Johnny Depp's Upcoming Mortdecai: What You Need To Know
Are you ready to see a blonde Johnny Depp indulge in a bit of crime and shady art-dealing? Well you better be. Filming of Depp's new movie 'Mortdecai' is well underway in London, so it's about time we took an in-depth look about what could be the actor's next recurring character.
Mortdecai
So who or what is 'Mortdecai'? Well ‘Mortdecai’ is the titular character who appears in a series of books by author Kyril Bonfiglioli which were first published in the late 1970s. They follow the capers of the snobbish art dealer Charlie Mortdecai who begins his day with ‘a mouth wash, half a dexedrine, a morsel of anchovy toast and a Charvet dressing-gown.” He’s accompanied on his adventures by a thuggish manservant, questionably named 'Jock Strapp'. The books owe a lot to the work of PG Woodhouse, but are a little bit more adult in tone.
The crew behind 'Mortdecai'
Directing will be David Koepp who previously teamed with Depp for 2004 thriller ‘The Secret Window’, which isn't one of Depp's best known works but did moderately ok at the box office. Besides that modest success, Koepp has a lot more big name films on his CV. He’s best known for his screenwriting work which includes credits on ‘Mission Impossible’, ‘Panic Room’ and ‘War of the Worlds’. Indeed his writing success is such that he’s actually fifth most successful screenwriter of all time as far as US box office reciepts are concerned. As a director he hasn’t been so lucky. Aside from ‘The Secret Window’ he’s also directed ‘Stir of Echoes’, ‘Premium Rush’ and ‘Ghost Town’ none of which exactly set the box office alight. Still he's penned ‘Mortdecai’s' screenplay along with British comedy writer Peter Baynham.
The cast
As you know, playing the lead character is Johnny Depp, who’s presumably hoping to put the ‘_Lone Range_r’ failure behind him. Thuggish Jock will be portrayed by the 'Avengers' Paul Bettany, who obviously enjoys playing servants. Ewan McGregor will play a character named Inspector Martland and Gwyneth Paltrow will play Johanna. Also starring is 'Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza, as well as Jeff Goldblum and Olivia Munn.
Next page: what about the plot?
The plot
Depp’s character is described in the books as ‘portly, dissolute, immoral and middle-aged’, only some of those traits have we seen given to Depp before. He’s also been seen with a new look, filming with blonde hair and a moustache. The plot will center on Depp's character trying to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold. Along the way he'll have to contend with the Russians, MI5, his wife and an international terrorist. Expect Depp's character to be a charming rogue, think perhaps a slightly more sophisticated 'Pink Panther'.
What to expect
Expect 'Mortdecai' to be fillied with silliness, absurdity and hopefully a lot of wit, plus a hefty sprinkling of the Depp charm. There’s no official release date yet but previous reports pointed towards the end of the year. If the film does do well, expect to see the character again. Lionsgate chairman Jon Feltheimer has described the movie as 'franchisable' and said it’s a character that Johnny Depp 'absolutely loved and would love to do more of'. Of course Depp also loves franchises, the fifth ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ is on its way as well as the Alice in Wonderland sequel 'Through the Looking Glass' in 2016. Of course before we get to '_Mortdeca_i' Depp has a few more movies coming up. There's science fiction thriller ‘Transcendence’ coming in April and we’re set to hear him sing again in December when he stars in upcoming fantasy musical ‘Into the Woods’.
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