Johnny Depp to direct first film since Amber Heard trial

Johnny Depp has another big project underway after winning his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star announced Monday that he will direct and co-produce a film about Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani with Al Pacino and Barry Navidi.

“The saga of Mr. Modigliani’s life is one that I feel incredibly honored and truly humbled to bring to the screen,” Depp said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.

“It was a life of great hardship, but ultimately triumph – a universal human story with which all viewers can identify.”

This marks the Oscar nominee’s first directorial appearance in 25 years, following 1997’s “The Brave” starring himself and Marlon Brando.

Based on Dennis McIntyre’s 1980 play of the same name, ‘Modigliani’ follows the painter and sculptor during a turbulent 48 hours in Paris in 1916, when he cannot sell his work.

Production on the film is reportedly set to begin in Europe in spring 2023.

Al Pacino on a red carpet.
Al Pacino will co-produce “Modigliani” with Depp.
Getty Images

While it’s unclear whether Depp will also star in “Modigliani,” he has already landed his first acting role since winning a sensational legal victory against his ex-wife in June.

After a Virginia jury found that Heard, 36, had defamed Depp, 59, in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed about sexual assault and ordered her to pay him $15 million, the “Edward Scissorhands” star began with filming ‘Jeanne du Barry’. in which he portrays King Louis XV, in France in July.

The updates to Depp’s filmography come after his former talent agent testified in the defamation lawsuit that the actor had lost tens of millions of dollars in work as a result of Heard’s abuse allegations during their nearly two-year marriage, which ended in 2017.

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