Depp was given complete access to every memento the writer saved from his 1971 trip to Las Vegas. The actor read through the writer’s notebooks (which included an unpublished chapter entitled, “The Coconut Scene,” which Gilliam placed in the film) only to realize that “the freakiest thing was that it was all real, that the reality was as insane as the book.” He rummaged through Thompson’s wardrobe at the time: Hawaiian shirts, a patchwork jacket, a safari hat, and a silver medallion given to him by Acosta. Thompson graciously allowed Depp to wear it all in the film. Thompson even let Depp borrow the red shark: the giant fire engine red convertible that the author took to Vegas, which was also used in the film.