Gonzo Girl is Patricia Arquette’s directorial debut that will tell quite a phenomenal story. The upcoming movie will be based on the novel of the same name by Cheryl Della Pietra. It’s based on Pietra’s time spent as Hunter S. Thompson’s personal assistant. Though the book isn’t a biography, it’s barely fictionalized, so we can expect Gonzo Girl to be one hell of a ride. An interesting premise; one might think at first it will be Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas told from a different perspective. But examining this genius won’t just come with drugs and insightful cultural commentary, but with sympathy as well.

Patricia Arquette, known for starring in True Romance and, more recently, Severance, has a storied history in acting, but now she makes her leap to directing with this brand-new film. Gonzo Girl might be the right book to adapt from an actor with roles across the spectrum of genres, but it remains high in emotional intensity: Stigmata, Holes, Boardwalk Empire. Gonzo Girl will be quite the project to see from someone who has worked with so many great minds and is now taking her step forward to directing. Here’s everything we know about Gonzo Girl.

Gonzo Girl: The Plot

Johnny Depp smokes and looks up in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Universal Pictures

Gonzo Girl will be based on Cheryl Della Pietra’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. The book follows the story of the aspiring writer, Alley Russo, who has just taken a job as an assistant for a world-famous gonzo journalist – in the novel, he’s called Walker Reade, but we all know who he really is. The story takes place well after the journalist’s heyday, late into the 90s, when he felt the effects of the sheer volume of drugs he had done earlier in his life. Alley Russo is hired to keep him writing after eight other assistants have fled the position. As this young writer, desperately trying to make it in the world of journalism, tries to get the old man’s pen moving again, she realizes that his drug-addled brain can no longer produce a cogent essay. As Russo begins to filter his word salad through her mind, she becomes the buttress that stabilizes the writer to keep his career going for just a few more months.

Related: 10 Authors with the Most Book-to-Film Adaptations

To get the job, Russo had to survive a “three-day trial period involving a .44 magnum, purple-pyramid acid, violent verbal outbursts, brushes with fame and the law, a bevy of peacocks, and a whole lot of cocaine,” according to the book's description. But after passing the interview, she managed to get herself invited to the author’s private retreat in the Rocky Mountains. Once there, she works extremely hard to try and get the famous writer to produce the novel the world is waiting for. But she quickly realizes this may be a hopeless endeavor. Gonzo Girl will be the story of what happens after the party. These are the consequences of the phoenix flight that begins in fire and ends there too.

Gonzo Girl: The Cast

fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas hunter s thompson johnny depp benicio del toro tobey macquire
Universal Pictures

Gonzo Girl is perfect for Patricia Arquette to direct, and the entertainment world is on its toes, waiting to see what she comes up with. She’s assembled an all-star cast that will surely do the story justice. Arquette will also act in the film, playing the role of Claudia, who served as the author’s manager for many years. But given the chaotic nature of the writer’s methods and personality, she had a much different role than the typical manager.

Willem Dafoe will play Walker Reade, a stand-in for the iconic Hunter S. Thompson. Though most remember Dafoe playing the Green Goblin in the Spider-Man films or Klaus in The Life Aquatic, he has proved himself an extremely talented actor with much deeper roles than these. In A24’s The Lighthouse, he played the strict and commanding Thomas Wake opposite Robert Pattinson. In The Northman, he played a role of similar intensity, but perhaps a bit more chaotic, with Heimir the Fool. And he once embodied another purportedly insane artist Vincent Van Gogh in At Eternity’s Gate.

Related: Willem Dafoe’s Most Unique Performances, Ranked

The starring role of Alley Russo was given to Camila Morrone, a less experienced actress, who has played roles in Death Wish, Mickey and the Bear, and Valley Girl. Elizabeth Lail, known for her work in You and the Once Upon a Time series, will play Devaney Peltier. Leila George, star of Animal Kingdom and Mortal Engines, will play September McAvoy. And, in a surprise appearance, Patricia Arquette also secured a performance from Rick Springfield, who is as yet in an unnamed role, but from his rock star lifestyle has secured the rough, reptilian skin of a younger Hunter S. Thompson. Though, who’s to say?

Gonzo Girl: Release Date

Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Rhino Films

Gonzo Girl does not yet have a release date.