Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Will Captain Sparrow lift the curse haunting Johnny?
DAY 1: DEPP BANKS ON NEW BLOCKBUSTER
It appears Johnny may be suffering from a kind of spending disorder FORMER MANAGERS IN COURT DOCUMENTS
He became a multi-millionaire and global megastar, riding the crest of the wave in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. But it’s hard not to think Johnny Depp has been suffering from an endless sinking feeling of late, with the past two years possibly among the worst of his life. His marriage to Amber Heard started to fall apart just months after they tied the knot and, last year, he had to make a huge £5.4million divorce settlement. Already reeling from a series of box office flops, this year he became locked in a court battle with two ex-managers after vast chunks of his fortune – reportedly as much as £500million – disappeared. The star could be forgiven for thinking he was cursed, like the pirates earlier in the hit film franchise. But with the release of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, he must be hoping to break it as he reprises his stand-out character, Captain Jack Sparrow. It isn’t blind hope either. The fifth instalment is virtually guaranteed to be a blockbuster and could be just the thing to restore his tarnished reputation. And since he reportedly earned a total of £230million for the first four movies, it would also top up his depleted bank balance. As he has been promoting the new movie, out this week, it sounds like playing Jack has made Johnny, 53, realise he can no longer live a lifestyle that seems more like someone experiencing a midlife crisis. “Jack’s kind of an addiction for me... a character that does things that I could never do,” the actor said. “He’s such a safe character to play for me. “It’s safe in the sense that when you’re in that headspace I can be as irreverent and as ignorant and as stupid... I can do the dumbest things in the world and people giggle.” But the dramas that have dogged Johnny in real life are no laughing matter. He’s currently suing ex-managers Joel and Robert Mandel, of TMG, to the tune of £19million for allegedly mismanaging his finances. He fired them last year, and this year started legal action claiming they cost him tens of millions and left him £31million in
debt. But TMG, which is counter-suing for unpaid commission, claims he was simply spending money at the hardto-imagine rate of £1.5million a month. Johnny reportedly owns 14 homes around the globe, ranging from a chateau in the South of France to a base in Hollywood. The portfolio of properties – which cost up to £46million each – even includes a chain of islands in the Bahamas. The walls of his homes are said to be adorned with paintings by top artists, including a piece specially created by Britain’s Banksy. TMG said: “It appears Johnny may suffer from a compulsive spending disorder.”but in a recent interview the star fired back: “Why didn’t they drop me as a client if my spending was so out of control? “I’ve worked very, very hard for a lot of years and trusted a lot of people – some who’ve clearly let me down.” Johnny has already had to make substantial payments to his ex-partner, French singer Vanessa Paradis, 44, and their children, Lily-rose, 17 and Jack, 15, after they split. In 2011 he said of his huge earnings: “If they’re going to pay me the stupid money right now, I’m going to take it. It’s not for me, it’s for my kids.” But last month he sounded a different note. “It’s my money. If I want to buy 15,000 cotton balls a day, it’s my thing,” he told the Wall Street Journal. There were claims of some seriously OTT splurges, however... They ranged from £23,000 a month on wine to a £2.3million cannon to fire the ashes of his friend, the late author Hunter S Thompson, across Aspen, Colorado. TMG also highlighted one of his most embarrassing outlays... “He spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to employ a full-time sound engineer, who Johnny has used for years to feed him lines,” it said. The firm claims that during the time it represented him he raked in around £500million in earnings. But in recent years it alleges the cash just wasn’t there to pay the huge bills.
Johnny’s bankability was called into serious question after a series of flops, including Dark Shadows, Mortdecai, Alice Through the Looking Glass and The Lone Ranger. But while his finances were facing uncertainty, his public image was about to take an even greater battering. A matter of months after marrying Amber Heard – a model 22 years his junior – in February 2015, they hit stormy waters. The signs were there as he collected an award in January last year, when he thanked: “My wife Amber for putting up with me, for living with all these characters, which can’t be easy.” In May, Amber started divorce proceedings and things turned nasty. She got a temporary restraining order, claiming he’d abused her and provided photos of her battered face. Johnny’s lawyers claimed she was “attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse”. The couple eventually reached the divorce settlement in August. Amber dismissed her restraining order and, in a joint statement, they said: “Our relationship was intensely passionate and, at times, volatile but always bound by love.” The breakdown of his marriage is also believed to have affected the creation of the new Pirates film. It had been troubled from the start. The script had to be rewritten, the release dates were put back twice and filming, which began in February 2015, was hit by a tropical cyclone. And in March 2015 shooting all but stopped for four weeks when Johnny suffered a hand injury. The movie eventually cost £246million – £54million over budget. For Johnny, however, perhaps Captain Jack can salvage his life from the wreckage of the past two years. Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge is out on Friday.
Jack’s such a safe character to play for me. I can do the dumb things and make people giggle JOHNNY DEPP ON REPRISING HIS ROLE AS CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW