Amber Heard's film London Fields set for release

The much-troubled London Fields movie will be released by the end of 2016, according to Wenn.

The film, which is based on Martin Amis's hit 1980s novel, reportedly sparked a furious row between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard and has been the subject of a legal battle. The couple, who divorced earlier this month, were said to have argued non-stop during production.

Heard plays a femme fatale opposite Billy Bob Thornton as a struggling writer.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Court documents from the couple's divorce hearings claim Depp erupted as he accused his then-wife of sleeping with Thornton. He is said to have lost the tip of his forefinger after smashing a plastic phone against a wall.

Thornton has denied he slept with Heard, but a set insider claims Depp, who features in just 18 minutes of the film, had to be kept away from the leading man.

London Fields had been due to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last autumn but was pulled from the schedule after director Matthew Cullen filed a $1m (£763,000) lawsuit accusing the producers of using "fraudulent efforts" to rework the film without his knowledge.

The producers later counter-sued for the negative impact on the film's distribution prospects.

"The original distributor, Lionsgate, dropped out, but producers are said to be lining up a new deal for theatrical release," says the New York Post.

The Independent was unimpressed by the film, describing it as "car-crash film-making", while the Daily Telegraph denounced it as a "cartoonish mess" with a "messy and confusing" timeline that makes it a "brutal murder" of the novel.

"Any big-screen adaptation of Martin Amis's London Fields – a novel long regarded as unadaptable – was expected to be controversial," says the Telegraph, "though probably not in the quite the way that has transpired."

Amber Heard cries foul over Johnny Depp divorce payment

26 August

Amber Heard has demanded former husband Johnny Depp double the amount that is being paid to charity following their divorce settlement.

The couple officially ended their 15-month marriage in an out-of-court agreement earlier this month in which Depp agreed to pay his ex-wife a $7m (£5.4m) settlement, which she said she would donate to two charities.

Yesterday, the Pirates of the Caribbean star announced he had paid the first instalment to the organisations himself "in the name of Amber Heard", rather than submitting the money first to her.

However, Heard's legal team claim that by paying the money directly to the charities, Depp will get a charitable tax deduction of 50 per cent and should therefore donate $14m to account for the savings made.

"Amber Heard appreciates Johnny Depp's novel interest in supporting two of her favourite charities, the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] for domestic violence and the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. This is great and unexpected news," said a spokesman for The Danish Girl star.

"However, if Johnny wishes to change the settlement agreement, we must insist that he honour the full amount by donating $14m to charity, which, after accounting for his tax deduction, is equal to his $7m payment obligation to Amber."

Both parties are keen to keep their fight out of a public court, so the fact that proceedings have begun to play out in public again suggests Depp could move to increase his payment.

"It wouldn't be a surprise if Depp announces a larger, lump sum payment to the charities," says Hollywood Reporter, "though it may not be double."

Amber Heard drops domestic abuse case against Johnny Depp

17 August

Amber Heard has dropped her domestic abuse case against Johnny Depp as part of an out-of-court divorce settlement ending the couple's 15-month marriage.

The actor will receive $7m (£5.4m) from her former husband, reports the Daily Beast.

In a joint statement, the couple described their relationship as "intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love".

They appeared to tread a fine line around the domestic abuse issue, saying: "Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain," but also that "there was never an intent of physical or emotional harm".

"Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future," the statement continued, adding that the actor, 30, plans to donate the settlement to charity.

The domestic abuse allegations first surfaced in May, when Heard appeared at divorce proceedings in Los Angeles with bruises on her face.

She told the court she had suffered "excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse" at the hands of 53-year-old Depp and claimed he was addicted to drugs and alcohol.Depp has always denied the allegations.

The judge granted a temporary restraining order, dividing the couple's Hollywood friends and turning the divorce into a public debate about the treatment of victims of domestic violence.

Gossip websites filled pages with salacious details of the dispute, including allegations that Depp cut his finger and wrote a message in his own blood accusing Heard of cheating on him with fellow actor Billy Bob Thornton. All three worked together on the upcoming film London Fields, but Thornton has said his only social contact with Heard was at a cast dinner.

Last week, a video released online appeared to show a disorientated Depp shouting and smashing glasses in the couple's kitchen before grabbing Heard's phone when he realises she is filming him. Heard denies she was responsible for uploading the footage.

Depp 'cut off fingertip to write adultery claim in blood'

16 August

Johnny Depp cut off the tip of his finger during a row and used the blood to accuse his now-estranged wife Amber Heard of adultery, according to leaked court documents.

The US files, obtained by gossip website TMZ, suggest the fingertip was severed by mistake in March 2015, while the couple were arguing in Australia. The documents claim Depp, 53, was high on ecstasy at the time, reports the Washington Times.

Photographs on TMZ shows the finger both with the tip missing and after Australian doctors had worked on it, although Depp reportedly didn't get medical help for 24 hours.

A third picture apparently shows a mirror with writing scrawled on it. Depp allegedly used his damaged finger to accuse Heard of adultery with actor Billy Bob Thornton, writing on the glass in a mixture of blood and blue paint: "Starring Billy Bob and Easy Amber."

Thornton, 61 worked with Heard on the upcoming London Fields, in which Depp also has a small role, and denies having anything other than a professional relationship with her, TMZ reports.

The actor, who has been married to make-up effects artists Connie Angland since 2014, told the site Depp's claim was "completely false" and that he had only socialised with Heard once, at a cast dinner.

On set, he added, he spent most of his time with crew members and had not even spoken to Depp.

Heard and Depp are in the process of ending their 15-month marriage. A hearing is scheduled for tomorrow in Los Angeles regarding a temporary restraining order 30-year-old Heard obtained against her estranged husband on 27 May amid allegations of domestic violence. Depp denies the claims.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard divorce: Are the dogs to blame?

26 May

Hollywood star Johnny Depp and his actress wife Amber Heard are getting divorced barely a year after they got married and shortly after their much publicised apology for dog-smuggling.

Heard, 30, filed for divorce in a Los Angeles court citing irreconcilable differences and asking for spousal support.

The couple met on the set of 2011's the Rum Diary and began dating after Depp's split from his long-time partner, Vanessa Paradis, in 2012. They married in February 2015.

TMZ says they had not signed a prenuptial agreement, but adds that 52-year-old Depp has asked the judge to reject spousal support claim.

The divorce is "especially harsh" for the Alice Through the Looking-Glass star because it comes just two days after the death of his mother, Betty Sue Palmer, to whom he was extremely close, adds the site.

Perez Hilton says that though neither Depp nor Heard have officially commented on the split, rumours of "trouble in paradise" were circling before their wedding.

The last time they were seen together publicly was in April, when they appeared in a bizarre video to apologise for smuggling Heard's two dogs, Pistol and Boo, into Australia.

The divorce continues a "year of hell" for the couple, claims Alicia Vrajlal in the Daily Mail.

"From Depp's broken wrist while filming the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie in Queensland, to the couple bringing their pet pooches into the country leading to a major legal case," they have attracted bad luck and controversy, says the journalist. "And it may well be that the tough 12 months caused significant pressure on their relationship," she adds.

Australia's approach to the Yorkshire terriers sparked a series of events that would have caused enormous stress, according to celebrity manager Max Markson. He told ABC News that if Barnaby Joyce, Australia's deputy prime minister, had not threatened to have the dogs euthanised, the couple might still be "happily married".

However, Depp seemed to make light of the incident just days before news of the split, saying on US talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!: "[Joyce] looks somehow inbred with a tomato."

That "wasn't a criticism" of the minister, he added: "But I was a little worried that he might explode."

In retaliation, Joyce suggested Depp should "move on", adding: "Leave your anger behind, Johnny."