1 h 26 juill. 2021 ans - MINAMATA Media Coverage Did Johnny Depp’s Fall From Grace Prompt MGM To “Bury” Minamata?

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FROM DEADLINE:

Did Johnny Depp’s Fall From Grace Prompt MGM To “Bury” Japan Mercury Poisoning Drama ‘Minamata’?

By Mike Fleming Jr

EXCLUSIVE: Director Andrew Levitas has sent a letter of complaint to MGM and others to protest what he claims is a decision to “bury” the film Minamata because of the personal baggage of its star, Johnny Depp. The film lays bare the scandalous neglect that the Chisso Corporation displayed in the Japanese coastal city where locals were ravaged by mercury poisoning from chemicals dumped into the waters by a factory, which spread to local population through the ingestion of fish. It was exposed in the 1950s.

In the film, Depp plays Eugene Smith, a famed photojournalist who has disconnected from the world but takes a final assignment from his Life magazine editor (Bill Nighy). He is accompanied by a Japanese translator (Minami) and encouraged by a local villager (Hiroyuki Sanada) as he helps expose decades of gross negligence by the Chisso Corporation. Minamata also stars Jun Kunimura, Ryo Kase, Tadanobu Asano and Akiko Iwase.

The film was acquired last fall, shortly after MGM relaunched American International Pictures, the former B-movie factory hatched in the ’50s by Samuel Arkoff, and after the film debuted at the Berlinale that year. The plan was a day-and-date theatrical/VOD release for the film in February, a date that came and went. The deal was made as Depp was exchanging barbs with former wife Amber Heard, and defending himself from accusations from charges of physical and verbal abuse, as part of a libel case against British tabloid the Sun, which Depp lost. After the deal was made, Depp posted that Warner Bros had asked him to resign the role of Grindelwald in the Harry Potter spinoff the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Mads Mikkelsen was tapped to replace him last November.

Levitas writes that he was told by acquisitions head Sam Wollman, who bought Minamata, that it would not be promoted and that “MGM had decided to ‘bury the film’ (acquisitions head Mr. Sam Wollman’s words).” Levitas sent the letter not only to MGM but also to the film’s backers The Eugene Smith Foundation and the Minamata Foundation. The filmmaker urged MGM to reconsider and believes the studio is not giving strong enough consideration to the importance of the subject matter, which exposed corporate wrongdoing and indifference and memorialized the generational and devastating damage inflicted on locals because of the poisoning depicted in the film.

Said an MGM spokesperson when asked by Deadline about the letter: “The film was acquired for release via American International Pictures (AIP), a division of MGM which handles day-and-date releases. Minamata continues to be among future AIP releases and at this time, the film’s U.S. release date is TBA.”

Deadline got hold of a copy of Levitas’ letter, sent Monday morning, along with photos of suffering and deformities that came from the mercury poisoning.

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