Aaron Eckhart To Join Johnny Depp In “Rum Diary”

Aaron Eckhart and Richard Jenkins are set to join Johnny Depp in “The Rum Diary,” based on Hunter S. Thompson’s novel, which Bruce Robinson adapted and is directing.

Eckhart is in negotiations to play Sanderson while Jenkins is signed on for the movie and he will star as Lotterman. Amber Heard also is on board.

“The Rum Diary” is the tale of a hard-drinking journalist named Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) in 1950s Puerto Rico.

Sanderson, a wealthy landowner believes everything has a price and introduces Kemp to a different standard of living but ends up vying with him over the affections of Chenault (Amber Heard).

Lotterman is the man who oversees the rundown newspaper where Kemp works.

The project, which Depp, Christi Dembrowski and Graham King are producing, begins shooting March 30 in Puerto Rico.

Johnny Depp Makes “Rum Diary” His Next Film

From The Bad and the Ugly comes word that Johnny Depp’s next project may take him to 1950s Puerto Rico for an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s “The Rum Diary.”

“The Rum Diary” focuses on divorced and alcoholic novelist Paul Kemp (Depp) as he becomes involved in a complicated love triangle at the run-down newspaper in Puerto Rico where he has just been employed. Kemp is based on the late gonzo writer Thompson’s experiences as a 22-year-old.

The project has been in development for a while, with Bruce Robinson (of The Killing Fields, Jennifer Eight ) set to write and direct with a tentative start date of March.

Depp previously starred in the big screen adaptation of Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”

Depp will be seen later this year in “Public Enemies” and “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.” He will also star in Tim Burton’s new take on “Alice in Wonderland.”