Gaghan set to Ride with Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels

As we speak, Bruce Robinson’s The Rum Diary must be in the midst of post-production, and now comes word that another seminal work from the earlier portions of Hunter S. Thompson‘s life might make its way to the big screen adaptation. In Thompson’ timeline, Hell’s Angels actually follows chronologically after he wrote the Rum Diary (the novel would actually only be published in 98′). Coming Soon’s Edward Douglas’ interview with Tony Scott sheds light on a new project that the director/producer is looking into. Scott has set scribe Stephen Gaghan to adapt Thompson’s Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs which he would either produce or direct.

For those who have seen Alex Gibney’s 2008 documentary (Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson) took notice of the period where the writer took on a writing assignment to join the motorcycle club – he would overstay his welcome setting himself up for a beating that would pull him away from the lifestyle that went beyond an appreciation for the open road and Harley bikes.

Currently in the financing stages with Blink (based on Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller about people making snap judgements in various situations to argue larger points about how people make first impressions), Gaghan who has taken on some big assignments with Traffic and Syriana will be writing on a bigger than life character – a role which I assume Johnny Depp will likely not reprise. Expect there to be loads of excessive sex, drugs and alcohol usage.