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PRODUCTION / FUNDING UK / Spain

Johnny Depp launches his own European production company

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- The US actor has teamed up with Spain’s A Contracorriente Films and previous partners to create IN.2 Film

Johnny Depp launches his own European production company
Johnny Depp and A Contracorriente Films's Adolfo Blanco (centre) during the deal announcement at the San Sebastián International Film Festival (© A Contracorriente Films)

Amidst the controversy surrounding his personal life, after the majority of ex-wife Amber Heard’s allegations of domestic violence have been proven to a civil standard, Johnny Depp has placed himself in the starting blocks of a new professional venture. The US actor is starting a new phase focusing as a film producer, launching his own European production company, UK-based firm IN.2 Film. Depp made this announcement yesterday at the 69th San Sebastián International Film Festival, where he received the Donostia Award.

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The production outfit is born out of the actor’s own LA-based Infinitum Nihil, which has been behind titles such as Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger and Andrew LevitasMinamata [+see also:
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, all of them starring Depp. Together with British producers Stephen Deuters, previously the European president of Infinitum Nihil, and Stephen Malit, Depp will be scouting for filmmaking talent all around Europe, to create productions “focusing on European sensibility combined with American accessibility.” The three have already worked closely in Depp’s latest production, Julien Temple’s Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan [+see also:
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, which competed in last year’s edition of the San Sebastián festival, going on to win the Special Jury Prize.

The first deal announced by the company is an international development partnership with Spain’s A Contracorriente Films. Adolfo Blanco’s company, an independent film company first born as a distributor and now expanding to production services, has made a mark by bringing audience-friendly titles to Spanish theatres, such as Untouchable [+see also:
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, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared [+see also:
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and The Father [+see also:
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, but also auteur fare such as Aquí y allá [+see also:
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, New Order [+see also:
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and Varda by Agnès [+see also:
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, as well as a plethora of genre flicks and rereleased classic titles.

Without disclosing any information on the projects they are working on, the firm heads mentioned being at work on a small slate of projects set for 2022/2023, both feature films and TV series, including titles with Paris-based producer Jelena Goldbach, London-based producer Alexandra Stone, HanWay’s Jeremy Thomas and Julien Temple. Blanco mentioned they had already bought some adaptation rights of successful books, and expressed being “very proud to be working with Johnny Depp, and delighted to try and identify films with the ability to target specific audiences and remain competitive in the market.”

Depp said, “I’ve spent years and years telling everyone in and out of Hollywood that not every film has to be a blockbuster, nor formulaic. Many films I have worked on were directed by artists and people didn’t get to see them because they were out of the studio system. We want to help those artists, because if you get one of these films made, you win.” When asked if any of the films they would be working on would feature him as a lead actor, he jokingly replied, “if the writer and the director think I should be there, I can certainly do it — if they can afford it.”

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