Gollum may direct Johnny Depp in ''Addict''

He’s played Gollum and King Kong for Peter Jackson, but what Andy Serkis really wants to do is direct. So said British writer Stephen Smith, who told the BBC that Serkis would make his directing debut this summer with the film version of Smith’s best-selling memoir, Addict. Smith, 61, also said that the production is courting Johnny Depp to play his younger self and hoped to sign the Blow star within the next three weeks.

Addict tells the story of how Smith became addicted to amphetamines, turned to a life of crime, and lived on the streets, before turning his life around and getting clean. ”It’s a horror story with a fairytale ending — irregardless of how low you go with drink and drugs you can still get out of it,” Smith said. He said he expects to have Serkis shoot the film this summer in locations across the U.K., with an eye toward a release next spring.