THE RUM DIARY Production Notes - Visual Hollywood

THE RUM DIARY (2011)
PRODUCTION NOTES
ABOUT THE FILM
Fresh out of the Air Force and a stint as a copy boy at ―Time Magazine,‖ future Gonzo journalist
Hunter S. Thompson moved down to San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1960, briefly worked at the soonto-fold
sporting magazine ―El Sportivo,‖ and unsuccessfully pursued a job at the ―San Juan
Star.‖ The people he met and the experiences he had in Puerto Rico inspired him to write ―The
Rum Diary,‖ which remained unpublished for decades. In the 1990s, Johnny Depp, Thompson‘s
close friend, accidentally discovered the manuscript for ―The Rum Diary‖ while visiting
Thompson‘s house in Woody Creek. That same night they decided to publish the novel and adapt
it into a film. Bruce Robinson, the director of Withnail and I, was brought out of retirement by
Depp to write the script as well as direct the film. Their version of The Rum Diary is both a labor
of love and a clear-eyed tribute to Thompson.
―I felt Hunter with me throughout the shoot,‖ says Depp. ―It was great to be close to him again,
in that sense; it was great to have him around me. I knew what he would say in every
circumstance. I just knew, because I knew him very well. If he‘d seen the finished film, he‘d be
whooping. He‘d be making those Hunter noises that anyone close to Hunter knew. They meant,
‗Yes man, we‘ve done it! Fantastic!‘ He would have been celebrating. Ultimately, the film is a
celebration of Hunter, his language and his discovery of his voice. He‘d be super happy, I‘m
sure.‖
SHORT SYNOPSIS
Based on the early novel by Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary tells the increasingly unhinged
story of itinerant journalist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp). Tiring of the noise and madness of New
York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, Kemp travels to the pristine
island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, The San Juan Star, run by downtrodden
editor Lotterman (Richard Jenkins). Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon
becomes obsessed with Chenault (Amber Heard), the wildly attractive Connecticut-born fiancée
of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart). Sanderson, a businessman involved in shady property
development deals, is one of a growing number of American entrepreneurs who are determined
to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of the wealthy. When Kemp is
recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is
presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmen‘s financial benefit, or use
them to take the bastards down.
Writer/director Bruce Robinson (Academy Award® nominated screenwriter of The Killing
Fields, and director of the cult movie Withnail & I) directs from his screenplay based on the
original novel by Thompson. The Rum Diary represents the debut film of Infinitum Nihil, the
production company headed by Johnny Depp and Christi Dembrowski, together with Academy
© 2011 FilmDistrict 2