Disney has made too much money at the box office to let Johnny Depp stay away from the high seas for too long. Unfortunately for fans of the swashbuckling Captain Jack Sparrow, Depp has signed on to star in two highly anticipated independent films which will take front seat to the fifth installment of the 'Pirates' saga.
Depp’s publicist announced on Thursday (February 27, 2013) that the busy A-list actor is set to star in the sci-fi film,Transcendent, which is the directorial debut of Oscar-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister.
Pfister made a name for himself working behind the camera for the visionary director, Christopher Nolan, of ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy. In fact Pfister has been Nolan’s cinematographer for every one of his films since Memento.
Black Mass, the second film is a crime thriller about the notorious Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger. Directed by Barry Levinson, the film is based on the New York Times best-seller Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob by Boston Globe reporters Dick Lehr and Gerald O’Neill.
Below's the full statement from Johnny's publicist.
Press Release from Depp’s Publicist:
LOS ANGELES (February 27, 2013) — Johnny Depp is set to star in Transcendence, the directorial debut of Oscar-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister. The film will begin principal photography in April.
The film is being financed and produced by Alcon Entertainment’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove and will be released by Warner Bros. The film will also be produced by Straight Up Films’ Annie Marter, Marisa Polvino and Kate Cohen along with David Valdes. Pfister will direct from newcomer Jack Paglen’s screenplay, which was developed with Annie Marter, with the most recent draft by Noah Oppenheim. Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas are serving as executive producers. Straight Up’s Regency Boies will co-produce.
Producers are not revealing the film’s plot.
Following Transcendence, Depp will segue into the crime thriller Black Mass, about notorious Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger, to be directed by Barry Levinson, with Jez Butterworth writing a new draft of the screenplay by Mark Mallouk, based on the New York Times best-seller Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob by Boston Globe reporters Dick Lehr and Gerald O’Neill.
Filming is beginning in early summer of 2013.
The film will be produced by Cross Creek’s Brian Oliver and Tyler Thompson along with John Lesher via his Le Grisbi Productions and Nigel Sinclair and Guy East’s Exclusive Media, with Cross Creek and Exclusive Media co-financing.
Depp will next be seen starring in Disney’s big screen adaptation of The Lone Ranger directed by Gore Verbinski and debuting July 3, 2013. The film is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Verbinski along with Depp and Christi Dembrowski’s Infinitum Nihil banner. Infinitum Nihil’s credits also include Hugo, Dark Shadows and The Rum Diary.
Depp is represented by UTA and Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal Laviolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman, LLP.’ - HollyWood News
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