Hunter S. Thompson’s Puerto Rico

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  05.12.09 | 4:31 PM ET

Photo by Oquendo via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Johnny Depp’s been on the Puerto Rico set of “The Rum Diary” for about a month now, and interest is building in the film, an adaptation of an early Hunter S. Thompson novel. The story follows journalist Paul Kemp (played by Depp) as he flees New York City for a small newspaper on the island, where hard drinking and treacherous expat intrigues ensue.

Galley Cat editor Jason Boog recently followed in Thompson’s—and Depp’s—footsteps, and the result is this brief, fun video mixing contemporary footage with archival clips of Hunter S. Thompson’s Puerto Rico.

(Oh, and one practical note: though I named “The Rum Diary” one of 2009’s travel movies to watch for, the release date looks to have been pushed back to 2010.)


(Video via the Boston Globe)

Tags: Audio-Video, Celebrity Travel Watch, Hunter S. Thompson, Movies, Pop Culture Travel, Caribbean, Puerto Rico, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


4 Comments for Hunter S. Thompson’s Puerto Rico

Zack 05.12.09 | 5:31 PM ET

Yup, he nailed it. The book is totally about escapism; travel; the romance of diving headfirst into the unknown.
As Jason says, not HST’s best work by far, but a tidy little travel novel nonetheless. Hope the movie can capture some of that spirit - and I expect it too. Especially given the enormous amount of primary source info Depp has from HST himself and his diaries of his time in P.R.

Sam(aresh) 05.14.09 | 8:52 AM ET

Hi EVA,

Sam(aresh) here from JourneyPacific.Com and I wanted to drop you a few line and just complement you for your interesting blog post’s in the travel’s blog :) . Will like to talk to you(through email),is this the right time to talk about or should we talk during weekends.

Sam(aresh)
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Robby G 06.01.09 | 2:08 AM ET

This is one an astonishing novel. It’s the most realist styled books I’ve ever read. The plot is fantastic and the ending is incredible. HST from a young age adds that insane, drunk, loathsome feel to his characters that simply gets more and more intense in his future works. God bless. I just hope they keep Yoemen in the film though I heard they may cut him out. He’s the best character in the god-damned thing.

Anonymous Hunter S Thompson Fan 06.09.09 | 11:20 AM ET

Should be interesting when the movie is released.  I’m not sure if it can top the book though!

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