The blockbuster trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard only wrapped up mere months ago, but it has already been dramatized in a new movie.
Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial was released on 30 September on Tubi, with the warring exes played by actors Mark Hapka and Megan Davis.
Hapka, who took on the role of the embattled actor is relatively unknown in Hollywood, but is best known for playing the role of Nathan Horton in the soap opera Days of Our Lives. He has also starred as Zach in CBS' Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side.
The actor is dating Kelley Jakle, who plays Jessica Smith in the Pitch Perfect movies.
Jakle, along with some of her famous friends, have been celebrating Hapka's casting in the Tubi flick and the singer shared a look at the Depp-themed party she threw.
"When you're throwing a surprise premiere for the punniest man alive, you go all out," Jackle captioned an Instagram reel about the party. "We love celebrating you and your hard work @markhapka!! Thank you @chrissiefit for being the best/most supportive/most fun co-party planner EVER."
The event appeared to be a watch party that was themed on Depp's career and the recent trial and Jackle's Pitch Perfect co-star Rebel Wilson commented "OMG ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️" while Brazilian-American actress Maiara Walsh commented: "Cutest thing literally ever."
Max Adler of Glee fame wrote: "That is the coolest most thoughtful thing ever!" and actress Courtney Hope from The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless commented: "So cute!!!❤️❤️"
Adam Lewinson, Tubi's chief content officer, told Variety that his streaming platform aimed to "capture a timely take on a story that became part of the cultural zeitgeist, painting a unique picture of what millions watched play out in the headlines over the summer."
Meanwhile, Hapka himself spoke about being cast to play Depp in a movie about the hyper-sensationalized trial, telling EW he initially thought the role would be "risky."
"I had questions," he said. "I got on the phone with our director and I spoke to our producer and wanted to find out what kind of movie they were going to make, because if there was going to be any type of bias or sway to either side, then I really wasn't interested."
Newsweek has contacted Hapka for comment.
The movie hasn't exactly been well-received and Morgan Tremaine, a former TMZ employee who testified at the trial, made it clear that he was less than impressed with the trailer.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, he wrote: "Trailer for that low-budget Depp/Heard trial movie on Tubi looks HORRIBLE."
Depp, 59, filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Heard, 36, in response to a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post, in which she said she was a domestic abuse survivor. Depp was not named in the piece.
In June, the jury found that Heard had defamed Depp and awarded him more than $10 million. Depp, in turn, was ordered to pay $2 million to Heard—who had countersued for $100 million, alleging that he had defamed her through comments made by his attorney Adam Waldman. Both sides are now appealing the verdicts.
