Johnny Depp is racing against three other studios to make a spy film based on the life and death of the former Russian sercurity agent who was recently poisoned in London, England Alexander Litvinenko. Here’s what yahoo.com had on the story:
LONDON -Johnny Depp is planning a film about a former Russian security agent whose poisoning in London has touched off an international mystery, according to the trade magazine Variety one of three possible Hollywood projects about the case.Litvinenko fled to Britain, was granted asylum and became a Kremlin critic in exile. The former FSB agent died in November, several weeks after falling ill with what was later determined to be poisoning by the rare radioactive isotope polonium-210.
Before his death, he said he fell ill after meeting in London with an Italian security expert to discuss possible suspects in the killing of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya a month earlier. In her coverage of Chechnya, Politkovskaya was highly critical of alleged human rights violations by Russian forces and by Kremlin-backed Chechen officials. Litvinenko blamed the Kremlin for his poisoning. Russian officials have denied that allegation. British and Russian authorities continue to investigate his death.
Ok and the three amigos fighting over the rights to this one? Warner Brothers, Columbia Pictures and Braun Entertainment. Michael Mann is involved with the Columbia Pictures deal, Warner Brothers has Johnny Depp with them and Braun Entertainment doesn’t have anyone but they do have the rights to one of the two books that are being written on this very popular spy.
This looks like a very interesting movie, with or without Johnny Depp. I’d love to have him in it but seriously the story will stand on it’s feet as long as whoever gets the role can act. I loved Munich and when you look at the story it seems to be on a similar vein as that. In a perfect world Depp and Michael Mann will team up for a kick butt action spy film with an outstanding leading man.
What will actually happen, whose film will come out first is really anyone’s guess.
