In April 2021, the massive defamation suit between Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard began. For weeks, jurors — and the world — watched and listened as both Depp and Heard took the stand and spoke about the violence, as well as verbal and mental abuse, that occurred during their brief two-year marriage. Both sides claimed that the other had defamed their character and, in the end, the jury decided that both were at fault, Heard more so. Depp was awarded $10 million in damages, while Heard was given $2 million.
Depp’s defamation accusations against Heard began in 2018 when The Washington Post published an OpEd written by Heard — actually written by the ACLU and edited by Heard. In the OpEd, Heard claimed that she was a survivor of domestic abuse. While she did not use Depp’s name, the years she indicated she was abused were the years that she was married to Depp.
During the trial, Depp claimed that, because of Heard’s public allegations, he was dropped from many projects, including Pirates of the Caribbean 6. Depp claimed that being dropped as Captain Jack Sparrow in the sixth film in the franchise cost him $22 million.
The trial was a dramatic one, full of fumbles, laughter, and tears. Well, in true Hollywood fashion, the drama is being turned into a feature film.
People Magazine shared more about the upcoming film, which will be called Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial:
Mark Hapka is set to lead the film as Depp while Megan Davis will portray Heard.
As for the exes’ legal team, Melissa Marty will play Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez and Marry Carrig will appear as Heard’s counsel Elaine Bredehoft.
Guy Nicolucci has written the movie and Sara Lohman will serve as the director.
“Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial has ‘Hot Take’ in the title for a reason,” said Adam Lewinson, Chief Content Officer, Tubi, in a release shared with PEOPLE.
“With our partners at MarVista, this Tubi Original was fast-tracked into production to capture a timely take on a story that became part of the cultural zeitgeist, painting a unique picture of what millions watched play out in the headlines over the summer.”
Hot Take is executive produced by Brittany Clemons, Angie Day, Marianne C. Wunch, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew. Autumn Federici and Kristifor Cvijetic serve as producers under their The Ninth House banner.
Released from Fox Entertainment studio MarVista Entertainment, Hot Take will premiere on the streaming platform Tubi on Sept. 30
Heard is currently appealing the jury’s decision — claiming that some jurors were not honest. Her lawyer has also said that the ruling was incorrect, as Heard is within her first amendment rights to say everything she said about Depp.
