BANG Showbiz English
Johnny Depp feels he is being โboycottedโ by Hollywood.
The 58-year-old actor is frustrated studio MGM are refusing to release his new movie โMinamataโ in the US and thinks the โunpleasant and messy situationโ he was in with ex-wife Amber Heard โ who accused him of domestic abuse, allegations he has denied โ has been allowed to overshadow his career.
Speaking about the movie โ which tells the tale of real-life photographer W Eugene Smith, whose photos in Life magazine exposed the mercury poisoning of Japanese villagers in the early 1970s โ he said: โWe looked these people in the eyeballs and promised we would not be exploitative. That the film would be respectful. I believe that weโve kept our end of the bargain, but those who came in later should also maintain theirs.
โSome films touch people. And this affects those in โMinamataโ and people who experience similar things. And for anything . . .For Hollywoodโs boycott of, erm, me? One man, one actor in an unpleasant and messy situation, over the last number of years?
โBut, you know, Iโm moving towards where I need to go to make all that . . . To bring things to light.โ
The movie was finished in 2019 and is the last Depp โ who was asked to step down from the โFantastic Beastsโ franchise after losing his libel trial against The Sun newspaper, who had branded him a โwife beaterโ โ has listed on industry website IMDb but he insisted his career isnโt over.
Asked if itโs his last film, he told The Sunday Times magazine: โEr . . . no. No. No. Actually, I look forward to the next few films I make to be my first films, in a way.
โBecause once youโve . . . Well, look. The way they wrote it in โThe Wizard of Ozโ is that when you see behind the curtain, itโs not him. When you see behind the curtain, thereโs a whole lot of motherf****** squished into one spot. All praying that you donโt look at them. And notice them.โ
And the โPirates of the Caribbeanโ actor is grateful he still has the support of his fans and is thankful for their vocal backing of him.
He said: โThey have always been my employers. They are all our employers. They buy tickets, merchandise. They made all of those studios rich, but they forgot that a long time ago.
โI certainly havenโt. Iโm proud of these people, because of what they are trying to say, which is the truth. The truth theyโre trying to get out since it doesnโt in more mainstream publications.
โItโs a long road that sometimes gets clunky. Sometimes just plain stupid. But they stayed on the ride with me and itโs for them I will fight. Always, to the end. Whatever it may be.โ
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