoting a movie about Hunter S. Thompson while hopped up on painkillers and alcohol.”
Director’s next project: A documentary about the scandals surrounding former Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Return to True Stories or read about other directors:
Christopher Bell (Bigger, Stronger, Faster*)
James Marsh (Man on Wire)
Nanette Burstein (American Teen )
Tia Lessin and Carl Deal (Trouble the Water)
Marina ZenovichRoman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
