In 2002, a new producer sought the project, and Benicio del Toro and Josh Hartnett were signed to star in the film adaptation. The second incarnation also did not move past the development stage. In 2007, producer Graham King acquired all rights to the novel and sought to film the adaptation under Warner Independent Pictures. Depp, who previously starred in the 1998 film adaptation of Thompson's novel "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", was cast as the freelance journalist Paul Kemp. Amber Heard is reported to have been preferred over Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley. Bruce Robinson joined to write the screenplay and to direct "The Rum Diary". In 2009, Depp's production company Infinitum Nihil took on the project with the financial backing of King and his production company GK Films. Principal photography began in Puerto Rico on March 25, 2009. Composer Christopher Young signed on to compose the film's soundtrack.