I’m excited for the release of the film, based on the book of the same name, which should be later this year (2011), sometime. The Rum Diary is probably my favourite Hunter S. Thompson book and has often accompanied me on trains, planes and automobiles. The book paints a vivid picture of the alcohol infused, volatile existence of journalist Paul Kemp, as he comes to terms with life and humidity in San Juan, Puerto Rico, having moved there from New York.
A photo of my slightly battered, bruised and well travelled copy of Hunter S. Thompson's The Rum Diary.
Filming of The Rum Diary was said to have started in 2009 and stars Johnny Depp in the lead role as Paul Kemp. Depp was a fan, follower and friend of Hunter S. Thompson and starred in the film version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. A novel of autobiographical and fantastical real life incidents hidden behind a façade of fiction. Although The Rum Diary is a similarly semi-autobiographical novel, based loosely around Thompson’s own experiences in Puerto Rico, it is much less so than Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It will be interesting to see how Depp, having portrayed the surreal character Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson’s pseudonym/alter ego voice) in Fear and Loathing, opts to play the role of Paul Kemp.
Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp, the protagonist in The Rum Diary.
It will be funny seeing faces put to names that I already know and have previously pictured in my mind. Though that’s always been the nature of book to film.
Thoughts, Therefore... 