AUTHOR: Terri
Filmfodder.com – Director Peter Weir has exited “Shantaram,” the Warner Brothers adaptation of the Gregory David Roberts novel starring and produced by Johnny Depp, according to Variety – by Shannon Nolley.
Several sources speculated that Weir and Depp were unable to reach agreement about the direction of the film.
However, a spokesman for Warner said that the conflict was not limited to Depp. “Peter moved on from this film because his interpretation of it differed greatly than that of the studio and producers,” the spokesman said.
Depp remains entrenched in the project. In addition to his role as the story’s lead character Lindsay, Depp’s company Infinitum Nihil is producing. It was apparently Depp who convinced the studio to strike the $2 million deal for the book’s film rights.
While Warner has just begun its search for a new director, the studio remains optimistic that production will start by Spring 2007.
