Johnny Depp's in Charge in New Trailer for 'Mortdecai'

Counting Kevin Smith's Tusk, the last five Johnny Depp movies have been both terrible and public box office duds. Next year he hopes to turn the losing streak around with the goofy adventure comedy, Mortdecai, and a new trailer for the star-studded film has been released to spread some holiday cheer.

Directed by David Koepp and starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, and Paul Bettany, here is the official synopsis:

"Juggling some angry Russians, the British Mi5, his impossibly leggy wife and an international terrorist, debonair art dealer and part time rogue Charlie Mortdecai (Johnny Depp) must traverse the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold."

Working in the film's favor is a relatively weak January 23rd release date. If Mortdecai can't hold its own against Black Sea and George Lucas' Strange Magic then Depp's star power is truly shot.

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New Trailer for 'Mortdecai' starring Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ewan McGregor

Long before we get to see Johnny Depp don a goofy pirate outfit and tons of mascara in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, he'll get to sport a goofy mustache and a collection of colorful suits in Mortdecai. With the film arriving early next year, a new trailer is here to show us why Depp movies are always fun even if they don't always turn out to be very good.

Based on the popular book series, Mortdecai has Depp as the titular roguish art dealer engaged in some international intrigue involving angry Russian mobsters, lost Nazi gold, terrorists, and British MI5. The cast is superb with Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Bettany, Olivia Munn, Jeff Goldblum, and Oliver Platt appearing to be enjoying themselves. But is the film worth your time? Depp has fooled audiences before (Dark Shadows, anyone?) and the January 23rd release date isn't promising. Nor is the presence of writer/director David Koepp, who doesn't have the best track record behind the camera.

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Johnny Depp is a Big Spender in First Trailer for 'Mortdecai'

Bouncing from one blockbuster franchise to the next has obviously done Johnny Depp a world of good. Not only are the Pirates of the Caribbean and Alice in Wonderland movies like printing money, but he gets to indulge in playing kooky characters that audiences seem to love. It's the other movies that have become a problem, as Depp has been mired in one high-profile flop after another: Dark Shadows, The Lone Ranger, Transcendence, and that's just the start. So what does that bode for Depp's latest, the quirky spy comedy, Mortdecai?

The first trailer for Mortdecai has Depp back in goofball mode just as his fans like him. Set to an updated version of "Big Spender", we're introduced to the titular idiotic man-of-mystery, an art dealer and rogue who gets swept up in a global plot involving stolen art, Nazi gold, international terrorists, angry Russians and British MI5. Directed by David Koepp, who seems to taking from the Austin Powers playbook, this looks a silly and broad comedic romp with a cast that includes Olivia Munn, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany, Ewan McGregor, Aubrey Plaza, and more. If it turns out to be a hit then chances are we'll see the rest of author Kyril Bonfiglioli's Mortdecai Trilogy brought to the screen.

Mortdecai hits theaters February 6th 2015, and should we take that terrible date as a bad omen?


Mortdecai Teaser TRAILER 1 (2015) - Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow Movie HD by MovieTrailerz

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Check Out Johnny Depp's Crazy New Look in First 'Mortdecai' Image

Although Johnny Depp was an artificial intelligence and largely seen as a digital construct in Transcendence, it wasn't quite weird enough and so the film bombed hard at the box office. But fortunately for Depp's fans he's got a much quirkier role on the way in detective comedy, Mortdecai, and the first image has been released to show just how wacky his look will be this time.

Rockin' blonde hair and a ridiculous mustache that only a rogue would ask his barber for, Depp plays Charlie Mortdecai, an art dealer and debonair adventurer caught up in an international scheme involving Nazi gold, angry Russians, terrorists, and British MI5. Even for Depp this sounds silly, and frankly this has that same stench of inevitable failure that Dark Shadows had. But you never know; the film is based on the series of books by Kyril Bonfiglioli and they have quite a large following.

Directed by David Koepp and co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Bettany, Oliver Platt, and Jeff Goldblum, Mortdecai opens in the armpit of 2015, February 6th. [ThePlaylist]

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Bruce Willis is 'Captive'; Aubrey Plaza Joins 'Mortdecai'; Elijah Wood 'Sets Fire to the Stars'

* Bruce Willis can still pack 'em in, especially for the most tired of action movies, and he's just added another one in hopes of getting more of your money. He'll star in the boringly-titled Captive (*yawn*), about "an American real estate magnate living in Brazil who is kidnapped and held for ransom at a prison cell hidden in a Sao Paolo landfill while a detective specializing in ransom cases tries to find him." Directing is Simon Brand, who helmed the mediocre "whodunnit" Unknown. [Variety]

* Production on the Johnny Depp-led comedy Mortdecai has moved to Los Angeles, and along with it a handful of promising new additions have been made to the cast. Aubrey Plaza, Jeff Goldblum, and Oliver Platt have joined Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, and Paul Bettany in the adaptation of Kyril Bonfiglioli's books about the titular art dealer and part-time rogue who goes off on a quest involving a stolen painting and missing Nazi gold. David Koepp is directing, and with this cast Mortdecai could be Depp's best film in years.

* Elijah Wood will play famed poet John Michael Brinnin in the indie drama, Set Fire to the Stars.  Andy Goddard (Downton Abbey) will co-write and direct the story which chronicles Brinnin's friendship with Welsh writer Dylan Thomas, played by Celyn Jones. Thomas led a turbulent life led by his personal demons and a stormy marriage, and I suspect the bulk of the film will deal with how Brinnin tried to help his friend through it. Production begins later this month.

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Cary Fukunaga Is A 'Noble Assassin'; Jean-Marc Vallee Gets 'Wild'; Olivia Munn Eyes 'Mortdecai'

* Yesterday I was lamenting the wait between Cary Fukunaga films, and now the Sin Nombre and Jane Eyre director has signed on for two projects in the span of 24 hours. He's now signed on to helm Dreamworks' Noble Assassin, based on an upcoming book by Paul Kix. It tells the true story of Robert de la Rochefoucauld, an aristocrat trained in the dark arts who joined the French resistance against the Nazis in WWII. This follows on the heels of Fukunaga agreeing to direct Beasts of No Nation with Idris Elba in the lead. [Deadline]

* Awhile back Reese Witherspoon signed on to star in Wild, an adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's bestselling memoir that features a Nick Hornby script. With production set to begin this fall, a director has finally been found in Jean-Marc Vallee, whose film Dallas Buyer's Club lands this December. Wild follows Strayed's 1100-mile solo hike from the Mojave Desert to Washington State after experiencing a number of personal tragedies.

*  Say what you will about HBO's The Newsroom (like that it's maddeningly inconsistent), one of the great revelations has been Olivia Munn, who steals every scene as the socially awkward economics geek, Sloan. The show has done wonders for her career, and now she may be joining a major film led by Johnny Depp. Munn is in talks to join Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ewan McGregor in Mortdecai. David Koepp will pen and direct the film, based on the fourth of Kyril Bonfiglioli's Mortdecai books that has the suave art dealer and rogue in a global race to find lost Nazi gold. [Deadline]

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Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor Join Johnny Depp for 'Mortdecai'

The occasional embarrassing flop aside, Johnny Depp's name attached to a film is a good way to round up other big name talent. So as he moves on to his next project, the quirky mystery film Mortdecai, Depp has landed a couple of fellow A-listers to go along for the ride.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor are the next to sign on for Mortdecai, based on the trilogy of novels by Kyril Bonfiglioli. Depp will play the title character, a wealthy and roguish art dealer whose lust for the finer things in life often gets him mixed up in strange cases, like racing against MI5 to recover a stolen painting that could lead to Nazi gold. It's unclear what roles they'll be taking, but expect them to be flashy and more than a little offbeat.

Filming should begin later this year after Depp finishes up with Rob Marshall's Into the Woods. [Variety]

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