Johnny Depp Explains How He Got Hunter S. Thompson to Publish The Rum Diary

Posted on October 13, 2011

Johnny said in 1997 he was hanging out with his friend Hunter S. Thompson and he opened up a box that had the manuscript for The Rum Diary. He said that he said Hunter probably hadn't seen the manuscript since he wrote it in the 1960s. He read it and thought it was brilliant. Johnny asked Hunter why he hadn't published it.

Hunter then suggested that the two of them make it into a movie. The story was published in 1998, but Hunter didn't live to see the film made. Johnny said he's doing the movie for Hunter.

Johnny said he and the director Bruce Robinson made a pact to stay sober during the filming, but one really hot night they broke down and had some ice cold Coronas. That was the end of the sobriety. Johnny says Hunter was not a pessimist, that he was a realist who was dealing with what exists. It's an interesting interview: