October 22, 2018 – Johnny Depp and producer Andrea Iervolino have formed a partnership to develop and produce film and digital content together. Depp will develop and produce through his Infinitum Nihil production banner and Iervolino will produce through his new social entertainment platform TaTaTu.
Their first joint project is a feature film adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s prize-winning novel “Waiting for the Barbarians,” starring Depp, Mark Rylance, and Robert Pattinson. Production begins later this month in Morocco and will be directed by Ciro Guerra. Alongside TaTaTu, the movie is being produced by Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s AMBI Media Group, as well as Michael Fitzgerald and Olga Segura.
Depp will next be seen on the big screen starring in “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” the second installment of the “Fantastic Beasts” series set in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World. The Warner Bros. film opens worldwide next month.
Said Iervolino, “Johnny has the ability to conceptualize material in a way that few can, and is unburdened of conventional industry formulas that dictate the projects that get made, traditionally. As we make strides to embrace disruptiveness, Johnny will be a key collaborator with us and we are tremendously excited to back his visions and instincts on stories to bring to life.”
Said Depp, “In this era of democratized entertainment, I admire the imaginative ethos of Andrea and look forward to collaborating together in a liberating, progressive manner that will befit the principals of our respective entities.”
Launched just six months ago, TaTaTu has been aggressive in acquiring content as well as creating original films and series. Original content funded and produced projects in the works includes the previously mentioned “Waiting for the Barbarians”; a Lamborghini biopic starring Antonio Banderas and Alec Baldwin; an original documentary on two-time Oscar® nominee Jeremy Renner; and the drama “The Sound of Freedom,” starring Jim Caviezel and Mira Sorvino.
On the acquisitions front, TaTaTu recently acquired the star-studded documentary “Freidkin Uncut,” featuring the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Francis Ford Coppola, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Shannon, Edgar Wright, Willem Dafoe, Ellen Burstyn, Gina Gershon, Juno Temple, Wes Anderson, Damien Chazelle, and William Friedkin.
TaTaTu is an AVOD entertainment platform that combines the best features from the major platforms and social networks with an innovative incentives system. Digital tokens are given out to creators and consumers of content, including those from their referred friends, as they participate in the network. Users can easily invite their friends to join TaTaTu, watch and create videos that can be shared, chat with other members, and share the content they like.
TTU Tokens, which trade on cryptocurrency exchange Liquid, serve as the central currency within TaTaTu’s blockchain-based social entertainment platform and will be used to compensate content creators, members of the platform who view content and pay for advertising on the platform.
This summer, TaTaTu closed a $575 million token pre-sale, from which proceeds are being used to create original content, acquire new users, market the platform and develop the software. Among the first supporters of TTU Tokens, are Prince Felix of Luxembourg, leading cryptocurrency investment firms BlockTower Capital and Lvna Capital, and Lady Monika Bacardi.
TaTaTu also maintains a division dedicated to social causes as part of the platform’s larger push into community activism & global stewardship. The Social Impact group within TaTaTu both develops content while supporting the voices of socially-minded content creators.
Johnny Depp is represented by CAA.
