Hunter S Thompson 's 'The Rum Diary' may never have been published - let alone made it to the big screen- had it not been for the film adaptation's star and writer's great friend Johnny Depp who found it whilst rummaging around the journalist's house.
Depp, 48, stars in 'The Rum Diary,' playing Thompson's alter-ego Paul Kemp, an American journalist who travels to the Caribbean to write for a local newspaper, finding himself swept up in a life of drink and debauchery as a result. The actor told The Arizona Republic that it was he who in fact found the manuscript for the book, which was published back in 1998, saying "I was preparing for 'Fear and Loathing', and we were in the war room (at Thompson's house) looking through boxes for the manuscript of 'Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas'.Suddenly I happened upon this other box that I broke open and, right on top there, stuffed amongst these papers, was 'The Rum Diary". The Hollywood star continued, "And I said, 'Hunter, you're insane, man, this is great writing. You need to publish this. I don't care when you wrote it. Let's publish it" Thompson had originally written it back in the 1990's.
The film hits cinemas in the U.S on Friday (28th October 2011), with the UK's Daily Mail reporting that Depp turned up to the premiere looking worse-for-wear, his bodyguards having to forcibly drag him into the screening in New York.