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i remember reading in an van sant interview about someone he was "really inspired by" and thinking "ah... that's were it comes from, i need to check that guy out" but i couldnt remember where i read it, and now since you've said its obviously jost.
the interview kinda felt like he was almost apologising for ripping him off so much.
i liked last days but i felt there was something missing in it. i've watched it like 5 times and i think the point he was going for was sort of bring your own context. like he said it was a fictional meditation. the first time i saw gerry it was great, the first few scenes i really enjoyed because i didn't know what to expect. but i wouldn't watch it again.
i enjoyed last days because it has that self indulgent/experimental spirit that kurt might have appreciated. most of the nirvana fans were expecting chase sequences werein kurt and layne staley shoot grunge crystals (heroin) to give them enough power to play mad anti solos that deafen their pursuers. it didn't give them that or any kind of heroic mythologisation (maybe a little).
but i felt there was something missing in the film. something major that should have been it there but got cut out. and in a way its almost a kinder tribute than the reality of what actually went on. kurt was way more pyschologically fucked up at that point and was literally hiding out from everyone, sneaking into peoples rooms and rearranging ornaments. he had completely lost touch with any semblance of a healthy engagement with reality and died in quite tragic and pathetic way. it wasn't some sort of ponderous existential crisis. it was something closer to a guy possibly with brain damage absolutely fried from one of the greatest binges known to america who realised his credit cards had been stopped and people were threatening to take away his money, career and child, and felt totally boxed into a corner with no way out. it was a sad sad ending to a man who was both exploited and self destructive. i've been a MASSIVE nirvana fan for years and know the details of their story pretty well and it is not something you want to imitate. its a disasterous spiral downwards.
of course that reality can't really become known because you gotta sell the senstive artist superman jesus musician angle to the kids so thankfully hollywood is going to step in and rewrite reality yet again to make some sort of romantic bullshit narrartive about "tortured genius".
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