Arka Evren
The Rum Diary

FILM · 2011 · UK

The Rum Diary

21 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026

  • The Rum Diary — production image

14 Interesting Facts About The Rum Diary

  1. #001

    Johnny Depp and his future wife Amber Heard met for the first time while making this film. The couple became a couple in 2012, after Depp's split from his long-time partner Vanessa Paradis; they married in February 2015, separated in May 2016, and their divorce was finalized in January 2017, followed by a public court battle that reignited in 2019 when Depp sued Heard for defamation.

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  2. #002

    Johnny Depp suspended his sobriety for this film in order to experience the effects of the drinks depicted.

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  3. #003

    This marks the second time Johnny Depp appeared in a film adapted from a Hunter S. Thompson novel; the first was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).

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  4. #006

    The restaurant where Kemp and Sala are chased is called "Café Cabrónes," which roughly means "Coffee Bastards."

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  5. #008

    Bruce Robinson, who fell back into alcoholism by drinking a bottle of wine a day, did not take long to adapt the screenplay. After finishing it, he became sober again.

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  6. #009

    At one point, Benicio Del Toro was set to direct.

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  7. #012

    Benicio Del Toro, Brad Pitt, Josh Hartnett and Nick Nolte were originally planned to star.

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  8. #013

    This was the first film directed by Bruce Robinson since Jennifer 8 (1992).

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  9. #015

    According to the international maritime signal flag code, the flags on Sanderson's boat on the way to the carnival read STTHOMTP (port side) and CARNIVAL (starboard side).

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  10. #016

    Lotterman tells Paul about the kind of stories a plumber from Normal, Illinois, who saved money for 25 years, would want to read on vacation. Richard Jenkins, the actor who plays Lotterman, attended Illinois Wesleyan University in Normal, Illinois.

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  11. #018

    The newspaper is called The San Juan Star.

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  12. #019

    The car Sanderson lends to Kemp is a 1959 Corvette.

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  13. #020

    Amber Heard shares her birthday with film director John Waters, who directed Cry Baby, a film that also starred Johnny Depp.

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  14. #021

    The car Sanderson uses is a 1959 Austin Healey 3000.

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