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According to The Independent "Shantaram" the film has been shelved.
From Hindustan Times
Johnny Depp says no to Mumbai
Roshmila Bhattacharya, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, May 18, 2009A couple of months ago, when Mira Nair was in the city to promote writer-friend Sooni Taraporevala’s directorial debut, Little Zizou, she was asked if her “spiritual action film” Shantaram was still on.
Sighing heavily, she’d replied, “I hope so. The Writer Guild strike in Hollywood couldn’t have come at a worse time. Johnny Depp now has been snapped up for the next two years for the next movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Let’s see.”
The Oscar-winning director had spent a year flying in and out of Mumbai as she plotted Shantaram cinematically. She had been in talks with Prabhu Devaa, Arshad Warsi, Shreyas Talpade and Ranvir Shorey for key roles. Today, however, she seems pessimistic about the outcome of the project.
Recently, in the course of an interview, Irrfan Khan who was to play a musician in the film whose sarod heals Depp after he comes out of jail, a tortured soul, admitted that Shantaram didn’t look like it had a chance now. And apparently Depp’s dates and fancy fee aren’t the only problems.
Heart of the matter
“From what I understand, Johnny Depp wasn’t keen to come to India. Brad Pitt and he are good friends and what happened with Brad and Angelina (Jolie) in Mumbai during The Mighty Heart shoot apparently scared him off,” says Khan.Depp wanted to film in another country, preferably South America. “He requested that Mumbai be recreated in Mexico but Mira was adamant. She pointed out that the heat, dust and magic of Mumbai’s streets wouldn’t be reflected in a set however authentic,” says Khan.
In an earlier interview, Nair had pointed out that Shantaram could be one of the few films that forged a connection between the east and west by showing how the east can challenge a soulless person from the west and transform him completely. “If you ask me, India is the real hero of the film,” she had reiterated. She would definitely not want to relocate.
Big loss
Khan blames the system for the sorry state of affairs. “We don’t know how to take care of business coming our way,” he grouses, pointing out that thanks to a few misguided people, who made an issue out of nothing, our technicians have lost out on big opportunities and the government has lost out on big foreign exchange that would have come in handy during these times of global slowdown. “It’s sad,” he sighs, “and what’s sadder is that we don’t really care.”Meanwhile, Nair has moved on to Amelia, a bio-pic on the life of Amelia Earhart, the first aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic. She was offered the film in September 2007 but had turned it down then because she was busy with Shantaram. But when they returned to her in January 2008, she took it on.
However, Gregory David Roberts, the writer of the best selling novel with whom Nair has been having extensive talks on what to take and what to leave out, during a trip to Mumbai in March, told a colleague who met him at the Lakme Fashion Week, that the film is on.
“Everything remains the same, including Johnny Depp and Amitabh Bachchan, except for Mira Nair. There will be a new director at the helm who is still being finalised,” he informed, adding that since they had lost the combination dates of Depp and Bachchan, the project would only get underway in 2010. “And this time, I will also be acting in the film,” he asserted.
From Collider
(excerpt)
Exclusive: Screenwriter Eric Roth is Writing a Sci-fi Film for Warner Brothers!
12/10/2008
Posted by Frosty
Written by Steve ‘Frosty’ WeintraubEric: Well, I think you said it. In other words, how do I want to spend my time for the next year? And you feel it’s worth value to your time, in other words, what would be the end result? I’m also sometimes pragmatic to some extent about I don’t like to be foolish about what I’m going to do. I want things to get made because they don’t serve much purpose if it’s just an exercise for a year and a half of my life. I mean, I had a movie for instance that the strike kind of affected called “Shantaram” that Johnny Depp was going to do and it ended up that was the end of it. I spent like 2 years on it, so you know that’s a disappointment, you know? I don’t think it probably be done now, or maybe it could but it covers not the same storytelling but it’s about Bombay and a guy who lives in the slums so there’s some Slumdog Millionaire equivalence, I guess.
From the Times of IndiaLOVE ACTUALLY: Gregory David Roberts with fiancee Princess Francoise Sturdza (TOI Photo)
Goodbye Shantaram!
31 Mar 2008, 0000 hrs IST,NIMISHA TIWARI ,TNNIt’s heart-wrenching, but true. Writer Gregory David Roberts, who gave Mumbai his autobiographical novel Shantaram, is quitting the city and going to Europe.
The production of his Hollywood film based on this book, and starring Johnny Depp as Shantaram , takes him away. That was expected. And, as a fond farewell to the city that took him to its warm and comforting bosom when he came in as a fugitive from the cold, Gregory and fiance Princess Francoise Sturdza walked the ramp as the showstoppers for designer friend Pria Kataria Puri at the Lakme Fashion Week last night.
“Mumbai to me is about lovely people who create magic,” said the maverick writer and bike lover who was always found eating idli-sambhar in a Colaba Market Udupi shop when not tinkering with motorcycles he had remodelled in 3rd Pasta Lane. But, his friends here need not fret, for Gregory intends to be back by Diwali to get married. “My parents will come down from Australia for this special moment that I want to celebrate with my closest friends,” he promised. Some portion of Shantaram will also be shot in Mumbai during the monsoon. “Like a motorbike chase,” he said helpfully, “for which I will come down again.”
But, yes, the lure of Hollywood with all its trappings of fame and fortune cannot replace the freedom and buzz that Mumbai meant to him. “Even Madonna felt that zing when she came down here and we ventured out late at night,” said Gregory harking back to the crazy weekend recently when he took the Material Girl through the slums and dirty bylanes, photographers in tow, where she ate, drank and imbibed the spirit of Mumbai without a fuss and just loved it.
Does he have a message for the city. “Yes,” he said, “there’s a whole world ahead to explore. Don’t ever feel that there is no option left. Look at me, I know damn well that if you hang on for that little more time, you’re sure to crack the blues out of your way.”
From Times Now
Project Shantaram rolls on
3/7/2008 12:47:57 PM
'Shantaram' on its way to making celluloid historyAfter rumours of Mira Nair’s adaptation of the David Gregory Roberts’ Best seller -- Shantaram, being scrapped due to a writers’ strike, here’s something for all the fans to look forward to. The onscreen adaptation of the book is now back on track and the icing on the cake is that Johnny Depp will be a part of the project.
When asked about his choice of the Warner Bros production team author David Gregory Roberts said, "When I wrote the book I had five Television studios and movie studios that approached me wanting to make a movie from the book. I chose this group around Graham King, the Producer, Johnny Depp and Warner Bros because in my opinion they are one of the most creative teams in Hollywood."
Another surprise element in the movie is that Amitabh Bachchan has also been roped in to star opposite Johnny Depp in the movie. The Big B will be seen portraying the role of a gangster in the adapted movie. Delighted with this fact, David Gregory Roberts stated that if one has the luck to have someone like Amitabh Bachan with his golden touch in the movie , then the project is expected to do well.
As per the book, the film will be shot in Mumbai. So, Mumbaikars will be hoping to bump into Johnny Depp somewhere on the city’s streets. David Gregory Roberts, who is in awe of the production crew said that he wanted to have a movie that was really respectful of India. He wants people to love the country and is confident that this is a team that will give a reason for the world to love India.
All the doubts surrounding the movie were eventually put to rest. It is always good to know that one of the most widely read books is on its way to making celluloid history. Now viewers will just have to wait in anticipation for the film to release that is slated sometime in the latter half of 2008.
From The Times of India
Johnny is looking forward to meet Big
28 Feb 2008, 0000 hrs IST,AAKANKSHA NAVAL-SHETYE ,TNN
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IT CAN’T GET HOTTER THAN THIS: Johnny Depp (AP) More picsHe scores a 10 on 10, when it comes to the drool quotient, but his sex appeal has as much to do with his quirky attitude, as with his drop-dead looks.
Simply said: He’s hot, hot and hot! We’re talking about Hollywood heavy-weight Johnny Depp. Never mind that the sexy star missed out on an Oscar for the third time at the Academy Awards this year, he’s still the star most women lust for. A soaring career graph, that reflects his eclectic choice of roles, boasts of films like Edward Scissorhands, Finding Neverland, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory , Donnie Brasco and lots more.
Sporting 13 tattoos, a couple of rings adorning his fingers, several beaded strings and a leather band around his wrists, and dollops of attitude, he doesn’t look a far cry from the roguish swashbuckling Captain Jack Sparrow, minus the sword, that he’s immortalised on screen in The Pirates of The Carribean series.
Ever ready to try out new things — on screen we mean — Johnny’s excited about his first musical that won him an Oscar nomination. But what the actor’s equally excited about, is his visit to aamchi Mumbai, that’ll soon be home to Johnny Boy, for a couple of weeks at least.
Shantaram is one of your upcoming projects for which you will be shooting in Mumbai...
Oh yes, there are no two ways to replicate that, it has to be Mumbai. And nobody better than Mira (Nair) to capture that, as she has got a strong feeling for Mumbai. I have admired her work for long and her work is really perfect.Are you looking forward to shooting here?
Oh absolutely. Most definitely! I’m quite excited about it and I’m really looking forward to shooting in Mumbai. I have heard a lot about the city and India, it’ll be great to finally visit the place.Any Bollywood actor you look forward to meeting?
Amitabh Bachchan... I have great respect for him. I think he’s a very strong actor, a very important actor and I think he is superb. Have seen a couple of his films and I really liked them.Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is your first attempt at a musical. Was it more challenging doing this musical compared to a regular mainstream movie?
Tim Burton (director) and I had spoken about doing the film and he asked me, ‘Do you think you can do it? Do you think you can sing?’ And I honestly gave him the answer, ‘I don’t know. I’ll try. I’ll definitely do my best. I’ll see if I can.’ And I think Sweeney’s clearly a dark figure. But quite an overly hypersensitive figure, who has experienced something very dark and traumatic in his life. Ya, so it was challenging.Sweeney is a very dark character, but there’s also humour and pathos to him, isn’t there?
He’s misunderstood (laughs)! He’s actually horribly misunderstood, because really he’s a very sweet guy. He’s basically been dead since his life was taken away from him all those years before. The only reason he has continued breathing is to wreak vengeance!The songs were pre-recorded, so did you sing along with yourself again when you were doing a take?
Unfortunately, yes (laughs). I don’t know how other people do it, because I’ve never done anything like this in my life before. But I felt like as if I was just mouthing it, the camera would see it and also you would be faking it on some level and you wouldn’t be committed to what you were doing. Basically, it was horrifically mortifying at times and the poor guy who does the sticks and the focus pullers, who are like five inches away from your head, and you are belting it out and you just feel like a complete ass, but it’s necessary.
