It’s Sad to Imagine That Johnny Depp Wasn’t Expecting Any Producers to Work With Him Even After Beating Amber Heard in Court

Modì producers & Al Pacino decided to give Johnny Depp a break and invited him to direct the film amidst ugly court battle with Amber Heard.

Johnny Depp has returned to the role of a director after 27 years in the upcoming film Modì – Three Days on the Wing of Madness.

Al Pacino first approached Depp about the project in 1997 when they were filming Donnie Brasco together.

When Pacino asked him to direct the film amidst his court battle with Amber Heard, he was quite surprised.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in a still from The Rum Diary | Credits: FilmDistrict.

The Tourist actor couldn’t believe the film was happening until he landed in Hungary for the shoot.

It happened around the time when public support turned in his favor after he filed a defamation case against Heard.

Depp’s last film as a director was the 1997 film The Brave, starring him and Marlon Brando.

Johnny Depp Couldn’t Believe He Was Handed The Directorial Role Amidst Court Battle

Al Pacino and Johnny Depp in a still from Donnie Brasco | Credits: Sony Pictures Releasing.

Al Pacino was interested in a biopic based on Amedeo Modigliani since the 1970s, after being inspired by Dennis McIntyre’s play Modigliani.

Pacino discussed the script with Johnny Depp in the late 1990s during their time together on Donnie Brasco.

It was unclear what roles both actors had in the film at the time.

Depp was once again approached by Al Pacino amidst Amber Heard‘s domestic violence case against him.

It was a time when producers refused to work with him and Disney had fired him from the role in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Stephen Deuters, the CEO of the production house IN.2 Film, shared with Variety that the actor was surprised and humbled by the offer.

Deuters shared that Depp wasn’t expecting any producers to call him at the time.

The producer felt that the project Modì was something that the actor could fully immerse himself in. Deuters told Variety:

Johnny was quite surprised, humbled and a bit blown away that Al was asking him to direct this.

He wasn’t expecting anyone to ask him to direct a film at that particular moment.

We had a lot going on at the time, this was even before COVID, and we just thought it would be a really positive thing for us to do, a slightly unexpected change of direction and something that he could really throw himself into.

Reuters shared that the Transcendence actor didn’t believe his stint as a director until they began filming.

The news about Depp directing the film was revealed in August 2022 after he managed to regain his name in the Depp v. Heard defamation trial (via Deadline).

Modì Producers Say Johnny Depp Was The Right Person For The Job

Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, and Riccardo Scamarcio on the sets of Modì | Credits: IN.2 Film.

Modì co-producer Barry Navidi shared that Johnny Depp, as an artist, was the right director to bring the story of Modigliani to the screen.

Navidi shared that he was impressed after seeing Depp put his all into the project.

He shared that Al Pacino recognized him as a director with the sensibility and sensitivity of an artist.

Navidi shared with Variety:

I think John is a very sensitive artist.

He’s a painter, a musician, an actor, and an active director, which I got to witness up and close.

I was quite impressed and just loved the way he worked all the time on set.

We were, of course, thinking of several other directors before Johnny, as the project has been around for so long, but Al recognized that he was the right director because he has the sensibility and sensitivity of an artist.

Modì stars Riccardo Scamarcio in the lead role alongside Stephen Graham, Al Pacino, Antonia Desplat, Bruno Gouery, Ryan McParland, and Luisa Ranieri.

The official synopsis of the film, according to Variety, read that the film is “a seventy-two-hour whirlwind in the life of bohemian artist Amedeo Modigliani” and “follows a chaotic series of events through the streets of war-torn Paris in 1916.”.

Modì is set to premiere at the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival on September 24, 2024.