The Motion Picture Corporation of America has reportedly acquired the rights to one of Hunter S. Thompson’s last ever works, a 2004 Vanity Fair article titled “Prisoner Of Denver,” with an eye on a potential feature film adaptation.
Written by Thompson and VF contributing editor Mark Seal, the piece centers on the unjust incarceration of 21 year old Lisl Auman who was charged with murder and handed a life sentence despite being in the back of cop car at the time of the murder. Once in jail, Auman began writing to Thompson who then teamed up with Seal in seeking justice for the Colorado resident — Auman was eventually freed seven years after being jailed in March 2005 which was unfortunately shortly after Thompson’s suicide.
Writers are currently being sought to adapt the source material with Thompson and Seal’s journey to be portrayed as a sort of ‘gonzo Woodward and Bernstein.’ Like “All The President’s Men,” which saw the aforementioned duo played by Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, hopefully some decent talent finds its way on board to do justice to Thompson’s fight, but with MPCA’s latest project being “Deathgames” starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kellan Lutz and Daniel Dae Kim, we’re not holding our breath.
Thompson’s friend and previous portrayer Johnny Depp would be an obvious candidate but may be ruled out by the fact the story actually involves the actor himself as one of many celebrities who joined Auman’s cause at the request of the acclaimed writer. Depp also already has Bruce Robinson’s adaptation of Thompson’s “The Rum Diary,” inspired by his time in Puerto Rico, due out (hopefully) later this year.