Johnny Depp starring in a film called The Libertine? "But Empire," we hear you say, brow furrowed in confusion, "Didn't he already make that years ago?" You would be right, but this is a different story, and Depp will be joined by Marion Cotillard for a more recent real-life tale of controversy.
Brett Ratner is in the director's chair for this one, which is inspired by the scandal around International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. He resigned in 2011 after allegations arose that he had assaulted a hotel maid. Though the case later collapsed because of a lack of physical evidence and questions about the maid's credibility, questions still remain over the issue, especially since Strauss-Khan later settled a civil suit out of court. The incident has already spawned one film, Abel Ferrara's 2014 effort Welcome To New York.
Depp would play the man in the middle of the story, working from a script by Ben Kopit that had a home at Warner Bros. at one point, but is now being offered around elsewhere. We're fairly certain that title will change to avoid confusion between this and this 2005 film, which found Depp as the hard-living Earl of Rochester. After all, we wouldn't want the IMDB to implode into a black hole...