A fight that began when Johnny Depp sued his longtime business managers for more than $25 million for mismanaging his finances for almost two decades took another heated turn today. As part of a motion to oppose Depp’s lawyers’ attempts to quash deposition subpoenas intended to obtain records related to the case, the management team made public key correspondences from Depp’s lawyers at Bloom Hergott, his UTA agent, as well as Depp’s sister who The Management Group says was considered “Depp’s personal manager, primary representative and gate-keeper.”

The filing by lawyers for TMG (read it here) in Los Angeles Superior Court includes 11 exhibits which they say shows Depp and his inner circle were fully aware of the financial difficulties of one of the world’s biggest movie stars. The mostly email correspondences that show back-and-forths with lawyers, managers, agents, bankers, Depp’s sister Christi Dembrowski and even Depp that among other things detail how his accounts were overdrawn by nearly $4 million in late 2009, and he was near a deal to borrow $1.98 million more from City National Bank in 2015.

In one exhibit, TMG principal Joel Mandel went directly to Depp in December 2009 with his concerns, with Depp’s reply the next day suggesting he had a plan to cover the shortfall with a string of movie paydays that he said included $20 million for The Tourist, $35 million for Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and $20 million for Dark Shadows.

On December 6, 2009, Mandel wrote to Depp:

Johnny… I wanted to be sure to reach out to you, personally, before you left. Since my email to you in September, I have done what 1 was told you wanted done, meaning, “getting us through” financially until work could start again. The good news is that, so far, we have been able to do that. Notwithstanding, I need your help in a variety of ways. First, we need to “take it easy” on holiday spending. Second, we need to discuss some dollar limit in the upcoming Dillinger auction. Third, I need to be able to sit with you on your return from this trip, and before you leave for France, so that we can talk about where we are financially, what we have borrowed in order to sustain ourselves, what we have had to do to obtain those borrowings, what is now necessary to pay those borrowings back and, finally, to look realistically at income and expenses and to work together on how to make sure that these are back in balance. I know that things are hectic for you at the moment, but know that I am available, day or night, if you want to discuss any of this now. My best, and please travel safely… joel…

The next day, Depp responded:

dear joel= first, thank you for dealing and getting me through. secondly, i am doing my very best on holiday spending, but there is only so much i can do, as i need to give my kiddies and famille as good a Christmas as possible, obviously within reason. but, regarding the plane situation,., i don’t have all that many options at the moment. a commercial flight with paparazzis in tow would be a fucking nightmare of monumental proportions. forget the dillinger auction. don’t need it. know that i will be starting THE TOURIST, on or about the 15th of february; which will be 20 mil. i will then go, virtually, straight into PIRATCS 4, for 35 mil and then in turn to DARK SHADOWS for another 20 mil. i hope that by the amount that will be coming in from work in the coming year and also from back end proceeds, etc., will put everything straight. what else can i do??? you want me to sell same art??? i will. you want me to sell something else??? sure… what??? boat is going to be chartered at new years and sony will then charter it for the TOURIST shoot in venice. other than that, i got bikes, cars, property, books, paintings and some semblance of a soul left, where would you like me to start??? i don’t like being in this situation, but there wasn’t a whole lot of choice, as THE RUM DIARY was a sacrifice we knew would be happening and the last proper paycheck was PUBLIC ENEMIES. i will do my best, joel. my love to you and yours= Johnny

“Depp should be compelled to produce broad discovery relating to his finances, including discovery in the possession of two of the most critical witnesses in the action — Bloom Hergott and UTA,” today’s motion reads. “Moreover, given [her] substantial involvement in Depp’s financial affairs, Depp’s attempt to limit discovery regarding his sister’s knowledge is absurd.”

Depp’s ex-business managers filed their countersuit on January 31, claiming the firm “did everything within its power over the last 17 years to protect Depp from himself and to keep Depp financially solvent.” It noted that the actor himself is to blame for his supposed financial woes, citing such extravagant spending as $3 million to shoot Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes out of a cannon a dozen years ago and the $2 million he spends monthly on expenses.