Al Pacino Basically Revived Johnny Depp's Directing Career After 20 Years
The Pirates of the Caribbean’s actor wasn’t sure he should be back to the movies until Al Pacino made a fateful call. Here’s what Johnny Depp has recently said about how his directorial work Modì came together.
Even though there've been several uneventful years in Johnny Depp’s career with no new acting credits, he didn’t really consider quitting the industry, yet wasn’t even thinking about going back to the director’s chair.
Back in 1997, Depp co-wrote and directed a neo-western movie The Brave he also starred in, though the film’s bad press might have convinced the actor to stay away from helming movies, appearing only in front of the camera.
Things suddenly changed in 2024 when Depp’s new directorial work, a biographical drama titled Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness, was announced.
However, the sudden U-turn in Depp’s career wasn’t something of his own decision, but rather Al Pacino’s encouragement.
Al Pacino Convinced Johnny Depp to Direct ‘Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness’
As it later turned out, Al Pacino, who in the movie portrayed American collector Maurice Gangnat, was involved in the project for many decades (the actor first conceived the idea all the way back in the 1970s), but something just wasn’t coming through.
At some point the first draft even received all praise possible from Martin Scorsese who was eager to turn the script into a movie or rather a theatre play.
Pacino then thought Johnny Depp could be an ideal candidate for the leading role, but the actor turned down the offer while being extremely busy at the time.
In the end, it was Pacino who called Depp years later, suggesting that the latter direct the feature.
“What interested me initially about making the film was a very strange phone call from Al [Pacino] saying, ‘Hey, you remember that Modigliani thing I was going to do years ago? I think you should direct it’”, Depp revealed during his recent appearance at the Spain film festival.
The actor also added that he was flattered by Pacino’s suggestion that he would be the right person to helm the project that was stuck in development hell for decades.
“I mean, when Pacino speaks, you must listen. And so, I ran with it”, the actor said.
‘Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness’ Labeled “String of Gruelling Clichés”
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On IMDb, Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness is rated 5.4/10
Despite the movie having enough time to come together, the critics weren’t much impressed by how Modì treated its original story.
Based on the life of Bohemian Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, the movie tracks down the character throughout three days that he spends in the war-torn Paris in 1916, trying to decide whether he should end his career and leave the city for good.
Modì opened to high praise and long-standing ovation at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2024, but since then didn’t have much luck with the press.
“Whatever kinship Depp may feel with this tortured, misunderstood, and regularly blotto artist is expressed, unfortunately, as a string of gruelling clichés”, Daily Telegraph’s Tim Robey wrote in his review.
