Bobby Kennedy III charmed Colorado’s Economic Development Commission in a private meeting on Thursday enough to win $300,000 in rebates for “Freak Power,” his movie about Hunter S. Thompson that will be filmed next summer in Colorado.
The 32-year-old, who lives equally in Aspen and Los Angeles, is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy and the son of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As his directorial debut, “Freak Power” will trace the true story of Thompson’s run to be elected Pitkin County Sheriff in 1970.
“We’ve been talking to Anita (Thompson’s widow) about filming it at Owl Farm, and we have a sort of agreement with the estate for the rights to certain quotes from his letters,” Kennedy told The Denver Post after the meeting.
The film will be shot mostly outside of Aspen, since much of the town has changed significantly since the early 1970s. Kennedy and his producers are looking at nearly two-dozen Colorado towns as stand-ins, including Silverton, Durango, Leadville, Gunnison, Crested Butte, Steamboat Springs, Georgetown and locations in Summit County.
Thompson lived for decades in the Woody Creek enclave outside of Aspen.
“In the script, the (Hotel) Jerome is a dive bar,” said Donald Zuckerman, commissioner for the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media.
“Because of my longstanding relationships (in Aspen) we’re going to pull on a few favors here and there,” Kennedy said. “I wouldn’t want to go to Canada with this. I think it would ruin the spirit.”
Budgeted for $1.85 million, Kennedy hopes to begin shooting the film in June with a cast of 100 and a crew of 73. On Thursday he was granted a rebate of $300,000 for shooting the film in-state and using local talent.
“One of the producers and I produced a movie (in 1997) called ‘Dogtown,’ and George Hickenlooper directed it,” Zuckerman said, in telling how he was introduced to Kennedy’s “Freak Power.” George Hickenlooper, who died in 2010, was the cousin of Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.
No leads have been cast for “Freak Power,” but Kennedy hinted that a couple of bigger-name Hollywood actors were playing smaller roles as favors.
“We have a pretty good chance in this current political environment of making the point that we need some sort of shake-up, and Hunter tried to make this point in Aspen in 1970 by running this wild campaign,” Kennedy told the Commission during his pitch.
“It was right before he got famous for writing ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.’ He was broke, he had just bought a place in Woody Creek and the IRS was sending him notices of intent for seizure, and they started building this big slag heap bordering his property, so he took action.”
The article Thompson wrote about his campaign for Rolling Stone quickly gained national attention and created “a massive backlash in the community,” Kennedy said.
“I just really want to motivate a bunch of young 20- and 30-year-olds to get back into politics right now,” he said. “A lot of people really put their hearts into this election, and I don’t want to have this movement that sort of started here in Colorado… we’re right on the verge of losing it, and I want to bring it back on the big screen.”
Kennedy has avoided direct involvement in politics during his life, opting to engage in other creative ventures, such as his 2013 European-misadventure film “AmeriQua” (retitled “Eurotrapped” on Netflix) which he wrote and starred in.
Kennedy declined to give details on financing for “Freak Power.”
“I have a lot of friends who wouldn’t have put money in it if I hadn’t,” Kennedy said, comparing the tone of the script to films such as “The Candidate” and “Face in the Crowd.”
He hopes to distribute the film via Netflix or another digital-video platform.
Also at the meeting: The film office announced that three Colorado films have been accepted into January’s prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, including “Casting JonBenet,” “78/52” and “Chasing Coral.”
Of the three, two were incentivized by the Colorado Film Office through its 20 percent rebate incentive, with “Casting JonBenet” receiving $50,000 and “78/52” receiving $41,200, according to the film office.
