ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY December 3, 2004 Page 42

WANT TO SEE "THE BRAVE"? BETTER HEAD TO EUROPE

Story by Tim Carvell

The plot: An impoverished man agrees to be killed in a snuff film in exchange for $50,000; during his last days on earth, he reconnects with his wife and kids and decides he doesn't want to die - but it's too late. The story's grimness didn't deter Johnny Depp, who starred in the 1997 film and also made it his directorial debut. As is often the case with movies helmed by actors, it's crammed with well-known performers hamming it up - Luis Guzman, Frederic Forrest, and Marlon Brando as the snuff-film producer. Despite the Depp-Brando combo, the film was booed at Cannes, and while it was released in Europe, it's never made it to the U.S. One of "The Brave's" producers, Charles Evans, Jr., maintains this was Depp's decision - Depp owns the North American distribution rights but has passed on offers to release the film Stateside. "It's a personal thing with Johnny," Evans says. "You'll have to ask him why he never chose to release it." Alas, calls about the subject to Depp's publicist returned a definite "no comment."