Pirates 5 on hold as Johnny Depp battles alcohol addiction

WE THOUGHT he was just nipping home for some quick surgery, but more serious issues for Johnny Depp have cast a pall over the Gold Coast production of Pirates 5.

Johnny Depp at the Brisbane Airport. Pic Annette Dew

UP TO 200 workers have been stood down from the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales while Johnny Depp undergoes treatment for alcohol problems in the US.

The producers of the $250 million blockbuster have had to dramatically scale back work on the Gold Coast sets as they wait for Depp to return to Australia to resume his starring role as Captain Jack Sparrow.

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Depp, 51, returned to Los Angeles on March 11 to undergo surgery on his right hand after injuring himself during what sources described as a “wild weekend bender” at motorcycle ace Mick Doohan’s luxurious Coomera property on March 7-8.

Pirates 5 sources said worried family and Disney “big wigs” had gone to Depp’s home to push him into seeking help for his problems so he could return to the Coast and resume work on the film.

Depp’s older sister and personal assistant Christi Dembrowski is understood to be watching over him as he undergoes an “at-home rehab program”.

Senior production sources said yesterday there was no question the ship would go down without its captain if Depp did not return.

“The film will be made and it will be made with Johnny,” a veteran production crew member said.

“Everyone wants to get back to work as soon as possible.

“The producers are hoping Johnny will get himself together, come back and get going again.”

Another source that if necessary, the production would be mothballed until Depp returned.

“Jack Sparrow is Hollywood’s most commercially successful, original character of the past 15 years and the heart of the Pirates franchise,” he said.

“Producers will mothball the entire production and recast every part if the other actors aren’t available for a postponed shoot to be sure they can make the movie with Johnny.”

A spokesman for the production yesterday maintained Depp’s absence would not derail the project.

“As previously reported, production will be minimally impacted by Johnny Depp’s injury,” he said.

“Production will absolutely continue when he returns. Everyone will return when filming resumes.”

The spokesman declined to comment on circumstances surrounding Depp’s injury or his rehab treatment.

The popular actor had been staying at Doohan’s waterfront mansion since he arrived on the Coast late last month to reprise his role as rum-loving pirate Sparrow.

“He was on a bender with mates at the house and apparently lost his cool — a la Russell Crowe — after he got into an argument with his wife (model and actress Amber Heard) on the phone,” an source said.

“He lashed out and hit a glass door and that’s how he hurt his hand and a couple of fingers.”

Depp, who has a history of alcohol abuse, has admitted to struggling with drink in the past, and was reported to have sought treatment after a relapse in December last year.

In an interview in Rolling Stone magazine in December, he said of his drinking: “I just decided that I pretty much got everything I could out of it. I investigated wine and spirits thoroughly, and they certainly investigated me as well, and we found out that we got along beautifully, but maybe too well.”

His new wife, model-turned-actor Amber Heard, who is 29 on April 22, is in London to continue filming her role in The Danish Girls. Depp and Heard wed on February 3 at an intimate ceremony for family and friends on the actor’s private island in the Bahamas.

Depp’s former partner, French actress and singer Vanessa Paradis, and the couple’s two children, Lily-Rose, 15, and Jack, who turns 13 on April 9, were photographed at Los Angeles Airport this week.

MEAA director of entertainment crew and sport Mal Tulloch said union representatives met with Pirates 5 crew members on set on Thursday.

“There’s been a halt in production due to an individual incident involving one of the stars,” he said.

“Parts of the production that involve that particular person have ceased production.

“Other crew will be retained to continue with the production for parts that don’t involve that person.”

He said crew would be able to access accrued leave entitlements but financial pressure could force some to look for work elsewhere.

“Crew will be returned home at the production’s expense and accommodation will still be available for crew from interstate and intrastate,” he said.

Mr Tulloch said production was scheduled to resume in full on April 15, with some crew to return to work on April 10.

“The crew are reasonable, highly skilled professionals who understand that sometimes these things happen,” he said.

“They’re part of the creative process and dedicated to their craft.”

Pirates of the Gold Coast

Originally published as Pirates 5 on hold as Johnny Depp battles alcohol addiction