Johnny Depp's Brain Becomes A Super Computer in Wally Pfister's Transcendence

Announced back in October as a Johnny Depp staring vehicle, Oscar-winning Inception cinematographer Wally Pfister's directorial debut, Transcendence, has had more snippets of its plot revealed today. "It is true Johnny Depp€™s brain is uploaded into a computer,€œ producer Andrew Kosove has told The Wrap, confirming that Depp will play Will, a scientist trying to create artificial intelligence along with his colleagues Evelyn (who is also his wife) and Max. The film's plot and themes will focus on "singularity, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence", though specifics are still being kept under-wraps and the producer is keen to warn that alleged, earlier leaks of the story may be outdated and from an previous version of the film. Said earlier version was passed on by actor Ewan McGregor, according to Kosove. Meanwhile Tom Hardy, who worked with Pfister on Inception and The Dark Knight Rises - turned down the film due to his busy schedule. Depp's attachment ramped up production in October, though the other roles remain un-cast. Kosove has denied that Noomi Rapace is in the running for the role, though The Wrap hints that he refused to deny that he had approached Kate Winslet for the wife role, but did say she was not available. Newcomer Jack Paglen originally developed the screenplay which Pfister, the trusty A-grade cinematographer responsible for the photography on all of Christopher Nolan's films to date, will flex his muscles in the directing chair next year. Nolan himself will executive produce, his influence convincing Warner Bros to distribute the film domestically. Lionsgate will distribute internationally, whilst Alcon Entertainment will produce. It was developed by Annie Maxter and the Straight Up Films company, whose principals include Marisa Polvino, Kate Cohen and Regency Boies. Polvino, Marter and Cohen will produce along with David Valdes, Broderick Johnson and Kosove. Boies will co-produce. The Wrap, possibly going off the alleged earlier version of the story, have spoilerish plot/script notes in their report. Please don't read below if you are in fear of spoilers...
According to the summary, a group of anti-technology terrorists assassinate Will, Evelyn uploads his brain into a prototype supercomputer. Although she at first finds the experiment seems to have gone wrong, before too long Evelyn finds Will responding in computer form. She goes on to connect Will to the Internet so he can help make further scientific breakthroughs. Will asks Evelyn to connect a microphone and a camera up to the computer so he can see and speak to her as well. Will creates a backup of himself to every computer in the world, and furthers his work through accessing online indexes. (Kosove told TheWrap this plot point is no longer in the script.) When the anti-technology organization finds out, they try to steal the supercomputer and destroy it, but Will no longer needs the computer to survive.
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Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.