'Minamata': Johnny Depp attends film premiere amid bitter legal battle, says this story 'needed to be told'
Of late, both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been in the news about their ongoing court case. Depp sued his former wife for defamation, seeking $50 million for allegedly defaming him with "hoax" allegations of domestic abuse.
Heard filed for divorce from Depp on May 23, 2016, and obtained a temporary restraining order against him, stating in her court declaration that he had been verbally and physically abusive throughout their relationship, usually while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
In the last few weeks, the case took an ugly turn when the Daily Mail obtained tapes of conversations between Depp and Heard, where Heard admits to hitting her former husband and throwing pots and pans at him.
However, Depp is now taking a break from the legal battle as he stepped out in Berlin for a special gala screening of his new movie, 'Minamata' during the 70th Berlinale International Film Festival. Depp plays the acclaimed photographer W Eugene Smith as he travels back to Japan to document the devastating effect of mercury poisoning in coastal communities. It is based on the book by the photographer and his wife Aileen Mioko Smith and adapted by David K Kessler. The film also stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Minami and Bill Nighy.
'Minamata' was directed by Andrew Levitas who co-produced the film with Depp, Sam Sarkar and Kevan Van Thompson.
According to Deadline, Levitas said of Depp during the special screening, "Johnny is too humble to say it; this came from him. All the passion and what we were able to do in terms of pulling it together came out of Johnny’s heart and built from there, it mattered."
Depp admitted that learning the history behind 'Minamata' was shocking. He said, "As someone who was interested, I believed it was a story that needed to be told. And anytime that you can harness the power of media or cinema or whatever art, I think anytime you can harness that power and use it to open people's eyes to something that did happen and does continue."
He continued, "If you can take an idea, bring it to a page, somebody decides they are interested in putting the thing together, somebody chucks money in because they care... Films like this don't get made every day. We are very lucky to have the honor to bring this to people and maybe spark some degree of interest or care."
Depp said that Eugene Smith "always felt like he was very isolated or locked into his own peculiar understanding of fate, I suppose".
Depp also said, "I think just as people, all of us are faced with huge monolithic-sized problems at times in our lives. Whether it be some horrific disease such as the Minamata disease, or fires blazing or worlds collapsing, there’s a beautiful symbol in the I Ching that means the power of the small." The I Ching is an ancient Chinese divination text.
He said, "When you have these huge monolithic opponents in front of you, screaming at it is not going to do anything, trying to take the whole building down by yourself isn't going to do anything. The power of the small is the idea that we recognize the issue and it just starts with one, you chip away little by little and then that problem can be toppled."
In what could be construed as applicable to his personal life as well, Depp said of his work on the film, "I think that’s what it’s all about for all of us really. We are specks of dust, we are the small, so if there’s something that needs to be dealt with that’s of such magnitude, just start chipping away and people will follow hopefully."
'Minamata' is Depp's only film slated for this year. His only other unreleased listed project is the third 'Fantastic Beasts' movie, where he plays Gellert Grindelwald. That film is set to release in 2021.
A US release date for 'Minamata' has currently not been announced.