Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have been facing off in court for years now, but things really heated up when the defamation trial began in Virginia. With cameras in the courtroom, the public was able to watch every moment and cast their own judgements about the pair’s tumultuous relationship. That trial was recently made into a movie on Tubi, and it turns out that the actors in the Depp/Heard flick knew there was going to be backlash to their roles.
The new controversial movie is titled Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial, and stars actors Mark Hapka and Megan Davis respectively as the titular celebrities. The first trailer for the movie revealed the way they embodied these public figures, and it sounds like they knew that it might be a controversial project. The pair of performers spoke to EW about this dynamic, with Hapka getting honest about the potential backlash, saying:
We expected every bit of backlash. This was such a moment in the cultural zeitgeist with so many layers, where each individual you ask will perceive this trial completely differently; there’s no objective truth to it, so I think that in that sense, I wasn’t too worried about it because I was just there to do my job, which was to bring authenticity to the testimonies and bring to life what was said by each person as a dramatization.
Well, there you have it. While he knew that some folks were going to have strong feelings about Hot Take’s production and release, Mark Hapka was also able to find some peace while playing Johnny Depp in the project. Mostly because none of us truly knows what happened between the pair of celebs. Instead, he just focused on his job: somehow stepping into the shoes of the Pirates of the Caribbean actor for the trial, of which he was largely the victor.
As Mark Hapka mentioned in this interview, he was mostly focused on bringing an authentic performance of Johnny Depp’s testimonies to life on the screen. Rather than taking sides, the actor instead put his attention on nailing the Edward Scissorhands star’s unique accent and vocal cadence. And the first trailer for Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial shows the fruits of that labor. As a reminder, you can check out for yourself below:
Actress Megan Davis is the woman bringing Amber Heard to life in Hot Take, which is arguably the role that might be subject to the most backlash. After all, the internet took sides during the defamation trial, and a number of people came down hard on Heard. Davis mentioned her reticence to taking the gig, saying:
Listen, I was a little skeptical too when I first heard about it. It’s a topic you want to treat with such respect, and the problem I think with the trial is that people see themselves in both.
With Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s legal teams both appealing the verdict on the defamation trial, the saga is continuing for the foreseeable future. We’ll just have to wait and see if this inspires Hot Take 2 to come to fruition. Only time will tell.
Professionally, Johnny Depp is currently filming his first post-trial movie and also recently picked up a directing gig. As for Amber Heard, she’ll appear in Aquaman 2, but her role might have been reduced. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.