Jeanne Du Barry starring Johnny Depp (Photo Credit – IMDb)
The last film Johnny Depp starred in was W Eugene Smith’s Minamata. In 2022, the actor was busy with the court trial in a defamation case filed against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. The trial lasted six weeks, and Johnny won a defamation suit. Depp has been absent from movies since then. Well, his film Jeanne Du Barry is all set to release in theatres soon.
Jeanne Du Barry is cited as Johnny Depp’s comeback film after his trial ended. He has had no release for three years now. On the other hand, Amber Heard was last seen in Aquaman 2 (2023). Depp’s film was premiered during the opening of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. The Depp starrer has not got a US release date. Read more details about the same below.
Jeanne Du Barry Cast
The film stars Johnny Depp as Louis Xv,...
The last film Johnny Depp starred in was W Eugene Smith’s Minamata. In 2022, the actor was busy with the court trial in a defamation case filed against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. The trial lasted six weeks, and Johnny won a defamation suit. Depp has been absent from movies since then. Well, his film Jeanne Du Barry is all set to release in theatres soon.
Jeanne Du Barry is cited as Johnny Depp’s comeback film after his trial ended. He has had no release for three years now. On the other hand, Amber Heard was last seen in Aquaman 2 (2023). Depp’s film was premiered during the opening of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. The Depp starrer has not got a US release date. Read more details about the same below.
Jeanne Du Barry Cast
The film stars Johnny Depp as Louis Xv,...
- 3/8/2024
- by Pooja Darade
- KoiMoi
Johnny Depp has played Cannes many times, with four of his films in Competition: “Dead Man” and “Ed Wood” (both 1995), “The Brave,” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (1998), but he’s never had this much at stake on the Croisette. As the randy King Louis Xv, powdered and wigged in the opening-night Out of Competition selection “Jeanne du Barry,” Depp will begin his latest effort at career rehab.
Depp, who will be 60 in a few weeks, is well past his movie-star prime and remains in recovery from a string of court cases. Depp lost his “wife-beater” U.K. libel case against ex-wife Amber Heard in 2020, but last June he won $10 million in compensatory damages in a U.S. court. Warner Bros. paid his $16 million fee for the third “Fantastic Beasts” film, but asked him to resign from playing the role of Grindelwald in the Harry Potter franchise. (Mads Mikkelsen replaced him.
Depp, who will be 60 in a few weeks, is well past his movie-star prime and remains in recovery from a string of court cases. Depp lost his “wife-beater” U.K. libel case against ex-wife Amber Heard in 2020, but last June he won $10 million in compensatory damages in a U.S. court. Warner Bros. paid his $16 million fee for the third “Fantastic Beasts” film, but asked him to resign from playing the role of Grindelwald in the Harry Potter franchise. (Mads Mikkelsen replaced him.
- 5/16/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
A new image (seen above) of Johnny Depp as Louis Xv from his upcoming film Jeanne Du Barry has surfaced and it shows Depp in full costume.
The photo of Johnny Depp as Louis Xv in full costume, just one of many elaborate ones that Depp has worn throughout his career. A previous teaser photo showed Depp as Louis Xv in profile, his powdered makeup and wig encapsulating the era.
Directed by French actress and filmmaker Maïwenn, Jeanne Du Barry (also known as La Favorite) tells the story of “the life of Jeanne Bécu who was born as the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished seamstress in 1743 and went on to rise through the Court of Louis Xv to become his last official mistress.”
Maïwenn will co-star with Johnny Depp as the titular Jeanne Du Barry, Louis Xv’s mistress who was executed during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror.
The photo of Johnny Depp as Louis Xv in full costume, just one of many elaborate ones that Depp has worn throughout his career. A previous teaser photo showed Depp as Louis Xv in profile, his powdered makeup and wig encapsulating the era.
Directed by French actress and filmmaker Maïwenn, Jeanne Du Barry (also known as La Favorite) tells the story of “the life of Jeanne Bécu who was born as the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished seamstress in 1743 and went on to rise through the Court of Louis Xv to become his last official mistress.”
Maïwenn will co-star with Johnny Depp as the titular Jeanne Du Barry, Louis Xv’s mistress who was executed during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror.
- 11/1/2022
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Fresh off his victory in the Amber Heard defamation suit, Johnny Depp is all set to direct a movie 25 years after he made his first, a neo-Western in which he co-starred with Marlon Brando, reports Variety. Depp’s directorial debut film, ‘The Brave’ (1997), was panned by critics and it also tanked commercially.
The actor will now return behind the camera, with Al Pacino acting as producer, for ‘Modigliani’, a biographical drama about Italian artist and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani, who lived between 1884 and 1920.
It is being viewed as an attempt by Depp to restart his life after having seen Hollywood steer clear of him and being left with only European projects, notably French filmmaker Maiwenn’s upcoming film ‘Jeanne du Barry’, a historical romance drama about a royal’s concubine, in which he plays the controversial King Louis Xv, notes ‘Variety’.
‘Jeanne du Barry’ will be Depp’s first major acting...
The actor will now return behind the camera, with Al Pacino acting as producer, for ‘Modigliani’, a biographical drama about Italian artist and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani, who lived between 1884 and 1920.
It is being viewed as an attempt by Depp to restart his life after having seen Hollywood steer clear of him and being left with only European projects, notably French filmmaker Maiwenn’s upcoming film ‘Jeanne du Barry’, a historical romance drama about a royal’s concubine, in which he plays the controversial King Louis Xv, notes ‘Variety’.
‘Jeanne du Barry’ will be Depp’s first major acting...
- 8/15/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Johnny Depp is set to direct a movie for the first time in a quarter of a century.
The actor will return behind the camera for “Modigliani,” a biographical drama about Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. Al Pacino is producing the film along with Barry Navidi. In.2, the European arm of production company Infinitum Nihil, is backing the film.
Based on Dennis McIntyre’s play of the same name and adapted for screen by Jerzy and Mary Kromolowski, “Modigliani” takes place in 1916 Paris and tells the story of the Italian-born painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani. According to the film’s release, Modigliani, “long considered by himself a critical and commercial failure, navigates a turbulent and eventful 48 hours that will become a turning point in his life, ultimately solidifying his reputation as an artistic legend.”
“The saga of Mr. Modigliani’s life is one that I’m incredibly honored, and truly humbled,...
The actor will return behind the camera for “Modigliani,” a biographical drama about Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. Al Pacino is producing the film along with Barry Navidi. In.2, the European arm of production company Infinitum Nihil, is backing the film.
Based on Dennis McIntyre’s play of the same name and adapted for screen by Jerzy and Mary Kromolowski, “Modigliani” takes place in 1916 Paris and tells the story of the Italian-born painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani. According to the film’s release, Modigliani, “long considered by himself a critical and commercial failure, navigates a turbulent and eventful 48 hours that will become a turning point in his life, ultimately solidifying his reputation as an artistic legend.”
“The saga of Mr. Modigliani’s life is one that I’m incredibly honored, and truly humbled,...
- 8/15/2022
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
French filmmaker Maïwenn is teasing the first look at Johnny Depp as the controversial King Louis Xv in “Jeanne du Barry,” a historical romance drama about a royal’s concubine.
It’s Depp’s first film role since his highly publicized defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. The jury found that Heard had defamed Depp in her 2018 Washington Post opinion piece, which alluded to being a victim of domestic violence. However, the jury also found that Depp defamed Heard, through his attorney, while fighting back against her charges.
“Jeanne du Barry” started shooting at the end of July (after the trial wrapped in June) in Paris and the Île-de-France region, using landmarks like the Palace of Versailles as backdrops. Maïwenn, who also wrote the screenplay with Teddy Lussi-Modeste, is playing the title role.
The story follows Jeanne, a young working-class woman who uses her intelligence and allure to climb the social hierarchy.
It’s Depp’s first film role since his highly publicized defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. The jury found that Heard had defamed Depp in her 2018 Washington Post opinion piece, which alluded to being a victim of domestic violence. However, the jury also found that Depp defamed Heard, through his attorney, while fighting back against her charges.
“Jeanne du Barry” started shooting at the end of July (after the trial wrapped in June) in Paris and the Île-de-France region, using landmarks like the Palace of Versailles as backdrops. Maïwenn, who also wrote the screenplay with Teddy Lussi-Modeste, is playing the title role.
The story follows Jeanne, a young working-class woman who uses her intelligence and allure to climb the social hierarchy.
- 8/10/2022
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Johnny Depp’s return to acting following his defamation trial against Amber Heard is not being backed by Netflix. Bloomberg reported that the Depp-starring French movie “La Favorite” is receiving “financial backing” from Netflix, but a source close to the streaming giant told Variety this reporting is not true. Netflix is not financing the movie but has licensed the film to stream in France only after it completes the country’s 15-month theatrical window. The film is not a Netflix original.
“La Favorite” is set to star Depp as French king Louis Xv. “Mon Roi” filmmaker Maiwenn is directing the movie, which Variety reported earlier this year is filming this summer for three months at locations that include the Versailles Palace. Maiwenn is also starring in the movie as Jeanne du Barry, a countess who was Louis Xv’s last mistress.
The project is produced by Pascal Caucheteux and Gregoire Sorlat...
“La Favorite” is set to star Depp as French king Louis Xv. “Mon Roi” filmmaker Maiwenn is directing the movie, which Variety reported earlier this year is filming this summer for three months at locations that include the Versailles Palace. Maiwenn is also starring in the movie as Jeanne du Barry, a countess who was Louis Xv’s last mistress.
The project is produced by Pascal Caucheteux and Gregoire Sorlat...
- 7/7/2022
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Johnny Depp’s upcoming King Louis Xv film will stream on Netflix in France after the film’s French theatrical release, according to an individual with knowledge of the project.
“La Favorite” from director Maïwenn is set to film this summer and premiere in 2023.
Bloomberg first reported Netflix was connected to the film. However, the streamer is not co-financing the film, according to the individual who spoke to TheWrap. The film will begin streaming 15 months after its theatrical release.
Also Read:
Johnny Depp to Star as King Louis Xv in Film From French Director Maïwenn
Depp will begin shooting across France later this summer for about three months. The film is being produced by Pascal Caucheteux and Gregoire Sorlat’s Paris-based Why Not Productions. Wild Bunch International will handle international sales.
No plot or title for the film have been revealed. But King Louis Xv was known as Louis the...
“La Favorite” from director Maïwenn is set to film this summer and premiere in 2023.
Bloomberg first reported Netflix was connected to the film. However, the streamer is not co-financing the film, according to the individual who spoke to TheWrap. The film will begin streaming 15 months after its theatrical release.
Also Read:
Johnny Depp to Star as King Louis Xv in Film From French Director Maïwenn
Depp will begin shooting across France later this summer for about three months. The film is being produced by Pascal Caucheteux and Gregoire Sorlat’s Paris-based Why Not Productions. Wild Bunch International will handle international sales.
No plot or title for the film have been revealed. But King Louis Xv was known as Louis the...
- 7/7/2022
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
A lot of things helped make this past Oscars ceremony an infamous affair—the most innocuous being the addition of two online popularity contests seemingly devoid of any real checks and balances to prevent them from becoming a ballot-stuffing battle royale between fandoms. The Zack Snyder contingent (unsurprisingly) proved victorious with both, but there was an intriguing dark horse by way of the Johnny Depp-starring and -produced Minamata. Was it genuine? Who knows? Its third-place finish could have been as much about Depp stans seeking redemption for their beloved yet problematic celebrity post-Grindelwald firing as trolls looking to force the Academy into putting his name back onto their lips despite the film having an almost non-existent release. Either way, it’s become a circus attraction.
Director Andrew Levitas’ biopic had its festival premiere at Berlinale 2020 just as Covid was ramping up to shut down the world. From there came theatrical delays,...
Director Andrew Levitas’ biopic had its festival premiere at Berlinale 2020 just as Covid was ramping up to shut down the world. From there came theatrical delays,...
- 4/6/2022
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video have both pre-bought “Puffins Impossible,” a spinoff of the animated short form series “Puffins” voiced by Johnny Depp, who is reprising his role as Johnny Puff.
The 18-episode show, which is currently in production in Serbia, is being made by Andrea Iervolino and Monica Bacardi’s Ilbe outfit via their Iervolino Studios and Serbia-based company Archangel Digital Studios.
The “Puffins Impossible” showrunner is Peter Nalli, who also made “Puffins” and “Arctic Friends.” These five-minute short form series originated from feature film “Arctic Dogs,” which was released theatrically in 2019 and became popular on Netflix. Iervolino and Bacardi acquired all spin-off rights of the animated characters from the pic.
“Puffins Impossible” is being described as the action-adventure version of “Puffins,” which is about the adventures of a group of cute arctic birds with the protagonist, Johnny Puff, voiced by Depp. In the new spinoff, Johnny Puff...
The 18-episode show, which is currently in production in Serbia, is being made by Andrea Iervolino and Monica Bacardi’s Ilbe outfit via their Iervolino Studios and Serbia-based company Archangel Digital Studios.
The “Puffins Impossible” showrunner is Peter Nalli, who also made “Puffins” and “Arctic Friends.” These five-minute short form series originated from feature film “Arctic Dogs,” which was released theatrically in 2019 and became popular on Netflix. Iervolino and Bacardi acquired all spin-off rights of the animated characters from the pic.
“Puffins Impossible” is being described as the action-adventure version of “Puffins,” which is about the adventures of a group of cute arctic birds with the protagonist, Johnny Puff, voiced by Depp. In the new spinoff, Johnny Puff...
- 3/16/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
For the upcoming Oscars ceremony, the Academy is making a mindful approach to connect with consumers with their Oscars Fan Favorite poll recognized during the show’s telecast. On Monday, the Academy revealed the top 10 finalists that have received votes from utilizing the hashtag #OscarsFanFavorite or voting on OscarsFanFavorite.com.
The leaderboard includes: Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” (Netflix), Kay Cannon’s “Cinderella” (Amazon Studios), Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” (Warner Bros), James Wan’s “Malignant” (Warner Bros), Andrew Levitas’ “Minimata” (Samuel Goldwyn Films), Garth Jennings’ “Sing 2” (Illumination/Universal Pictures), Jon Watts’ “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (Sony Pictures), James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” (Warner Bros) and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Tick, Tick … Boom!” (Netflix).
Filmmakers with robust fandoms are coordinating their efforts to get their favorites recognized, including that of Zack Snyder, whose director’s cut of “Justice League” released in March 2021. Many of his fans have been...
The leaderboard includes: Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” (Netflix), Kay Cannon’s “Cinderella” (Amazon Studios), Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” (Warner Bros), James Wan’s “Malignant” (Warner Bros), Andrew Levitas’ “Minimata” (Samuel Goldwyn Films), Garth Jennings’ “Sing 2” (Illumination/Universal Pictures), Jon Watts’ “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (Sony Pictures), James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” (Warner Bros) and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Tick, Tick … Boom!” (Netflix).
Filmmakers with robust fandoms are coordinating their efforts to get their favorites recognized, including that of Zack Snyder, whose director’s cut of “Justice League” released in March 2021. Many of his fans have been...
- 3/1/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The greatest power of the photographic image is its function in affecting social change, a phenomenon that only persists and grows with the proliferation of cameras in every hand at all times. But with great power comes great responsibility, they say, a conundrum explored in Andrew Levitas’ “Minamata,” the story of legendary photojournalist W. Eugene Smith and his experiences photographing the effect of toxic mercury poisoning in Japan.
Writers Levitas, David Kessler, Stephen Deuters and Jason Forman fudge the facts just a bit to craft this biopic of Smith, played here by a grizzled Johnny Depp, and the result is something akin to “Erin Brockovich” by way of “A Private War,” with a dash of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” for flavor. (Depp’s Smith has the same fondness for accessories and methamphetamine that his Hunter S. Thompson did.)
We pick up with Smith in 1971; he’s feuding with...
Writers Levitas, David Kessler, Stephen Deuters and Jason Forman fudge the facts just a bit to craft this biopic of Smith, played here by a grizzled Johnny Depp, and the result is something akin to “Erin Brockovich” by way of “A Private War,” with a dash of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” for flavor. (Depp’s Smith has the same fondness for accessories and methamphetamine that his Hunter S. Thompson did.)
We pick up with Smith in 1971; he’s feuding with...
- 2/10/2022
- by Katie Walsh
- The Wrap
Even if you don’t know the story of heralded photographer W. Eugene Smith or the Japanese fishing village of Minamata, you are likely familiar with the photograph Tomoko and Mother in the Bath. The 1971 black-and-white photo captures Ryoko Kamimura cradling her severely deformed daughter Tomoko, a victim of Minamata disease, in a Japanese bath. The photograph was one of many featured in a 1972 issue of Life magazine depicting the horrors of the disease, a form of Mercury poisoning that was caused by industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation’s chemical factory. Smith and his wife, Aileen Mioko Smith, lived in the town from 1971 to 1973 to document the effects of Minamata disease.
Now the story of the Smiths and Minamata has been brought to the big screen by filmmaker Andrew Levitas, starring Johnny Depp as Smith, Minami as Aileen and Bill Nighy as Smith’s editor Robert Hayes. Smith is portrayed as a challenging artist,...
Now the story of the Smiths and Minamata has been brought to the big screen by filmmaker Andrew Levitas, starring Johnny Depp as Smith, Minami as Aileen and Bill Nighy as Smith’s editor Robert Hayes. Smith is portrayed as a challenging artist,...
- 2/7/2022
- by Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
Johnny Depp will star as French king Louis Xv in the next film directed by French helmer Maiwenn whose shoot will begin this summer, Variety has confirmed.
The movie, whose title and exact plot are kept under wraps, is being produced by Pascal Caucheteux and Gregoire Sorlat’s Paris-based Why Not Productions (“A Prophet”), with Wild Bunch International (“Titane”) handling world sales.
Filming will take place for three months on location across Parisian landmarks, mainly at the Versailles Palace.
Maiwenn will star as Jeanne du Barry, a countess who was Louis Xv’s last mistress.
Louis Xv, who was nicknamed “the beloved” and reigned for 59 years, the longest in the history of France after that of Louis Xiv. Paradoxically, Louis Xv died as an unpopular king after being accused of corruption and debauchery. The project was first reported by the French website Satellifax.
The American actor, who has been accused...
The movie, whose title and exact plot are kept under wraps, is being produced by Pascal Caucheteux and Gregoire Sorlat’s Paris-based Why Not Productions (“A Prophet”), with Wild Bunch International (“Titane”) handling world sales.
Filming will take place for three months on location across Parisian landmarks, mainly at the Versailles Palace.
Maiwenn will star as Jeanne du Barry, a countess who was Louis Xv’s last mistress.
Louis Xv, who was nicknamed “the beloved” and reigned for 59 years, the longest in the history of France after that of Louis Xiv. Paradoxically, Louis Xv died as an unpopular king after being accused of corruption and debauchery. The project was first reported by the French website Satellifax.
The American actor, who has been accused...
- 1/21/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Steve Schapiro, a famed photojournalist whose work covering the entertainment industry spawned enduring images of films like “The Godfather” and “Taxi Driver,” died from pancreatic cancer at his home in Chicago on Sunday evening. He was 87 years old.
Schapiro began his pursuit of photography at the age of nine, beginning by capturing New York City. He went on to live with and study under photojournalist W. Eugene Smith. During the 1960’s, Schapiro’s photographs began to appear in publications like Life, Look, Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and others.
He also produced photo-essays with a sociological emphasis, reporting on subjects like narcotics addiction, Easter in Harlem, the presidential campaign of Robert Kennedy, migrant workers and Haight-Ashbury. Schapiro also considered himself an activist, covering stories related to the Civil Rights movement, including the March on Washington and the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
In the 1970’s, Schapiro...
Schapiro began his pursuit of photography at the age of nine, beginning by capturing New York City. He went on to live with and study under photojournalist W. Eugene Smith. During the 1960’s, Schapiro’s photographs began to appear in publications like Life, Look, Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and others.
He also produced photo-essays with a sociological emphasis, reporting on subjects like narcotics addiction, Easter in Harlem, the presidential campaign of Robert Kennedy, migrant workers and Haight-Ashbury. Schapiro also considered himself an activist, covering stories related to the Civil Rights movement, including the March on Washington and the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
In the 1970’s, Schapiro...
- 1/17/2022
- by Jackson Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
Man with a Movie Camera: Levitas Aims for Noble Rendering of Horrific Toxic Waste Contamination
You’ve heard it before—corporate greed and government corruption colluding to cover up or continue the poisoning its local population for capital gain. In fact, it’s still going on right now in Flint, Michigan (to name one of several prominent contemporary examples). But director Andrew Levitas scores a major acquisition in star Johnny Depp to headline his sophomore directorial outing, Minamata, which recounts the travails of WWII photographer W. Eugene Smith, whose career was shortly revived in 1971 when he traveled to Minamata, Japan, commissioned by Life magazine to document the considerable effects of mercury poisoning on the local population due to the willful negligence of Chisso Corporation.…...
You’ve heard it before—corporate greed and government corruption colluding to cover up or continue the poisoning its local population for capital gain. In fact, it’s still going on right now in Flint, Michigan (to name one of several prominent contemporary examples). But director Andrew Levitas scores a major acquisition in star Johnny Depp to headline his sophomore directorial outing, Minamata, which recounts the travails of WWII photographer W. Eugene Smith, whose career was shortly revived in 1971 when he traveled to Minamata, Japan, commissioned by Life magazine to document the considerable effects of mercury poisoning on the local population due to the willful negligence of Chisso Corporation.…...
- 12/13/2021
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
"We need global attention." "With you, we have a better chance." Goldwyn Films has released an official US trailer for the film Minamata, made by filmmaker / artist Andrew Levitas. This originally premiered at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival last year, and has taken all this time to get released. The film tells the story of the final days and final work of famed war photographer W. Eugene Smith, played by Johnny Depp. Smith travels to Japan in the 70s where he embeds himself in a small town and documents the devastating effects of mercury poisoning in communities due to a greedy corporation dumping toxic chemicals and denying it. A powerful story about the impact of photojournalism. Also with Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Katherine Jenkins, Jun Kunimura, Lily Robinson, Ryo Kase, Akiko Iwase, Minami, plus Bill Nighy. I watched this at Berlinale and loved it, writing in my review: "there's something wondrous and yet compellingly authentic.
- 12/10/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Johnny Depp movie Minamata is finally getting a U.S. release, we can reveal, but not from MGM which had previously acquired the film.
Iervolino and Lady Bacardi Entertainment (Ilbe) are now teaming up with Samuel Goldwyn Films to give the movie a North American release in theaters beginning December 15. The platformed release is due to extend across U.S. and Canada into 2022 and the team are looking to position it for awards consideration.
This update comes after the film’s director, Andrew Levitas, complained earlier this year that MGM was “burying” Minamata due to Depp’s well publicized off-screen issues. You can read the filmmaker’s impassioned letter to the studio here. Depp also decried the non-release in an interview in August in which he said the film deserved to be seen but was shelved because he was being “boycotted” by Hollywood.
Minamata charts the true story of...
Iervolino and Lady Bacardi Entertainment (Ilbe) are now teaming up with Samuel Goldwyn Films to give the movie a North American release in theaters beginning December 15. The platformed release is due to extend across U.S. and Canada into 2022 and the team are looking to position it for awards consideration.
This update comes after the film’s director, Andrew Levitas, complained earlier this year that MGM was “burying” Minamata due to Depp’s well publicized off-screen issues. You can read the filmmaker’s impassioned letter to the studio here. Depp also decried the non-release in an interview in August in which he said the film deserved to be seen but was shelved because he was being “boycotted” by Hollywood.
Minamata charts the true story of...
- 12/1/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Legendary Television is developing a true-crime drama series about the relationship between novelist Norman Mailer and killer Jack Henry Abbott, with Boyd Holbrook set to star.
Narcos star Holbrook will play convicted murderer Abbott in Executioner, which comes from Warrior writer Anthony Tambakis and Minamata filmmaker Andew Levitas.
Set in 1981, the series follows one of the most scandalous events in New York City history, when Mailer helped get Abbott paroled from prison, leading to Abbott killing again, a nationwide manhunt, and the trial of the century in New York.
Abbott, who was serving time in prison for forgery when he stabbed another inmate to death, wrote to Mailer, who was writing about convicted killer Gary Gilmore, alleging that Gilmore was embellishing his experiences in prison. Mailer helped Abbott write In the Belly of the Beast, about life in the prison system. The Executioner’s Song author subsequently endorsed Abbott’s attempts to gain parole.
Narcos star Holbrook will play convicted murderer Abbott in Executioner, which comes from Warrior writer Anthony Tambakis and Minamata filmmaker Andew Levitas.
Set in 1981, the series follows one of the most scandalous events in New York City history, when Mailer helped get Abbott paroled from prison, leading to Abbott killing again, a nationwide manhunt, and the trial of the century in New York.
Abbott, who was serving time in prison for forgery when he stabbed another inmate to death, wrote to Mailer, who was writing about convicted killer Gary Gilmore, alleging that Gilmore was embellishing his experiences in prison. Mailer helped Abbott write In the Belly of the Beast, about life in the prison system. The Executioner’s Song author subsequently endorsed Abbott’s attempts to gain parole.
- 10/28/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Johnny Depp recently stated that he is seemingly being boycotted by Hollywood. Depp recently opened up in an interview with The Sunday Times about his standing in Hollywood. Depp’s most recent film Minamata has been released everywhere except for the United States. The film’s plot is based upon the story of W. Eugene Smith, a photographer […]
The post Johnny Depp Accuses Hollywood Of Boycotting Him appeared first on uInterview.
The post Johnny Depp Accuses Hollywood Of Boycotting Him appeared first on uInterview.
- 8/20/2021
- by Myles McPartland
- Uinterview
Today we’re pleased to bring you interviews with Johnny Depp, director Andrew Levitas and Hiroyuki Sanada and living legend Bill Nighy for Minamata. The film stars Johnny Depp as celebrated war photographer W. Eugene Smith, alongside Minami, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ryo Kase, Jun Kunimura, Bill Nighy and Katherine Jenkins.
Plot: New York, 1971. Following his celebrated days as one of the most revered photojournalists of World War II, W. Eugene Smith (Johnny Depp) has become a recluse, disconnected from society and his career. But a secret commission from Life magazine editor Robert Hayes (Bill Nighy) sends him to the Japanese coastal city of Minamata, which has been ravaged by mercury poisoning; the result of decades of gross industrial negligence by the country’s Chisso Corporation.
There, Smith immerses himself in the community, documenting their efforts to live with Minamata Disease and their passionate campaign to achieve recognition from Chisso and the Japanese government.
Plot: New York, 1971. Following his celebrated days as one of the most revered photojournalists of World War II, W. Eugene Smith (Johnny Depp) has become a recluse, disconnected from society and his career. But a secret commission from Life magazine editor Robert Hayes (Bill Nighy) sends him to the Japanese coastal city of Minamata, which has been ravaged by mercury poisoning; the result of decades of gross industrial negligence by the country’s Chisso Corporation.
There, Smith immerses himself in the community, documenting their efforts to live with Minamata Disease and their passionate campaign to achieve recognition from Chisso and the Japanese government.
- 8/19/2021
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Johnny Depp suggested that Hollywood and the U.S. entertainment industry is boycotting him in a new interview with the U.K. publication, The Sunday Times.
The interview marked Depp’s first conversation with the press since he lost a libel suit last November to another U.K. outlet, The Sun, which referred to Depp as a “wife beater” in an article about him and his ex-wife Amber Heard. Heard accused Depp of domestic violence, and the judge overseeing the libel case found that the paper’s claims that Depp...
The interview marked Depp’s first conversation with the press since he lost a libel suit last November to another U.K. outlet, The Sun, which referred to Depp as a “wife beater” in an article about him and his ex-wife Amber Heard. Heard accused Depp of domestic violence, and the judge overseeing the libel case found that the paper’s claims that Depp...
- 8/16/2021
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Johnny Depp is to receive the San Sebastian Film Festival’s (Sept 17-25) Donostia Award, its highest accolade.
The festival today described Depp as “one of contemporary cinema’s most talented and versatile actors”. The ceremony feting the U.S. star will take place on September 22 at the festival’s Kursaal Auditorium.
Depp was at the European festival last year to present Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane McGowan. He also made a fleeting appearance at the Spanish fest in 1998 with Terry Gilliam.
Recent recipients of the Donostia Award include Ethan Hawke, Sigourney Weaver, Judy Dench, Penelope Cruz and Viggo Mortensen.
The award for Depp is likely to raise some eyebrows given the high-profile and ongoing legal entanglements for the Pirates Of The Caribbean star. But San Sebastian has not been afraid to zig when others have zagged in recent years. Last year the event opened with Woody Allen’s latest film,...
The festival today described Depp as “one of contemporary cinema’s most talented and versatile actors”. The ceremony feting the U.S. star will take place on September 22 at the festival’s Kursaal Auditorium.
Depp was at the European festival last year to present Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane McGowan. He also made a fleeting appearance at the Spanish fest in 1998 with Terry Gilliam.
Recent recipients of the Donostia Award include Ethan Hawke, Sigourney Weaver, Judy Dench, Penelope Cruz and Viggo Mortensen.
The award for Depp is likely to raise some eyebrows given the high-profile and ongoing legal entanglements for the Pirates Of The Caribbean star. But San Sebastian has not been afraid to zig when others have zagged in recent years. Last year the event opened with Woody Allen’s latest film,...
- 8/9/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor Johnny Depp was photographed taking pictures in character while attending a photocall for his latest movie Minamata during 5th Bcn Film Festival’s at Casa Fuster Hotel in Barcelona. Depp plays American photojournalist W. Eugene Smith in the film, which is based on Smith’s experience documenting the effects of mercury poisoning on the citizens of […]
The post Johnny Depp Promotes New Film ‘Minamata’ In Barcelona appeared first on uInterview.
The post Johnny Depp Promotes New Film ‘Minamata’ In Barcelona appeared first on uInterview.
- 4/19/2021
- by Sarah Huffman
- Uinterview
MGM has acquired “Minamata” starring Johnny Depp that will be released by MGM’s American International Pictures (Aip) label on Feb. 5, 2021, according to an individual with knowledge of the project. Additionally, MGM also acquired all rights to “Minamata” in Canada, Germany and Switzerland
The film received its World Premiere as a Berlinale Special Gala as part of the Berlin International Film Festival 2020. Depp received some of the best reviews of his career for portraying photojournalist Eugene Smith.
Per the film’s description, inspired by a true story, Depp plays W. Eugene Smith, a war photographer from World War II, who in 1971, goes up against a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning the people of Minamata, Japan. With the glory days of World War II far behind him, Smith has become a recluse, disconnected from society and his career. But an old friend and a commission from “Life Magazine” editor Ralph Graves...
The film received its World Premiere as a Berlinale Special Gala as part of the Berlin International Film Festival 2020. Depp received some of the best reviews of his career for portraying photojournalist Eugene Smith.
Per the film’s description, inspired by a true story, Depp plays W. Eugene Smith, a war photographer from World War II, who in 1971, goes up against a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning the people of Minamata, Japan. With the glory days of World War II far behind him, Smith has become a recluse, disconnected from society and his career. But an old friend and a commission from “Life Magazine” editor Ralph Graves...
- 10/30/2020
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Johnny Depp will head to Poland next month to pick up a special acting award at the 28th edition of the Camerimage festival.
The event, running November 14-21 in the city of Torun, will close with a screening of Andrew Levitas’ Depp-starring drama Minamata, which features the actor as celebrated photographer W. Eugene Smith.
The screening will take place following the event’s Closing Gala on November 21, with Depp in town to pick up the lengthy-titled Camerimage Award to an Actor with Unique Visual Sensitivity.
The fest’s international competition line-up this year is as follows: Ammonite, The Banker, Caged Birds, Charlatan, Falling, The Glorias, Helene, Never Gonna Snow Again, Nomadland, Pinocchio, Rifkin’s Festival, and While At War.
Depp is waiting to find out on Monday (November 2) what the verdict will be in his libel battle in UK court with British tabloid newspaper The Sun.
The event, running November 14-21 in the city of Torun, will close with a screening of Andrew Levitas’ Depp-starring drama Minamata, which features the actor as celebrated photographer W. Eugene Smith.
The screening will take place following the event’s Closing Gala on November 21, with Depp in town to pick up the lengthy-titled Camerimage Award to an Actor with Unique Visual Sensitivity.
The fest’s international competition line-up this year is as follows: Ammonite, The Banker, Caged Birds, Charlatan, Falling, The Glorias, Helene, Never Gonna Snow Again, Nomadland, Pinocchio, Rifkin’s Festival, and While At War.
Depp is waiting to find out on Monday (November 2) what the verdict will be in his libel battle in UK court with British tabloid newspaper The Sun.
- 10/27/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Johnny Depp will be awarded the Camerimage Award for “an actor with unique visual sensitivity” at the EnergaCamerimage Film Festival. “Minamata,” starring Depp, will be the closing film of the 28th edition of the event, which focuses on cinematography.
Due to the pandemic, Depp will be unable to accept the award in person, but will connect to the ceremony remotely from the U.S. Depp has appeared in person at other fall festivals, including Zurich and San Sebastian, but Covid-19 levels have now risen across Europe.
The screening of “Minamata,” which was directed by Andrew Levitas and shot by cinematographer Benoît Delhomme, will take place on Nov. 21 in Toruń’s Jordanki Festival Center, following the closing gala and awards ceremony. The festival announced its competition lineup at the weekend, which includes critics’ favorites “Ammonite” and “Nomadland.”
“Minamata,” Levitas’ sophomore feature, tells the story of how war photographer W. Eugene Smith...
Due to the pandemic, Depp will be unable to accept the award in person, but will connect to the ceremony remotely from the U.S. Depp has appeared in person at other fall festivals, including Zurich and San Sebastian, but Covid-19 levels have now risen across Europe.
The screening of “Minamata,” which was directed by Andrew Levitas and shot by cinematographer Benoît Delhomme, will take place on Nov. 21 in Toruń’s Jordanki Festival Center, following the closing gala and awards ceremony. The festival announced its competition lineup at the weekend, which includes critics’ favorites “Ammonite” and “Nomadland.”
“Minamata,” Levitas’ sophomore feature, tells the story of how war photographer W. Eugene Smith...
- 10/27/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Johnny Depp will accept the Camerimage Award for an actor with unique visual sensitivity, remotely from the U.S., during the 28th EnergaCamerimage international cinematography festival from Nov. 14 to 21 in Torun, Poland.
Organizers also announced that Andrew Levitas’ sophomore feature Minamata — starring Depp as war photographer W. Eugene Smith — will be the festival’s closing night film.
“To say that Johnny Depp immersed himself completely in the role of W. Eugene Smith would be a gross understatement. He literally disappeared into his true-to-life character, making the famed photographer yet another in a series of mesmerizing performances that captured the ...
Organizers also announced that Andrew Levitas’ sophomore feature Minamata — starring Depp as war photographer W. Eugene Smith — will be the festival’s closing night film.
“To say that Johnny Depp immersed himself completely in the role of W. Eugene Smith would be a gross understatement. He literally disappeared into his true-to-life character, making the famed photographer yet another in a series of mesmerizing performances that captured the ...
- 10/27/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Johnny Depp will accept the Camerimage Award for an actor with unique visual sensitivity, remotely from the U.S., during the 28th EnergaCamerimage international cinematography festival from Nov. 14 to 21 in Torun, Poland.
Organizers also announced that Andrew Levitas’ sophomore feature Minamata — starring Depp as war photographer W. Eugene Smith — will be the festival’s closing night film.
“To say that Johnny Depp immersed himself completely in the role of W. Eugene Smith would be a gross understatement. He literally disappeared into his true-to-life character, making the famed photographer yet another in a series of mesmerizing performances that captured the ...
Organizers also announced that Andrew Levitas’ sophomore feature Minamata — starring Depp as war photographer W. Eugene Smith — will be the festival’s closing night film.
“To say that Johnny Depp immersed himself completely in the role of W. Eugene Smith would be a gross understatement. He literally disappeared into his true-to-life character, making the famed photographer yet another in a series of mesmerizing performances that captured the ...
- 10/27/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
In today’s Global Bulletin, Johnny Depp’s “Minamata and “Crock of Gold” get U.K., Ireland release; a brace of Princess Diana TV documentaries in the works; and MTV debuts short form series.
Vertigo Releasing has acquired U.K. and Ireland distribution rights from HanWay Films for Berlin Film Festival title Andrew Levitas’ “Minamata,” starring Johnny Depp, Hiroyuki Sanada, Minami and Tadanobu Asano, and will release the film Feb. 12, 2021.
Depp plays war photographer W. Eugene Smith who travels to Japan where he documents the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities.
The film was developed by Depp’s Infinitum Nihil and produced through Metalwork Pictures. Producers are Sam Sarkar, Bill Johnson, Gabrielle Tana, Kevan Van Thompson, David K. Kessler, Zach Avery, Levitas and Depp.
HanWay Films, which is overseeing international sales and distribution, has also closed deals with Eagle Pictures (Italy), Swift Distribution (France), Odeon S.A. (Greece), Films...
Vertigo Releasing has acquired U.K. and Ireland distribution rights from HanWay Films for Berlin Film Festival title Andrew Levitas’ “Minamata,” starring Johnny Depp, Hiroyuki Sanada, Minami and Tadanobu Asano, and will release the film Feb. 12, 2021.
Depp plays war photographer W. Eugene Smith who travels to Japan where he documents the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities.
The film was developed by Depp’s Infinitum Nihil and produced through Metalwork Pictures. Producers are Sam Sarkar, Bill Johnson, Gabrielle Tana, Kevan Van Thompson, David K. Kessler, Zach Avery, Levitas and Depp.
HanWay Films, which is overseeing international sales and distribution, has also closed deals with Eagle Pictures (Italy), Swift Distribution (France), Odeon S.A. (Greece), Films...
- 10/8/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Minamata, Andrew Levitas’s drama starring Johnny Depp as celebrated war photographer W. Eugene Smith, has sold around the world for HanWay Films.
Vertigo Releasing has acquired the film’s UK and Ireland rights, while the sales co has also locked deals with Eagle Pictures (Italy), Swift Distribution (France), Odeon S.A. (Greece), Films4U (Portugal), Bg Filmcilik (Turkey), Beta Film (Bulgaria), Discovery Film (former Yugoslavia), Forum Film (Poland), Exponenta Film (Cis), FrontRow Filmed Ent (Midde East), Rialto Distribution (Australia/Nz), Longride Inc (Japan), Intercontinental Films (Hong Kong), PVR (India), Shaw Organisation (Singapore), Fox Networks Group (Se Asian Pay TV), Cai Chang International (Taiwan) and M Pictures Ent (Thailand).
The film follows Smith on a secret commission from Life Magazine to the Japanese coastal city of Minamata, which has been ravaged by mercury poisoning; the result of decades of gross industrial negligence by the country’s Chisso Corporation. It premiered at Berlin earlier this year.
Vertigo Releasing has acquired the film’s UK and Ireland rights, while the sales co has also locked deals with Eagle Pictures (Italy), Swift Distribution (France), Odeon S.A. (Greece), Films4U (Portugal), Bg Filmcilik (Turkey), Beta Film (Bulgaria), Discovery Film (former Yugoslavia), Forum Film (Poland), Exponenta Film (Cis), FrontRow Filmed Ent (Midde East), Rialto Distribution (Australia/Nz), Longride Inc (Japan), Intercontinental Films (Hong Kong), PVR (India), Shaw Organisation (Singapore), Fox Networks Group (Se Asian Pay TV), Cai Chang International (Taiwan) and M Pictures Ent (Thailand).
The film follows Smith on a secret commission from Life Magazine to the Japanese coastal city of Minamata, which has been ravaged by mercury poisoning; the result of decades of gross industrial negligence by the country’s Chisso Corporation. It premiered at Berlin earlier this year.
- 10/8/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Vertigo Releasing has acquired the UK and Irish distribution rights and launched a trailer for ‘Minamata’ featuring Johnny Depp.
New York, 1971. Following his celebrated days as one of the most revered photojournalists of World War II, W. Eugene Smith (Johnny Depp) has become a recluse, disconnected from society and his career. But a secret commission from Life magazine editor Robert Hayes (Bill Nighy) sends him to the Japanese coastal city of Minamata, which has been ravaged by mercury poisoning; the result of decades of gross industrial negligence by the country’s Chisso Corporation.
There, Smith immerses himself in the community, documenting their efforts to live with Minamata Disease and their passionate campaign to achieve recognition from Chisso and the Japanese government. Armed with only his trusted camera, Smith’s images from the toxic village give the disaster a heartbreaking human dimension, and his initial assignment turns into a life-changing experience.
New York, 1971. Following his celebrated days as one of the most revered photojournalists of World War II, W. Eugene Smith (Johnny Depp) has become a recluse, disconnected from society and his career. But a secret commission from Life magazine editor Robert Hayes (Bill Nighy) sends him to the Japanese coastal city of Minamata, which has been ravaged by mercury poisoning; the result of decades of gross industrial negligence by the country’s Chisso Corporation.
There, Smith immerses himself in the community, documenting their efforts to live with Minamata Disease and their passionate campaign to achieve recognition from Chisso and the Japanese government. Armed with only his trusted camera, Smith’s images from the toxic village give the disaster a heartbreaking human dimension, and his initial assignment turns into a life-changing experience.
- 10/8/2020
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Andrew Levitas’ historical drama premiered as a Special title at the 2020 Berlinale.
HanWay Films has secured multiple key deals on Andrew Levitas’ historical drama Minamata starring Johnny Depp.
Vertigo Releasing has acquired UK and Ireland rights on the title, and is planning a theatrical release for February 12, 2021.
HanWay has also confirmed sales for Italy (Eagle Pictures), France (Swift Distribution), Greece (Odeon S.A.), Portugal (Films4U), Turkey (Bg Filmcilik), Bulgaria (Beta Film), former Yugoslavia (Discovery Film), Poland (Film Forum), Cis (Exponenta Film), Middle East (FrontRow Filmed Ent), Australia-New Zealand (Rialto Distribution), Japan (Longride Inc), Hong Kong (Intercontinental Films), India (PVR), Singapore...
HanWay Films has secured multiple key deals on Andrew Levitas’ historical drama Minamata starring Johnny Depp.
Vertigo Releasing has acquired UK and Ireland rights on the title, and is planning a theatrical release for February 12, 2021.
HanWay has also confirmed sales for Italy (Eagle Pictures), France (Swift Distribution), Greece (Odeon S.A.), Portugal (Films4U), Turkey (Bg Filmcilik), Bulgaria (Beta Film), former Yugoslavia (Discovery Film), Poland (Film Forum), Cis (Exponenta Film), Middle East (FrontRow Filmed Ent), Australia-New Zealand (Rialto Distribution), Japan (Longride Inc), Hong Kong (Intercontinental Films), India (PVR), Singapore...
- 10/8/2020
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
International distributors have focused on Minamata, the period drama, starring Johnny Depp, about the environmental disaster in Minamata, Japan in the 1970s.
HanWay Films closed deals across Europe and Asia for the film, from director Andrew Levitas, which sees Depp play real-life photojournalist W. Eugene Smith. It was Smith’s heartbreaking images of Japanese villagers suffering from mercury poisoning — the result of industrial pollution — that helped bring the story of the Minamata tragedy to the world.
Japanese actress Minami co-stars as Aileen, the Japanese activist who convinces Smith to cover the story. Bill Nighy plays Smith’s boss, Life magazine ...
HanWay Films closed deals across Europe and Asia for the film, from director Andrew Levitas, which sees Depp play real-life photojournalist W. Eugene Smith. It was Smith’s heartbreaking images of Japanese villagers suffering from mercury poisoning — the result of industrial pollution — that helped bring the story of the Minamata tragedy to the world.
Japanese actress Minami co-stars as Aileen, the Japanese activist who convinces Smith to cover the story. Bill Nighy plays Smith’s boss, Life magazine ...
- 10/8/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
International distributors have focused on Minamata, the period drama, starring Johnny Depp, about the environmental disaster in Minamata, Japan in the 1970s.
HanWay Films closed deals across Europe and Asia for the film, from director Andrew Levitas, which sees Depp play real-life photojournalist W. Eugene Smith. It was Smith’s heartbreaking images of Japanese villagers suffering from mercury poisoning — the result of industrial pollution — that helped bring the story of the Minamata tragedy to the world.
Japanese actress Minami co-stars as Aileen, the Japanese activist who convinces Smith to cover the story. Bill Nighy plays Smith’s boss, Life magazine ...
HanWay Films closed deals across Europe and Asia for the film, from director Andrew Levitas, which sees Depp play real-life photojournalist W. Eugene Smith. It was Smith’s heartbreaking images of Japanese villagers suffering from mercury poisoning — the result of industrial pollution — that helped bring the story of the Minamata tragedy to the world.
Japanese actress Minami co-stars as Aileen, the Japanese activist who convinces Smith to cover the story. Bill Nighy plays Smith’s boss, Life magazine ...
- 10/8/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"You cannot let your emotions run the show." An official international trailer has debuted for the true story drama Minamata, made by American filmmaker / artist Andrew Levitas. This originally premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, and still doesn't have a US release set yet. The film tells the story of the final days and final work of famed war photographer W. Eugene Smith, played by Johnny Depp. Smith travels back to Japan in the 70s where he embeds himself in a small town and documents the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities due to a greedy corporation dumping toxic chemicals and denying it. A powerful story about the impact of photojournalism. Also starring Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Katherine Jenkins, Jun Kunimura, Lily Robinson, Ryo Kase, Akiko Iwase, Minami, plus Bill Nighy. I watched this at Berlinale and loved it, writing in my review: "there's something...
- 10/7/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Eugene Smith was already a renowned photojournalist for his photo essays like “Country Doctor” and his coverage of World War II. But one of his most memorable essays came near the end of his career, in the 1970s, when he and his wife Aileen M. Smith profiled the residents of the Japanese fishing village Minamata, showing the effects of mercury poisoning on residents. Perhaps the most famous work, “Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath,” portrays both the horrors of the disease, as a woman bathes her deformed daughter, but also an act of pure love.
This chapter of Smith’s story has been brought to the big screen in the new film “Minamata,” which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on Feb. 21 and stars Johnny Depp (who also produced) as Eugene and Minami Hinase as Aileen Smith. Bill Nighy plays Smith’s editor at “Life,” while Hiroyuki Sanada takes on the...
This chapter of Smith’s story has been brought to the big screen in the new film “Minamata,” which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on Feb. 21 and stars Johnny Depp (who also produced) as Eugene and Minami Hinase as Aileen Smith. Bill Nighy plays Smith’s editor at “Life,” while Hiroyuki Sanada takes on the...
- 3/10/2020
- by Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
Remember when Universal Pictures hosted a disco party for Schindler's List? Of course not, because it never happened.
And the Feb. 21 party at the Berlin Film Festival for Minamata — a fact-based drama about an environmental disaster in a Japanese village in the 1970s, with Johnny Depp playing W. Eugene Smith, the Life magazine photographer who chronicled the tragedy — probably shouldn't have happened, either.
At least not the way it did.
Held in a gritty Berlin warehouse club called Arena, it was clearly intended to be a dance party, with strobe lights, a large dance floor and a ...
And the Feb. 21 party at the Berlin Film Festival for Minamata — a fact-based drama about an environmental disaster in a Japanese village in the 1970s, with Johnny Depp playing W. Eugene Smith, the Life magazine photographer who chronicled the tragedy — probably shouldn't have happened, either.
At least not the way it did.
Held in a gritty Berlin warehouse club called Arena, it was clearly intended to be a dance party, with strobe lights, a large dance floor and a ...
- 2/26/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Remember when Universal Pictures hosted a disco party for Schindler's List? Of course not, because it never happened.
And the Feb. 21 party at the Berlin Film Festival for Minamata — a fact-based drama about an environmental disaster in a Japanese village in the 1970s, with Johnny Depp playing W. Eugene Smith, the Life magazine photographer who chronicled the tragedy — probably shouldn't have happened, either.
At least not the way it did.
Held in a gritty Berlin warehouse club called Arena, it was clearly intended to be a dance party, with strobe lights, a large dance floor and a ...
And the Feb. 21 party at the Berlin Film Festival for Minamata — a fact-based drama about an environmental disaster in a Japanese village in the 1970s, with Johnny Depp playing W. Eugene Smith, the Life magazine photographer who chronicled the tragedy — probably shouldn't have happened, either.
At least not the way it did.
Held in a gritty Berlin warehouse club called Arena, it was clearly intended to be a dance party, with strobe lights, a large dance floor and a ...
- 2/26/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It is always important to shine a light on stories that remind us of the power of journalism. Not only about all the hard-working, courageous people committed to reporting the stories, but also about the impact it can have on the world. It also goes without saying that photojournalism is just as powerful, if not even moreso sometimes. One image can change the world. This is the ultimate value of this particular film, and the true story it tells. Minamata tells the story of renowned American photographer W. Eugene Smith, who went to Japan in the early 1970s to photograph the inhabitants of a small town being poisoned by a careless, greedy chemical corporation that had a dangerous factory there. It's a very moving, earnest film about the power of photography and the tenacity of journalists. And it won me over big time, unleashing all kinds of emotions. Directed by...
- 2/22/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
One of the more intriguing titles of this year’s Berlin Film Festival is the new Johnny Depp true life drama, Minamata in which Depp plays the famous Life magazine photographer W. Eugene Smith who in 1971 undertook the most challenging and important subject of his career in travelling to the small Japanese village of Minamata which had been ravaged by an outbreak of Mercury Poisoning due to gross negligence by Japan’s Chisso Corporation, the government itself, and even the Yakuza. The important and heartbreaking movie, which I caught at CAA in Los Angeles a few days ago, documents Smith’s efforts to chronicle the tragic effects of the disease and the Minamata inhabitants’ heroic efforts to fight back. As the film shows, Smith was an enormously gifted, if difficult personality, and had to practically beg a reluctant Life to give him this opportunity, but the results were eye-opening and...
- 2/21/2020
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Some stories of real-life heroism beg to be told, while films like “Minamata” fall victim to good intentions. Director Andrew Levitas’ mopey drama recounts war photographer W. Eugene Smith’s seminal expose of mercury poisoning in the eponymous Japanese fishing village, and certainly that 1972 photo essay deserves a feature-length salute.
However, Here and there, “Minamata” tells a bracing story of corporate malfeasance and bracing advocacy for the underclass, but even the occasional poignant observation can’t salvage a movie trying this hard to tug every heartstring at its disposal.
The tale of Smith’s final, crowning achievement in a storied career holds plenty of appeal in the opening act. New York, 1971: Smith’s already out of the game. Once a celebrated WWII photographer, he’s devolved into a hard-drinking cyclone of resentment and self-pity. Estranged from his adult kids and strapped for cash, he begs Life magazine editor Bob...
However, Here and there, “Minamata” tells a bracing story of corporate malfeasance and bracing advocacy for the underclass, but even the occasional poignant observation can’t salvage a movie trying this hard to tug every heartstring at its disposal.
The tale of Smith’s final, crowning achievement in a storied career holds plenty of appeal in the opening act. New York, 1971: Smith’s already out of the game. Once a celebrated WWII photographer, he’s devolved into a hard-drinking cyclone of resentment and self-pity. Estranged from his adult kids and strapped for cash, he begs Life magazine editor Bob...
- 2/21/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Johnny Depp in the role of acclaimed photojournalist W. Eugene Smith is the most fortunate thing about Minamata, the impassioned account of a real-life environmental tragedy in Japan caused by industrial negligence. The battle waged by the residents of a small coastal town, mostly fishermen and their families, to stop a chemical factory from pouring toxic waste into the sea and the fish they eat makes for a chilling tale of greed and horror, with parallels to the Erin Brockovich story. Only here, director Andrew Levitas and his co-screenwriters dramatize a riveting story using a mass of groan-worthy genre clichés ...
- 2/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Johnny Depp in the role of acclaimed photojournalist W. Eugene Smith is the most fortunate thing about Minamata, the impassioned account of a real-life environmental tragedy in Japan caused by industrial negligence. The battle waged by the residents of a small coastal town, mostly fishermen and their families, to stop a chemical factory from pouring toxic waste into the sea and the fish they eat makes for a chilling tale of greed and horror, with parallels to the Erin Brockovich story. Only here, director Andrew Levitas and his co-screenwriters dramatize a riveting story using a mass of groan-worthy genre clichés ...
- 2/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Johnny Depp is in Berlin today for the world premiere of Andrew Levitas’ Minamata. A Berlin Film Festival Special Gala Screening, the drama also stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Minami and Bill Nighy. Depp plays celebrated U.S. photographer W Eugene Smith in the true-story thriller that pits Smith against a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning the people in Minamata, Japan in 1971. It’s based on the book by the photographer and his wife Aileen Mioko Smith, and adapted by David K Kessler.
Depp is also a producer on the film and Levitas today credited the star with being the driver on the project. “Johnny is too humble to say it; this came from him. All the passion and what we were able to do in terms of pulling it together came out of Johnny’s heart and built from there, it mattered.”
For Depp, “it was almost impossible to believe” what had happened in Minamata,...
Depp is also a producer on the film and Levitas today credited the star with being the driver on the project. “Johnny is too humble to say it; this came from him. All the passion and what we were able to do in terms of pulling it together came out of Johnny’s heart and built from there, it mattered.”
For Depp, “it was almost impossible to believe” what had happened in Minamata,...
- 2/21/2020
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Johnny Depp arrived at the Berlin Film Festival Friday to support the film “Minamata,” in which he plays celebrated war photographer W. Eugene Smith. In the film, based on real events, Smith is pitted against a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning with mercury the people of Minamata in Japan in 1971.
Also in Berlin were Minami, who plays Aileen, a young Japanese woman who persuades the burned-out Smith – an alcoholic and amphetamine addict – to take on one last assignment; Bill Nighy, who plays Bob Hayes, the editor of Life magazine, Smith’s long-suffering employer; Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays local activist Mitsuo Yamazaki; and director Andrew Levitas.
At the film’s press conference, Depp said he had a “strange fascination” with Smith and his photography, which was enhanced when he “read about his life and what he went through, and experienced, and what he sacrificed to capture those photographs.”
At the start of the film,...
Also in Berlin were Minami, who plays Aileen, a young Japanese woman who persuades the burned-out Smith – an alcoholic and amphetamine addict – to take on one last assignment; Bill Nighy, who plays Bob Hayes, the editor of Life magazine, Smith’s long-suffering employer; Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays local activist Mitsuo Yamazaki; and director Andrew Levitas.
At the film’s press conference, Depp said he had a “strange fascination” with Smith and his photography, which was enhanced when he “read about his life and what he went through, and experienced, and what he sacrificed to capture those photographs.”
At the start of the film,...
- 2/21/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Johnny Depp hailed the power of film as he dropped into Berlin ahead of the world premiere of Minamata at the Berlin Film Festival on Friday.
The drama — directed by Andrew Levitas — sees Depp play celebrated war photographer W. Eugene Smith, who helped bring to public attention the shocking and deadly mercy poisoning by a powerful corporation in Japan that occurred over a 34-year period.
“Reading the story and learning the history of what happened in Minamata, the fact that it even happened at all, was very shocking,” he told a press conference. “The fact ...
The drama — directed by Andrew Levitas — sees Depp play celebrated war photographer W. Eugene Smith, who helped bring to public attention the shocking and deadly mercy poisoning by a powerful corporation in Japan that occurred over a 34-year period.
“Reading the story and learning the history of what happened in Minamata, the fact that it even happened at all, was very shocking,” he told a press conference. “The fact ...
- 2/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Johnny Depp hailed the power of film as he dropped into Berlin ahead of the world premiere of Minamata at the Berlin Film Festival on Friday.
The drama — directed by Andrew Levitas — sees Depp play celebrated war photographer W. Eugene Smith, who helped bring to public attention the shocking and deadly mercy poisoning by a powerful corporation in Japan that occurred over a 34-year period.
“Reading the story and learning the history of what happened in Minamata, the fact that it even happened at all, was very shocking,” he told a press conference. “The fact ...
The drama — directed by Andrew Levitas — sees Depp play celebrated war photographer W. Eugene Smith, who helped bring to public attention the shocking and deadly mercy poisoning by a powerful corporation in Japan that occurred over a 34-year period.
“Reading the story and learning the history of what happened in Minamata, the fact that it even happened at all, was very shocking,” he told a press conference. “The fact ...
- 2/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Other titles include Jia Zhang-ke and Jóhann Jóhannsson documentaries, and Hulu’s Hilary Clinton docuseries.
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1) has unveiled the first batch of titles for its Berlinale Special strand.
Among the new films is the world premiere of Andrew Levitas’ Minamata, which stars Johnny Depp as Life magazine photographer W. Eugene Smith. HanWay is handling sales on the project, with Hiroyuki Sanada, Minami and Bill Nighy co-starring.
Another world premiere is Agnieszka Holland’s Charlatan, which tells the true story of healer Jan Mikolasek, played by Czech star Ivan Trojan.
The section also includes world...
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1) has unveiled the first batch of titles for its Berlinale Special strand.
Among the new films is the world premiere of Andrew Levitas’ Minamata, which stars Johnny Depp as Life magazine photographer W. Eugene Smith. HanWay is handling sales on the project, with Hiroyuki Sanada, Minami and Bill Nighy co-starring.
Another world premiere is Agnieszka Holland’s Charlatan, which tells the true story of healer Jan Mikolasek, played by Czech star Ivan Trojan.
The section also includes world...
- 1/14/2020
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
“Minamata,” starring Johnny Depp, Nanette Burstein’s documentary series about Hillary Clinton, “Hillary,” and Agnieszka Holland’s “Charlatan” have been selected to play in the Berlinale Special section of the Berlin Film Festival, the event said Tuesday.
Also selected in the section are two documentary features, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s “Last and First Men,” narrated by Tilda Swinton, and Jia Zhang-ke’s “Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue.”
These five titles join Matteo Garrone “Pinocchio” in Berlinale Special, whose selection was announced last month.
Depp plays celebrated photographer W. Eugene Smith in Andrew Levitas’ “Minamata,” which follows Smith as he takes on a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning the people of Minamata, Japan, in 1971.
The film is based on Aileen Mioko Smith and W. Eugene Smith’s book “Minamata,” which has been adapted by David K. Kessler (“A Hard Day’s Day”).
HanWay Films is handling international sales on “Minamata,...
Also selected in the section are two documentary features, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s “Last and First Men,” narrated by Tilda Swinton, and Jia Zhang-ke’s “Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue.”
These five titles join Matteo Garrone “Pinocchio” in Berlinale Special, whose selection was announced last month.
Depp plays celebrated photographer W. Eugene Smith in Andrew Levitas’ “Minamata,” which follows Smith as he takes on a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning the people of Minamata, Japan, in 1971.
The film is based on Aileen Mioko Smith and W. Eugene Smith’s book “Minamata,” which has been adapted by David K. Kessler (“A Hard Day’s Day”).
HanWay Films is handling international sales on “Minamata,...
- 1/14/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
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