Finally, Gus Van Sant has taken time away from building his gay bathhouse in Portland, Oregon, to concentrate on something else. Something film related. According to Variety, the My Own Private Idaho director will be adapting Tom Wolfe's novel The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test for the big screen.

Forty years after being published, the hallucinogenic work is finally getting the scripted treatment. Big Love's Lance Black has been hired to hone the work for theaters.

Wolfe's literary masterpiece followed Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters on a revolutionary road trip. They drove a bus from California to New York to visit the World's Fair. The group spent most of their time on the road under the influence of LSD.

Alfred Roven originally purchased the film rights back in 1967. He never found anyone that was good enough for the piece. When he died, he passed the rights on to his children. It was them that finally got the property into the hands of a trusted producer.

A long time fan of Kesey, Van Sant was quick to sign onto the project. The author had a bit part in Gus' Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, and the 2002 film Gerry was dedicated to his spirit.

There is no word as to when this film will go before the cameras.