Johnny Depp to produce and possibly star in film about poisoned Russian spy

[pacific breeze]

< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/h...nt/6258725.stm

Race on to make Litvinenko film
Johnny Depp
Depp set up his Infinitum Nihil production company in 2004
Hollywood star Johnny Depp is to produce one of two films about the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko said to be in development.

Warner Bros has bought the rights to a yet-unpublished book written by Alan Cowell of the New York Times.

Warner Bros bought the rights to the book for Depp's production company, Infinitum Nihil, to develop, trade newspaper Variety said.

Mr Litvinenko, 43, died in University College Hospital, London, in November.

His body contained radioactive polonium-210.

Friends of Mr Litvinenko believe he was poisoned by the Russian government because of his strong criticism of President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin has dismissed suggestions it was involved in any way, and police in both the UK and Russia are investigating the death.

Banned book

Under the terms of Depp's production company the actor could both produce and star in the film, which will be based on Mr Cowell's book entitled Sasha's Story: The Life and Death of a Russian Spy.

Depp, star of Pirates of the Caribbean and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, has been following Mr Litvinenko's case closely, Variety reported.

The second film is based on the banned book former Mr Litvinenko sought to publish with historian Yuri Felshtinsky.

Interested parties in film rights to Blowing Up Russia are said to include Warner Brothers and Working Title Films.

Actors mooted for the role of Mr Litvinenko include John Malkovich and Daniel Craig, who recently starred in the latest James Bond film Casino Royale.

Blowing Up Russia, which contains an attack by Mr Litvinenko on his former spymasters in Moscow, will be published for the first time in English on 19 January.

[celeb_2006]

Oooh, that will be a good one! I can see it being all conspiracy and creepy, and we all know how good depp is at playing these kinds of roles.

[DitaPage*]

if i had it my way, he'd have a new movie out every week

[sharon_b]

The Russian guy has only been dead a few months and theres already a potential scriped in the making??? I think its too soon after his death and Hollywood movie big wigs should wait at least a year or so to consider scrips in respect of his family, but i doubt they care. To me this is very disrespectful considering that the guy has only been 6 feet under a few months not to mention all the pain his family had to go through watching him die in such a painful way. But on the otherside anything with Depp in it is fine by me and i agree a movie like this will be very intersting to watch because of all the conspiracy theories.

[Mira]

Originally Posted by sharon_b

The Russian guy has only been dead a few months and theres already a potential script in the making??

If we knew why ANS died and who the baby's daddy is, there'd already be an ANS movie in post production! This is typical for Hollywood. People read good books and lock them up years before they get made. News tends to get made into movies much faster.