Open Road Films has acquired domestic rights and some key foreign territories to Brad Furman’s Labyrinth starring Johnny Depp. Production begins in mid-November. Labyrinth was a Black List script, written by Christian Contreras and adapted by Randall Sullivan’s book of the same name. This is a large deal, with a $20 million minimum guarantee overall, and a $25 million P&A guarantee.
Miramax is a co-financier on the Labyrinth and Good Universe is handling foreign sales for remaining territories.
In Labyrinth, Depp plays Russell Poole, a disgraced L.A.P.D. detective who is unable to solve his biggest case: The murders of rap impresarios Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. After 20 years, the case remains open. “Jack” Jackson, a reporter desperate to save his reputation and career, is determined to crack the case and teams up with Poole. As Poole relives the unbelievable story of power, corruption and crime, Jackson begins to unravel a growing web of scandal and deception. Relentless in their hunt for the truth, these two broken men threaten to crack the foundation of the L.A.P.D. all the while fighting for their own redemption.
Miriam Segal and her Good Films label are producing. The deal was negotiated on behalf of Open Road Films by Tom Ortenberg, CEO, and Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, Elliott Kleinberg; and by UTA Independent Film Group and WME Global on behalf of the filmmakers along with Good Universe. Depp is repped by UTA, and Furman and Contreras are represented by WME. Miramax’s EVP of Film & TV, Zanne Devine, and Rosanne Korenberg, SVP of Acquisitions and Co-Productions, negotiated on behalf of their company.
Depp’s last dramatic turn as Whitey Bulger in Black Mass amassed close to $100M at the global B.O. for Warner Bros. Furman recently had the Broad Green crime thriller The Infiltrator in release over the summer.
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