Depp Will Read the ‘Rum Diary’ Next

Posted by Dr. Cole Abaius (cole.abaius@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 14, 2009

As you may know, I’ve read every book ever written. This includes Hunter S. Thompson’s “Rum Diary” – a fantastic sex-tale told in a style that Hunter somehow lost and honed after years of chasing the long, strange trip to political fear and loathing. As you may or may not know, the film adaptation of the novel has been in development hell since before Depp was swilling rum for a different franchise and Thompson was ending his own life.

Luckily, we’re seeing some movement on the project that seems to be slowly crawling out from development hell. We’re getting word from The Bad and The Ugly that casting calls are going up for the role of Chenault, a young woman who the main character, Paul Kemp, eventually grinds deep into a love triangle with. It’s a clutch role – basically a woman who heads down to San Juan to be with her lover only to fall way in over her head in a world of alcohol, confused by the prospect that her lover is a violent, dangerous man.

The casting call sheet lists a March 2009 start date.

Of course, there is still a possibility that Depp might be focusing on Shantaram, another novel project that’s been in development hell for quite some time, this time because of the writer’s strike. However, it’s looking more and more likely that Rum Diary is going to be next up on Depp’s plate.

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