Johnny Depp’s Drama ‘Richard Says Goodbye’ Sold to Saban, DirecTV

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – North American rights to Johnny Depp’s drama “Richard Says Goodbye” have been sold to Saban Films and DirecTV for about $3 million with a 2019 theatrical release planned.

Depp portrays the titular Richard — a college professor who is given a life-changing diagnosis and then decides to throw all pretense and conventions to the wind and live his life as boldly and freely as possible. He smokes, drinks, has sex, and insults anyone who annoys him. The cast also includes Zoey Deutch and Rosemarie DeWitt.

CAA Media Finance brokered the deal. The film was screened in Toronto on Sept. 6, the opening day of the Toronto Film Festival, but was not part of the official festival lineup.

Wayne Roberts directed from his own script. The project was first announced last year at the Cannes Film Festival with Stuart Ford’s IM Global — which was subsequently acquired by the now-bankrupt Global Road — fully financing the project. Producers at that point were Automatik’s Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (“Loving”) and IM Global production head Greg Shapiro, whose credits include “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Hurt Locker.”

It’s the third acquisition for Saban at Toronto. The distributor also bought “Romans,” starring Orlando Bloom, and partnered with DirecTV on the North American rights to Sarah Daggar-Nickson’s “A Vigilante,” starring Olivia Wilde.

Depp is repped by CAA. The news about “” was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.