It’s incredible to think that it was only a decade ago Johnny Depp was the highest-paid star in all of Hollywood, one that could regularly pocket a paycheck of at least $20 million for simply signing on the dotted line and agreeing to take top billing in a movie.
Of course, unless your name is Tom Cruise, trying to remain at that level of stardom for an extended period of time is a nigh-on insurmountable task, but it didn’t help that the exiled Fantastic Beasts and Pirates of the Caribbean veteran ended up in the headlines for all the wrong reasons on a number of occasions, particularly when it came to his bitter legal battles opposite ex-wife Amber Heard.
Depp has turned his back on Hollywood it would seem, which is just as well when the feeling appears to be mutual. However, a lengthy standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival Premiere of Jeanne du Barry seemed to indicate that the tides were beginning to turn, with Johnny merely being the first member of his family to bask in the adulation of rapturous applause at the annual event.
On the other side of the coin, some folks simply aren’t having it. In fact, one distributor hit the sentimental nail squarely on the head when they revealed to Variety that “I’m not touching anything with Johnny Depp in it,” which sums up a major problem any of his upcoming offerings are going to face given the polarizing nature of his very existence.
He is taking matters into his own hands by moving back into directing, though, even if his one and only feature so far was so widely trashed he blocked its release in the United States. Is a comeback truly on the cards? Only time will tell.