Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson meets a Hell’s Angel, 1967 | CBC
Pre: CBC logo - gleaming, color

INT. Psychedelic [Yayoi Kusama-style] hallway
We see a CHOPPER with high handlebars ridden by a rough looking man in outlaw clothes. The man (CLIFF) kickstarts the CHOPPER and starts driving towards the camera; as he passes the camera turns and follows and we see the Motor Cycle-CLUB AFFILIATION PATCH on his back at the same time as the TV-studio with it's guests, host and subject (THOMPSON) is revealed.


VO
- The Bike Rider is Cliff Worthsman (?), regular of the Hells Angels,

CAMERA CHANGE - as CLIFF begins to circle the room with his CHOPPER, we see THOMPSON to the right, the CBC-MAN to the right of the middle of the screen and CLIFF occupying the left portion of the screen. CLIFF continues circling as the camera pans and follows.

VO (cont.)
- the wildest bunch of outlaws to come out of the west

CAMERA CHANGE - THOMPSON is now in the left part of the screen and CLIFF is close to him. CLIFF has his back turned to the cameras and THOMPSON has his back turned to CLIFF. The shot is DRAMATIC with shadows and light gleam taking up most part of the bottom screen. The rest of the screen shows the AUDIENCE - we see a lot of women's legs and 60's hairdo's. The dual spotlights follow CLIFF and lead us into the next camera change

VO (cont.)
- since Billy the Kidd and the Daltons.

CAMERA CHANGE - Now above the trio (HUNTER, CLIFF, CBC-MAN), the camera pans and follows CLIFF as he does 1 1/2 circles around the podium on which CBC-MAN and THOMPSON are seated.

VO (cont.)
- He's here to challenge his Biographer; intense litterary journalist named: Hunter Thompson.

CAMERA CHANGE - Now in level with the TRIO, CLIFF occupies the left part of the screen and CBC-MAN the right; THOMPSON is obscured by CBC-MAN. CLIFF stops his CHOPPER and begins dismounting it (revving the throttle, setting the kickstand, etc.) in a self assured fashion. As CLIFF gets off his bike we are hinted that he is in an awkward position - as is emphasised by his posture and facial expressions as well as how the bike is "slightly too close" to the podium for CLIFF to make a powerful dismount.
VO (cont.)
- It was Thompson who lived, drank and rode with the Hells Angles and wrote about them in a bestseller. He was the first to compare them to the outlaws of the west, the critics have been unanimous in praise of this book but the Hells Angels haven't been heard from yet. Tonight, Sunday makes "Author Meet Critic"; that brings together the writer Hunter Thompson and the rider antagonized the most.

CLOSEUP of CLIFF

VO (cont. final)
- That's the bike rider: Hells Angel… Cliff Worthsman

CLOSEUP of THOMPSON
CLOSEUP of CLIFF

CBC-MAN
- what did you think of the book?

CLIFF
- well, I'll tell you Will (addressing the CBC-MAN) (with regret in eyes)… and Hunter (with anger in eyes)… everybody in this room (with pride in eyes)…that that book is sixty percent cheap trash

CLOSEUP of THOMPSON (looks up in surprise)
CLOSEUP of CLIFF

CBC-MAN
- CLIFF, what is a typical Hells Angel?

CLIFF
- Typical hngn to Hells Angels could be anyone in this room - somebody that likes to ride a motor cycle… I don't thi…
THOMPSON
- potheto bo-behu…

CLIFF
- I got a job, I got a boat'n trailer - you know - I do all things; I raise dogs I do a little bit of everything

THOMPSON
- Well I tell you it's a YEAH, typical angel, I know that, you know that, so let's not fit our selves in that…

CLIFF
- Why, you're no different… I,I…

CBC-MAN (to THOMPSON - leading)
- You think the Angels sent cliff here as a // as an emissary, as a minister of plenipotentiary with a high college degree and a yearning for [beat] bourgeois respectability?

[Audience Sniggers]

CLOSEUP of THOMPSON (looks down - thoughtful and sad)

THOMPSON
- Those are all…

CBC-MAN (with point)
- Is he different?

THOMPSON (waves with hand, holding CIGARETTE)
- Those are all your words… yubba yubba
CBC-MAN
- But you said he's not typical

BEAT
Audience - Laughter & Applaudes

THOMPSON (approvingly)
- Yeah… hm!

CLIFF
- You see actually, there are none of us that care what anybody thinks [beat] cuz we are us, I am me; what I do in my home in nobody's business, I don't give a damn - If they don't like me on my motorcycle that is too bad, eh?

THOMPSON - closeup
- Can you sing that you've read the book and you think I wasn't saying that?

CBC-MAN (gives the word to THOMPSON)
- hrm brm

THOMPSON
- No, no, I know exactly what I said. I spent three years on the damned thing.

CLIFF (fiddles with his bike - looking away)
- Well then, I'd like to get to the // get to the end of it then on // on WHY! (suddenly looks up).

THOMPSON (interrupts with noises)
CLIFF (intercepts with noises of his own)

CLIFF (cont.)
- After you spent a year with us…

THOMPSON (referring to the book)
- There's nothing wrong with it, right?

CLIFF (cont.)
- …you spent a year with us; Why you got your head thumped on?

THOMPSON
- All right, get to it.

CLIFF
- All right, I wanna know why, we didn't get the two kegs of beer that you promised us

AUDIENCE - roaring laughter and applaudes.

THOMPSON
- Umm…

CLIFF
- This guy his sitting here and he's making a million dollars… and he made it off of us… uh maybe not quite that much.

THOMPSON (possibly to him self)
- Ohh, no, no.
- NO!
- If he'd knew what I'm thinking on this…

CLIFF
- You're making something anyway

THOMPSON (cont.)
- He wouldn't sell me that bike in credit

CLIFF
- We helped you make it, right

THOMPSON [beat] - thoughtfully
- Yeah!

CLIFF
- You said

THOMPSON
- What I'm making is none…

CLIFF
- There's nothing// there was nothing about money. Nothing about a share in the book, about anything; all we wanted was a couple of kegs of beer so we could get together and get drunk…

CAMERA CHANGE - THOMPSON has back to camera, CBC-MAN is looking smug, CLIFF takes on the stance of a prophet declaring his truth onto THOMPSON, the AUDIENCE grapically/metephorically being his angelic (dibolic?) wings.

AUDIENCE - laughter

CLIFF (cont.) - raising a finger, pointing at THOMPSON
- And! A copy of the book, to each of the open members

THOMPSON (nodding)
- Yeah…
- That's not the…

CLIFF (cont.)
- and you get your head thumped on and you wrote a letter to Ralph and you said:
[CLIFF raises his finger and declares THOMPSON's letter to Ralph]
- "seeing I got beat up and I got my head thumped on, I don't owe you guys nothing".

THOMPSON
- I didn't figure I did.
- But now wait a minute… (mumbly argument breaks out yet again between the interlocutors)
- Wait a minute what two kegs of beer are you talking about? What are they…?

CLIFF (to this statement THOMPSON looks thoughtful)
- Two kegs that you were gonna give us for… we've had you in our homes, we//we fed you, we've given you a beer, you didn't pay for none of (more mumbly arguments)

THOMPSON (winding out of the argument)
- …a lot of angels have been in my house and drank a hell of a lot of beer…

CLIFF
-Well sure…

THOMPSON
- So I think it is fairly well…

CLIFF
- and they still like you… But they don't like what you're doing.

CBC-MAN
- Why did they thump him?

CLIFF
- All right, this man here.
- You got into a man's personal argument

THOMPSON
- That's another white lie.

CLIFF
- No, no it aint.

[mumbly argument]

THOMPSON
- Oh go ahead and tell it (mumble)

CLIFF
- This is my side of what happened

THOMPSON
- OK. You weren't there so why don't you (mumble) of that.

AUDIENCE laughs

CLIFF
- This is what// this is what happened

THOMPSON
- OK

CLIFF
- and you see//and you see if this isn't right

[beat]

- Junkie George was beating his old lady

AUDIENCE laughs/gasps

THOMPSON
- Junkie George?

THOMPSON (again)
- Junkie George?

CLIFF
- Junkie George!

THOMPSON (smirks and waves towards CLIFF as to give hime more)

- If you say so

AUDIENCE is still laughing

CLIFF
- now this is what happened
- Serious!
- Junkie George was beating his old lady.
mumbly argument
- Junkie's George/[beat]/Junkie George's dog

AUDIENCE laughs at this

CLIFF (turns his head to audience)
- Now listen to this (picks nose)
- Junkie Jaage's daawg (CLIFF's speech composure is wavering) bit HIM, right?

AUDIENCE laughs roaringly

CLIFF
- to me this is a personal fan/(THOMPSON mumbles)/this is a personal feud…
- If a guy want's to beat his wife and his dog bites him, that's between the three of them, right?

AUDIENCE roaring laughter

CLIFF & THOMPSON mumbles agreeingly

CLIFF
- all right

THOMPSON
- right

CLIFF
(to THOMPSON & CBC-MAN)
- Here came the peacemaker, right?
(to the audience)
- He doesn't have a patron, he's not in the club… (nhne) you know?!
(to THOMPSON & CBC-MAN)
- And Junkie Goerge's stiff [AUDIENCE laughs, CLIFF shudders it off]
- and you walked//you walked right up to him and you said:

"only a punk beats his wife and dog

AUDIENCE laughs - we see a woman reacting to this

CLIFF
- Theses were your words, now you said it//you said it to this man and you backed up

THOMPSON
- He finished it all

CLIFF
- you want//you want some of this and you said no… but you got it anyways… and when he hit you, three or four others of 'em hit you too…
- You got in your car and you left, that's when you in your book said you found em and go asleep in the back of your car so you stopped and he got out…
- But the next day if you'd had any guts after living with all of these people… you'd a come back up there; had beer and sat down with everybody and said "All right I've made a misstake//or somebody made a misstake - so what let's have a drink", and we've never seen you since…

THOMPSON
- But why don't you…?
- All right

CLIFF
- We've never seen our /[THOMPSON - All right]/ two kegs of beer and we've never seen our book!

THOMPSON
- Your're/you're finished!
- Are you finished?
- I was talking to Trip, it was about three in the morning, and we were talking about wether… ehh… my eh BSA 650 would run with his CHOPPER, and we were kind of comparing, uh, ratios and hop top speeds and road and I was watching… what's his name: Junkie George, I didn't//I didn't know the guy… but there was somebody about thirty feet to my left that was beating his wife to a pulp on the rocks, and I…well that's… you know… kind of believe but that's (indistinct)

CLIFF
- (indistinct) …we would have stopped him

THOMPSON
- Oh no /CLIFF mumbles/ you're kidding me and you're gonna kid everybody else… nobody's stopped him, you know he beat his wife and you said it, rigtht?

CLIFF
- He was beating his wife

THOMPSON
- OK!

Swift mumbly argument between CLIFF & THOMPSON

CLIFF
- (indistinct) …on the ground with a big rock or something…

THOMPSON
- No, no. Oh no, she was lying on the rocks and he was giving her this (beats his fist demonstratively in the air) you know…

CLIFF - intercepts (points with hand as if making a statement of common knowledge)
- "keep a woman in line you gotta beat'em like a rug sometimes", you know?

AUDIENCE roars in laughter and shock

THOMPSON - waves it off, then finds something funny in the statement (unclear what).
- I agree!
- He was doing it.

CLIFF
- I though maybe… (indstinct)
[waves something off]

THOMPSON
- He was doing it (indstinct)

CLIFF
- (indstinct)…his dog nearly thought it was wrong because his dog bit him

THOMPSON
- Well I wouldn't bring it that much attention cause…

(Mumbly Quarrel)

CLIFF
…or a kicked his dog you know…

THOMPSON (clasps his head in frustration/despair)
Wait a minute now, let me//let me just get to it…

CLIFF (is grasping for it now)
- it could have been//it could have been me and I was gonna say:… somebody to say… go ahead and beat your old lady but don't kick your dog and…

THOMPSON
- You've said it.

AUDIENCE laughs

THOMPSON (sniggers)

CBC-MAN
- I'm sorry Hunter, we're//we're//we're finished…

THOMPSON
- (indistinct & interrupted by CBC-MAN) …give my own version of it?

CBC-MAN
- I'm afraid you'll have to do it privately

THOMPSON
- All right (mubmles)!

CBC-MAN
- Thank you both very much for coming.

Audience applaudes

Clip ends

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