Hunter Thompson is my hero. The man and his work have played a large part in my preparations to become a journalist. (In fact as I write this I downed a 40 of Colt 45). But the father of Gonzo Journalism was also a writer by trade, so journalism was not his only outlet, fiction was also explored in his personal moments. And in 1998, The Rum Diary, was finally published. Written in 1960, the book follows Hunter’s “adventures” in Puerto Rico as a young, go-getter journalist writing for a sports magazine.

The bulk of the story however is centered around Old San Juan. Hunter loved OSJ, and in the novel he goes to great lengths detailing all of the little nuances of 1950’s OSJ…from the bars he binged in, to the sites he found to be perfect for love.

Moving on to present times. The book is getting made into a movie, and it’s cast has taken over OSJ in baffling ways. The fact that Johnny Depp is reprising his role as Hunter Thompson, (aka Paul Kemp), has caused the city to be flooded by fan girls waiting for hours on end, just to catch a peek of the Hollywood heart throb.

But that’s neither here nor there. So in the mean time: here are some pictures of the sets and cars of The Rum Diaries that I was able to take before some hired muscle came after me and tried to interrupt my journalistic impulses!

The entrance for the newspaper Paul Kemp works at

And here’s the entire building. Fun fact: This was the actual

building that the San Juan Star used as a headquarters in the 50’s!

The production logo, taken from a cargo van on set

This car was used by Paul Kemp (aka Johnny Depp)

Please excuse the blur, this was when the hired muscle came along to try and mess with me

Cop car from the movie

Please pardon the blur, harsh security strikes again, this is a sample

from the newspapers displayed on the side of the San Juan Star building

*all pics taken from Toxic_Lunch’s personal collection

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