Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

BLACK SCREEN:

A desert wind moans sadly. From somewhere within the wind

comes the tinkly, syrupy-sweet sounds of the Lennon Sisters

singing "My Favorite Things." A series of sepia images of

anti-war protests from the mid-sixties appear one after

another on the screen.

In the violently scrawled style of Ralph Steadman, the title

FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS splashes onto the screen. A

beat, and then it runs down and off revealing:

TITLE:
"He who makes a beast of himself

Gets rid of the pain

Of being a man."

Dr. Johnson

The VOICE OF HUNTER S. THOMPSON -- a.k.a. RAOUL DUKE:

DUKE (V/O)

We were somewhere around Barstow on

the edge of the desert when the

drugs began to take hold.

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

A red Chevy convertible -- THE RED SHARK -- wipes the black

screen.

EXT. ON THE ROAD TO LAS VEGAS - DAY

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

THE RED SHARK races down the desert highway at a hundred

miles an hour. THE STONES' "Sympathy For the Devil" blares.

AT THE WHEEL:

STRANGELY STILL AND TENSE, RAOUL DUKE DRIVES -- SKELETAL,

BEER IN HAND -- STARES STRAIGHT AHEAD.

BESIDE HIM, FACE TURNED TO THE SUN, EYES CLOSED BEHIND

WRAPAROUND SPANISH SUNGLASSES, IS HIS SWARTHY AND UNNERVINGLY

UNPREDICTABLE ATTORNEY, DR. GONZO.

The music pounds DUKE stares straight ahead. GONZO froths

up a can of beer - uses it as shaving foam.

DUKE (V/O)

I remember saying something like:

"I feel a bit lightheaded. Maybe

you should drive..."

GONZO starts shaving.

2.

DUKE (V/O)

Suddenly there was a terrible roar

all around us and the sky was full

of what looked like huge bats, all

swooping and screeching and diving

around the car...

Close on DUKE -- shadows flutter across his face. The

reflections of bats swirl within his eyes. We push in close

to one eye ball -- SCREECHING SWIRLING BAT-LIKE SHAPES!

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

DUKE (V/O)

... and a voice was screaming: Holy

Jesus! What are these goddamn

animals?

CUT TO WIDE SHOT OF CAR -

DUKE, eyes rigid, flails at the air. No bats anywhere.

GONZO casually looks over...

GONZO:

What are you yelling about?

DUCK SCREECHES to the side of the road. The sudden wrench

makes GONZO nick his face with his razor.

DUKE:

Never mind. It's your turn to drive.

DUKE (V/O)

No point mentioning these bats. I

thought. The poor bastard will see

them soon enough.

DUKE hops out of the car, keeping an eye out for bats,

frantically opens the trunk to reveal what looks like A

MOBILE POLICE NARCOTICS LAB. DUKE desperately rifles

through the impressive stash.

DUKE (V/O)

We had two bags of grass, seventy-

five pellets of mescaline, five

sheets of high powered blotter

acid, a salt shaker half full of

cocaine, a whole galaxy of multi-

colored uppers, downers, screamers,

laughers... Also a quart of tequila,

a quart of rum, a case of beer, a

pint of raw ether and two dozen

amyls.

3.

DUKE, eyes darting madly as he hears what sounds like the

SHRIEKS OF BATS returning, grabs an assortment along with

another six-pack of beer - slams the trunk shut and dives

back into the car.

DUKE (V/O)

Not that we needed all that for the

trip, but once you get locked into

a serious drug collection, the

tendency is to push it as far as

you can.

THE RED SHARK RACES INTO THE DISTANCE... on the ground,

weakly flapping is a SEMI-SQUASHED, SLOWLY DYING ANIMAL... A

BAT?

EXT. FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD TO LAS VEGAS - DAY

IN THE RED SHARK

GONZO grips the wheel - stares maniacally down the road - a

lousy driver.

DUKE (V/O)

The only thing that really worried

me was the ether. There is nothing

in the world more helpless and

irresponsible and depraved than a

man in the depths of an ether binge.

And I knew we'd get into that

rotten stuff pretty soon.

The radio news wars with "SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL" on a tape

recorder.

RADIO NEWS:

An overdose of heroin was listed as

the official cause of death for

pretty 19 year old Diane Hanby

whose body was found stuffed in a

refrigerator last week...

GONZO changes the station - "ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE, SWEET

JESUS, ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE" vies with "SYMPATHY"... He

sings along - washes a couple of pills back with a new beer.

The RED SHARK fishtails.

GONZO:

"One toke over the line, sweet

Jesus."

4.

DUKE:

(muttering to himself)

One toke. You poor fool. Wait

till you see those goddamn bats.

UP AHEAD - AT THE SIDE OF THE DESERTED ROAD

A LONE HITCHHIKER spots them, jumps up and sticks out a

thumb. The RED SHARK roars past. Then, fifty yards down

the road...

GONZO:

Let's give that boy a lift.

GONZO wrenches the wheel - THE RED SHARK swerves to the side

of the road.

DUKE:

We can't stop here - this is bat

country!

GONZO JAMS THE CAR INTO REVERSE AND ROCKETS BACKWARDS. The

HITCHHIKER races to the car. A poor OKIE KID with a big grin.

HITCHHIKER:

Hot damn! I never rode in a

convertible before!

Then the big grin freezes on the OKIE KID's face at the

sight of:
DUKE and GONZO looking out at him with HYPER-

NORMAL, sh*t-eating SMILES.

DUKE:

Is that right? Well, I guess

you're about ready, eh?

The HITCHHIKER hesitates.

GONZO:

We're your friends. We're not like

the others.

DUKE:

(hissing sharply)

No more of that talk or I'll put

the leeches on you.

DUKE turns back to the HITCHHIKER - smiles reassuringly.

EXT. EVEN FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD TO LAS VEGAS - DAY

The HITCHHIKER sits nervously in the back seat as the RED

SHARK screams down the road.

5.

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