Tim Burton stating, "I basically wasted a year. A year is a long time to be working with somebody that you don't really want to be working with." "Sleepy Hollow", released in late 1999, had a supernatural setting and contained another offbeat performance by Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, a detective with an interest in forensic science rather than the schoolteacher of Washington Irving's original tale. With "Sleepy Hollow", Burton paid homage to the horror films of the English company Hammer Films. Christopher Lee, one of Hammer's stars, was given a cameo role. A host of Burton regulars appeared in supporting roles
Johnny Depp comedian Doug Stanhope, for defamation after he wrote in a column for "TheWrap" that she was blackmailing Depp; Heard also withdrew her initial request for spousal support. In that lawsuit, Heard claimed that Depp was "an alcoholic and drug addict," that he had "relapsed into a cycle of substance abuse" which had "increased dramatically in recent years, as [had] his violent behavior." A settlement was reached in the divorce case on August 16, 2016, which required Heard to receive US$7 million and to dismiss her request for a continued restraining order against Depp. She also dropped her lawsuit against Stanhope.