Depp’s latest film pulled from release
Johnny Depp’s reportedly troubled new film “City of Lies,” a crime drama about the investigation into the death of rapper Notorious B.I.G., has suddenly been pulled from its scheduled release next month, multiple outlets are reporting.
The film was supposed to be released on Sept. 7, on what would have been the 46th birthday of the iconic rapper, aka Biggie Smalls, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in 1997. Distributor Global Road Entertainment confirmed Monday that the film would not be released on that date, but wouldn’t comment on why and wouldn’t give any indication of a new release date, the Guardian and Deadline reported.
Production of the film had been beset by allegations of Depp’s erratic onset behavior. The film’s location manager filed suit last month, accusing the actor of assault and battery on the downtown Los Angeles set in April 2017. Greg “Rocky” Brooks said Depp was intoxicated and repeatedly hit him when he informed the actor and director Brad Furman that they needed to wrap things up because they were behind schedule.
The suit, which also names Furman and various producers as defendants, also seeks damages for a hostile work environment, retaliation and wrongful termination among the claims.
But it’s been a tumultuous few months for the 55-year-old actor in other ways. A disastrous Rolling Stone cover story depicted the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star as a hard-drinking, self-indulgent, pasthis-prime bad boy A-lister. Photos of Depp, appearing gaunt and pale as he met fans in Europe, moreover raised concerns about his health. He also settled a $25 million fraud case against his former business managers, who revealed his extravagant spending habits and alleged the actor only made films to fund a lifestyle he could no longer afford.
On top of all this negative publicity, he continued to face fallout from domestic violence allegations made in 2016 by his ex-wife Amber Heard.