On Tuesday, a March taped affidavit from Walter Hamadeh, president of DC Films, a division of Warner Bros., was given to the jury in the defamation trial between Heard and her ex-husband Johnny Depp. Hamada testified that “Aquaman” was the company’s highest-grossing film ever. He said that the studio never planned to portray Heard as a co-star in “Aquaman 2” and that Heard’s role was not cut back in the upcoming film “Aquaman the Lost Kingdom.”
“The size of the film’s role that I identified in the early development of the script, which was going to happen in 2018, I would say. The character’s involvement in the story was kind of what it was from the start,” Hamada testified in the filing. “From the early stages of script development, the film was built around the character of Arthur and the character of Orm. Arthur was Jason Momoa and Orm Patrick Wilson. They have always been the pioneers of the film.”
Depp sued Heard for $50 million in 2018 in an op-ed in the Washington Post in which she wrote that the actor was alleging defamation and that he lost his job. Heard opposed Depp for $100 million, alleging statements made by his lawyer in which he described her allegations of abuse by Depp as a libelous “hoax” that cost her her business.
Heard testified that she believed her role in “Aquaman 2” had been scaled back and that she had to fight to be in the film, which is in post-production and due to debut in 2023. (CNN and Warner Bros. are both part of Warner Brothers Discovery.)
But Hamada testified in his testimony that after filming “Aquaman”, a discussion took place about Heard’s role in a second part.
“I think opening-wise they were able to make this relationship work in the first movie but there was a concern that it took a lot of effort to get there and would it be better for us to rework, find someone who has a better, more natural chemistry with Jason Momoa and move on.” forward this way.”
Hamada testified that the duo appeared to have good chemistry in “Aquaman,” but that the film relied on “post-production magic,” including editing, sound design and music, to help “make up” their chemistry.
“It’s like what makes a movie star a movie star. You know it when you see it. The chemistry wasn’t there,” Hamadeh said in the filing. “A good editor and a good director can pick the right shots, pick the right moments, and put scenes together against the score. The music in a scene makes a huge difference.”
Hamada also testified that Heard’s role in the film and her ability to renegotiate her compensation was not affected by her involvement in the feud with Depp or any statements made by Depp’s representatives.
Heard’s attorney comfort case
Earlier on Tuesday, Heard’s lawyers rested their case.
This month witnessed the course of five days. Among the witnesses at her side is actress Elaine Barkin, who gave her taped testimony to the jury last week. Parkin has stated that while in a sexual relationship with Depp in the ’90s, she once saw the actor throw a bottle of wine at the wall during an argument.
An application to dismiss Heard’s counterclaims against Depp was denied on Tuesday.
Closing arguments are expected on Friday.