Shout! Studios Acquires North American Rights to FEAR AND LOATHING IN ASPEN

Shout! Studios, the multi-platform filmed entertainment distribution and production arm of Shout! Factory, has acquired North American rights to the feature film Fear and Loathing in Aspen. Written and directed by Bobby Kennedy III, the film is based on the true story of author and activist Hunter S. Thompson’s 1970 campaign for Sheriff of Aspen, Colorado, which centered around police reform and environmental justice.

Starring Jay Bulger, Cheryl Hines, Amaryllis Fox and Laird Macintosh, Fear and Loathing in Aspen is the true story of an American band of misfits using establishment rules to challenge establishment rule. In 1970, Hunter S. Thompson -- fed up with local pollution problems -- threw his hat into the ring for Sheriff of Aspen, Colorado. His attempt to create a third party based around a new, gentler style of law enforcement entranced the national press and made him an overnight celebrity and hero to the "drop out" generation, who rallied around his "Freak Power" platform with notions of taking first Aspen, and then the world. The only thing capable of holding them back was Thompson himself.

A production of Rhino Films and Pluribus Production, Fear and Loathing in Aspen was produced by Paul Morgan, Stephen Nemeth, and Max Loeb, with Amaryllis Fox, John Paul Dejoria, Linz Wilbur, and Emily Garnet as executive producers. The film was written and directed by Bobby Kennedy III. The announcement was made today by Shout’s founders and CEOs Bob Emmer and Garson Foos, Stephen Nemeth for Rhino Films, and Jordan Fields at Shout! Studios.

Shout! Studios has secured all North American rights to Fear and Loathing in Aspen, including theatrical, VOD, digital, broadcast, and home entertainment for cross-platform releases, and plans to release the film across multiple distribution platforms in 2021.

“Bobby Kennedy III has really pulled off a hat trick with this gem” said Jordan Fields, VP of Acquisitions at Shout! Studios. “Gonzo yet disciplined, nostalgic yet timely, and evocative of 70s auteurs Ashby, Ritchie and Altman. Jay Bulgar is superb and really honors the subversive, fiercely intelligent spirit of Hunter S. Thompson. A tonic for these times.”

Filmmaker Bobby Kennedy III said “I’ve been following Shout! for several years- I completely connect with and appreciate their tastes and sensibility, and especially their great reputation! So when they made it clear they wanted this film I knew I was in. I'm really looking forward to working with the Shout! team to roll it out.”

The deal was negotiated by Shout’s Jordan Fields and Steven Katz, Vice President of Business Affairs, and Stephen Nemeth (Producer, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) on behalf of the filmmakers.