Hunter Thompson's Rum Diary trailer, starring Johnny Depp

[video link]

Johnny Depp reprises his role as Hunter S. Thompson for The Rum Diary, the good Doctor's 1959 novel that didn't see publication until 1998. (Thanks, Bob Pescovitz!)

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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Gulliver

Maybe there is a god…
http://halfbakedmaker.org Robert Baruch

Can’t… resist… the Johnny…. Depp….
- Gulliver
  
  Or Hunter S. Thompson.
Toffer99

That’s cheered up a dull day.
http://twitter.com/bigbadchang Chang Terhune

EVen if these are the only funny points in the movie – which I doubt – I will go see it. Looks amazing. Love Johnny Depp.
hughstimson

The movie treatment of Fear and Loathing followed the structure and dialogue of the book remarkably closely, and was terrific in part because of that fidelity. I can barely recognize the Rum Diary novel from the movie trailer. Seems to have been pretty thoroughly rewritten.

Don’t know if that’s a necessarily a bad thing, but presumably it is. Hunter S. needs improving?
StAlfongzo

Love HST! been waiting for this for awhile. Like him or hate em Depp always gives his best for the good Doctor.
digi_owl

Not sure if this will be best experienced sober or drunk as a skunk…
- http://www.youtube.com/user/ziccup akbar56
  
  As your lawyer I recommend you do both.
- billstewart
  
  I assume the right condition to see it in is badly hung over….
  - querent
    
    I’m gonna go with badly hungover and drinking.
http://twitter.com/BerenGoguen Beren

YES!! FINALLY
http://twitter.com/wi_ngo wingo shackleford

Loved this book; trailer looks quite promising.

I just watched the ‘Gonzo’ documentary over the weekend, and I’m here to report as Captain Obvious that HST was freaking awesome.
http://riverlaw.myopenid.com/ riverlaw

Hi hugh, I had read something about the making of this movie. They have been trying to do it a few times and its gone through a bunch of actor and script changes. HST wanted to get rid of the character yemon (don’t recall the exact name). HST had written that character in at the last minute for the book. So the movie is going to follow what HST wanted to some degree.
fungstyle

whether it’s true to the book or not, looks like it’ll be a fun flick. glad to see johnny in a role that allows him to be more than a cartoon character again.
- Ashen Victor
  
  But HST is a cartoon character!
  - fungstyle
    
    ha, touche! i’m just glad he’s not reprising his role as jack sparrow/willy wonka/the mad hatter. i’m tired of that johnny depp.
kittnkat

yay! the book was great and the movie will be wicked, I can’t wait!!!!
querent

Looks like the film will adhere to a (perhaps slightly) more serious tone than the Vegas film, as the book bespoke a more serious tone than the Vegas book.

HST was NOT a cartoon character. I imagine saying so would have gotten you kicked abruptly out of the kitchen into the Woody Creek snow. Not many friends to be found at The Tavern, I’d wager, if it was known that The Good Doctor had just kicked you out for personal offense.

Also…squeeeeeeee! Fuck yes. Been waiting for this. Anybody got word on Sean Penn/Curse of Lono? Was that just a rumor?
jonathan warren

Enough with Johnny Depp already!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QN6WUG7WMBDAGUPFVSJ6HJAS2A Darth

Looks cool! He’s a bit “Ed Woodsy” in a couple of that scenes. That means he’s returning to his quirky best form.
obeyken

Hmmm…. I get the feeling in parts of this trailer that the jokes have been “punched up” in a generic Hollywood comedy sort of way.
- http://www.appliedesoterics.com bfarn
  
  I’m staying optimistic – Trailer editors don’t understand subtlety.
  At all.
  
  It’s sheer luck that they didn’t add a SPROINGGGGG noise after the yacht joke.
http://twitter.com/whosafraidoftk TK

Correction, his role as **Paul Kemp, not HST.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376136/

The plot of Rum Diaries is fictional, whereas Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was semi-fictional/who-the-F&#%-knows-all. A little misleading since Johnny Depp could be then seen as playing HST in the Rum Diaries, according to the BB caption.
http://cocopunk.com/ andyosaurus

The book is a lot of fun but reeks of amateurish structure; there’s really no pay off to it, especially if it is distilled into a two hour screenplay. So it is inevitable that the movie adaptation needs a reworked story. Anyway! Looks fun.
http://www.dregstudios.com Brandt Hardin

I’m very anxious to see Depp embody the good doctor again! Thompson influenced the past few generations with his invention of Gonzo Journalism. His work and antics will live on to influence even more generations to come. I paid tribute to Hunter S Thompson and his work with my portrait and article on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/02/in-memoriam-hunter-s-thompson.html
http://hellsdonuthouse.com/ Hell’s Donut House

From the director of “Withnail and I” and “How to Get Ahead in Advertising”!
Josh Burns

SPROINGGGGG!
Nylund

it has been quite a while since I read The Rum Diary, but little in the trailer reminds me of what I read in the book (from what I can remember). It seems like quite a re-write.That may be not a bad thing. There was a reason it didn’t get published for so long. That being said, after seeing such flicks as the movie adaptation of great books like “Ask The Dust,” I’m weary of such things.
- juepucta
  
  The gang-bang-dance party seems to still be there. I don’t remember Chenault getting so hot and heavy with HST (or his stand-in character) though. Also how at that stage the Dr was more into booze than chemicals (the trailer has what seems to be acid/mescaline taking). This whole thing happens a good dozen years before Vegas, ten or so years before meeting Oscar – so he is a a more younger, naive, inexperience being/journalist.
  
  There is a lot of critique of the social structure (both local and foreign) that i hope will translate to the film since i think is an important point.-G,
Randal Moss

If you have never read the book read it…with a mojito and a cigar in a hammock. It is frenetic, riveting, and dirty.
Brainspore

For the longest time I’ve been thinking about putting together a chart showing each of Johnny Depp’s signature characters paired with their substance of choice (i.e. George Jung = Cocaine, Jack Sparrow = Rum, Edward Scissorhands = Heroin, etc etc.) but I could never figure how how to fit all of Thompson’s vices into one page.
Desmoine

I’m kinda disappointed he didn’t shave his head this time.
Cowicide

Johnny has come a loooooOOOOOOooooonnng way from 21 Jump Street.

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