The controversial defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is the subject of a new movie, “Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial,” set to debut exclusively on the free Tubi streaming service.
The film stars Mark Hapka (“Parallels,” “Days of Our Lives”) as Depp and Megan Davis (“Alone in the Dark”) as Heard. It’s set to premiere Friday, Sept. 30, on Fox’s Tubi. Melissa Marty (“Station 19”) will join Hapka and Davis as Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez and Mary Carrig (“Law & Order True Crime”) will portray as Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft.
“Hot Take” follows the tumultuous relationship — in and out of court — of Depp and Heard, dramatizing the two-month defamation trial that concluded June 1, with the jury finding that Heard had defamed Depp by alluding to domestic violence allegations against him in a December 2018 op-ed piece. The jury also held Depp liable for a defamatory statement made about Heard by his lawyer.
“Hot Take” comes from Fox Entertainment’s MarVista Entertainment. The film is written by Guy Nicolucci (“The Daily Show”) and directed by Sara Lohman (“Secrets in the Woods”).
The movie was fast-tracked into production by Tubi and MarVista “to capture a timely take on a story that became part of the cultural zeitgeist, painting a unique picture of what millions watched play out in the headlines over the summer,” Adam Lewinson, Tubi’s chief content officer, said in a statement.
“‘Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial’ is one of many timely, culturally relevant original movies to come from our expanding partnership and slate of movies being produced in collaboration with Tubi,” said Hannah Pillemer, EVP creative of affairs for MarVista. “Connecting viewers to stories with this kind of social currency and topicality make watching them a must for any fan of pop culture or celebrity drama.”
The film is executive produced by Brittany Clemons, Angie Day, Marianne C. Wunch, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew. Autumn Federici and Kristifor Cvijetic serve as producers under their Ninth House banner.
Pictured above: Mark Hapka, Johnny Depp