Toxic Johnny Depp’s ‘City of Lies’ Pulled One Month Prior to Release

Johnny Depp appears in character as Gellert Grindelwald at the Warner Bros. Theatrical pan
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Johnny Depp’s latest movie, City of Lies, has been pulled just one month prior to its scheduled September 7 release date.

The movie, which also stars Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker, examines a disgraced LAPD detective, played by Depp, as he looks into the 1997 murder of rap star Notorious B.I.G., which remains unsolved.

A few factors appear to have been involved in the abrupt decision to suddenly pull a fairly big movie that was already running its trailer at theaters.

To begin with, Depp is being sued by City of Lies location manager Greg Brooks, who alleges Depp punched him twice during filming. Brooks is also suing the production company and claims he could smell alcohol on Depp’s breath during the incident.

There was also Depp’s disastrous appearance at Comic-Con late last month for the Fantastic Beasts sequel, where the 55-year-old returns as the evil wizard Grindelwald  (as of now, the sequel is still on track for its November release date, but Depp is not the star).

On top of that, you have allegations of domestic violence against Depp, and an in-depth Rolling Stone interview that was supposed to clean up Depp’s cratering image, but only made him look like an aging substance abuser who lives by night in his Hollywood mansion as he feasts off an endless supply of self pity.

Not mentioned by the left-wing Hollywood entertainment media, who all refuse to pretend such a thing could hurt an actor’s image, is Depp’s suggestion last year that an actor should assassinate President Trump.

With his Alice in Wonderland franchise doornail dead at the box office, his tired Pirates franchise gasping for air, and a long list of humiliating flops that reach back years, Depp’s career, once one of the most promising and bankable of the last 20 years, is in real trouble.

Obviously, the City of Lies producers looked at the landscape and decided the media attention that accompanies a movie going into wide release, would all focus on Depp’s personal problems, including the lawsuit involving the movie itself, and that this would kill the opening weekend.

There has been no announcement of a new release date, and the online campaign against Depp will almost certainly heat up between now and the release of the Fantastic Beasts sequel, which will be a nightmare for Warner Bros.

Depp’s projects also appear to be drying up. Other than Fantastic Beasts, there is only his uncredited role in London Fields, a small film with a troubled production history that was filmed in 2015 and stars Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard, who accused him of physical abuse. Finally, there is only Richard Says Goodbye, a drama film in which Depp stars as a college professor.

It now appears to be official: Johnny Depp is toxic.

 

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.

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