Things aren’t going so hot for Johnny Depp. A respected actor who became arguably the biggest movie star in the world, he’s now all but verboten in Hollywood, even kicked off of franchises mid-stream. So it’s not too surprising that, some nine months after losing his sensational libel suit, he thinks Hollywood has a full-on boycott against him.
In a new interview with the Sunday Times (as caught by Deadline), Depp discussed his latest film, Minamata — which Americans won’t be seeing any time soon. The biographical drama, in which Depp plays Time photojournalist Eugene Smith, just opened in the U.K. But the film’s director, Andrew Levitas, claims that MGM, which owns the rights, is “burying” it due to his scandals. (MGM has denied this, saying it’s still on their docket.) Depp didn’t address that claim, but he did suddenly bring up his career woes while raving about the movie.
“Some films touch people,” he said. “And this affects those in Minamata and people who experience similar things. And for anything… For Hollywood’s boycott of me? One man, one actor in an unpleasant and messy situation, over the last number of years?”
Depp reportedly trailed off after that, but he did add, “But, you know, I’m moving towards where I need to go to make all that… To bring things to light.”
What could that mean, exactly? We may find out before anyone in America sees Minamata. In the meantime, there’s only one other upcoming project on Depp’s IMDb page: an animated TV series called Puffins, in which he voices a bird named Johnny Puff.
(Via Sunday Times and Deadline)
