“They’ve given us a special dispensation… to have lung cancer.” So quipped director Bruce Robinson, joining Johnny Depp and the assembled cast of this weekend’s Hunter S. Thompson adaptation The Rum Diary for a late morning presser the other week at the swanky Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. Things kicked things off, appropriately enough, with a cloud of cigar smoke that hung in the air like the ghost of Thompson himself — whom Robinson insisted was in the room, watching the entire proceedings.
Aaron Eckhart and Giovanni Ribisi also talk about writer Hunter S. Thompson’s impact on the film. By Ahsika Sanders, with reporting by Kara Warner Johnny Depp in “The Rum Diary” Photo: FilmDistrict From the first few moments of the trailer’s island music, bright colors and eye-catching castmembers, “The Rum Diary” looks like a whimsical vacation to paradise realized onscreen. Based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson during the author’s own travels to Puerto Rico in the late ’50s, the film casts “Pirates of the Caribbean” leading man Johnny Depp as the alcoholic, struggling writer-turned-journalist Paul Kemp, who struggles to find a balance between work, play and the island’s increasingly tumultuous politics. When MTV News caught up with the film’s stars, they explained how the film is a fitting tribute to Thompson’s final story, as well as to his legacy. “The whole thing is really a love letter to Hunter,” Depp said, whose friendship with Thompson led to the discovery of the late author’s unpublished manuscript and eventually the idea to make it into a film. “The film from the very inception, opening that cardboard box and finding the manuscript to ‘The Rum Diary’ and saying to Hunter, ‘What’s wrong with you? Why don’t you publish this?’ and him saying, ‘Well we should produce this,’ the chain of events that happened over the years and then us trying ignorantly to drum up the money was just a very funny experience,” Depp said of the story’s journey from page to screen. “Even though my partner is not right next to me, we’re going to still produce this film together, and ultimately we did,” Depp said of deciding to move forward with the production after Thompson’s death in 2005. “Even if his presence, if he wasn’t visible, we still produced the film together.” Aaron Eckhart stars alongside Depp in a second villainous role since his stint as Harvey “Two-Face” Dent in “The Dark Knight.” Depp’s love and passion for Thompson and his work made the film a more meaningful experience, Eckhart said. “I think that Johnny has taken up the mantle and has preserved his legacy and is now offering all those people out there who have never heard of Hunter, an opportunity to be familiar with his work,” he said. “Hunter was always there. He always had his chair, his empty chair on set with us, and Johnny and [director] Bruce [Robinson] had a ritual that they did everyday … but his spirit was always there.” “Avatar” bad guy Giovanni Ribisi added that for him, the story was about “having a voice and maintaining your independence and your individuality” and that Thompson’s perception of that ideal is universal and timely. “I think Hunter S. Thompson was such a strong factor in a time in the sixties, he was almost the fulcrum for that [time], where people were waking up,” he said. “It was about a rebellion against this capitalist structure and the mise en scene in the story. In the book you know where America is coming and really doing its thing to this beautiful culture Puerto Rico, that setting is just incredible. That for me is what it’s about. I think, as much as I hate to say it, I think it’s very apropos to today’s psychology.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Rum Diary.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Photos Cocktails Inspired By Johnny Depp’s Movies
After years of watching Johnny Depp give performances from behind thick rings of pirate eyeliner or masks of outlandish Tim Burton makeup, it’s a relief to see him, more and more often these days, acting with nothing but his real face. In Bruce Robinson’s The Rum Diary — liberally adapted from Hunter S. Thompson’s novel — Depp plays a wayfaring, hard-drinking journalist, Paul Kemp, who has drifted to Puerto Rico, circa 1960, where he lands a job at a floundering, two-bit newspaper, The San Juan Star . Its editor, played by a cigar-chomping Richard Jenkins, hires him reluctantly; never mind that he was the only person who applied for the job.
Amber Heard plays Johnny Depp’s love interest in The Rum Diary. She showed up last night to the New York premiere looking stunning in a floor-length, long-sleeved black dress.
‘You’ve heard the Lone Ranger’s story; you just haven’t heard it from this guy,’ Gore Verbinski tells MTV News. By Kara Warner Gore Verbinski Photo: MTV News Now that Disney, Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp have ironed out most of the budget kinks surrounding their production of ” The Lone Ranger ,” we can all rest easy that the masked man and his trusty sidekick Tonto are headed to the big screen soon. When MTV News caught up with Verbinski at the Hollywood Awards Gala last night, where his quirky animated film “Rango” received the Hollywood Animation Award, we asked how he was feeling about the film and what his plans are for the adaptation. “I feel great. We’re not shooting a Western in the middle of winter; the whole thing is pushed into a more reasonable time of year, so now we have to go make the movie,” Verbinski said, speaking to the film’s new May 31, 2013, release date. “There’s been a lot of talk. Hopefully in a year and a half we’ll have something we can talk about.” Verbinski went on to say that he’s been hard at work on the screenplay for two years and that the central character is not the Ranger. “It’s all built around Tonto,” he said. “You’ve heard the Lone Ranger’s story; you just haven’t heard it from this guy. He was there.” Depp has already teased that their take on the beloved duo’s western adventures will be “interesting,” to say the least. “I like the character. I think I have interesting plans for the character, and I think the film itself could be entertaining and very funny,” he said. “But also I like the idea of having the opportunity to make fun of the idea of the Indian as a sidekick — which has always been [the case] throughout the history of Hollywood. The Native American has always been a second-class, third-class, fourth-class citizen, and I don’t see Tonto that way at all. So it’s an opportunity for me to salute Native Americans.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
‘Without my fans’ support, I wouldn’t be singing the National Anthem,’ Lovato tells MTV News. By Christina Garibaldi Demi Lovato Photo: MTV News Demi Lovato is taking the field during Game 5 of the World Series to support her hometown team, the Texas Rangers. No, she won’t be suiting up and taking the mound; the “Skyscraper” songstress will be belting out the national anthem before Monday night’s (October 24) game verses the St. Louis Cardinals. “I’m so excited,” Lovato recently told MTV News of singing the “Star-Spangled Banner.” “I just nearly died when I found out. I cannot wait.” Lovato said she wouldn’t have been able to sing the national anthem at the game if it weren’t for her loyal Lovatics. She recently tweeted , “Only my lovatics could land me a spot singing the national anthem at the WORLD SERIES!!!! I couldn’t do it without you guys!!!!” So how did Lovato’s fans land her the chance to sing before her hometown crowd? “My fans were actually the ones that sent a petition saying, like, ‘Can we get Demi to sing the national anthem?’ and sent it to the MLB and the Rangers’ Twitter, and they saw it and they called,” Lovato said. “So without my fans’ support, I wouldn’t be singing the national anthem.” Now, after her performance, Lovato will be cheering on her team — but don’t ask her to pick a favorite Ranger. She is just hoping for a win. “I don’t have a favorite player,” she said. “I support my home team.” Lovato isn’t the only star to sing the national anthem at the World Series this year: “American Idol” winner Scotty McCreery and Zooey Deschanel have both lent their vocals before the big game. Are you looking forward to Demi Lovato’s patriotic performance? Let us know in the comments! Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Demi Lovato Related Photos The Evolution Of: Demi Lovato Related Artists Demi Lovato
Where does the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ baddie rank among other horror icons? We’re polling you all week to find out! By Kevin P. Sullivan Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger in “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984) Photo: New Line Cinema Get ready to scream! We’re kicking off MTV’s Killer Halloween — an in-depth competition to determine the best and scariest movie murderer — with “A Nightmare on Elm Street” baddie Freddy Krueger. Each day, we will offer up two of the fiercest competitors cinema has to offer, and we’ll ask you to rank them on their most deadly attributes. Head over to our Movies Blog poll to determine which horror icon has style to die for! We’ve already seen “Freddy vs. Jason,” so now it’s up to you to decide who wins Freddy vs. Ghostface or Jason vs. Leatherface, etc. Face your fears and check back every day this week for two new killers and another chance to decide just who is the scariest of them all! Freddy Krueger Occupation : Plant worker, school janitor (remake) Weapons : Razor fingers, dreams Arch-Enemies : Nancy Thompson, Jason Voorhees, Red Bull Profile : “One, two, Freddy’s coming for you.” With those words from a set of angelic-looking dream children, your fate is set. Freddy Krueger, the dream killer from Wes Craven’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street” series, will come at you with the unlimited power of your nightmares and not only take you out in your sleep but in the real world as well with his famous set of razor fingers. Freddy got his start in 1984 with the original “Elm Street” movie. Famously played by horror legend Robert Englund, the killer known for his burn marks was a plant worker in Springwood who murdered children in the town. (He became a school janitor in the 2010 remake.) After a legal technicality allowed Freddy to walk away from the charges without a scratch, the parents of Springwood decided to take the law into their own hands. They killed Freddy, but that didn’t stop him. Freddy returned to stalk the children of Springwood in their dreams. One by one, Freddy took his victims (including a young Johnny Depp in one particularly bloody scene), but he finally met his match in Nancy Thompson, his most famous victim. Though Craven originally conceived of Freddy as a more serious psychopath, the character’s humor came to define him in his later iteration, spouting off one-liners before taking his hapless teenage victims. The kills would take on elaborate and surreal methods. In 2003, Freddy went toe-to-toe with another ’80s horror icon, Jason Voorhees. They fought it out from Elm Street all the way to Camp Crystal Lake. The fight ended up too close to call, when Jason emerged from the water holding Freddy’s head — which winked right before the credits rolled. The remake didn’t grab hold of audiences like Freddy previously did in the 80s, but it’s never a good idea to count him out. He has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. Where do you think Freddy falls in the scope of horror-movie psychopaths? Let us know in the comments! Check out everything we’ve got on “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Photos Killer Halloween: Greatest On-Screen Villains
Since last week’s Tree of Life giveaway event was such a success, we’re staging another 10-word review contest — this time, in celebration of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides , the Johnny Depp/Penélope Cruz pirate adventure epic that gets it home release this week. So find your black pearl pen, channel your inner Captain Jack Sparrow, mix your best mermaid tear cocktail and click ahead for details.
Johnny Depp was hit at LACMA this week, attracting a bevy of fans and paparazzi fans alike to the popular museum. And this time — perhaps aided by the fact that Mr. Depp appeared to be sober — the famous actor did not trip and fall down.
