The Rum Diary, an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s first novel, has had a decade long journey to the big screen – and today, we’ve got the first photos of Depp as protagonist Paul Kemp. The film went through several directors, producers, and actors before Depp’s own production company secured the rights and brought it back on track.
While Depp’s portrayal of Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has become the stuff of legend, the two were also close friends. Thompson’s own desire to see The Rum Diary get made no doubt played a part in Depp’s resilience with the project.
The film began shooting in March of last year and although there’s still no date for a US release, it will premiere in the UK on September 24th.
In the meantime, FilmTotaal has secured the first two Rum Diary production photos.
The Rum Diary is directed by Bruce Robinson and also stars Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight), Amber Heard (Zombieland), Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar), and Richard Jenkins (Burn After Reading).
The story is set in the 1950s and follows Kemp as he abandons big city life in New York and takes a job at a small newspaper in San Juan. After arriving he becomes infatuated with a woman named Chenault (Heard). Unfortunately she’s engaged to a wealthy landowner named Sanderson (Eckhart). A complex and unusual love story unfolds and, because it’s Thompson, let’s face it – alcohol practically becomes a character in its own right.
Although Kemp is essentially a stand-in for Thompson himself (or rather how a twenty something Thompson feared he might wind up), anyone that’s read The Rum Diary can attest to the fact that it’s a very different story (and therefore film) than Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
It’s too bad there’s no official word on a US release because I’m pretty excited to see this. I’ve grown somewhat bored with Depp falling back on crazy costumes, make-up, and accents (I’m looking at you Tim Burton) so this and a film like The Tourist seem like a welcome change of pace.
Are you excited for The Rum Diary? How do you think it looks so far?
Source: FilmTotaal
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Being a huge fan of Thompson’s works, and have read The Rum Diary I think Depp with do just fine as Paul Kemp. Here’s hoping that a bit of Thompson is still in Depp somewhere. Because other then Bill Murry in Where The Buffalo Roam, Depp brought Dr. Thompson to life on the big screen in Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas! I want to see this film in the US BEFORE years end! ” We can’t stop here, this is bat country!”
Yeah I agree kind of want to watch a movie where depp uses his grownup voice…so excited for this and the tourist but I don’t want to jinx it by getting too excited so I’m calmly anticipating the US release…also considering vacationing in UK for September forget about college orientation
“Grown up Voice”? I hope you mean just a newer movie with a grownup voice and have seen his previous very well done films. If you want to see him in more traditional roles Get: (From oldest to newest. I know people won’t like all my ratings but generally I think most Depp fans will agree)
****What’s Eating Gilbert’s Grabe (also with Leonardo Dicaprio)
*****Dead Man <—-Seriously get this. Close to Fear and Loathing for me. I can't believe I don't own that.
**Nick of Time (Maybe I should make that one star… but it's ok.
**The Ninth Gate
**1/2 The Atronaut's Wife
***Sleepy Hollow (British accent though if I remember correctly – but still a grownup voice)
**1/2 Chocolat
***Blow (I know people will freak at my rating for Blow but it just wasn't that memorable for me. His performance is spectacular however.
****From Hell (British accent again. But GREAT flick.)
***1/2 Secret Window – a little predictible but good Suspense flick
****Once Upon a Time in Mexico ("As a matter of fact this food is TOO good. So I'm going to go in the back and shoot the cook to restore balance to the world" – Yeah I screwed the quote up but it's been a while
1/2 The Libertine (Really awful. I thought this was awful, but again a he played the part brilliantly. Also another Britt accent but still in a normal voice – just not midwestern.
***Sweeney Tood (though mostly singing, so this might not count on your list.
**The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (Gezzz Gilliam, what've ya done? I REALLY wanted to like this. It might deserve a third if you are really into Gilliam, the problem is…I am…
That's it for "normal voices". I know I left out a few but I mean does he even Speak in Platoon? (*****)
The big thing I want to point out to everyone here is "Dead Man". That movie is a materpiece but a lot of people would probably hate it. I happen to like the fact it's B&W, totoally symbolic and the soundtrack is completely done by Neil Young.
The Astronaut’s Wife deserves more than 2 1/2 stars. Depp is brilliant in every he does…even Secret Window…haha.
*everything
ive been waitinbg yars for this to finally come to the screen, im glad that depp pushed forward with it and never lost sight of it. i loved his potrayal of HST in Fear and Loathing, he is prettty much great in anything he does really. i wasone of the few that got HST’s little cameo in Fear and Loathing lol, it was quite brilliant
I love that part too! Where Johny is walking through like a party or something and sees himself. Great part!
i remember seeing it in the theaters, i was the only one that reacted to it lol
Yeah, that was an even more surreal moment! Weren’t they wearing the same patchwork jacket as well? It’s a few years since I’ve seen it. I know HST gave Depp that one he’s wearing.
i believe so dentist, i have the criterion dvd, im gonna watch it this weekend infact
I could do with a bit of that myself – I’ve got it staring at me on VHS right now, but my beast of a machine has started chewing tapes and I don’t think I’ll risk it!
Oh, is that DVD the one with HST’s commentary? It wasn’t until after the Fear & Loathing movie came out that I actually heard him speak on a documentary, and I remember thinking My God, Depp got him spot-on. I can imagine his commentary being…entertaining!
And weird to hear alongside Depp’s version of him.
Here’s a couple good documentarys for you first, Gonzo the life and works of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, and Second Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride. Both very good and I believe one or both are voiced over by Depp himself. It’s a damn shame that Dr. Thompson is gone.
Gonzo was brilliant. I’ll have to check out the other one, Ford – thanks for all the fish!
im gonan go out and look for those this weekend ford! thanks for the reccomendation, yeah its damn shame he is gone, but he went out the way HE wanted to go out
That’s a good point about going out in his way. He was the last person on this planet I ever thought would kill himself, but knowing a bit more about his physical condition towards the end, it made sense from his point of view. His decision. I picture him loping off into the distance “like some high-powered mutant” to hunt down Richard Nixon in the afterlife…
Well, he was in a lot of pain. And really it probably wasn’t his first choice ya know but I was thinking about it… NOTHING else seemed to be able to kill him! All the fast motorcycles, cars, drugs…..women. I guess he figured the only way it was going to happen was to do it himself. “To me if a things worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”
and maybe a reason for that is another quote of his:
“You better take care of me Lord, because if you don’t, you’re going to have *ME* on your hands!”
They are good, but I feel “Breakfast With Hunter” was by far the best. Just an opinion though.
i believe it is, i havent heard the commentary, the criterion also is 2 disks, and has a documentary about thompson, and features ralph steadman as well, its good stuff man
Cheers, anthony – I think that’ll have to be one of my next “upgrades”.
dentist, im a dvd nerd, though i still have not upgraded to blu-ray just yet. most of my dvds are deluxe editions, 2, 3, 4, 5 disk sets, i LOVE watching all the docs, behind the scenes stuff, its just as entertaining as the movies are themselves really
Completely agree – I’m a total extras anorak. Anything to do with the creative process fascinates me; I find the “making of” docs almost always enhance a film I’ve enjoyed rather than taking something away from the experience.
I just can’t see myself doing the Blu-ray thing. The way I look at it, I’m barely in the 20th century, let alone the 21st…
Off-topic, but re the docs being as entertaining as the movies, have you seen Hearts Of Darkness, about the making of Apocalypse Now? The granddaddy of them all – just as mental as the finished product!
im gonna have to check that out now, hmm gonna be a busier weekend for me i think lol
You just got me thinking…is Fear and Loathing even on Blu-ray yet? Not that this particular movie needs it, but there might be areas where you feel even more in the scene with them. I’m thinking specifically of the “we found the main nerve!” scene in Bazuko’s (sp? {sorry, very tired}) Circus.
On the Criterion Version Depp’s comentary is not nearly as entertaining as HST and Laila Nabulsi (There are three seperate commentary). They are both drunk and you can hear calling Depp and DelToro’s houses and leaving funny messages. I was suprised at the amount of negativity Hunter seemed to have toward Gilliam considering what a wonderful job he did. He was probably the only director on the planet able to do that movie. I think that was more Hunter’s just general mindset towards Hollywood and film in general though. He felt writing a much more accurate way of getting ideas through and/or getting someone’s real opinion on a topic.
The Criterion version is a great thing to own. Comes with some short illistrated writings from HST as well.
Yes they were wearing the same clothes. Actually HST was wearing “his” clothes and Depp had replicas that the studio made. Hunter thought that was cool beccause afterwards he got of bunch of “brand new” versions of his favorite clothes
Didn’t realise it was the other way round vis a vis his clothes – that’s even funnier.
Thompson being negative about Gilliam: was it more about the style of direction or what was inevitably missed out, or something else? If he was really unhappy with the film I don’t think wild horses (or wild hoses) would have been able to drag him into a studio to provide a commentary.
Thinking about it, the “crawling carpet pattern” would look a treat in Blu-ray. “Terrible scenes…”
Definitely looking forward to this. Bruce Robinson also wrote the screenplay; it needed something special to get him back into directing, and I don’t think he’d have taken the movie on unless he thought he could make a (double-thumbed) fist of it without studio interference. Withnail And I is in my all-time top 10, and I’d trust him (and Depp, who’s apparently one of the producers as well) to do Thompson justice.
What exactly do you like about “Withnail And I”? I rented it to see what it was like to see what the director of “The Rum Diary” movie was capable of and thought it was so horrible I couldn’t get past the first 1/3. I work 3rd shift and sometimes it gets very boring. I found it better to sit in silence than watch it. I know it has a big following, and perhaps I should have forged on since so many people seem to think it some sort of masterpeice. I’m not being sarcastic at all when I ask; What did you like about the movie? Maybe I should re-rent it. Convince me.
You need to stick with it till the bitter(sweet) end, Stephen. If you get through and still think it’s horrible then fair enough, but I’d be surprised if it doesn’t grow on you. It flopped when it first came out – during a time when the British film industry had pretty much ceased to exist – and it took another ten years for it to gain any kind of cult status. I don’t generally rewatch comedies that much, but this one’s the exception for me.
It’s autobiographical, condensing the squalid years Bruce Robinson spent as a struggling actor in the ’60s (he’s the Paul McGann character); a period piece where nostalgia is never once allowed to rear its ugly head, either in the complete lack of sentimentality of the writing, the authenically grubby production design, or the soundtrack. There’s not an ounce of spare flesh on it, not one extraneous or unnecessary scene. The dialogue is beautifully crafted and effortlessly delivered. Every scene without exception has a wealth of memorable lines and phrases. There’s an intrinsic honesty, and a very English strand of melancholia running from beginning to end.
Comedy perpetually teetering on the brink of tragedy. There’s a line in Pink Floyd’s “Time” – “Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way” – that sums it up quite nicely. Not to mention it contains the finest performance by a teetotaller of a drunk trying to act sober that I’ve ever seen, and Ralph Brown as Danny the dealer (and his taciturn mate Presuming Ed) is worth the price of admission alone! Likewise, I’m interested to know, what turned you off so much about it?
authenTically, even.
I am dissapointed they changed the story so much. I’m not sure what Hunter would have thought about that. He got plenty upset with “Fear and Loathing” while they were shooting it. In the end though, he claimed often it was his favorite film and watched it at least once a week. The Colonel seems like he had a very good relationship with HST so I’m sure he knows what would be okay with him more then almost anyone else. They also probably talked about it together before HST’s death. That said…I still really wish the story was staying more true to the book. Sanderson? For real? She wasn’t interested in him in the slightest. I don’t even think the two ever met in the book. She was all about Yeoman, and Yeoman was the oppotite of Sanderson. Sanderson was rich, Yeoman was a beach bum eating lobster he went out swimming to get. His house/shack/hut was on a remote part of the island. He had few posessions and no money. It doesn’t make sense to me, and being my favorite book it’s upsetting. I have no choice but to throw my trust in the extreme talent of Colonel Depp though and hope for a good outcome.
And for those of you that hope he still has a little of the good doctor. I think you can see a TON of it. Jack Sparrow was not all Keith Richards. I know Depp never said it but you can see a LOT of Hunter in Sparrow from the hand movements to the fast talking mulbed speech. I certainly saw Hunter in the Mad Hatter charactor. Hunter made a huge impression on Depp. I believe that’s a good thing. This might have sculpted the charactors he plays a bit more (notice I didn’t saw narrowed) but I really believe it made him see things a lot different and a bit of HST is an influence in all films Depp has started in since Fear and Loating.
-Mahalo
Hang on…where’s Yeoman in all of this?
I’ve read the book numerous times, and I always thought that Yeoman was the most interesting character. I did wonder if HST saw himself as both Kemp and Yeoman, with the latter being a younger, more confident version of the former.
Slightly disappointed that he’s missing.
So true! Yeoman was almost the lead role for me.. About to see this tonight. Not sure what to expect. I’m just failing to see how Sanderson and Chenault can be together in this story and it still have the same unpredictable outcome?