The Libertine

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! There May Be SPOILERS in the movie reviews !

Thanks to the generosity of Karen from “Johnny Depp Reads,” I had a ticket to attend a screening of “The Libertine” followed by a Q&A with Johnny at the Fine Art Theater in Beverly Hills tonight.

As I have previously said, I have found the film moving, gut-wrenching, and very powerful.  We see the underbelly of 17th century London, and the intimate life of a very creative, yet tortured man.  All of this executed with the artistry of a Johannes Vermeer painting and one of the most exciting and brilliant performances of any actor.

After the screening, Johnny came up and sat up on the stage with Sabra, who asked not only her own questions, but allowed some questions from the audience.  He wore light colored slacks, the same marine blue shirt he wore when he did the press conferences from Nassau, and a dark brown fedora.  He wore black shoes, not his trademark boots.

The issue of honesty came up again, as it had the previous night at the AFI Tribute to Johnny, and Johnny admitted that he had that in common with Rochester, both felt compelled to be ruthlessly honest.

One of the most interesting questions came from a very young actress who asked about the pros and cons of being in the profession.  Johnny discussed how it was very sudden for him to go from being an anonymous person, to someone people pointed at and giggled over in restaurants.  Being treated like that he found was the most difficult, nothing was normal after that.

Even though Sabra asked everyone to just allow Johnny to leave after the Q&A, he was very gracious and signed some autographs and shook hands with admirers.

Los Angeles, 9 November 2005
Quote Johnny Depp:

"For me, Rochester was a great poet and an overlooked poet from . . . he was, he was really, really important in terms of British literature, in terms of literature itself. But he was kind of overlooked because he was, was written off in a lot of ways as a satirist or a pornographer or whatever. He was a guy who was, I think, probably, at least two or three hundred years ahead of his time."

Quote Johnny Depp, on Rochester's modern-day counterparts:

"I think he does exist in a lot of different forms. He existed in the form of Jack Kerouac. He existed in the form of Oscar Wilde, Shane MacGowan, Allen Ginsberg. I could keep going. Even going back to French: Francois Villon, Jean Cocteau. Yeah, I think there's a lot of Rochester's out there."

Quote Johnny Depp, on Rochester's appeal:

"I think one of the things, like, if you look at it on the surface, it is very easy to say, 'Well, I don't like the guy,' because he is mean to people. But you have to take that and kind of split it open and look at it, dissect it and go, 'Is he being mean to people or is he just being honest?' You know, and that was his problem, I think, more than anything. He had an obsession with the truth, with honesty, and couldn't support anything that was even remotely felt fraudulent."

Quote Johnny Depp, on how honesty is a tie that binds him to Rochester:

"Well, it's certainly one of those things that I felt a connection to. I . . . Life's too short to sort of swim around in lies. Just try to get to the core, the very heart of the matter and the very heart of the truth. So, which I try to do. Again, it's a strange thing because basically acting is lying. (Laughs.) You know, finding the truth in the lie."

Quote Johnny Depp, on how he feels about receiving awards:

"Confused. (Laughs.) It's weird, although life is sort of . . . in the Screen Actors Guild award and various nominations and things like that is...although on one hand it's a great honour. It truly is. When that kind of thing arrives, it felt like it came out of nowhere, out of left field, because all I've been doing is focusing my attention to the work. So, if you're focused on this thing and suddenly somebody comes in and says, 'Hey! They want to do this thing at the AFI. Or a hand-and-feet ceremony at Grauman's.' Well, I'm doing this. I don't understand. In terms of me, it didn't make any sense, none of it makes sense. What do I know?"

Quote Johnny Depp/Actor, on balancing life and work:

"No, it's not hard to do because you either, you know, ready to play the game or you don't want to play the game or if you're gonna play the game you play it when you want, on your own terms. So, I've been very lucky in that I've been able to kind of run between the raindrops for a number of years and, yeah, confused the issue. It's been OK. It was kind of difficult at first, when I was coming up the ranks. But it's been pretty easy to just sort of be who you are. (laughs.)"

'The Libertine' is schedule to open 18 November 2005 in the UK.

JOHN MALKOVICH,with that shaved head, piercing gaze and a voice that has been described as purring but vaguely sinister, is an impressive, intimidating, figure.

So it is reassuring to discover not only that he has a keen sense of humour but among the things that tickle the 51-year-old star's funny bone is a bit of the best of British.

For instance, it turns out this elegant actor - he owns his own fashion line - is a huge fan of Johnny Vegas.The pair met during the filming of Malkovich's latest movie,The Libertine - a 17th century story of scandal and degenerate behaviour in which the twice Oscar-nominated American has the regal role of Charles II while Vegas plays rake and wit Charles Sackville.

And the star was captivated by the broad and often outrageous humour of Vegas.

He says: "Johnny Vegas rapidly became one of my lifelong heroes. I found it impossible to take my eyes off him and I had the great good fortune to see him do a comedy night in Douglas on the Isle of Man. I loved watching him - he's funny and very moving."

Malkovich was also highly amused by an incident during the making of the film.

It was when a King Charles spaniel that was in the background of a scene at the royal court did a poo.The actor chuckles at the idea the pooch upstaged him. "I like a nice King Charles spaniel, I didn't experience it as upstaging," says Malkovich. "I liked it very much - and he did hit his mark."

Another British funny man to receive the Malkovich seal of approval is Rowan Atkinson.

They worked together on the spy spoof Johnny English. It seems that comic caper was a hit at home because his children, daughter Amandine who is 14, and 12-year-old son Lowrie, are fans of the Mr Bean star.

Malkovich says: "They liked meeting Rowan because they find him funny and because he has a McLaren F1 which they got to ride in."

His offspring may have to wait a few years before they can decide whether they are as enthusiastic about their famous father's latest big screen project - because The Libertine, produced by Malkovich's film company Mr Mudd, couldn't be further away from the family fare of Johnny English.

It's a warts and all adaptation of a bawdy stage play about John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester, a notorious 17th-century figure who died of alcoholism and venereal disease at 33. Johnny Depp stars as the aristocrat who had the talent to have been a genius but wasted his life with a wild pursuit of drink and sex.

The Charlie And The Chocolate Factory star was persuaded by Malkovich - who had played Rochester on stage - to take on a role in which he goes through physical disintegration and eventually appears utterly raddled on screen.

Before committing himself to The Libertine, which also stars Samantha Morton,Depp flew out to Chicago where the stage play was being performed by Malkovich and then decided he wanted to do it.

But it wasn't as simple as that because of the usual problems in getting the money together. After Depp came on board it still took another six years for the film to be made.

When his Mr Mudd production company was formed,The Libertine was one of their first projects to be announced.

But although he is fascinated by the story of the Earl of Rochester, the star never had any notion of portraying the scandalous character on screen. He says: "Rochester died at 33 - it's a young man's film.

"Of course one can get away with that, I suppose, on stage. I was 44 when I played him in the theatre. But as soon as we began to think of it as a film I thought of Johnny, I never thought of anyone else. So no I don't regret things like that because it means Johnny wouldn't have done it - and I'm happy to watch good acting."

Malkovich is just as modest when he's asked to compare his stage performance as Rochester and the screen portrayal of the character by Johnny Depp. He says: "I never saw myself do the role. I did it on stage, not onTV or for the cinema, and suffice to say I'm not known to be among my most ardent fans.

"I wouldn't make that comparison because the two performances were wildly different and I always love to watch Johnny work - so I never even thought about that."

While he downplays his own achievements, it's a fact that during his screen career he has had audiences marvel at his acting.

His range is remarkable - from spine-chilling baddies in action-packed thrillers like Con Air and In The Line Of Fire, to costume dramas Dangerous Liaisons and ThePortrait Of A Lady to witty comedy such as Being John Malkovich. THE themes that are running through his film career would appear to suggest he is both focused and disciplined.

These are possibly traits that emerged from his youth. Although Malkovich is such a clothes horse you imagine he'd look trendy in hessian sacking, amazingly, he was an overweight youngster who his brother called Piggy.

It's also been claimed he was so determined to do something about being such a tubby he dieted on jelly till he shed the flab.

While he always comes across as one of the most assured actors of his generation, it might not have been much of a surprise if Malkovich, who comes from the mining town of Benton, Illinois, had followed a career in journalism. After all, that was the trade of his parents and older brother Danny.

But he went to Illinois State University in Chicago and joined the Steppenwolf Theatre. It was while at university that Malkovich fell in love with student actress Glenne Headley of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels fame.They wed but after 10 years the marriage ended. Since then Malkovich has shared his life with his long term French-Italian partner, Nicoletta Peyran, who is the mother of his two children.

He insists combining the roles of actor and parent was slightly easier when the kids were tiny tots.

"You'd just grab the diapers, the clean-up bag, and go," he says. "They get to an age when they have to have their own lives and it gets difficult.

They have a huge influence - when are the vacations?

Me, a party animal?
(Filed: 13/11/2005)
Presumably equally misleading were the reports, earlier this year, that Moss was hopping mad at the apparently lively chemistry between Morton and Moss's ex-boyfriend, Johnny Depp, on the set of their new film, The Libertine. The film, which opens next week, is a merciless, red-blooded romp about the affair between the hell-raising poet the Earl of Rochester (Depp) and an ambitious young actress, Elizabeth Barry (Morton). Morton is diplomatic about her co-star ('I was honoured'), and about John Malkovich, who features as Charles II and is also a producer of the film.

Elizabeth Barry was Morton's hardest part yet, she says. It certainly takes guts to agree to a role that requires one to be convincing as the best stage actress 17th-century London had yet seen. She pulls it off, though, managing to be luminous and likable, despite the spikiness of the script. 'Elizabeth is incredibly spunky and strong and vulnerable. She was a self-made woman. I thought she was pretty inspiring in that sense. She did truly love Rochester, but she did think he would ultimately destroy her. She didn't have the luxury of being with him; she didn't have any family wealth behind her. I think at that time it must have been incredibly hard if you were a woman with a progressive, modern outlook.

'I think women just had to play very different games to be powerful, whether you were a monarch or a pauper. When I was younger, I used to find acting exhausting. But you develop ways of making sure you're OK, even if you've been playing someone who's been molested or **** or abused. Acting is not something you should do all the time, 16 hours a day, 12 months a year. You don't have time to be yourself. So I take care of myself, I cherish myself. You have to make time to feed your soul.' Morton prizes self-preservation very high. She may yet go travelling, she thinks, or to film school - both projects ruled out by her rapid rise to success, and by her relatively young foray into motherhood. She would enjoy some time that was 'just about me'. 'Traditional megastardom' holds little allure. 'If you're making $20 million a picture you do sacrifice your privacy. It's not quite selling your soul to the devil. But almost.'

The LibertineStarring Johnny Depp, Samantha Morton and John Malkovich. Directed by Laurence Dunmore. Written by Stephen Jeffreys. Produced by John Malkovich, Lianne Halfon and Russell Smith. A Miramax release. Drama. Not yet rated. Running time: 130 min.

Johnny Depp adds another notch to his memorable gallery of film roles with his portrait of John Wilmot, the debauched Second Earl of Rochester who went head to head with King Charles II in the late 1600s. Opening with the Earl telling the audience that they won't like him by the time his story has been told, "The Libertine" quickly throws one into the filth and grime of 17th-century England. It's a brutally realistic evocation of the time -- perhaps the most authentic ever consigned to film -- and one that makes a mockery of prettified and overly art-directed movies like "Barry Lyndon." The rapier wit dialogue of playwright Stephen Jeffreys, adapting his own play to the screen, sings, too; these are words that stick with the viewer. Buoyed by Michael Nyman's insistent but haunting score and the effectively underplayed, candlelit cinematography by Alexander Melman, "The Libertine" adeptly sets a mood that is highly seductive. (It's also sexually forthright in a manner rarely seen onscreen but highly true to its time and place.)

It all soon runs out of steam as its story sputters to a halt, becoming sidetracked by the less interesting dalliance of the Earl and Elizabeth Barry (an underused Samantha Morton), an actress whom he rescues from career oblivion. That part of the film -- and a pulling back from Depp's more negative persona, such as in his mistreatment of his wife -- is too conventional, even hackneyed. It's a shame because so much of "The Libertine" -- including John Malkovich's chilling portrayal of the King -- really stands out. A fine feature debut for director Laurence Dunmore, "The Libertine" is more of a calling card for his future work than a fully rounded triumph in its own right. -Shlomo Schwartzberg

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