Rolling Stone - Burning of the Midnight Lamp
Genre: Drama
Director: Oliver Stone
Writer: D.R. Cobb
Based on the Rolling Stone magazine
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Karl Glusman, Aimee Teegarden, James Urbaniak, Ross Butler, Alicia Witt, Stephen Dorff, Andre Holland, Mark McKinney, Daniel Gillies, Sergio Di Zio, Claire Holt and Ben BassPlot: December, 1969. Brady Conroy (Josh Hartnett) is in bed with his girlfriend Celeste (Aimee Teegarden) sharing a joint when the phone rings. It's Rolling Stone Magazine office manager Kylee Hargrove (Alicia Witt), who asks him to come into the office for a meeting with the publishers to discuss an assignment. Brady starts to get up out of the bed, but Celeste pulls him back down. They have sex and finish their joint.
Brady finally makes his way out of bed and heads out of his apartment and to the Rolling Stone offices. In the parking lot, he notices a Cadillac convertible is taking up three parking spots. As he walks past it, he notices that the floor of the car is littered with cigarette butts and beer bottles. When he enters the offices he finds a man (Stephen Dorff) asleep on a couch in the lobby, cigarette hanging from his mouth. Brady asks Kylee who the man is, and she tells him that's Hunter S. Thompson, another writer for the magazine. Kylee then leads Brady to the conference room, where publishers Jann Wenner (Karl Glusman) and Ralph Gleeson (James Urbaniak) are waiting for him along with editor Ben Fong-Torres (Ross Butler). Jann asks Brady if he likes cold weather. Brady, confused, asks why. They tell him that Jimi Hendrix's trial for drug possession is about to begin the next day up in Toronto. Brady asks about the short notice, and he is told that the original writer for the piece, Hunter S. Thompson, had some "passport issues" and will be unable to make the trip up to the Great White North to cover the trial. Brady, confused, says he thought you don't need a passport to go to Canada, but Jann simply tells him it's a complicated situation.
Brady catches a Pan Am flight out of San Francisco to Toronto. When he gets off the plane he finds himself in a blizzard. He takes a cab to a hotel and unpacks his bag. He makes a phone call to Celeste back home. He tells her he made it there safely, but that he can't talk long because of the cost. Brady then heads down to the hotel bar and orders a drink. He is approached by a prostitute, Estelle (Tricia Helfer), who asks if he wants to go back up to his room for some fun. He says he's in a relationship, but offers to buy her a drink. He asks her about what the locals think about Jimi Hendrix's trial. She tells him that it's honestly not a big news item there, just another in a long line of famous Americans getting busted for drugs. She does say though that they probably would have gone easier on the charges and just confiscated and fined him if he wasn't a notable person. He pulls out his notebook and starts taking some notes. Estelle inquires about the notebook, and Brady tells her that he's a journalist covering the trial for Rolling Stone Magazine. He catches a glimpse of the time and tells her that he has to get upstairs and get some sleep before the trial starts in the morning. She tells him that maybe she'll see him there the next night.
In the morning, Brady heads down to the courthouse. When he arrives in the courtroom, it's mostly empty aside from Judge Joseph Kelly (Mark McKinney) and the Crown attorney (Ben Bass). A bailiff tells Brady that the trial time was pushed a bit to 10am, but that he's more than welcome to take a seat and wait. At 10am, Jimi Hendrix (Andre Holland) enters the courtroom with big shot Toronto defense attorney John O'Driscoll (Daniel Gillies). Judge Kelly asks for someone to check to see what's taking the jury so long as they have not arrived yet. During the wait, Brady observes O'Driscoll and Hendrix having a hushed conversation. By the time the jury arrives, the judge announces that it is unfortunately already time for the scheduled 20 minute recess. Brady exits the courtroom and gets a cup of coffee during the recess.
When the trial finally gets underway, the Crown calls Customs Officer Marvin Wilson (Sergio Di Zio) to the stand. Hendrix's arrest took place at his customs counter at the airport. He tells the court that he had seized a small glass jar that was laying on top of toiletries and noticed 4 cellophane packets of white powder he guessed to be narcotics. He asked Hendrix what it was, but Hendrix said he didn't know and that somebody must have put whatever it is in his bag. He then notified his supervisor and Hendrix went to meet with the supervisor. The Crown thanks Wilson for his testimony and excuses him from the stand.
Later in the long day, Hendrix finally takes the stand. He tells the court how generous his fans are and that he is constantly receiving gifts from them, so much so that he is usually too busy to look at them in the moment and he just tosses them in his bags. O'Driscoll asks him if fans have ever given him drugs, like the heroin found in his bag. Hendrix says he is often given dope but he just throws it away. Judge Kelly thanks everyone for their time and dismisses the court for the day, with testimonies to resume in the morning.
Brady heads back to the hotel where he runs into Estella in the bar again. Together they get drunk at the bar and end up going back up to Brady's hotel room. She tells him that she's not familiar with Jimi Hendrix's music, so he plays Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland" album for her. She pulls out some cocaine and asks Brady if he'd like some. He partakes, and they end up having sex to "Voodoo Child". In the morning, Brady asks Estella how much he owes her. She tells him it was a freebie as she gets dressed and leaves.
On day two of the trial, the courthouse is packed. Hendrix takes the stand to start the day. He tells the court that the night before he had initially flown into Toronto, he had a concert in Detroit. He had mentioned to someone that he wasn't feeling well and a girl had handed him the small glass jar the customs officer found. He assumed it was medicine and tossed it in his bags before the show. He then flew into Toronto the next morning. The Crown cross-examines him to find flaws in his story. He is questioned about his drug use. After a brief recess, a conservative young woman named Sharon Lawrence (Claire Holt) is called to the stand. She's a writer who had interviewed Hendrix right before he flew to Canada. Her story matches Hendrix's exactly, much to the annoyance of the Crown attorney.
When the time comes for closing arguments, O'Driscoll addresses the jury, stating that in order for someone to be charged with possession of a narcotic there has to be knowledge of, and based on the testimony of Hendrix and Lawrence, there was a plausible doubt that Hendrix knew what he was carrying. And if there is any doubt, O'Driscoll tells the jury, you cannot convict a person. People wait at the courthouse for eight hours for the jury to come back with their verdict of not guilty.
Brady has to quickly head back to the hotel to pack his bag and get to the airport to catch his flight back to San Francisco. He writes out the article on the long flight by hand. When the plane lands, Brady decides to head straight to the Rolling Stones office to type up his article and turn it in. When he gets to the office, he finds Hunter S. Thompson in the same spot on the couch, once again with a cigarette in his mouth. Brady wonders aloud if Thompson has even moved in the time he was gone. Hunter, eyes still closed, mutters that he had to go on a beer run yesterday, before turning on his side and falling back asleep.
Brady finally makes his way out of bed and heads out of his apartment and to the Rolling Stone offices. In the parking lot, he notices a Cadillac convertible is taking up three parking spots. As he walks past it, he notices that the floor of the car is littered with cigarette butts and beer bottles. When he enters the offices he finds a man (Stephen Dorff) asleep on a couch in the lobby, cigarette hanging from his mouth. Brady asks Kylee who the man is, and she tells him that's Hunter S. Thompson, another writer for the magazine. Kylee then leads Brady to the conference room, where publishers Jann Wenner (Karl Glusman) and Ralph Gleeson (James Urbaniak) are waiting for him along with editor Ben Fong-Torres (Ross Butler). Jann asks Brady if he likes cold weather. Brady, confused, asks why. They tell him that Jimi Hendrix's trial for drug possession is about to begin the next day up in Toronto. Brady asks about the short notice, and he is told that the original writer for the piece, Hunter S. Thompson, had some "passport issues" and will be unable to make the trip up to the Great White North to cover the trial. Brady, confused, says he thought you don't need a passport to go to Canada, but Jann simply tells him it's a complicated situation.
Brady catches a Pan Am flight out of San Francisco to Toronto. When he gets off the plane he finds himself in a blizzard. He takes a cab to a hotel and unpacks his bag. He makes a phone call to Celeste back home. He tells her he made it there safely, but that he can't talk long because of the cost. Brady then heads down to the hotel bar and orders a drink. He is approached by a prostitute, Estelle (Tricia Helfer), who asks if he wants to go back up to his room for some fun. He says he's in a relationship, but offers to buy her a drink. He asks her about what the locals think about Jimi Hendrix's trial. She tells him that it's honestly not a big news item there, just another in a long line of famous Americans getting busted for drugs. She does say though that they probably would have gone easier on the charges and just confiscated and fined him if he wasn't a notable person. He pulls out his notebook and starts taking some notes. Estelle inquires about the notebook, and Brady tells her that he's a journalist covering the trial for Rolling Stone Magazine. He catches a glimpse of the time and tells her that he has to get upstairs and get some sleep before the trial starts in the morning. She tells him that maybe she'll see him there the next night.
In the morning, Brady heads down to the courthouse. When he arrives in the courtroom, it's mostly empty aside from Judge Joseph Kelly (Mark McKinney) and the Crown attorney (Ben Bass). A bailiff tells Brady that the trial time was pushed a bit to 10am, but that he's more than welcome to take a seat and wait. At 10am, Jimi Hendrix (Andre Holland) enters the courtroom with big shot Toronto defense attorney John O'Driscoll (Daniel Gillies). Judge Kelly asks for someone to check to see what's taking the jury so long as they have not arrived yet. During the wait, Brady observes O'Driscoll and Hendrix having a hushed conversation. By the time the jury arrives, the judge announces that it is unfortunately already time for the scheduled 20 minute recess. Brady exits the courtroom and gets a cup of coffee during the recess.
When the trial finally gets underway, the Crown calls Customs Officer Marvin Wilson (Sergio Di Zio) to the stand. Hendrix's arrest took place at his customs counter at the airport. He tells the court that he had seized a small glass jar that was laying on top of toiletries and noticed 4 cellophane packets of white powder he guessed to be narcotics. He asked Hendrix what it was, but Hendrix said he didn't know and that somebody must have put whatever it is in his bag. He then notified his supervisor and Hendrix went to meet with the supervisor. The Crown thanks Wilson for his testimony and excuses him from the stand.
Later in the long day, Hendrix finally takes the stand. He tells the court how generous his fans are and that he is constantly receiving gifts from them, so much so that he is usually too busy to look at them in the moment and he just tosses them in his bags. O'Driscoll asks him if fans have ever given him drugs, like the heroin found in his bag. Hendrix says he is often given dope but he just throws it away. Judge Kelly thanks everyone for their time and dismisses the court for the day, with testimonies to resume in the morning.
Brady heads back to the hotel where he runs into Estella in the bar again. Together they get drunk at the bar and end up going back up to Brady's hotel room. She tells him that she's not familiar with Jimi Hendrix's music, so he plays Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland" album for her. She pulls out some cocaine and asks Brady if he'd like some. He partakes, and they end up having sex to "Voodoo Child". In the morning, Brady asks Estella how much he owes her. She tells him it was a freebie as she gets dressed and leaves.
On day two of the trial, the courthouse is packed. Hendrix takes the stand to start the day. He tells the court that the night before he had initially flown into Toronto, he had a concert in Detroit. He had mentioned to someone that he wasn't feeling well and a girl had handed him the small glass jar the customs officer found. He assumed it was medicine and tossed it in his bags before the show. He then flew into Toronto the next morning. The Crown cross-examines him to find flaws in his story. He is questioned about his drug use. After a brief recess, a conservative young woman named Sharon Lawrence (Claire Holt) is called to the stand. She's a writer who had interviewed Hendrix right before he flew to Canada. Her story matches Hendrix's exactly, much to the annoyance of the Crown attorney.
When the time comes for closing arguments, O'Driscoll addresses the jury, stating that in order for someone to be charged with possession of a narcotic there has to be knowledge of, and based on the testimony of Hendrix and Lawrence, there was a plausible doubt that Hendrix knew what he was carrying. And if there is any doubt, O'Driscoll tells the jury, you cannot convict a person. People wait at the courthouse for eight hours for the jury to come back with their verdict of not guilty.
Brady has to quickly head back to the hotel to pack his bag and get to the airport to catch his flight back to San Francisco. He writes out the article on the long flight by hand. When the plane lands, Brady decides to head straight to the Rolling Stones office to type up his article and turn it in. When he gets to the office, he finds Hunter S. Thompson in the same spot on the couch, once again with a cigarette in his mouth. Brady wonders aloud if Thompson has even moved in the time he was gone. Hunter, eyes still closed, mutters that he had to go on a beer run yesterday, before turning on his side and falling back asleep.
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