On July 27, according to foreign media reports, Andrew Levitas, the director of the movie "Minamata Disease", wrote a letter to MGM, a well-known Film and Television Distribution Company in the United States, complaining that his film was hidden by MGM.
According to the head of the film, Sam Wolman, MGM decided not to release Minamata because it was worried that the personal problems of the actors in the film would have a negative impact on them. He said the film carries the hope of thousands of victims who have fallen ill due to Japan's industrial pollution problems and should not hurt these innocent people again for personal reasons.
The film Minamata Disease stars Johnny Depp, Hiroyuki Sanada, Miwa, Bill Nye, Tadanobu Asano, Ryo Kase, hayabusa Kunimura, and others. The story is based on the book of the same name. It tells the story of the famous photographer Smith and his wife Irene in Minamata, Japan, since 1971, filming the strange disease "Minamata disease" caused by mercury pollution and the actions of the Japanese government to cover up this matter. Both the reality and the film are jaw-dropping.
Minamata was selected for the special screening section of last year's 70th Berlin Film Festival, and MGM also purchased the north American distribution rights of the film last fall, and was originally scheduled to launch the North American theater and on-demand platform in February this year. But because Depp lost the case against The Sun, the release plan of "Minamata Disease" was shelved.
The news of snow hiding now has undoubtedly made all the filming achievements of the crew in the past in vain, and also missed an opportunity to let audiences around the world understand "Minamata Disease". MGM's response also caused heated discussion among netizens. Some netizens pointed out that "MGM obviously bought the distribution rights after the Depp incident, don't buy it if it is not released"; some netizens sighed that "Depp's scenery was not limited, the film remuneration was hundreds of millions, and now it is dead to this point." ”
As netizens said, this movie is the most straightforward presentation of the cruel effects of Minamata disease, and we really should not stop looking for the truth, especially the truth buried in the suffering of countless people for the rest of their lives.
I hope to see the day "Minamata Disease" is released. Remembering pain helps us go better and farther.