GregoryDavidRoberts Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Depp's Shantaram Gets Some Nair Care
Filed under: Drama », Casting », Warner Brothers », Johnny Depp »
Of all the actors who are regularly mentioned on Cinematical, Johnny Depp certainly seems to be the most popular. So, I am glad to be able to give the readers another update on Depp's passion project, Shantaram, which has just acquired a new director. Indian auteur Mira Nair has signed on to the film, which is based on Gregory David Roberts' mostly autobiographical novel. Shooting is now slated to begin later this year, once Depp is done with Sweeney Todd. It has been awhile since we last heard about this film -- its formerly attached director, Peter Weir, dropped out last summer. But there were probably few worries that Depp would run out of projects to work on. Aside from Sweeney, he's also slated for The Rum Diary and maybe Rex Mundi. Plus, his production company has a number of adaptations he could star in. Still, Shantaram is the film that Depp paid $2 million for rights to, so he was probably most interested in getting it off and running again.
Artistic Differences Cost Depp a Director
Filed under: Drama », Warner Brothers », Newsstand »
Late last year, the news broke that Johnny Depp was to star in Shantaram, an Eric Roth-penned adaptation of Gregory David Roberts' novel of the same name. The novel is a story of drug addiction, armed robbery, prison and other similarly romantic subjects, and is based on Roberts' real-life experiences in Melbourne, Bombay, and Germany; it's thought that the movie will focus on Roberts' time in Bombay, where, among other things, he acted as a slum doctor and dabbled in organized crime.Reportedly driven almost entirely by Depp's passion -- it was at his urging that Warner Brother's dropped $2 million on the rights to the story -- the movie was originally to be directed by Australian helmer Peter Weir, he of Gallipoli and The Year of Living Dangerously fame (and Green Card infamy, though I admit I sorta liked it). This morning, though, Variety reported that Weir has left the project. Depending on who you believe, Weir and Depp either disagreed over the direction of the film and parted amicably, or Weir was so out in left field with his interpretation that he had no one in the studio on his side, and finally just moved on. Either way, the movie has a star and a new rewrite (which Roth penned and Weir supervised), now all the cast needs is someone to tell it what to do. The hope is that production will being next spring.
Girls on Film: Domestic Violence and Media
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Original A-Team Making Cameos in New Movie?
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Exclusive: Poster Premiere for 'Extraordinary Measures'
