The Rum Diary is another book by Hunter S Thompson that Johnny Depp is starring the filmic adaption…that was a messy sentence. Anway, I have been following the production of the film which also stars Amber Heard, Aaron Eckhart, Giovanni Ribisi and many more.
Last I heard was that it had still not been finished, but now, the delightfully wrong in a good way, Film Drunk have news of a test screening of the film and here is the review their source sent them.
I was approached by the test screener creepers who hang out after flicks, and when he said Rum Diary, I practically snatched the invitation out of his hand. I almost f*cked it up for myself though, saying I was in the industry and they weren’t gonna let me in. But then I told em I’m still but a lowly student in a documentary filmmaking class and busted out my old ID card for good amberheardmeasure, thanking my lucky stars I still hold on to that relic.
The Scoop: It’s not Fear and Loathing, but that’s OK. Depp’s rendition of a younger Hunter has all the familiarity we love, but he’s not familiar with the drugs yet, still just a boozehound, forming his greater ideals. His sidekick this time around is an alright dude [Aaron Eckhart as Sanderson, I believe. -Ed.], no Benicio that’s for damn sure. But it’s Giovanni Ribisi who steals the show*. You see in Ribisi’s degenerate, Nazi sympathizing, junkie state, the beginnings of Hunter/Kemp’s drug aspirations. His every line is quotable and his every appearance is like a surprise mugging – but by cuddly unicorns, which turns out alright in the long run. Lastly, Amber Heard is the mermaid of my dreams, but you can tell the upper brass had a field day in the cutting room, leaving all gratuitous nudity on the floor, being one of the only detriments to the film.
Sounds promising. Looking forward to seeing what they have done with the book.
French actress Astrid Bergès-Frisbey in her first English speaking role has got a place in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
She will play a beautiful mermaid according to producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Rob Marshall on Wednesday.
The film, in which Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow, begins shooting in June in Hawaii, Great Britain and Los Angeles. It’s due out for a May 20, 2011, release.
Bergès-Frisbey has appeared in such French films as “La Fille du Puisatier,” “Bruc,” “Extase,” “La Premiere Etoile” and “Un Barrage Contre le Pacifique” as well as the telefilms “La Reine Morte,” “Elles et Moi,” “Divine Emilie” and “Sur le Fil.” She has also appeared onstage at the Theatre Marigny in a production of Peter Shaffer’s “Equus.”
I am really looking forward to seeing The Rum Diary. Been ages since we heard any movement on it but looks like we’ll be seeing it soon.
Nina Saxon Design, one of the entertainment industry’s leading design production studios, specializing in main and end titles, title sequences, and animated motion graphics logos for major motion pictures, television movies and TV programs, and entertainment production companies, has completed the main title design sequences for one upcoming, and two recent, high profile feature films. The announcement was made by the company’s president, Nina Saxon, widely acknowledged for close to 30 years as one of Hollywood’s most accomplished and successful title designers.
Nina Saxon Design has completed the main title sequence for the GK Films release “The Rum Diary,” starring Johnny Depp, Amber Heard and Aaron Eckhart, based on a novel by Hunter S. Thompson. That film, from producer Graham King, is currently seeking distribution at the Cannes Film Festival. “The Rum Diary,” directed by Bruce Robinson (who also wrote the screenplay), depicts the story of Paul Kemp (Depp), a freelance journalist who finds himself at a critical turning point in his life while writing for a run-down newspaper in the Caribbean.
Regarding her title design projects, Saxon says, “I see my work as providing an introduction to a film that sets both an artistic and a thematic tone. When I do my job well, the audience is involved with the film, before the credits have even finished.”
Nina Saxon Design also completed the entire opening sequence for the recent film “The Yellow Handkerchief,” for director Udayan Prasad and producer Arthur Cohn. That film, which stars William Hurt, Maria Bello, and Kristen Stewart, presents the story of a road trip through Louisiana, which transforms three strangers, who were originally brought together by their respective feelings of loneliness.
Timothy Dalton and Steven Berkoff have joined the cast of GK Films’ romance-drama “The Tourist,” starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp according to Variety.
The film directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck also stars Paul Bettany and Rufus Sewell. It’s shooting on location in Venice and will be released by Sony.
“The Tourist,” penned by Julian Fellowes & Christopher McQuarrie and Jeffrey Nachmanoff, centers on an American tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart who pursues a romance with a woman who deliberately crosses his path. The couple are then caught in a whirlwind of intrigue and danger.
The cast for this one just keeps on getting better.
Director: Tim Burton Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas, Stephen Fry, Paul Whitehouse, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Alan Rickman
Score: 8 / 10
This review by Pamela Fruendt
What’s there to say about ALICE IN WONDERLAND? Certainly not “off with their heads!” Kudos to Linda Woolverton’s script which took the best of Lewis Carroll’s ideas and wove them together with our favorite characters into a reworked story that gave Tim Burton something to run with and run he did. Burton has created an absolutely magical, vibrant, dazzling world in ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Forget those critics who brand parts of the film too dark. Underland has been at war which, as the Mad Hatter shows, leans towards destruction. There is much light to this ALICE IN WONDERLAND. And muchness too.
Mia Wasikowska is perfect as 2010’s sweet, but nobody’s fool Alice Kingsleigh. Mia’s someone to keep your eye on in the future. Johnny Depp gives another finely nuanced performance as the Mad Hatter. His portrayal is especially poignant in that the Hatter knows something is terribly amiss with him yet carries on as best he can. As an aside…despite Depp’s protestations to the contrary, his dancing ability seems more than adequate. Futterwhacking, anyone?
Helena Bonham Carter nearly steals the film as the unloved petulant Red Queen. Anne Hathaway plays a quietly powerful Underland version of a valley-girl-type White Queen while Crispin Glover’s Knave of Hearts maintains just the right amount of distaste and admiration for the Red Queen. And I mustn’t forget Tweedledee and Tweedledum – Matt Lucas has taken such a tiny role and made it so memorable.
The animated characters from The Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) to the screaming March Hare (Paul Whitehouse) to Bayard, the adorable Bloodhound (Timothy Spall) and all those not mentioned are exquisite both in design and execution.
But what’s wrong with ALICE IN WONDERLAND? For me it was the 3D technology which I found distracting and superfluous. Avatar needed 3D…ALICE doesn’t. I’m actually looking forward to the early DVD release so I can see the film on my 42″ Sony 1080p…then I’ll be able to concentrate on the story and not 3D. But I will admit it could just be me. I may even try to find a theater without 3D to check myself.
So, go see ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Expect to see a good film with great performances. And don’t forget your futterwhacking shoes…
Have you seen Alice in Wonderlan? What did you think of it?
Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is out tomorrow so what better time to look at Mr Depp’s unique way with the English language. Vodpod videos no longer available.
Amber Heard is the lovely young lady who is on the up and up. She was in Zombieland and has a few films coming up. One of which is The Rum Diary, an adaption of Hunter S Thompson’s book starring Johnny Depp.
“Those considerable physical charms get the period-piece treatment in The Rum Diary, an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s novel. Heard literally had to be sewn into her costumes to play a woman torn between Depp and Aaron Eckhart in late 1950s Puerto Rico. “Johnny actually found the manuscript at Hunter’s house and encouraged him to publish it,” says Heard, a lifelong bookworm who was such a fan of Thompson’s writing, she wrote a letter to the film’s producers explaining why she would be perfect for the project. “Johnny cared so much, and he’s just a really down-to-earth, nice person.” Heard recalls the day Depp rescued a stray dog from the neighbourhood where they were shooting. “Well, the dog ended up being pregnant—I think it had six puppies—and then another dog we assumed to be the father showed up,” she recalls, laughing. “So now, instead of adopting one dog, he had eight, but he took care of them. He asked other people to carry one back on the plane because he had so many.”
Heard would have happily obliged but she had to jet off to the Washington set of The Ward, a mental-institution thriller directed by the man behind the original Halloween movie, John Carpenter. Though many young actors do horror films as a stepping stone to more serious films, Heard adores the genre. “With a drama, actors get very serious, like they’re always in character, and there’s something funny and pretentious about that,” says Heard, whose forays into slasher-ville include Zombieland and the upcoming And Soon the Darkness, which she also co-produced. “You can’t take yourself seriously when you’re sitting at lunch next to the person that just tried to stab you. I also like horror films because girls actually get to kick ass, instead of just being the hot girl that supports the male character.”
We’ve seen Angelina Jolie shooting The Tourist and now we have our first look at Johnny Depp. Jolie is in the background of the one below.
The film centers on a female Interpol agent (Jolie) who manages to ensnare an American tourist (Depp) in Paris to help her track down an elusive criminal, who was also her former lover.
Please pre-order the single by clicking here – http://bit.ly/bj2ieH. Or text SPELL (all in capitals) to 78789 (the text costs £1.50).
So moved by the plight of the people of Haiti, Shane and his long term girlfriend, writer Victoria Clarke made calls to friends and associates from which began the process of recording a track from which ALL proceeds go to Concern, a charity who have provided assistance to some of the poorest countries in the world including Haiti, even before the earthquake struck.
Some of the stars on the record include – Nick Cave / Bobby Gillespie / Glen Matlock / Johnny Depp / Chrissie Hynde / Paloma Faith / Eliza Doolittle.
The Rum Diary is another book by Hunter S Thompson that Johnny Depp is starring the filmic adaption…that was a messy sentence. Anway, I have been following the production of the film which also stars Amber Heard, Aaron Eckhart, Giovanni Ribisi and many more.
Live for Films 