Amber Heard is in negotiations to play the coveted female lead opposite Johnny Depp in The Rum Diary, the adaptation of the Hunter S. Thompson novel, which Bruce Robinson is writing and directing.
“Diary” will place Heard at the front and center of a love triangle in the tale of a washed-up, hard-drinking journalist named Paul Kemp (Depp) in 1950s Puerto Rico. Heard will play Chenault, the free-spirited girlfriend of a fellow journalist who cheats on him with Kemp, trying to convince him to run away with her.
The role drew strong interest from many a leading lady (like Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley), though some had reservations regarding the nudity the role calls for. But that didn’t inhibit Heard — in the upcoming ensemble Bret Easton Ellis adaptation The Informers, she spends all but one scene in the flesh. “Diary,” however, also will offer the opportunity to showcase some dramatic chops.
The role of Sanderson, the third point in the triangle, has not been cast.
The project, which Depp, Christi Dembrowski and Graham King are producing, begins March 30 in Puerto Rico.
