It Was High Time for ‘Fear and Loathing’

The Scene: Manhattan switched from Godzilla to gonzo when Monday’s lizard-with-attitude premiere was followed by Tuesday’s launch of Universal’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” at the China Club. Terry Gilliam’s adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s drug-saturated novel was described by Ed Bradley as “a trip,” by Buck Henry as reflecting “the early ‘70s lunatic disposition” and by another guest as “vile but in a good way.”

Who Was There: Thompson (during the after-party he watched the NBA playoffs in a downstairs China Club room), stars Johnny Depp and Benecio Del Toro; director Gilliam; producer Laila Nabulsi; and 700 guests, including Marisa Tomei, Iggy Pop, Spalding Gray, Joaquin Phoenix, Stuart Goldman, George Plimpton, and studio execs Stacey Snider, Kevin Misher and Scott Stuber.

The Buzz: That those with a misspent youth involving profound psychedelic drug use would be more inclined to grasp the film’s logic. “I think it’s a hard sell,” said one industry savant. “In order to enjoy the movie, you have to be in a condition where you can’t keep your eyes open.”

Most Apropos Moment: The pot smoking in the audience was to be expected. But the middle-aged man wearing a black suit and red Hawaiian shirt who threw what security guards described as “a tantrum,” fell to the floor, pulled his jacket tightly over his head and was dragged 50 feet across the theater lobby (directly beneath the rapt eyes of TV crews and photographers) was unique. In “Fear and Loathing,” Thompson describes his own similar behavior as being “an inability to cope artfully.”

Dress Mode: Styles ranged from stockbroker after work to drug dealer after work, if there is such a thing. Chanel suits, Bermuda shorts, Armani jackets, leather pants, electric neon T-shirts were the norm. A tattooed wrestler in a prom dress would not have been completely out of place.

Observed: Thompson, carrying four long-stemmed tulips and wearing an open collar tuxedo shirt with a Sammy Davis Jr.-style medallion, passed through the theater’s storage area, where the “doctor of journalism” grabbed a lifetime-supply-sized plastic duffel bag of ancient popcorn, which he used to pummel Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner. The sack later exploded like a popcorn-shrapnel pinata when Thompson whacked Depp during the formal pre-screening photo session.

Quoted: “I’ve decided the film is a cross between ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘The Wild Bunch,’ ” said Gilliam. “There’s that going upriver towards madness, one series of bizarre events after another. And ‘The Wild Bunch’ is about guys whose time has passed, who are ready for one last blowout.”

Overheard: “All that to find out what Johnny Depp looks like bald?”