While we’ve been pretty hard on Johnny Depp for choosing paychecks and big studio projects over more interesting if less lucrative fare, in addition to being one of the biggest stars on the planet, he’s also a parent. And with that comes the responsibility of providing for his offspring that any Mom or Dad feels. So, while Depp’s bank account could probably cancel the debt of a few small nations, when he inevitably puts on the eyepatch for “Pirates Of The Caribbean 5” (let’s face it, it’s gonna happen) he’ll be doing it with some very special people in mind.
“Basically, if they’re going to pay me the stupid money right now, I’m going to take it,” Depp candidly told Vanity Fair in their November issue. “I have to. I mean, it’s not for me. Do you know what I mean? At this point, it’s for my kids. It’s ridiculous, yeah, yeah. But ultimately is it for me? No. No. It’s for the kids.”
Though he admits to having “a part of me that needs to have this kind of stimulation to the brain” that tentpoles and blockbuster fare provide, he hasn’t turned his back on independent movies entirely. Of course, he has “The Rum Diary” arriving later this month which finds him teaming with Bruce Robinson of “Withnail & I” fame for an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson‘s book. And FilmDistrict have been doing a pretty good job getting the word out about the movie, but Depp still has a bitter taste in his mouth from another one of his smaller flicks that didn’t quite get the treatment he felt it deserved.
While it wasn’t quite a critical rave, “The Libertine” is not without its fans, and, unfortunately, the movie suffered the fate of so many Weinstein projects when they’re not sure what to do with them. Half-heartedly promoted and given a limited release, the film quickly disappeared from theaters. Harv was likely putting his Oscar eggs in the “Finding Neverland” basket that year (which hit theaters just a couple weeks before “The Libertine”), but Depp is still smarting from the film getting tossed aside. “He basically said he [fuck]ed it … He made a choice to kill it, Harvey killed a great film,” Depp told Vanity Fair. Perhaps it’s no surprise he hasn’t done a movie with the mega-producer since. And it just goes to show even the biggest actors on the planet aren’t spared the axe of Harvey Weinstein.
In any event, “The Rum Diary” won’t likely suffer the same fate when it opens on October 28th. Or if it does, it won’t be for a lack of trying.