The Rum Diary is not the only movie connected to the works of Hunter S. Thompson currently in production. Director Gus Van Sant is making Tom Wolfe’s classic book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test into a film. Tom Wolfe borrowed many notes from Hunter S. Thompson to write his book about Ken Kesey and The Merry Pranksters. The sections about the parties at Kesey’s ranch with the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang was taken directly from Thompson’s notes, as were the stories about the Acid Tests taking place at The Matrix in San Francisco. Although Tom Wolfe was considered to be a part of the New Journalism movement, he was less involved in his subjects than Thompson. As someone once told me, “Wolfe was the fly on the wall, Thompson was the fly drowning in your martini.”

Tags: acid test, electric kool aid, gus van sant, hells angels, hunter s thompson, hunter thompson, ken kesey, merry pranksters, movie, new journalism, san francisco, the matrix, tom wolfe