Any PR person will tell you that it’s all about optics, and one wonders if Johnny Depp is aware of this. You might figure that the actor who is coming off an ugly divorce with Amber Heard in which he was accused of domestic violence, and is currently involved in a bitter lawsuit with his ex-managers where details of his outrageous spending habits are starting to surface (including spending $5 million on a cannon to shoot the ashes of author Hunter Thompson over Aspen, Colorado) might shy away from material that might only underscore his gross bad boy image. You would be wrong.
Deadline reports that Depp has signed up to star in the dramedy “Richard Says Goodbye.” Wayne Roberts (“Katie Says Goodbye“) will write and direct the movie about a presumably straight-laced professor, who receives a life-changing diagnosis, and decides to loosen the ascot he wears (you know that Depp playing a professor will involve at least an ascot, scarf, beret, and monocle), and staring smoking, drinking, screwing, and insulting everyone in some weird bid to live life to the fullest.
I’m not sure how this currently differs from Depp’s actual life, but again, not the best optics for a guy who recently said about his financial woes, “It’s my money. If I want to buy 15,000 cotton balls a day, it’s my thing.” Something tells me that finding the hedonistic spirit for this role will be very easy for Depp.