More than two years have now passed since the verdict of the trial that saw Johnny Depp pitted against his ex Amber Heard made headlines around the world (the ruling established that Heard had to pay Depp 15 million dollars for defamation after the jury determined that there had been no abuse during their relationship) and since then their lives and careers have taken very different paths.
The actress has found refuge in Madrid, where she lives with her daughter Oonagh Paige and found happiness while keeping a low profile. After the litigation, he acted in only two films: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomwhich was long overdue and which he promoted exclusively through his Instagram profile, and In the Fire, in which he starred alongside Spanish actor Eduardo Noriega and which instead went to present at the Taormina Film Fest. Despite now living thousands of kilometers away, the actress has repeatedly denied that she wants to say goodbye to Hollywood definitively and has declared that she is considering various projects, even if her participation in none in particular has not yet been confirmed.
Johnny Depp, for his part, despite no longer being hired for a major production in the Mecca of cinema (it should be remembered that in the last one in which he would appear, the third part of Fantastic animals in the usual role of Gellert Grindelwald, he was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen) took the opportunity to diversify, linking together projects not only as an actor, but also as a director, musician and artist.
Johnny Depp, in December last year during the funeral of Shane MacGowan, leader of the Pogues
Niall Carson – PA Images/Getty ImagesHe returned to directing 27 years after his feature film debut with The bravewhich was received rather lukewarmly at the time (although he later directed some music videos for his ex Vanessa Paradis and Stephen Jones’ band Babybird). And he does it by directing Waysa co-production between the UK, Hungary and Italy which chronicles 72 hours in the life of bohemian artist Amedeo Modigliani in Paris in 1916 (based on a play by Dennis McIntyre). The Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio plays Modigliani, while Al Pacino, Depp’s close friend, also has a small role and co-produces the film.
And the country where he will present the film for the first time will be Spain: first Monday 30 September in the program El Hormiguero together with Scamarcio (for which occasion he will travel to Madrid, the city where Amber Heard lives), then the following day at the San Sebastián Festivalwhere the world premiere will be held with an out-of-competition screening.
Depp therefore returns to the Spanish film festival, where he was last not long ago: in 2020, to present the documentary Crock of gold: A few rounds with Shane MacGowan (in the midst of the post-pandemic and when the legal storm had already broken out).

Maïwenn with Johnny Depp at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023
Laurent KOFFEL/Getty Images«For us Johnny Depp is a friend of the festival»he declared a few days ago José Luis Rebordinos, director of Zinemaldia, in an interview with Deadline to justify the invitation. «He will come to San Sebastián: it is not up to me to say whether he is a violent partner or not, I am not a policeman or a judge. For me Ways it is a very free and very special film. Talk about the changes that are happening in the art world today. It’s a crazy and very free film. And I love it.”
The one in San Sebastián is not the first major film festival that Depp participates in after the trial, as he had already been to Cannes in 2023 to present what was at the time his first film in three years, Jeanne du Barryin which he played Louis XV directed by the French director Maïwenn. On that occasion he received ovations both upon entering the Palais for the premiere and after the closing credits (the latter, which lasted seven minutes, visibly moved the actor).
After Cannes, the current visit to Spain will be the second most important media appearance of the actor after the trial, who however, as we were saying, has remained very active: if, as an actor, in addition to the projects already mentioned, he has limited himself to provide the voice of the animated character Johnny Puff and for a promotional video for the video game Sea of DawnDepp spent his time dedicating himself above all to his artistic side.
In July 2022, a month after the famous verdict, he presented in London (the city where he now usually resides) his first collection, entitled Friends & Heroes (“Friends and Heroes”) because it is composed of paintings he painted of people he admires, such as the actor Al Pacino and the musicians Bob Dylan and Keith Richards. Having sold almost all of them in less than a day earning 4 million dollarsthe following year he decided to make a second series with new characters, including Heath Ledger, Bob Marley, River Phoenix and Hunter S. Thompson.
His artistic adventure will continue, because in a few days, on October 4, he will open his first exhibition in New York: titled A bunch of stuff (“A lot of stuff”), will be made up of personal effects dear to him that he kept in his various homes and ateliers.
«Through the magic and madness of life, art was my refuge. These pieces, which have manifested themselves at different stages of my journey, are a remnant of the life I have lived,” Depp said in a statement published by People.

Johnny Depp plays guitar live last year
Roberto Ricciuti/Getty ImagesMusic, on the other hand, is something that has been with him for a long time. Indeed, Johnny Depp was a guitarist before being an actor, and played on stage with groups such as Aerosmith, in Oasis songs and in Paul McCartney’s music videos. Furthermore, in recent years, music has also been a refuge for him: in 2023, for example, he played together with Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, among other great musicians, on the occasion of the tribute concert to Jeff Beck held at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Most recently, in July this year, Depp took part at the concert to celebrate i 30 years of Andrea Bocelli’s careeraccompanying the Italian tenor in a version of En Aranjuez with your love. Other illustrious names were also present on this occasion, including Ed Sheeran, Laura Pausini, Brian May and Will Smithwith whom Depp has a very close relationship, especially since they both fell out of favor in Hollywood for different (but well-known) reasons. So much so that they even boarded a yacht together in Italy to take advantage of the trip.
On a private level, Depp was recently credited with having an affair with Russian model Yulia Vlasova33 years his junior, following some photos of them together taken in London, but that this relationship actually exists has not been officially confirmed. Indeed, Vlasova herself welcomed the rumor with a sense of humor (and fueled it further) by publishing a photo on his Instagram profile of Depp hugging her with the caption: «Don’t believe everything that is written on the internet, my dear friend».

Terry Gilliam with Johnny Depp in a photo from this year
Dave Benett/Getty ImagesWhat has been confirmed, however, is Depp’s next project, the most eye-catching in a long time: to direct him in his new film, The Carnival at the End of Days, will once again be ex Monty Python Terry Gilliamwho has already directed him in Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, Parnassus and in the famous fiasco inspired by Don Quixotethen turned into a documentary. The actor will star alongside big names like Jeff Bridges, Adam Driver and Jason Momoa (who, we remember, starred alongside Amber Heard in the two films of Aquaman). Here’s how the director described the plot during an appearance at the Red Sea Film Festival: «God [Bridges] wants to destroy humanity and the only one who wants to save it is Satan, played by Johnny Depp.”
Source: Vanity Fair

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