Megastar Johnny Depp says he’s at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend to help a friend fight for justice.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor attended a news conference Saturday in support of the new documentary West of Memphis.
Directed by Amy Berg, the film covers the case of the so-called West Memphis Three, a trio of teens who were sentenced to life in prison for the gruesome 1993 murders of three young boys in a small Arkansas town.
Damien Echols, who also sat in on the press conference, and two friends spent 18 years in jail before winning their release.
The documentary makes the case that the teens were victims of an incompetent police force and opportunistic prosecutors looking to attach their names to a big conviction.
Get daily National news
Also speaking to reporters via Skype from New Zealand was Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, who produced West of Memphis and helped finance the independent investigation that found evidence to clear the three.
Depp says he and Echols dined on tater tots and tacos and then went out to get matching tattoos to celebrate his release.
“I knew this was a horrific lie and these boys were innocent,” Depp says.
“To finally see Damien arrive at my house, on my doorstep, was quite, you know, moving. It was a celebration, it was beautiful.”
- Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce marry in front of famous friends at Madison Square Garden
- Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married in elaborate Madison Square Garden ceremony
- Calgary Stampede adds 2 new rides to this year’s exciting midway lineup
- Inside Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s love story: A timeline
Jackson hasn’t ruled out more docs to follow the case going forward.
While the three men were finally freed, they had to enter a guilty plea to be released and continue to push for an official reopening of the case to truly exonerate them and clear their names.
“We talked about this being a work-in-progress film,” says Jackson.
“It’s not impossible that we’d continue to update the film…. Certainly the story’s not finished.”
Echols says he has mixed feelings about previous docs that covered the West Memphis Three case. Although they helped raise awareness, he says he sometimes felt his image wasn’t portrayed in an honest way.
“It’s not fun to have the world see you at your lowest point,” he says.
“We get to finally present whatever it is we want to present.”
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.