Johnny Depp has one less project on his packed slate today. The actor has reportedly left Barry Levinson’s Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass over a contract dispute.
At first, Deadline reported that his deal to star in the movie appeared to be falling apart. Then sources for The Hollywood Reporter had some more details, noting that Depp was being asked to cut his expected $20 million salary in half.
Sales for the project weren’t as strong as expected at Cannes and producers have estimated that the budget for the indie project will only be around $60 million. Depp was then asked to cut his salary to $10 million, but his UTA reps refused and the deal crumbled on Wednesday.
Depp was attached to the film in February and he made a commitment to do it a few weeks later. Cross Creek and Exclusive Media are producing with Universal set to distribute. It’s based on the 2001 book Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob by Boston Globe writers Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill.
While Depp is out, Joel Edgerton recently signed on to play a disgraced FBI agent.
Depp’s next project will be Wally Pfister's Transcendence, which is already in production. He will be seen in The Lone Ranger in July and is also set to work on Into The Woods and Pirates of the Caribbean 5, all for Disney.
image: CBS