The Hollywood Reporter reported that Johnny Depp has signed on to make his second feature film, Modigliani, on the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani’s life and career. Since directing and starring opposite Marlon Brando in 1997’s The Brave, the actor has been itching to return to the director’s chair. In addition to acting, he will also co-produce the film with Al Pacino and Barry Navidi. The French artist Modigliani felt he was a financial and critical failure, despite the fact that his work was decades ahead of its time. The elongation of features, necks, and bodies in his modern portraiture and nude paintings caused him to be largely unappreciated throughout his career.
Nonetheless, time has shown that these works of art are now highly sought. The planned film is based on a play about his life written by Dennis McIntyre. Adapted by Jerzy and Mary Kromolowski, the film will follow Modigliani as “he navigates a stormy and dramatic 48 hours that would constitute a turning point in his life, ultimately confirming his position as an artistic icon” in Paris in 1916. Depp, in a statement, said he feels “deeply humbled and privileged” to adapt the artist’s life for the big screen. He or she said, “it was a life of enormous difficulty, but final victory – a universally human narrative that viewers can relate with.” For IN.2, the European branch of their production business Infinitum Nihil, the actor will also produce alongside Pacino and their longstanding partner, Navidi.
The Hollywood Reporter says filming will begin in Europe in the spring of 2023, and the cast will be announced shortly. This is Pacino and Navidi’s fourth film to work on together after The Merchant of Venice (2004), Wilde Salomé (2011), and Salomé (2013). According to Navidi, Pacino first introduced him to the play many years ago, and ever since then, the project has been “extremely important to Al’s heart.” Additionally, he stated it, Not a full biography, but a look into Modi’s life. Working with Johnny again has been a lifelong goal of mine; he’s a genuine artist with a brilliant vision for bringing this fantastic narrative to the big screen.
Depp will portray King Louis XV in the forthcoming film Jeanne du Barry, directed by the acclaimed French filmmaker Mawenn Le Besco, who will also appear in the production. The film will depict Louis XV’s final mistress, a real person named Jeanne du Barry.
Modigliani has not yet been given a release date.