For one day of the calendar year I feel like Johnny Depp more than I do myself. It's not that I think that I look anything like him or that I think I should be a movie star, but when the races come by Yorkton one day each year, it's hard not to feel like him for a few hours.
Depp plays the role of journalist Raoul Duke in the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He is sent out to provide media coverage of the Mint 400 race somewhere in Las Vegas for the magazine he is working for.
During the film, he says it's as big as the Kentucky Derby and the Super Bowl put together (maybe in those days it was?)
The movie didn't do very well at the box office but since its release onto DVD in 1998, it became a smash hit. It is one of the most recognizable works by Hunter S. Thompson.
Thompson is widely considered to be one of the greatest writers ever.
Depp spends one of the scenes roving through a racetrack where there are a lot of people, tons of motorbikes, spectators and even some media running around.
Apparently it is quite typical of the way journalism worked in that time period.
The weather is hot and humid, everyone is wearing shorts, sunglasses and sunscreen (hopefully).
There is dust everywhere.
All throughout the scene Depp is shown talking over his job in his head as the viewer is taken through every minute of it.
For each of the past three Julys, when the Prairie Thunder Drag Races comes by Yorkton, it is equally the same crowd pleaser as what is seen in the movie.
Knowing the kind of actor Depp is, makes it funny to watch as he tells himself what to do and where to go, deliberating with himself, debating what to do, even what not to do, and everything else that a journalist has to do-all in time for deadline.
Never before in journalism have I ever been reminded of an actor's role in a movie whenever I cover an event as I do for Prairie Thunder's main event. Even driving up the dirt road to where the racers and volunteers have to meet on the grounds of the Yorkton Municipal Airport, does it for me. The first time I covered those races at the airport, it was the first thing I thought about while driving down that dirt road. I thought about it so much I even wrote it down. In fact last year I think I actually introduced myself to the gate guy as Raoul Duke.
He didn't seem to know who it was but it was funny anyway.
It is one of the movies where the lead actor is arguably perfect for that specific role. Depp wasn't even in the original cast for the movie. Jack Nicholson, Dan Akroyd, and John Cusack were all cast for the role Depp ended up getting. It wasn't until a meeting between Depp and Thompson resulted in Depp getting the job.
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