OREANDA-NEWS The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio (MGM) is in no hurry to release a new drama "The Great" (the second name is "Minamata") with 58-year-old Johnny Depp for hire and may even "bury" it. This is reported by Deadline, citing a letter from director Andrew Levitas, which he sent to MGM, which bought the rights to the film after its debut in Berlin last February.

In it, he states that he spoke directly with the MGM's head of procurement, Sam Wallman, and was told in no uncertain terms that the studio was planning to "bury the film" rather than promoting it out of the feeling that Johnny Depp's personal affairs could reflect badly on the studio.

There is being talked about the scandal around the divorce of the actor with his colleague Amber Heard. Almost immediately after his conviction in the UK libel case, it was announced that Warner Bros. asked Depp to leave the role of Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

“Minamata” tells the story of a small Japanese village whose inhabitants began to fall ill from mercury poisoning in the 1950s. Johnny Depp plays the photojournalist Eugene Smith who helped trace the origins of mercury back to a chemical company that dumped waste into water.

The letter from Andrew Levitas is not about Depp's situation but about the film itself. He clearly feels that this is a story to be told, and that the suspension of the film's release essentially means that MGM cares more about its own prestige than about the victims of this tragedy and their families.

In turn, the studio denies the delay in the premiere of the picture by the situation around Depp. MGM has said that "Minamata" is slated to exhibition, it just hasn't set a release date yet.