Johnny Depp’s Notorious B.I.G. Movie ‘City Of Lies’ Being Shopped To Other Studios
We recently wrote about howCity of Lies, a movie starringJohnny DeppandForest Whitakerthat takes place in the aftermath of rapper Biggie Smalls' murder, waspulled from the release calendar. At the time, reports implied that the primary reason for the movie being yanked was a lawsuit filed against Depp by the film’s location manager, but it appears there were more problems brewing beneath the surface. Distributor Global Road Entertainment is in financial trouble, and they’re now shoppingCity of Liesaround to other studios.
Movie fans might recall the title card for a company called Open Road Entertainment. They released films likeSpotlight, End of Watch, and The Grey. Last year, a mogul named Donald Tang bought Open Road and combined it with IM Global to form a company called Global Road Entertainment. But they’ve encountered some major stumbling blocks since then, including releasing a movie about a boy and his robot dog calledA.X.L.this weekend that pulled in less than $3 million.
Things are so bad thatThe Wrapreports that the company’s film division is having to sell off finished movies so its investors can recoup their money and so Global Road can avoid bankruptcy.City of Liesis one of the projects being offered up, alongside a live-action/animation hybrid calledPlaymobiland a horror film calledThe Silencethat starsMad MenandThe Chilling Adventures of Sabrinastar Kiernan Shipka.
The Hollywood Reportersays that the staff of Global Road Entertainment is now preparing for layoffs. Even if they’re able to sell off all of their completed movies, it remains unclear if the company will be able to weather the storm or if they’ll need to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Screenings are reportedly being set up to see if other studios are interested in acquiring any of those lingering projects.
Here’s the trailer forCity of Lies, which is embroiled in all of this madness as well as a lawsuit that alleges Depp assaulted one of his co-workers:
Brad Furman(The Lincoln Lawyer, The Infiltrator) directed the film, which featured a script by actor-turned-screenwriterChristian Contreras. Here’s the official synopsis:
