Johnny Depp in 'The Rum Diary'
Hunter S. Thompson, the controversial novelist that passed away in 2005, detailed his wild escapades in his first novel The Rum Diary. According to Variety, Johnny Depp will play the gonzo journalist for a second time (Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas was the first). The story is about Thompson's experience with journalism, and of course drinking, in the late 1950's in Puerto Rico.
Academy Award nominee Bruce Robinson has been hired to adapt and direct Thompson's first novel. Depp handpicked Robinson, who previously wrote and directed cult film Withnail & I, Jennifer 8 and The Killing Fields. Depp had tried to enlist Robinson on several projects in the past, and this was the first time they matched up. The picture will be produced by Academy Award winner Graham King (The Departed, Blood Diamond).
Depp has wanted to work with Robinson and his quirky mind for a while now, and at last fate has brought them together. "Johnny had tried to hire Bruce four times and this was the first thing he accepted", says producer Anthony Rhulen. "Johnny is working hands on with Bruce to develop his character, and we'll worry about the rest of the cast later. So many talented actors are fans of Hunter that that part should be relatively easy."
The Rum Diary is Thompson's chronicle of journalism, drinking and carousing in Puerto Rico in the late 1950s. The adaptation began at Shooting Gallery, but Thompson drafted a memorable memo lambasting the script and those involved in developing it.
Production on the film will hopefully begin sometime after Depp wraps director Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Shantarum.