The ever different Johnny Depp

The delectable Johnny Depp is keeping himself VERY busy as of late. He has just signed on to channel Hunter S. Thompson once again in Warner Independent's adaptation of "The Rum Diary." Bruce Robinson will write and direct the adaptation, which Film Engine is also producing.

From Variety:

Depp will play Paul Kemp, a freelance journo writing for a rundown newspaper in 1950s Puerto Rico and surrounded by a bunch of lost souls bent on self-destruction. The journo was 22 when he wrote the autobiographical novel and had yet to develop his trademark gonzo style. It was written in 1959 but not published until 1998.

Johnny had previously starred in the bigscreen adaptation of Thompson's psychedelic-soaked adventures chronicled in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," published in 1972.
He has just finished work on "Sweeney Todd" and has already packed hi schedule with high profile films.
Next up is the fantastic Mira Nair’s adaptation of "Shantaram," the novel about an Australian drug addict who resumes his life of crime after escaping to India.
Infinitum and King are producing that project with Plan B. The novel is supposed to be brilliant, so that is something I am going to need to add to my Amazon wish list.

Depp has also announced that he wishes to make the big screen adaptation of the 1960s supernatural soap opera “Dark Shadows”. The series featured vampires, monsters, witches, werewolves, ghosts, and zombies. Depp has mentioned in interviews that he is obsessed with “Dark Shadows” and that when he was a kid he wanted to be Barnabas Collins, the vampire patriarch of the series, originally played by Jonathan Frid.

Johnny as a vampire. I am so there. I only saw a few episodes of the show, but have always had very fond memories of what I remember. Is it me, or does having Johnny attached to a film these days, carry a kind of president, like insurance that the film will be either good, or a box office success?