The Rum Diary (film)
Encyclopedia
The Rum Diary is a 2011 film based on the novel of the same name
by Hunter S. Thompson
. The film is directed by Bruce Robinson
and stars Johnny Depp
. Filming began in Puerto Rico
in March 2009. It was released on October 28, 2011.
It marks Robinson's first film as director in nineteen years, his prior film being Jennifer 8, released in 1992.
) is an itinerant
journalist who grows tired of New York and America under the Eisenhower
administration and travels to Puerto Rico
to write for The San Juan Star
. Kemp begins the habit of drinking rum
and becomes obsessed with a woman named Chenault (Amber Heard
).
wrote the novel The Rum Diary
in 1961, but it was not published until 1998. The independent production companies Shooting Gallery and SPi Films sought to adapt the novel into a film in 2000, and after Bram Sheldon declined the role, actor Johnny Depp
was signed to star and to serve as executive producer. Nick Nolte
was also signed to star alongside Depp. The project did not move past the development stage. During this stage, the author became so frustrated as to fire off an obscenity-laden letter calling the process a "waterhead fuckaround".
In 2002, a new producer sought the project, and Benicio del Toro
and Josh Hartnett
were signed to star in the film adaptation. The second incarnation also did not move past the development stage. In 2007, producer Graham King
acquired all rights to the novel and sought to film the adaptation under Warner Independent Pictures
. Depp, who previously starred in the 1998 film adaptation
of Thompson's novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, was cast as the freelance journalist Paul Kemp. Amber Heard
is reported to have won the role out over Scarlett Johansson
and Keira Knightley
. Bruce Robinson
joined to write the screenplay and to direct The Rum Diary. In 2009, Depp's production company Infinitum Nihil
took on the project with the financial backing of King and his production company GK Films. Principal photography began in Puerto Rico
on March 25, 2009. Composer Christopher Young
has signed on to compose the film's soundtrack.
Robinson had been sober for six-and-a-half years before he started writing the screenplay for The Rum Diary. The filmmaker found himself suffering from writer's block
. He started drinking again, a bottle of alcohol a day until he finished the script and then he quit drinking again. He spent a year filming in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Hollywood and resisted drinking until they arrived in Fajardo. Robinson remembers, "It was 100 degrees at two in the morning and very humid. Everyone's drenched in sweat. One of the prop guys goes by with a barrow-load of ice and Corona
s. I said: 'Johnny, this doesn't mean anything.' And reached for a Corona." ... Some savage drinking took place. When I was no longer in Johnny's environment I went back to sobriety."
Rotten Tomatoes
reports that 51% of 140 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.7 out of 10. The website's consensus is, "It's colorful and amiable enough, and Depp's heart is clearly in the right place, but The Rum Diary fails to add sufficient focus to its rambling source material." Metacritic
, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 56 based on 37 reviews. CinemaScore
polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a "C" on an A+ to F scale.
Wyatt Williams, writing for Creative Loafing
, argues that "the movie version amounts to Thompson's whole vision of journalism, glossed and made plain by Hollywood."
The Rum Diary (novel)
-External links:* Totally Gonzo – The Hunter S. Thompson and Gonzo Journalism Community* at the Internet Movie Database*...
by Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
. The film is directed by Bruce Robinson
Bruce Robinson
Bruce Robinson is an English director, screenwriter, novelist and actor. He is arguably most famous for writing and directing the cult classic Withnail and I , a film with comic and tragic elements, set in London during the 1960s which drew on his experiences as 'a chronic alcoholic and resting...
and stars Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
. Filming began in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
in March 2009. It was released on October 28, 2011.
It marks Robinson's first film as director in nineteen years, his prior film being Jennifer 8, released in 1992.
Premise
Paul Kemp (Johnny DeppJohnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
) is an itinerant
Itinerant
An itinerant is a person who travels from place to place with no fixed home. The term comes from the late 16th century: from late Latin itinerant , from the verb itinerari, from Latin iter, itiner ....
journalist who grows tired of New York and America under the Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
administration and travels to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
to write for The San Juan Star
The San Juan Star
The now-defunct The San Juan Star was an English-language, Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The newspaper was published by Star Media Network, a subdivision of San Juan Star, Inc., which once owned San Juan City Magazine, El Mayagüez Star, and El Ponce Star.The...
. Kemp begins the habit of drinking rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
and becomes obsessed with a woman named Chenault (Amber Heard
Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...
).
Cast
- Johnny DeppJohnny DeppJohn Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
as Paul Kemp, a journalist for The San Juan Star - Aaron EckhartAaron EckhartAaron Edward Eckhart is an American film and stage actor. Born in California, he moved to England at the age of 13, when his father relocated the family. Several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Sydney, Australia, for his high school senior year...
as Sanderson, a businessman - Michael RispoliMichael RispoliMichael Rispoli is an American character actor. He was formerly part of the HBO television series The Sopranos as Jackie Aprile, Sr...
as Bob Sala - Amber HeardAmber HeardAmber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...
as Chenault, Sanderson's fiancée and Kemp's love interest - Richard JenkinsRichard JenkinsRichard Dale Jenkins is an American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his film debut in 1974, and appeared in supporting roles in numerous film productions in the 1980s and the 1990s. His breakthrough came in the 2000s for playing the deceased...
as Edward J. Lotterman, the editor of The San Juan Star - Giovanni RibisiGiovanni RibisiGiovanni Ribisi is an American actor. His film credits include Gone in 60 Seconds, Boiler Room, Saving Private Ryan, The Mod Squad, The Gift, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Lost in Translation and more recently, Public Enemies and Avatar...
as Moberg - Amaury NolascoAmaury NolascoAmaury Nolasco Garrido is a Puerto Rican actor, best known for the role of Fernando Sucre on the television series Prison Break, and for his role in Transformers.-Early life:...
as Segarra - Marshall BellMarshall BellArchibald Marshall Bell is an American actor. He has appeared in many character roles in movies and television. His best-known movies are probably A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge , Stand by Me , Twins and Total Recall .-Early life:He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he lived until...
as Donovan - Bill SmitrovichBill Smitrovich-Personal life:Bill Smitrovich was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna and Stanley William Zmitrowicz, a tool and die maker. Bill is a graduate of the University of Bridgeport and holds an MFA from Smith College . He is married to Shaw Purnell from Pittsburgh, PA...
as Zimburger - Julian HollowayJulian HollowayJulian Holloway is an English actor now based in Hollywood, CA, United States. He is the son of the comedy actor and singer Stanley Holloway and former chorus dancer and actress Violet Lane...
as Wolsey - Karen AustinKaren AustinKaren Austin is an American actress. Austin has made many TV and film appearances since the 1980s.-Filmography:* 1983 - The Taming of the Shrew - Katherina* 1984 - "Celebrity mini-series - Ceil Shannon...
as Mrs. Zimburger - Jason SmithJason Smith (actor)Jason Smith is an Australian actor and singer, best known for his roles in Home and Away and Power Rangers: Jungle Fury.-Career:...
as Davey
Production
Hunter S. ThompsonHunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
wrote the novel The Rum Diary
The Rum Diary (novel)
-External links:* Totally Gonzo – The Hunter S. Thompson and Gonzo Journalism Community* at the Internet Movie Database*...
in 1961, but it was not published until 1998. The independent production companies Shooting Gallery and SPi Films sought to adapt the novel into a film in 2000, and after Bram Sheldon declined the role, actor Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
was signed to star and to serve as executive producer. Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
was also signed to star alongside Depp. The project did not move past the development stage. During this stage, the author became so frustrated as to fire off an obscenity-laden letter calling the process a "waterhead fuckaround".
In 2002, a new producer sought the project, and Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
and Josh Hartnett
Josh Hartnett
Joshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...
were signed to star in the film adaptation. The second incarnation also did not move past the development stage. In 2007, producer Graham King
Graham King
Graham King, OBE is a British film producer. He is also President and CEO of Initial Entertainment Group. He is best known for his Academy Award winning 2006 crime thriller film The Departed, which was awarded the Best Picture Oscar at the 79th Academy Awards.King was appointed Officer of the...
acquired all rights to the novel and sought to film the adaptation under Warner Independent Pictures
Warner Independent Pictures
Warner Independent Pictures was the specialty division of film studio Warner Bros. Entertainment. Established in August 2003, its first release was 2004's Before Sunset...
. Depp, who previously starred in the 1998 film adaptation
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a 1998 American drama film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke and Benicio del Toro as Dr. Gonzo. It was adapted from Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel of the same name....
of Thompson's novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, was cast as the freelance journalist Paul Kemp. Amber Heard
Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...
is reported to have won the role out over Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
and Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
. Bruce Robinson
Bruce Robinson
Bruce Robinson is an English director, screenwriter, novelist and actor. He is arguably most famous for writing and directing the cult classic Withnail and I , a film with comic and tragic elements, set in London during the 1960s which drew on his experiences as 'a chronic alcoholic and resting...
joined to write the screenplay and to direct The Rum Diary. In 2009, Depp's production company Infinitum Nihil
Infinitum Nihil
Infinitum Nihil is Johnny Depp's production company which is run by his sister Christi Dembrowski. Depp founded the company in 2004 to develop projects where he will serve as actor and/or producer.The Rum Diary, based on the eponymous novel by Hunter S...
took on the project with the financial backing of King and his production company GK Films. Principal photography began in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
on March 25, 2009. Composer Christopher Young
Christopher Young
Christopher Young is an American music composer for both film and television.Many of his music compositions are for horror films, including Hellraiser, Tales from the Hood, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Urban Legend, and Drag Me to Hell...
has signed on to compose the film's soundtrack.
Robinson had been sober for six-and-a-half years before he started writing the screenplay for The Rum Diary. The filmmaker found himself suffering from writer's block
Writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
. He started drinking again, a bottle of alcohol a day until he finished the script and then he quit drinking again. He spent a year filming in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Hollywood and resisted drinking until they arrived in Fajardo. Robinson remembers, "It was 100 degrees at two in the morning and very humid. Everyone's drenched in sweat. One of the prop guys goes by with a barrow-load of ice and Corona
Corona (beer)
Corona Extra, better known as Corona and labeled as Coronita in Spain, is a brand of pale lager owned and produced by Cerveceria Modelo at a number of breweries in Mexico. It is one of the best-selling beers in Mexico and is one of the top-selling beers worldwide...
s. I said: 'Johnny, this doesn't mean anything.' And reached for a Corona." ... Some savage drinking took place. When I was no longer in Johnny's environment I went back to sobriety."
Reception
The Rum Diary received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregatorReview aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 51% of 140 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.7 out of 10. The website's consensus is, "It's colorful and amiable enough, and Depp's heart is clearly in the right place, but The Rum Diary fails to add sufficient focus to its rambling source material." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 56 based on 37 reviews. CinemaScore
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.-Background:...
polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a "C" on an A+ to F scale.
Wyatt Williams, writing for Creative Loafing
Creative Loafing
CL Inc. is the Tampa, Florida-based publisher of three city newsweeklies and their associated websites. Each of the papers focuses on local news, politics, arts and entertainment, and restaurants...
, argues that "the movie version amounts to Thompson's whole vision of journalism, glossed and made plain by Hollywood."
See also
- List of films set in Puerto Rico
- List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp