Gus Van Sant has landed Charlie Bartlett and Youth in Revolt scribe Gustin Nash for a rewrite job on the much anticipated Fox Searchlight title, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. The original screenplay was penned by Milk writer Dustin Lance Black. Once the final pages are complete – we should expect a fruitful casting process – with stoner-faced James Franco as an ideal candidate for Van Sant to re-team with.
Gist: Based on the Tom Wolfe novel and written by Lance Black, this is the story of a cross-country road trip that “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” author Ken Kesey orchestrated with a group called the Merry Pranksters. Driving in a psychedelically painted bus from California to visit the World’s Fair in New York in 1964, Kesey and his band used the trip as a way to turn on those they met to the mind-expanding wonders of LSD.
Worth Noting: Perhaps an ideal companion piece — Alex Gibney just presented the docu Magic Trip at this year’s Sundance — here’s an interview with IndieWIRE’s Anne Thompson.
Do We Care?: With My Own Private Idaho and Gerry, we say that a Gus Van Sant road-trip movie is always a must see — especially if this follows in the heals of On the Road (beat gen and psychedelic movement figure/Merry Pranksters member Neal Cassady should show up in both films.
