Director Bruce Robinson only agreed to step behind the camera for The Rum Diary after Johnny Depp "hounded" him into taking charge.
Robinson vowed never to direct another film after 1992 flop Jennifer 8, and stuck to his word until Depp contacted him about the movie adaptation of his late pal Hunter S. Thompson's book.
And the director is delighted he overcame his reluctance to tackle the project.
He tells Total Film magazine, "The worst creative experience I've ever had in my life was working in the studio system making that f**king Jennifer 8. It was so catastrophically painful for me that I swore I would never direct a film again, and I kept my promise for 17 years.
"(Depp's) confidence in me, saying you've got to direct this - I was very reluctant and resistant to the proposition... he sort of hounded me and said you're doing it. Next thing, there he was in front of the lens and I'm doing it! I hadn't done it for so long.
"Because of the power (Depp's) got I felt very relaxed making the film and felt like I was making a great movie. Johnny seems to think that Hunter would be over the moon with it, and that does me (makes me happy)."