Things get weird and ugly when journalism collides with the inelegant demands of outlets’ corporate masters. A Houston TV reporter alleges Disney prevented reporters from ABC affiliates from interviewing Johnny Depp at the Austin Film Festival because he was there to promote the upcoming movie The Rum Diary while his film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has just come out on home video.

A story in The Hollywood Reporter speculates that a bizarre contract stipulation prevents Depp and affiliates from Disney-owned ABC from promoting competing films. Says a news reporter who was blocked from a Depp interview:

“We came here expecting to talk to one of the biggest names in Hollywood. But apparently, Disney doesn’t want Johnny Depp’s new movie premiering here at the Paramount [Theatre] to get more exposure than his new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. So, they wouldn’t allow us to interview him nor would they even allow us to get video of him, but hundreds of other people did.”

Disney and ABC did not comment to The Hollywood reporter about the issue.

Johnny Depp Banned From Talking ‘The Rum Diary’ With ABC Affiliates [The Hollywood Reporter]

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