The Libertine

page 17

! There May Be SPOILERS in the movie reviews !

Here's the deal.....

The Tribute
Friday night started with Friday day and the anticipation of the evening to come. We had no idea how many people would line up so we were there early. We chatted and shared stories in line all day and it was generally fun. We enlisted the help of a gal named Michele (soon to be a member of JDA) to walk around the complex in case she was able to get pics of our guy. Security freaked us all out by saying they would confiscate all cameras and camera phones. Everyone in line believed them and stored their electronics in their cars. Little did we know that once inside, we could have snapped away. No one wanted to take the chance. Seeing Johnny was all that mattered.

The video montage was incredible. I think the only movie that was not represented was "Private Resort." I'm sure that would have been fine with Johnny. Soon the moment of his arrival came.

I had never been in the presence of his greatness and when he walked in the room I sprung to my feet and began to clap and so did the rest of the room. He smiled, put his hands together in that gesture we know so well and generally looked relaxed. Somehow I completely missed him "polishing" his ear, I was so intent on his face.

The interviewer was respectful yet mundane and his questions were garden variety but Johnny was both entertaining and mesmerizing. His wit and humor shone throughout the evening. The audience enjoyed it. I was in heaven.

The tribute was over far too quickly and we hooted and clapped his praise in a second standing ovation.

The Movie
I was surprised to see Laurence Dunmore (the Director), John Malkovich, Samantha Morton and Johnny Depp appear on the stage. The director tried his best to engage his cast but it wasn't until Johnny took the mic that things clicked and everyone felt more at ease.

At one point Johnny said "You're probably all getting tired of me" and I called out "Never!!!"
He laughed and then looked serious. "Hunkerdown then, I have a lot on my mind so let's get straight to it." I about lost my mind.

Soon the stars left the stage and the time for the movie was upon us.

I had heard a few things about the movie but had failed to digest all the "Johnny" details since I had read the play. When the movie started I was held captive, spellbound, breathless by Wilmot's opening monologue. I shall tell you nothing more but that this will be one of your favorite movies.

When it was over it was late. We retired to sweet Johnny dreams made from imagination.

SAG Screening
A generous, wonderful Angel (JDR) found a way to include me in a Q and A SAG screening  with Johnny on Saturday night. It was a gift and I didn't want to hold out too much hope of actually getting to meet Johnny himself. I decided that I would ask him a question, as it may be the only opportunity I might have to express how I feel about him and to have him look at me at the same time. I tried to push those thoughts away as I watched the movie for the second time in so many days.

It was more moving, more beautiful than the first time. I love this movie and Johnny was superb. The entire cast was amazing. We have seen brilliance from him before but in this film, he is sheer genius.

The Q&A
After the film ended we waited in anticipation while they set up the stage with chairs. This time the interviewer was better, more connected to Johnny and the audience. Johnny was funny and open to her questions. She spoke of different things, roles he had performed, France, his children. She had some tough questions that had been emailed in and the very first was a complicated one. Johnny asked if he could study the question and email the answer back to the person who had asked it. Everyone laughed at that.

Finally she opened the floor up for questions. My hand shot up but I had to wait a turn to ask mine. My heart was in my throat. I was afraid I would pass out, throw up or start to cry. I practiced a few breathing exercises (like I do before singing a solo) and gave it a shot.

"Hi Johnny! I am a great admirer of you and your work and it's obvious to me that you fully immerse yourself in each character you create. I was just wondering how long it takes for you to decompress after you have completed a role." You would have been proud. I was calm and steady and my voice carried nicely. He looked me right in the eye and gave me his answer.

I remember the first thing he said was that it's a strange thing to be in character and find yourself between takes eating Cheetos at the kraft table. Very weird. Then I realized he was looking directly at me while he was speaking and my brain sort of froze. I was aware that I was smiling like a nut job and nodding my head. I mentally slapped myself and attempted to refocus. When I did I heard him saying that his characters are all still with him, in little drawers inside of him, indicating his middle. He then told us a story about how sick he became after he finished being Wilmot and the filming of the Libertine. He said he was sick in bed for two weeks. I took that to indicate that he decompressed that particular character by letting him (Wilmot) seep out of his body over a period of time.

Other questions were asked and answered but I will leave it to others to fill in the blanks. I am only speaking of my Johnny encounter.

The interviewer said Johnny couldn't stay and we should give him a big round of applause. Folks stood up and as soon as they did I made my way down the row I was in to the aisle that lead down to the stage. As I got nearer to him I could see people were already talking to him. A couple of young girls, a man with a baby.....but honestly, if George W. Bush was on one side of me and Marilyn Monroe had risen from the dead and stood on the other side of me, I would not have noticed them. All I could see was Johnny.

I had made a decoupage purse with pictures of every movie he had ever been in and some TV as well. I handed it to him and said I had made myself a little tribute to him and would he mind signing my purse? He said "Wow...wow! This is amazing! You want me to sign it?" "Yes, please," I responded. "anywhere you want."

On the top of the purse were pics of four of my favorite movies, POTC, Benny and Joon, The Libertine (OK-I was guessing on that one), and The Brave. He looked at the Brave and smiled as he autographed his name in purple sharpie on the picture of Raphael. He then handed me my purse with his left hand and extended his right hand to me in a gesture of friendship. I looked down at his hand but was shocked to see it was meant for me. Before I could take it, the man next to me reached over and gave Johnny's hand a pump. Johnny returned the gesture and again he reached out for my hand. This time I took it and I looked up to see he was looking directly into my soul, completely engaged in this tiny moment in time. "Thank you" I said, "never change." He responded with "Thank you" and a glorious smile on his face. At this moment someone asked him for an autograph and he turned to complete the task. I then remembered I had my Libertine book in my hand and I asked if he would sign that as well. He said "Of course. It was a great play." I told him I carried it with me always and that he made it a great movie as well. He smiled and turned to greet more fans.

I have described my Johnny encounter in lush detail as I have remembered it. It probably took less than a minute but will be etched in my memory forever.

He is intelligent, he is generous, he is humble, he is sweet. He is gorgeous. He is Johnny Depp.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/Deppstar/Funny%20Special%20Interesting/Interesting/purse.jpg

Kat's scan of The Special Invitation Prgram

The Official Libertine Site



Please email me any missing links you find

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