How long has it been since you saw Johnny Depp in contemporary clothes looking sauve? (I know, I know, but nobody actually watched The Tourist) Having gone from playing Hunter S. Thompson (in Terry Gilliam’s wonderfully loopy Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) to now appearing as the lead on one of Thompson’s books, The Rum Diary. I find it simply nice (and admittedly strange) to see Depp not in full make-up and oddball mode, and looking like a human being. It being a Thompson novel, I expect certainly expect shenanigans and strangeness, but no wigs, eyeliner or contact lenses for Mr. Depp. The film (like the original novel) had a few false starts before finally shooting. Giovanni Ribisi, Aaron Eckhart, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins and Marshall Bell also star. It will be released in October this year.

Paul Kemp is a freelance journalist who finds himself at a critical turning point in his life while writing for a run-down newspaper in the Caribbean. Paul is challenged on many levels as he tries to carve out a more secure niche for himself amidst a group of lost souls all bent on self-destruction.