The trades are reporting that Aaron Eckhart is in negotiations and Richard Jenkins (currently Oscar nominated for his role in The Visitor) has signed on to The Rum Diary — based on the book by Hunter S. Thompson.
The story follows Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp), a freelance journalist and heavy drinker who moves to Puerto Rico to write for a newspaper. Eckhart would play a rich land owner named Sanderson, who attempts to show Kemp an alternative way of life. He’s involved with a woman named Chenault (played by Amber Heard), who also gets involved with Kemp, creating a good old fashioned love triangle. Richard Jenkins will play Lotterman, the head of the newspaper where Kemp works.
Hunter S. Thompson wrote the book based on his own story as a journalist who moved to San Juan to write for a newspaper. He wrote the book in 1959, but it wasn’t published until 1998.
This will be Johnny Depp’s second go-round in the world of Hunter S. Thompson — his first being Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
[Source: THR]
