Robert F. Kennedy III, a part-time Aspen resident and D-list movie actor and producer hatched a plan to write a movie about Hunter S. Thompson’s legendary run for Pitkin County Sheriff…and get Colorado taxpayers to foot the bill.
Yesterday, Kennedy met with members of the controversial Colorado Film Office, and walked out with a $300,000 rebate for filming parts of the movie in Colorado and using some Colorado staff and actors.
When these film credits were pitched to Colorado taxpayers, the idea was that in a competitive industry, rebates could tip the scales and lure lucrative job and investment opportunities to Colorado.
How exactly does Kennedy’s project fit into this criteria? Kennedy has a home in Apsen. He is working with Thomspon’s widow to film at her Woody Creek ranch. Since Aspen has changed since the 1970s, there are numerous Colorado mountain towns that would serve as great stand-ins for the Aspen of a different era. Would Kennedy really go to Jackson Hole or Truckee to shoot this thing?
While a movie about Thompson’s quixotic run for sheriff may be interesting to a few aging hippies, and the RFK III connection may appeal to folks who still idol worship the Kennedy family, this concept does not sound like a money maker to us.