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December 2007
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From Monsters & Critics
Julia Roberts' last ditch Depp
Dec 30, 2007, 12:30 GMT
Julia Roberts is so desperate to work with Johnny Depp she has been knitting clothes for his children.
The 'Pretty Woman' actress would love to star in a film alongside the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' heartthrob, and sent him hand-knitted sweaters for his children Lily-Rose, eight and five-year-old Jack with a note saying "I would love to work with you."
A source said: "Julia is a big fan of Johnny and wants to work with him before she gets too old, so she's pouring on the charm."
The 40-year-old actress was reportedly devastated when 31-year-old Reese Witherspoon recently knocked her off the top of the highest paid actress in Hollywood list.
Julia has fallen to fourth place while Reese can command between £15
and $20 million a movie.
December 29, 2007
From Kazren
It does not look good for any television airing of the "People's Choice" awards due to the current writer's srike (see this article for more information).
Word around Hollywood is that there could possibly be an on-line version of it, but even that is iffy. If the strike continues, we may also lose the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards shows. The actors cannot cross the picket lines to perform in anything that might profit the production companies they are striking against. This means anything airing with commercials on televison or any commercial film. The writers are also not allowed to write, even sitting at home and writing for 'future' projects. This means, once the strike is over, it will take a tremendous amount of time to get the cogs and wheels moving again on the production fronts.
With "Public Enemies" in the pipeline, we're all hoping the strike is
over before March, when filming is due to begin.
From MSNBC
Depp’s weirdest shoot? ‘Sweeney’ flashback
Normal scene from character’s happy life left director Burton sobbing
Image: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
In a career that has spanned drunk pirates and scissor-handed recluses, Johnny Depp says the strangest scene he's ever acted in was a simple flashback in "Sweeney Todd" where we see a young Sweeney's happy life. Helena Bonham Carter co-stars.
Fri., Dec. 28, 2007
NEW YORK - In a career that has included drunk pirates and a scissor-handed recluse, Johnny Depp says the strangest scene he's ever filmed is a simple flashback in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."
The movie is the sixth collaboration for Depp and director Tim Burton — and one of their riskiest. It's based on Stephen Sondheim's bloody Broadway musical about a murderous barber, and Depp had scant singing experience.
But it wasn't the singing that scared Depp — or any of his character's
numerous gory murders. It was a flashback to young Sweeney's happy life
before he was sent to prison by Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman).
Story continues below ?advertisement
It's arguably the most normal scene in the movie, and both Depp and Burton could hardly stomach it.
"I think that was the weirdest thing I ever had to shoot," Depp told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "(Burton) literally was sobbing. He left the set of his own movie."
Burton said the extreme melodrama of the scene was difficult to watch.
"That's when I knew (Depp) was a great actor, because that was terrible," the 49-year-old director said. "That was so bad."
Depp, star of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films and "Edward Scissorhands,"
has received rave reviews for his performance, and Burton wonders if the
44-year-old actor will look back in later years and cringe at the young
Sweeney flashback.
POTC4 - well this "rumor" ended up being a Spanish Newspaper's joke. So we're still holding out hope for some real rumors.
Have you been keeping up with the news from Spain on POTC4?
We may have to start a new page just for Pirates 4 rumors!
Found by MadScntst at Yahoo and Fandango
TOP SCREEN PSYCHO (BEST REASON TO BOLT THE DOORS)
WINNER: Johnny Depp in SWEENEY TODD
Runner-Ups:
• Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
• Javier Bardem in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
MOST CINEMATIC CITY (FAVORITE PERFORMANCE BY A CITY)
WINNER: New York City (in ENCHANTED, AUGUST RUSH, AMERICAN GANGSTER, I AM LEGEND, etc.)
Runner-ups:
• Las Vegas (in OCEAN'S 13, RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION, and SMOKIN'
ACES)
• Paris (in RATATOUILLE, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, & RUSH HOUR 3)
FAVORITE SCENIC MOVIE LOCATION DESTINATION
WINNER: The Scottish Highlands (in HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX and STARDUST)
Runner-Ups:
•
Guadalupe Dunes (in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END)
• Alaska (in SIMPSONS MOVIE, INTO THE WILD, and 30 DAYS OF NIGHT)
MOST UNLIKELY ROMANTIC PAIRING
WINNER: Nikki Blonsky and Zac Efron in HAIRSPRAY
Runner-Ups:
• Seth Rogen & Katherine Heigl in KNOCKED UP
• Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox in TRANSFORMERS
FAVORITE COMEDIC PAIRING
WINNER: Jonah Hill and Michael Cera in SUPERBAD
Runner-Ups:
• Adam Sandler and Kevin James in I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY
• Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in RUSH HOUR 3
FAVORITE PERFORMANCE BY MAN'S BEST FRIEND (BEST DOG)
WINNER: Abbey the German Shepherd (as “Sam”) in I AM LEGEND
Runner-Ups:
• Shoeshine in UNDERDOG
• Rexx in FIREHOUSE DOG
FAVORITE MOVIE RODENT (BEST REASON NOT TO CALL THE EXTERMINATOR)
WINNER: Remy in RATATOUILLE
Runner-Ups:
• Alvin, Simon, and Theodore in ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS
• Pip in ENCHANTED
FAVORITE DRAG PERFORMANCE
WINNER: John Travolta in HAIRSPRAY
Runner-Ups:
• Cate Blanchett in I’M NOT THERE
• Eddie Murphy in NORBIT
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER
WINNER: Matt Damon in THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
Runner-Ups:
• Gerard Butler in 300
• Bruce Willis in LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD
MOVIE DAD I'D MOST LIKE TO DATE
WINNER: Patrick Dempsey in ENCHANTED
Runner-Ups:
• Will Smith, I AM LEGEND
• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in THE GAME PLAN
MOVIE MOM I’D MOST LIKE TO DATE
WINNER: Katherine Heigl in KNOCKED UP
Runner-Ups:
• Angelina Jolie in BEOWULF
• Halle Berry in THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE
SPOOKIEST SCREEN LODGING
WINNER: 1408
Runner-Ups:
• HOSTEL: PART II
• VACANCY
FAVORITE SURPRISE CAMEO
WINNER:
Keith Richards in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END
Runner-ups:
• Tom Hanks in THE SIMPSONS MOVIE
• Ryan Seacrest in KNOCKED UP
FAVORITE REASON TO SING ALONG (BEST SONG SCORE)
WINNER: ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS
Runner-Ups:
• HAIRSPRAY
• ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
FAVORITE GROSS-OUT COMEDY SCENE
WINNER: The baby’s head crowning in KNOCKED UP
Runner-ups:
• Norbit's wife in a bathing suit in NORBIT
• Jonah Hill’s dance partner in SUPERBAD
FAVORITE ENSEMBLE OF TOUGH GUYS
WINNER: AMERICAN GANGSTER
Runner-ups:
• 3:10 TO YUMA
• WE OWN THE NIGHT
TOP CHEF
WINNER: Remy, RATATOUILLE
Runner-ups:
• Keri Russell, WAITRESS
• Catherine Zeta-Jones, NO RESERVATIONS
FAVORITE PERFORMANCE BY A SIX-PACK
WINNER: Gerard Butler's in 300
Runner-ups:
• Nic Cage's in GHOST RIDER
• Chris Evans' in FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER
MOST ALARMING WEIGHT LOSS BY AN ACTOR
WINNER: Christian Bale in RESCUE DAWN
Runner-Ups:
• Emile Hirsch in INTO THE WILD
• James McAvoy in ATONEMENT
TOP PERFORMANCE BY A VIRUS
WINNER: I AM LEGEND
Runner-Ups:
• 28 WEEKS LATER
• RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION
A little news fluff from MSNBC
Why Johnny Depp will never marry you
According to Star magazine, Johnny Depp doesn't plan to get married
anytime soon.
Wed., Dec. 26, 2007
Sorry, ladies. Johnny Depp isn’t marrying Vanessa Paradis, his two-time baby-mama and gal pal of 10 years, but that doesn’t mean you’ve got a shot. Star Magazine reveals that the “emotional scars” from both his parents’ divorce and his own at the tender age of 22 may prevent the talented thespian from ever tying the knot.
It’s not that Johnny hasn’t made the effort. Following his failed marriage to makeup artist Lori Anne Allison, the “Sweeney Todd” hottie got engaged four — COUNT ’EM, FOUR — times. Let’s review: Sherilyn Fenn (1987-1988); Jennifer Grey (1988-1989), (everyone’s favorite) Winona Ryder (1990-1993); and Kate Moss (1994-1997).
“Johnny’s never spoken about what really happened between him and Lori,” a family insider told Star. “But having a failed marriage so young, and on the heels of his parents’ breakup, must have had a profound effect on him — especially given all the women he’s been engaged to since then, without ever marrying again!”
Star asked New York City-based psychologist Barry Lubetkin, Ph.D., for confirmation. “Unfortunately, it looks as if Johnny has never had a good blueprint for marriage,” said Dr. Lubetkin, who incidentally never actually treated Johnny. “In the end, his anxiety over being abandoned and hurt, and his own broken marriage certainly could contribute to his doubt, fear, skepticism and concern over getting married again.”
While there probably isn’t a woman in the world who doesn’t want to
fix him, Johnny may have finally figured out exactly what he wants. “Johnny
and Vanessa are a lot alike in that they’re both total bohemians who don’t
believe in any kind of restrictions or labeling that marriage offers,”
a friend told Star. “I think he may also be hesitant about getting married
because it will make him feel old and a little caged in.”
From WBAY
Baraboo seen as possible filming site for Depp movie
Associated Press - December 26, 2007 8:35 PM ET
BARABOO, Wis. (AP) - Don't look now, but star actor Johnny Depp could be showing up in the small Wisconsin city of Baraboo if producers settle on a downtown bank to film a crime by Depression-era robber John Dillinger, played by Depp.
Gene Dalhoff of the Baraboo Area Chamber of Commerce says Universal Pictures contacted the group earlier this month. A representative told him Baraboo is among 20 communities in Wisconsin being scouted as potential filming locations for director Michael Mann's "Public Enemies."
Baraboo National Bank CEO Merlin Zitzner says he got a call from a representative of Mann, saying the bank is being considered for filming a robbery. He says the bank and Baraboo's courthouse square have a vintage look that makes them appealing to the filmmakers.
"Public Enemies" is envisioned as a screen adaptation of Bryan Burrough's book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34." It describes the FBI's transformation when confronted with crime sprees of Dillinger, Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd and Lester "Baby Face Nelson" Gillis.
Dillinger and his gang pulled off bank robberies across the Midwest and used a northwoods Wisconsin lodge as a hideout. Dillinger's crime wave ended when he was slain by FBI agents in Chicago in July 1934.
Information from: Baraboo News Republic, http://www.wiscnews.com/bnr
From The Sun
Ladies wants a Johnny Xmas
JOHNNY DEPP should swap the Caribbean for Lapland according to the nation's women - who'd love to see him starring on the big screen as a hunky Santa.
More than a quarter of ladies picked the film star as their movie fantasy Mr Claus beating the likes of JUDE LAW and LEONARDO DiCAPRIO.
The poll of cinema-goers by Odeon also found 62 per cent choose RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH'S performance as Father Christmas in Miracle on 34th Street as the best ever St Nic on the silver screen.
He was followed by TIM ALLEN in The Santa Clause and TOM HANKS in the animated hit The Polar Express.
Actors ROBBIE COLTRANE, BOB HOSKINS and RAY WINSTONE were the top trio who would make festive-tastic Santas in a new generation of movies,
And amazingly, DAME JUDI DENCH beat screen beauties JESSICA ALBA and
LINDSAY LOHAN with two thirds of the vote as the woman best-suited to the
red suit as Mrs Claus.
From Female First
Counsellor Johnny Depp
24-12-2007 07:11
Johnny Depp acted as a relationship counsellor for Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter on the set their new film.
The actor - who stars as murderous barber Sweeney Todd in musical movie 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' - regularly helped his co-star Helena and her director boyfriend through their "domestics".
Helena said: "Johnny was very helpful because me and Tim would sometimes
have little domestics and he was very diplomatic!"
Comment on this Article
The actress - who recently gave birth to a baby daughter, her second child with Tim - also said Johnny helped her remember her lines because she was pregnant when they shot the film.
She said: "Johnny was very thoughtful because I was pregnant and when you are pregnant, for the first three months it's difficult to concentrate on anything - all your energy goes into the baby.
"Sometimes he was off camera and when I had completely forgotten what
Tim had told me, Johnny would just sign language, 'Look over there!' or
whatever it was I needed to do, so that was particularly helpful!"
From Great Ormond Street Hospital (one of Johnny's charities)
Premiere tickets for Sweeney Todd – the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is delighted to be the beneficiary of the European Premiere of Sweeney Todd at The Odeon Leicester Square, on Thursday 10 January 2008.
Johnny Depp and Tim Burton join forces again in a big-screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's award winning musical sensation Sweeney Todd. Not for the feint-hearted, this spectacular, yet macabre tale is spun by an all-star cast, including Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs Lovett.
The movie has been nominated for 4 Golden Globes including Best Director – Motion Picture, and Best Picture, Actor and Actress in the Comedy or Musical category.
Johnny Depp stars as Benjamin Barker, a man unjustly imprisoned for 15 years on the other side of the world, who escapes back to London with a vow of revenge, opposite Helena Bonham Carter as his obsessively devoted accomplice, Mrs. Nellie Lovett. Adopting the guise of Sweeney Todd, Barker returns to his old barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s pie-making premises, and sets his sights on Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) who, with help from his nefarious henchman Beadle Bamford (Timothy Spall), shipped him off on a trumped-up charge in order to steal his wife, Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly), and his baby daughter from him.
Stalls tickets £50
Circle tickets plus after show party £175
(The party will be attended by Johnny Depp alongside the rest of the
A-list cast).
To purchase tickets, please call the events team on 020 7239 3069.
For more information please see www.sweeneytodd-themovie.co.uk.
By purchasing your ticket for the Sweeney Todd Premiere, you are helping Great Ormond Street Hospital to help more children get better and get home – thank you!
With thanks to Warner Bros Pictures for their support.
Please note: Sweeney Todd – the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is certificate:
18 tbc.. Tickets will be sold on a strictly first come first served basis.
If you wish for your tickets to be sent to you by registered post, an additional
£4.50 will be added to your transaction total. Tickets are non-refundable
and non-transferable. Full information regarding the premiere will be provided
with the tickets.
From GAO first posted on Johnny Depp Zone
According to the morning show called "Mezamashi TV," Johnny is going to come to Tokyo on January 7.
The ST Japan premiere will be on the next day, January 8 around 6:00 pm in Roppongi.
FYI, Japan standard Time is GMT+9
From Hollywood Today
(excerpt)
“National Treasure: Book of Secrets” Opens with $44.5M Weekend. “Sweeney Todd,” “Charlie Wilson’s War” and “P.S. I Love You” all open strong, “Walk Hard” needs crutches.
By Jeffrey Jolson
Johnny Depp’s “Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” had a
razor sharp $9.5 million opening weekend, very good for a Broadway musical
adaptation, as they usually do not cut very deep into the box office. Plus
the film only opened on 1,250 screens, less than half of some of its competition.
It was driven by the charms of Depp playing another ghoulish, yet misunderstood
character in a Tim Burton film (“Edward Scissorhands”) despite the fact
he had never sang in a film before.
From KansasCity.com
TOP 5 | Movies
(excerpt)
Perhaps only the mercurial Johnny Depp could make a studio millions by playing a ding-a-ling pirate. The film “300,” a sword and spear slaughterfest, combined live actors (like Gerard Butler, above) and a computer generated environment. It killed at the box office. Later “Beowulf” turned real actors into animated ones. It’s making a bundle, too. Trend? Bank on it.
Depp rules
How big is Johnny Depp? Big enough to propel 2007’s “Pirates of the
Caribbean: At World’s End” to a worldwide take of more than $900 million.
Now he has lent his talent and box-office clout to the musical “Sweeney
Todd,” in which he plays a homicidal Victorian barber. Depp is the king
of art and commerce.
From Film.com
Johnny Depp vs. Tom Hanks: Who Ya Got?
Dec 19, 2007 | C. Robert Cargill | Author's email address so you can tell him what you think of this HERE
Actor Johnny Depp attends a special screening for DreamWorks Pictures'…
Once again, it’s a weekend battle of head-to-head stars and this week is positively titanic in scope. We've got two monumental talents whose genius and charisma have propelled them both to the very top of the Hollywood food chain. In this corner, we have funnyman-turned-producer, writer, director and, almost I forgot, back-to-back Oscar award winning actor, Mr. Tom Hanks, ladies and gentlemen! And in this corner we've got one of the most successful guys in the world, heartthrob-turned-indie-film- god-turned-heartthrob-A-Lister: Mr. Johnny Depp! You know the rules. Let’s drop the cage. Two men enter! One man leaves!
In the box office this weekend: Winner = Hanks
Thank god, an easy one to start off with. First of all, Hanks will
win this in a walk, but mostly due to the fact that Depp's Sweeney Todd
is opening limited before its wide release. Once Sweeney goes wide, however,
methinks the musical starring every 17-year-old girls' favorite pirate
will rapidly outpace the sharp political comedy of Charlie Wilson's War;
though, both of these films will no doubt get their tails handed to them
by National Treasure 2.
In the critical arena: Winner = Tie
This is going to be split evenly. As far as acting goes, much critical
love will find its way to Depp, who stretches his chops by playing a lovesick
madman bent on revenge… and who also sings. Hanks, on the other hand, does
a fine, fine job with Charlie Wilson's War, but has Philip Seymour Hoffman
acting circles around him, which is something every critic will be quick
to note in their reviews. HOWEVER, Sweeney Todd is finding itself a bit
uneven in the reviews, and there are scads of critics out there who love
to lie in wait and ambush Tim Burton at every opportunity. But Charlie
Wilson's War has been finding a lot of critical love over all. So yeah,
a tie.
In their careers: Winner = Tie
Both of these guys are at the top of their games with only a few real
differences between them. Hanks has two Oscars while Depp still gets to
be that guy that deserves them but hasn't gotten them. Depp is still a
heartthrob with a young, devoted audience while Hanks is that comfortable,
safe actor that plays very well to older crowds. Both bring in huge crowds
and prick up the ears of pretty much everyone when it is announced that
they are in a particular movie. The winner in this category is more of
a it-depends-on-who-you-ask sort of basis. So yeah, another tie.
In a fight: Winner = Whoever gets to see it
I don't foresee this fight as having a clear winner. It could go either
way and the only real winner would be the guy whose camera phone caught
the whole thing.
Winner = Us
Let's face it; whenever EITHER of these guys makes a movie, we win.
They are the kind of actors who rarely, if ever, make bad films and even
when they do, it is worth watching for them. Both of these films rock HARD,
and the only real winners are the people who get to see them both. That
would be us.
From Yahoo Movie News - Worst Hairstyles in Movies - they put Sweeney & Willy Wonka on their list.
From China Daily
Burton got wife to ask Depp to be son's godfather
Director Tim Burton was too shy to ask actor Johnny Depp to be his son's godfather and made his wife Helena Bonham Carter do the asking instead.
Depp immediately accepted but was surprised that Burton did not ask him himself as they were working together on 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory' at the time, reports contactmusic.com.
Depp said: 'This is Tim Burton in a nutshell. We were doing 'Charlie And The Chocolate Factory' and I was on the set... one of my pals comes up and says, 'Helena just called. When you get a moment, she'd like you to give her a call back.' So I go back to the trailer, call Helena, and say, 'Hey, what's going on? Is everything all right?' And she says, 'Everything's fine. But, well, you know how Tim is. He wants to know if you'd be... he'd like for you to be Billy's godfather.'
'I say, 'But I was just with Tim three minutes ago. I had to leave him to walk back to the trailer to call you.' She said she called me to ask because Tim just couldn't. That was his way of asking. I went back to the set and said, `Thank you.' I told him that I was honoured.'
The actor added: 'It doesn't get heavier than saying, `I'd like you
to be the godfather of my son.' But he's not ever going to put himself
into a corny kind of situation with a pal. He's like, `Good, yeah, yeah.'
Boom. `Let's get back into the work'.'
From PR Inside
DEPP PROUD TO MAKE WOMAN LAUGH FOR FIRST TIME IN YEARS
December 21, 2007
JOHNNY DEPP has been left immensely proud of his work on the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN films - after a stranger told him his performances made his sick wife laugh for the first time in years.
Depp was amazed to hear his turn as Captain Jack in the swashbuckling trilogy had such an affect on the woman, who's suffering from a form of Alzheimer's disease.
He says, "One time a guy told me that he brought his wife to see Pirates Of The Caribbean. She had lost her motor skills. I forget what you call it. It's not autism. They made a movie about it, where you recede and your functions start to go.
"Anyway, they're watching the film, and when Captain Jack Sparrow came
on the screen, she started to laugh. This guy said he hadn't heard that
laugh in years. And so he took her back to see the film repeatedly.
"For some reason, Captain Jack made her laugh every time. That's right
up there."
From FANtasticJD found at Deadline Hollywood Daily and People
People's Choice Awards Alters Its Format
peoples-choice-awards-2.jpgOf course, no one will admit whether this is being done because of the WGA strike. But CBS has confirmed that the annual People's Choice Awards will be broadcast January 8th. "The show will go on. The People’s Choice tradition on CBS will continue and we plan to introduce some new ideas in the process." A source told me earlier today that "they are trying to tape winners giving 'Thank you's with clips to air. No press allowed. No red carpet." Presumably the event will be picketed by striking writers.
I know what you're thinking: who watches these phony baloney awards and who cares?
But, presuming you do, the "new magazine-style format" hosted by Queen Latifah will feature acceptance remarks as well as answers to questions from their fans. The show's producers claim this will "give fans a more personal glimpse into the lives of their favorite actors and musicians”. But the previously filmed pieces also help the show avoid making celebrities cross WGA picket lines.
People's Choice Awards Abandons Red Carpet
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 19, 2007 07:45 PM EST
Queen Latifah Photo by: Jamie McCarthy / WireImagePeople's Choice Awards
Abandons Red Carpet | Queen Latifah
The People's Choice Awards has become the first awards show hit by
the writers' strike, with producers abandoning the red carpet, acceptance
speeches and live audience for a "magazine-style format."
Queen Latifah will continue to serve as host of the show, but winners now will give their acceptance remarks via video rather than from a stage in an auditorium. Winners will also answer questions emailed by fans.
"Obviously, we realized there are pressing issues facing the entertainment industry," says show spokeswoman Jeannie Tharrington. "Out of respect for all the people involved, we decided we would use this opportunity to use a new format."
The People's Choice Awards airs on Jan. 8 on CBS.
Fabulous interviews with Tim Burton and Johnny HERE The links are on the right and you will have to put up with several vorizon comercials, but it's really worth it.
From Lumina Magazine
Review of "INSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO"
Inside the Enigmatic Johnny Depp
Written by JORDAN BRANDES
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Johnny Depp is a naturally enigmatic actor. Over the past few decades he has managed to make a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s most ingenious and risqué leading men. He has been the star of such cult films as Edward Scissorhands, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and most recently the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. That is why it is such a treat to be able to get a glimpse of him in his true form in the “Inside the Actors Studio” presentation now available on DVD.
This DVD is not going to be everyone’s taste. And to be fair, it does not cater to everyone. The “Inside the Actors” studio interviews are just that. A series of direct one- on-one questions between Depp and James Lipton, the Dean of New York’s New School University acting program. Those studying to be actors or who are fascinated by Johnny Depp will no doubt find the DVD riveting. The rest of us probably will not.
Without a doubt though watching Depp interact with Lipton makes the DVD worth watching. Depp walks on stage, wearing a raggedy jacket and torn up boots like a vet straggler found on the street. Within minutes of sitting down he lights up a hand rolled cigarette and lights up, an act that would get almost anyone else banned from the stage.
Lipton is old school in the best sense. He talks as if he were a Shakespearean actor and though it is obvious he has tremendous respect for Depp there seems to be a lot of silent tension between them. It is obvious in a lot of question and answer period that Depp is trying to not give a straight answer, and in truth that shows a lot about his personality.
For instance, near the end of the segment Lipton asks Depp what turns him on the most. Depp answers, without batting an eye “breathing” and immediately afterwards admits that “not breathing” is his biggest turn off. Like a boy who has just been sent to the principal’s office for being too rebellious Depp dodges a lot of the big questions thrown his way.
Getting the chance to hear Depp’s side of a lot of great films is truly interesting. He explains that as a teen idol in the late 80’s he felt as if he was being turned into someone else’s product. It was during that time that he vowed never to become the property of anyone and he began taking riskier roles.
Overall this DVD will give hardcore Johnny Depp fans an in-depth look
into what he is like off camera. Whether or not that merits going out and
buying the disc is really up to the viewer. The “Inside the Actors Studio”
interviews have been going on for well over 12 years and the Johnny Depp
interview is just one of many. If the concept of serious interviews with
big name stars really piques your interest it might be a good idea to invest
in a box set of the series rather than just the one interview. This DVD
has more value on the educational front than as pure entertainment.
THE DVD
From Thaindia News
Brando taught Depp never to discuss his personal life with media
December 19th, 2007
Washington, Dec 18 (ANI): Actor Johnny Depp has revealed that late movie
icon Marlon Brando taught him never to discuss his personal life with the
media.
Brando taught Depp never to discuss his personal life with media
Johnny Depp
The Pirates of the Caribbean star said he did a television interview where he talked about his family life but was shocked when he received an angry phone call from Brando after the interview aired.
“I had done some television interview, and they asked about my family life and kids. I talked about how I’m a proud father and how much I love my kids and how they’re fun and what we do and how it’s great, Conatctmusic quoted Depp, as saying.
“I was thinking that if in 25, 35 years my kids watch old footage, I’d be proud for them to see their dad saying how much he loves them.
“Well, the show aired, and I get a phone call: ‘What the f**k are you doing?’ I said, ‘Marlon, what are you talking about?’ He said, ‘That’s none of their business!’ “I tried to say, ‘Marlon, listen, man, I only wanted my kids to…’”
“And it was like he gave me this sort of once-over. ‘You don’t do it, man. That’s your world and it’s nobody else’s business. It’s not anybody’s entertainment.’ And he was right,” he added. (ANI)
From Teen Hollywood
Depp's Daughter Wants To Be A Pop Star
Dec 17, 2007 - World Entertainment News Network
Johnny Depp's daughter Lily-Rose dreams of following her parents into showbusiness - she has her heart set on becoming a pop star.
Both the seven-year-old's parents have pursued a career in music: mother Vanessa Paradis had her first hit single, Joe le Taxi, in her native France at the tender age of 14, while movie star Depp fronted numerous rock bands, including The Kids, before becoming an award-winning actor.
But Paradis hopes little Lily-Rose will soon see sense before embarking on a music career.
She says, "I would love her to wait a little longer than I did."
Entertianment Weekly has a Johnny Depp characters Slide Show HERE
Johnny Depp's Signature Roles
From teen heartthrob to swashbuckling pirate to murderous barber (in the new ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''), Depp has proven himself a master of his craft
By Gary Susman | Dec 18, 2007
From Esquire
What I've Learned: Johnny Depp
(more photos from
this shoot HERE)
Actor, 44, Los Angeles
By Cal Fussman (more from this author)
12/17/2007, 5:48 AM
One time a guy told me that he brought his wife to see Pirates of the Caribbean. She had lost her motor skills. I forget what you call it. It’s not autism. Jesus, they made a movie about it. You know, where you recede and your functions start to go. Anyway, they’re watching the film, and when Captain Jack Sparrow came on the screen, she started to laugh. This guy said he hadn’t heard that laugh in years. And so he took her back to see the film repeatedly. For some reason, Captain Jack made her laugh every time. That’s right up there.
My mother taught me a lot of things. The first thing that comes to mind is: Don’t take any shit off anyone, ever. When I was a little kid, we moved constantly. Bully picks on you in the new place? Don’t ever take any shit off anyone, ever. Eloquent and right.
My life is my life because of Tim. Definitely.
This is Tim Burton in a nutshell: We were doing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I was on the set. We were shooting, working, working, working. All great. Everything’s cool. One of my pals comes up and says, “Helena [Bonham Carter, Burton’s partner] just called. When you get a moment, she’d like you to give her a call back.” “Okay,” I say. “As soon as I’m done on set, I’ll go back to my trailer and give her a call.” So I go back to the trailer, call Helena, and say, “Hey, what’s going on?” I thought maybe Helena had a question about little boys because Billy was a little baby then and I’ve got two kids. So I say, “Is everything all right?” And she says, “Billy’s fine. Everything’s fine. But, well, you know how Tim is. He wants to know if you’d be . . . he’d like for you to be Billy’s godfather.” I say, “But I was just with Tim. I was with him three minutes ago. I had to leave him to walk back to the trailer to call you.” So she called me to ask because Tim just couldn’t. That was his way of asking. I went back to the set and said thank you, told him that I was honored. It doesn’t get heavier than saying I’d like you to be the godfather of my son. But he’s not ever going to put himself into a corny kind of situation with a pal. He’s like, “Good, yeah, yeah.” Boom. “Let’s get back into the work.”
Look, see this little carrot near the dip? Watch. I’ll put it in my mouth as if it were a cigarette holder. Now I’m Raoul Duke. I spent so much time with Hunter Thompson, it just became second nature. As soon as I put anything resembling a cigarette holder in my mouth, he starts to come out. It’s so natural and it’s so strange. It sounds kind of ridiculous to even say it.
The characters are always there and, depending on the situation, not far from the surface. So they show up every now and again. It can’t be good for you. It just can’t. Then again, who knows?
I don’t think anybody’s necessarily ready for death. You can only hope that when it approaches, you feel like you’ve said what you wanted to say. Nobody wants to go out in mid-sentence.
I’m in a very privileged position. And I’m certainly not going to bite the hand that feeds me. I like doing the work. But I’m not a great fan of all the stuff that goes along with it. I don’t want to be a product. Of course you want the movies to do well. But I don’t want to have to think about that stuff. I don’t want to know who’s hot now and who’s not and who’s making this much dough and who’s boffing this woman or that one. I want to remain ignorant of all this. I want to be totally outside and far away from all of it.
I remember one time I had done some television interview, and they asked about my family life and kids. I talked about how I’m a proud father and how much I love my kids and how they’re fun and what we do and how it’s great. I was thinking that if in twenty-five, thirty years my kids watch old footage, I’d be proud for them to see their dad saying how much he loves them. Well, the show aired, and I get a phone call. “What the fuck are you doing?” I said, “Marlon, what are you talking about?” He said, “That’s none of their business!” I tried to say, “Marlon, listen, man, I only wanted my kids to . . .” And it was like he gave me this sort of once-over. “You don’t do it, man. That’s your world and it’s nobody else’s business. It’s not anybody’s entertainment.” And he was right.
People are supernice in the street. If they want me to sign something, that’s great, I don’t mind that at all.
There’s no limit to the possibilities of what I could do to the paparazzi if I catch them photographing my children.
You don’t go through the front door of hotels anymore, you go through the garage. Or you go through the kitchen of a restaurant. Some people want to think that’s cool, that’s exciting. But it’ll definitely make you a little weird if you’re constantly being stared at. Part of the process that I’ve always enjoyed is being the observer. You know, just watching people and learning. At a certain point, the reversal took place. I was no longer the observer -- I was being observed. That’s obviously very dangerous because part of an actor’s job is to observe.
My definition of freedom is simplicity, really. Anonymity. I’m sure it will be a possibility someday again. Maybe when I get old. They get tired of you.
“Didn’t you use to be Johnny Depp?” That will be the clincher.
From the PR Insider
DEPP TO BOYCOTT PUBLIC APPEARANCES?
JOHNNY DEPP has threatened to boycott public appearances, after photographers
left a woman injured at the premiere of his latest movie.
Snappers desperate for a prize picture of the star, accidentally toppled
a female fan at the New York screening of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber
of Fleet Street earlier this month (03Dec07).
According to the New York Post, the actor yelled at members of the
press, "If you guys can't control yourselves, I won't do public appearances
anymore." The newspaper claims photographers behaved themselves after the
threat.
Garmin is having a Pirates-tie-in contest - some nice prices - you can enter HERE
From emr at Deppography
The singer and actress Vanessa Paradis received a badge of knighthood on Saturday, by Minister of Culture Christine Albanel, who paid hommage to the "darling child of French music and cinema".
Vanessa Paradis "will always be the tiny eternel fairy of french music, first appearing on our screens in the late 80's to sing "Joe le Taxi" ', said the Minister.
''And furthermore, you have taken in (taken on?) more than a thousand faces (roles?), taking your doll-figure right to the top of french music and cinema" she added.
From "Noce Blanche" to "Atomik Circus", and including "La Fille sir le Pont", "Le Soldat Rose" and her latest album "Divinidylle" which was produced by Matthieu Chedid, she has "always kept her innocence and freshness, which have melted the public" at the beginning of her career, she adds.
Vanessa, 34, was accompanied by her companion and American Actor, Johnny
Depp, and their two children.
From the New York Post
'TODD' FELLOWS
INSIDE HOLLYWOOD'S COOLEST THREESOME: DEPP, BURTON AND BONHAM CARTER
By SARA STEWART
December 16, 2007 --
Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd" has a lot to recommend it - opera, gore, Johnny Depp and Sacha Baron Cohen in the same scene - but it may, upon closer reflection, also be a cinematic tribute to Hollywood's greatest love triangle.
For the first time, Burton has cast his two great muses as co-stars: Depp, as the demon barber of Fleet Street, and Helena Bonham Carter, the director's wife, as cannibalistic pie-maker Mrs. Lovett.
There can be no taking Burton to task for petty nepotism; "Sweeney" composer Stephen Sondheim hand-picked Bonham Carter out of a dozen candidates, and had final say over the casting of Depp in the title role.
But it's still a little eerie to look at the two actors onscreen and note how very much they resemble one another - as well as Burton himself. Sort of as if they're all slowly becoming the same person. It's a process that's been taking place for years now.
"Helena has known Johnny for almost as long as Tim has," observes Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays the lovesick sailor Anthony in the film. He's watched the threesome in action, and has a good inside line on how the dynamics work.
"It's kind of funny, because [Tim and Johnny] are like little boys when they're together, and Helena's like, 'Oh, boys,'" says Campbell Bower. "She's equally as fun, I think, but sometimes she probably takes a step back because she thinks, the boys are doing their thing. But mostly she kind of fits in."
Still, the triangle does seem to lean to one side.
"They have these incredible communication skills and friendship, and this amazing chemistry," Campbell Bower says admiringly - of the director and Johnny, that is.
Depp and Burton, Burton and Depp. The two names have become inextricably
linked. "Sweeney," Burton's most ambitious film yet, marks their sixth
collaboration, which began with 1990's "Edward Scissorhands."
From Monsters and Critics
Johnny Depp's homeless vow
Dec 16, 2007, 7:30 GMT
Johnny Depp would rather be homeless and poor than lose his family.
The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor has two children, Lily-Rose, eight, and five-year-old Jack, with girlfriend Vanessa Paradis and insists they are the most important things in his life.
He said: "My family is my sanctuary. I live for them now. I finally found a reason to exist in this world. There is nothing like it. I would give everything away, if I could keep my family."
Depp - who has just finished shooting Tim Burton's 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' - says one of his greatest pleasures in life is seeing his children blossom into their own personalities.
The former hellraiser said: "What keeps you feeling young more than anything is your kids, hanging around your kids, watching them experience things for the first time, seeing their imaginations bloom and flower. That's the key to all of it for me.
"Just the miracle of saving a drawing they made when they were three
years old and looking at one they made when they were four - there's a
vast difference in that. And then up to six and seven and it's like, 'I'm
raising Picasso!' "
From the Chicago Sun Times
Depp's big discovery: He really can sing
December 16, 2007
BY CINDY PEARLMAN
Johnny Depp might be the greatest actor of his generation, but that didn't help when it came to piping up for his new movie musical "Sweeney Todd."
He thought he'd butchered it.
The former pirate and Edward Scissorhands fretted that he might not be able to croon a tune in the film version of the Stephen Sondheim musical about a barber who sends his clients down to the local bakery to become tasty treats.
"I was scared to death," Depp admits of the singing in the movie, which opens Friday. "I didn't know if I could really sing or not."
Depp laughs. "All I can say is that I gave it the old college try. I had a fantastic time doing it. But how did I do? Well, it's up to the rest of the world to decide if I should ever do musicals or sing in public again -- ever."
Depp shouldn't worry, because the early reviews are raves for his "Sweeney Todd," a bloody story of music, murder and strange meat pies.
In the film, directed by his long-time collaborator Tim Burton, Depp plays Benjamin Barker, who comes back to London after escaping from 15 years of false imprisonment in Australia. He vows to kill the evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) and his henchman (Timothy Spall) who sent him away so they could steal his wife Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly).
Barker returns to his old barber shop, located conveniently above a pie-making store run by Mrs. Nellie Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who informs him that his wife poisoned herself after the judge took advantage of her. A rival barber (Sacha Baron Cohen) wants to expose Barker, who then cuts his throat. What to do with the body? Why not make it into some of Mrs. Lovett's pies?
"It's a story about a revenge which is so primal," says Depp. "The message is when you seek revenge you usually end up destroying yourself."
The play debuted on Broadway on March 1, 1979 starring Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett and Len Cariou as Todd. Burton always kept the idea of a film version of the story in the back of his mind.
"It's not that I'm so into musicals, but I did see a poster for this one and it looked really cool," Burton says. "It reminded me of old horror movies."
Depp was interested in playing Todd from the time that he heard Burton talking about his new favorite stage play. In 2001, Burton visited Depp at his home in the south of France and handed him a CD of the Angela Lansbury stage production. Burton asked Depp the big question -- if he could sing -- knowing that Depp once performed in a band when he was young.
"I never sang a whole song," Depp confesses. "I was more the guy with the guitar who did some oohs and ahhs during the chorus."
Even Depp was curious if he had singing talent and looked up the singer and bass player in his band, called the Kids, and then went into the studio to record a song called "My Friends."
Depp says the experience was "weird and scary." But his former bandmate told him he had the chops for "Sweeney Todd."
Burton wasn't worried. "When I heard him sing it went far beyond my expectations."
Depp prepared by taking singing lessons. "Oh boy, that was a requirement," he says. "I insisted on the lessons and told Tim, 'I think I will have as many lessons as we can squeeze in before we start filming.' "
Depp admits that he's not even the kind of guy who sings in the shower. "God no. I never sing at home. Never. But I think for an actor, it's really important to challenge yourself. It's important to be potentially teetering on the brink of absolute flopdom. Otherwise you're just sort of there. It's just so easy in this business to become complacent and sort of stick to a formula and say, 'Well, this is my niche and this works.'
"I might be horrible, but that might also work for the character," he
says. "You just never know."
From Times Argus
Depp, Burton sing each other's praises
December 15, 2007
By Glenn Whipp Los Angeles Daily News
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have worked together so often, studios now assume that any new Burton movie will feature Depp.
So it was with "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," Burton's adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's gruesome musical. The thing is, no one knew — or seemed to care — whether Depp could actually sing Sondheim (no easy task), and Depp kept everyone in the dark while making demos in a West Hollywood recording studio.
"It speaks well to Johnny's reputation that everyone went along with it," Burton says. "Sondheim, too. Because he had a say in who that character was." That character, 19th-century Londoner Sweeney Todd, is a throat-slicing barber set on avenging the loss of his family. The first song Depp honed was "My Friends," Todd's loving tribute to his beloved comrades, the silver razors that will soon "know splendors" and "drip precious rubies."
"It's a beautiful love song," Depp says, "about a different kind of love."
Here Depp and Burton sing each other's praises while talking about their sixth collaboration:
Q: There's a bar chart that ranks the blood in "Sweeney Todd" somewhere between "Mortal Kombat" and the Civil War.
Depp: That's quite a spread.
Burton: I wasn't around for the Civil War.
Depp: I was. I was looking for you.
Burton: People say we've been working together for 10 decades. That would put us around the Civil War. But, you know, the blood is part of the story. When I saw the stage show, it was flying across the stage.
Depp: But back to the bar chart. I thought it was going to chart the bars we frequent.
Burton: That's a chart I'd be interested in.
Depp: We'd have to start with the bar at this hotel. A fine establishment
Q: Tim, you were upfront with the studio about the gore …
Burton: That was the first thing I said to them: "There will be blood." I've seen other shows where they try to skimp on it, and it really loses something. If you're gonna skimp on that, why make a movie about a serial killer making people into meat pies?
Depp: Meat pie sales are going to plummet.
Burton: Nobody in America eats them anyway.
Depp: Let's not discount the chicken pot pie …
Q: And the blood was on you, Johnny. I hear everyone wore trash bags when you filmed the gusher scenes.
Depp: Trash bags and these white lab suits, like "CSI: Crime Scene." Everyone except Tim.
Burton: I did once, but, for the most part, no.
Depp: Only when you were squirting.
Q: Squirting?
Burton: I like to get my hand in there. I did it on "Sleepy Hollow." There's a tradition. I have pretty good aim.
Depp: You have incredible aim. In "Sleepy Hollow," there's a shot where you got the blood in between my glasses and straight into my eye. It was amazing.
Burton: It's like painting. It's fun.
Q: Producer Richard Zanuck was apparently a little nervous about hearing your singing, Johnny.
Burton: I didn't know what to expect. And when I finally heard him,
I was amazed. It's a hard musical to do, and he just made it his own.
It sounded like him. A lot of times, things get overproduced and you don't
hear the person in the voice. But you heard him. And it had an emotional
quality that I had never really heard in the material.
Q: Because you were in a band, most people assume you're a singer.
Depp: I did not sing. I did everything I could to avoid singing. I would
step up to a mike to sing the harmony and then quickly retreat into the
darkness. Singing was always the guy up front getting all the attention.
And I didn't want that.
Q: You've said that the song you sent Tim, "My Friends," was the first you've ever sung start to finish. That's a little hard to believe.
Depp: It's true. I don't sing along to music.
Q: "Brown Sugar" comes on …
Depp: I might sing a little harmony. I might air guitar. Drumming. I like to drum.
Burton: What's amazing is that a studio went along with this. Nobody knew if he could sing.
Depp: It's astonishing. I don't know what they were thinking. What were you thinking?
Burton: I was thinking it was funny. I can't tell you how many years
I had to fight to get Johnny in my movies. Nowadays, I can't even open
my mouth without the studio asking if Johnny's going to be in the movie.
It was a long time coming. It's great.
Q: How hard was it to act to your prerecorded vocals?
Depp: Hard. My fear was once you recorded these pieces in your character, then you were locked into that, and so essentially 50 percent of your performance would be done before stepping on the stage. There's something very scary about that — but at the same time stimulating, too.
Burton: You've got to get in there and match what you did.
Depp: And the first thing you discover is that there is no such thing as lip-synching. You've got to belt it out to the music. And what I thought was going to feel limiting was actually very liberating because the music gives you everything — the emotion, the movement. There was a kind of liquid quality to the set. It was like a silent film.
Burton: Like Johnny said, there was no way to lip-synch. You see the vocal cords. So they did have to belt it out on each take
Depp: Which is even more embarrassing because just listening to yourself is really mortifying. You have to condition yourself to that.
Burton: That was probably the hardest thing, in a weird way, wasn't it?
Depp: It's the same crew Tim's worked with for years. You know these
guys. They're family. And those guys are right there, and you're (Depp
breaks into a melodramatic warble) you feel like a complete knob.
Q: But now you've done it. So when does the Johnny Depp album come out?
Burton: He's got a big recording contract in Germany. He's going head to head with David Hasselhoff.
Depp: There's a new sheriff in town, David.
Burton: Singing is quite exposing in a way.
Depp: When we first started talking about doing the movie, and I didn't know if I'd be able to sing a note, I remember there were two fears. One was letting Tim down, but mostly it was being afraid of cackling. Just being giddy — like infants.
Burton: Because it's so ridiculous.
Depp: It's ludicrous. There are moments over the years — you can pick them out in each film I've been lucky enough to do with Tim — where I don't know what it is, but everything is lined up, and when the moment comes, it's insane and absurd, and you lose it. You cackle for hours.
Burton: I had to leave the set once. Johnny had been playing Sweeney Todd for the whole movie, and then one day he had to be a normal guy in a flashback. I just completely lost it.
Depp: He had to leave the set. Work stopped.
Burton: They had to shoot a couple of takes without me because I couldn't stop laughing.
Depp: People ask, "Say something funny that happened on set." These are the funny things. They're not funny to anyone else, just to us.
Burton: Which kind of works well for this movie. The characters in "Sweeney Todd" are in their own world. They're all nuts in a certain way, but in their world, nuts is normal.
Depp: They might as well be in show business.
From Earth Times
Depp and Burton discuss Sweeney Todd
Posted : Sat, 15 Dec 2007 18:14:18 GMT
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15
U.S. director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp spoke about bringing the stage to film in the new Burton movie, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."
Burton's adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical features Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd, a barber bent on retribution over a lost love. "It speaks well to Johnny's reputation that everyone went along with it," Burton said in an interview in Saturday's Los Angeles Daily News. Burton said the movie's producer, Richard Zanuck, was hesitant about hearing Depp sing for the part, but Burton said Depp shined in the role. "I didn't know what to expect. And when I finally heard him, I was amazed. It's a hard musical to do, and he just made it his own," he said.
The pair discussed the difficulties of filming to a prerecorded vocal
track, noting that none of the scenes were lip-synched. "The first
thing you discover is that there is no such thing as lip-synching. You
have got to belt it out to the music," Depp said in the interview.
The duo joked that Depp's vocal performance may launch a new Johnny Depp
album, the newspaper said. "He's got a big recording contract in
Germany. He's going head to head with David Hasselhoff," Burton said.
From PR Insider
DEPP: 'I'LL NEVER SETTLE'
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
2007-12-14 09:00:42 -
JOHNNY DEPP will never settle in one country, because his unconventional
upbringing has left him with a fear of getting "stuck" in one place.
The Hollywood star, 44, lived in more than 20 different places during
his childhood.
Now he and his family - partner Vanessa Paradis and their two children
Lily-Rose and Jack - solve the problem of Depp's restlessness by dividing
their time between France and Los Angeles.
He says, "We try to stay in France for six months a year, and then
we live in L.A. for six months. It has to do with my upbringing. I don't
like to be stuck in one place for too long. "We were total nomads when
I grew up. We travelled around all the time. It's ingrained into my psyche,
into my being. I think it's good for kids to get out there and see the
world. There are other interesting places than just the United States."
From Emma found at PR Web
December 14, 2007
Depp, Damon Rated 'Best,' Ferrell, Maguire 'Worst' for Autographs
Johnny Depp, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Jack Nicholson and Rosario Dawson are among the best when it comes to signing autographs for fans and collectors, according to the latest annual survey by Autograph magazine. Will Ferrell, Tobey Maguire, Joaquin Phoenix, William Shatner and Renée Zellweger received the "worst" rankings.
Santa Ana, California (PRWEB) December 14, 2007 -- Actors Johnny Depp and Matt Damon are the best, while Will Ferrell and Tobey Maguire are ranked the worst celebrity signers in Autograph magazine's 15th annual survey of who's cool and who's cruel to autograph collectors. Results of the annual rankings of Hollywood signers are in the December issue of Autograph (www.AutographMagazine.com), on sale now.
"It's the third consecutive year Depp has topped the list of the ten best signers. Whether at a premier, in a restaurant or on location, Depp may just be the best Hollywood autograph signer of all time," said Steve Cyrkin, Editor and Publisher of Autograph magazine.
"In a miraculous turnaround, actor Russell Crowe moved from number ten on the 2006 worst list to number ten on the 2007 best list. He may still be a bit grumpy at times, but now he signs pretty much anytime someone asks," Cyrkin stated.
"What's so frustrating about Will Ferrell being the worst autograph signer this past year is that he used to be so nice to fans and collectors, and a great signer. What makes him so bad is that he'll taunt people asking for his autograph," said Cyrkin.
Here are Autograph magazine's 10 Best and 10 Worst Hollywood Signers of 2007:
The Best
1. Johnny Depp
2. Matt Damon
3. George Clooney
4. Jack Nicholson
5. Rosario Dawson
6. John Travolta
7. Katherine Heigl
8. Jay Leno
9. Dakota Fanning
10. Russell Crowe
The Worst
1. Will Ferrell
2. Tobey Maguire
3. Joaquin Phoenix
4. William Shatner
5. Renée Zellweger
6. John Malkovich
7. Julie Andrews
8. Bruce Willis
9. Terri Hatcher
10. Scarlett Johanssen
Over at the Sweeney Todd BLOG Kazren's created a group called "Depp's Ladies." You do not have to be in Los Angeles to join. Please come over and join us! We have a place to blog.
Join Kazren's "Depp's Ladies" over at the Sweeny Tood Blog - go here then click on "Johnny Depp" on the right after you join, you can comment.
From AP/Yahoo News
Depp, Burton together again on `Sweeney'
By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer Thu Dec 13, 4:25 PM ET
NEW YORK - Dressed in drag and standing in front of a meat locker, Johnny
Depp smiles into the camera and cheerfully declares, "Tim's a swell guy."
In its genuine warmth and weirdness, this moment, played out between scenes during the filming of 1994's "Ed Wood," encapsulates the ongoing collaboration between Depp and director Tim Burton.
Even amid the dark, surreal worlds the two have brought to life, they're all smiles.
Marking their sixth film together is "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," the new adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's gory musical about a barber who seeks revenge while cutting the throats of his customers.
"Singing. Who'd have ever thought?" wondered Burton at a recent interview, where he and Depp both still found it hardly comprehensible that two guys who don't like musicals (including an actor who doesn't sing) had just made one.
"Certainly not me. Least of all me," chimed Depp, whose hippy-dippy necklaces, colorful bracelets and round-rimmed glasses stood in stark contrast to Burton's dark duds, spiky black hair and squarish, purple shades.
While reminiscing about their new film and 17 years of working together, Depp and Burton often pick up each other's conversational trails, most of which end in either reveling in what they've managed to get away with in Hollywood, or in some kind of self-deprecating joke.
Burton continued: "Now you're going to get all these scripts and be like, `Shall I do `Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' or `Jesus Christ Superstar?'"
Laughing, Depp retorted: "`Hair.' Then I'm going straight to `Annie.'"
The two can chuckle at more mainstream fare because they have both specialized
in offbeat eccentrics. Their paths first crossed in 1990's "Edward Scissorhands"
when Burton cast Depp in his first leading role following his teen idol
success on the TV series "21 Jump Street."
The two recall their first meeting with clarity.
"I remember walking into that coffee shop like it was yesterday," said Depp. "I just knew instantly that he was the real thing. That was clear to me. There was an instant connection."
While many of the classic director-actor pairings (John Ford and John Wayne, Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune) have often focused on a particular genre, the Burton-Depp collaborations span a variety of films, albeit ones with a penchant for fantasy.
Besides "Scissorhands" and "Ed Wood," their previous projects include "Sleepy Hollow" (1999), "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005) and the animated "Corpse Bride" (2005).
"We've been lucky enough to do things that the studios never want to do," said Burton, with Depp adding: "On more than one occasion."
"It's surreal," says Burton, a veritable expert on that topic. "That feeling never quite leaves you that we're able to do something. It's almost like getting away with something."
Though Burton has maintained a mostly consistent record of box office
or critical success, Depp has ascended to the top of the A-list — a development
that has made their risky endeavors a lot easier to bankroll.
"He protected me well," said Depp. "He fought for me to be in his movies
for a number of years."
The advantage of frequently working together, Burton and Depp said, is that they have a well-developed shorthand and are able to discuss characters in abstract terms but still arrive at the same understanding.
"When we were doing `Sleepy Hollow,' Tim and I were talking about a scene and obviously you veer off on weird little tears and start talking about Charles Nelson Reilly or Paul Lynde or something odd," said Depp. "A crew member came over to me after we were talking and he said, `I just listened to you and Tim talk about the scene for the last 20 minutes and I didn't understand a word you guys were saying.'"
"That about sums it up," added Burton.
The two are close friends and Depp is the godfather to Burton's young
son. But Burton said the partnership has evolved without any conscious
planning or consideration.
"It surprised me. I wasn't looking for it," said Burton. "You never plan anything, it's just project to project — if it's the right role and something he responds to. I always think of him because he can do anything."
Others have noticed their unique relationship, including Chris Lebenzon, who has edited Burton's last nine films, five of which have starred Depp. He compares Burton's movie sets to a strange kind of family.
"Tim is a guy who needs the best people around him because he won't always articulate what he wants, but he knows it," said Lebenzon speaking by phone from Los Angeles. "It can frustrate him if people aren't getting it, and Johnny always gets it."
Depp originally came to Hollywood to pursue a music career, but as a guitarist — he only occasionally sang back up. He had no proper experience ever singing before "Sweeney Todd," yet received the blessing of the studio and Sondheim (who could veto any casting decision) without so much as a demo tape.
"It's like, `OK, you want to do an R-rated musical without any clue
whether the lead actor can sing or not?'" marveled Burton. "He's finally
arrived at the absurd level of show business."
"I'll never do it again," said Depp of singing. "It was one time only.
If it worked at all, it only worked because of the circumstances."
Depp opted not to take singing lessons and instead hunkered down in a studio with a musician friend to work on his voice.
"It seemed counterproductive to stand in front of a piano noodling on scales," said Depp. "It seemed like you wouldn't be able to find the character."
Several of the other leads are similarly distant from being Broadway musical veterans, including Alan Rickman (who plays the object of Sweeney's vengeance) and Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs. Lovett). Another frequent actor for Burton, Bonham Carter is also his longtime girlfriend and mother to his child; a second is expected any day now. (Said Burton: "Hopefully, it will turn out to be a human being.")
For Burton, casting Depp was a matter of trust in his actor that made him at ease having a non-singer star in the musical.
"When Johnny said he thought he could do it, that was good enough for me," said Burton. "He wouldn't have said that otherwise. He would have just said, `No ... way in hell I could do this.'"
Burton is now in the process of planning two features: "Alice in Wonderland" and "Frankenweenie," the latter of which is based on his 1984 short of the same name. Depp, who lives in France with long-term girlfriend Vanessa Paradis and their two children, has had one project ("Shantaram") shelved due to the writers strike. Instead, he recently signed on to star in Michael Mann's "Public Enemies."
Though they have no immediate plans to work again together, they both hope — and rather assume — it will happen.
Says Depp: "If the phone rings, he doesn't even have to finish the sentence.
I'd be there in a second."
From Keye TV
Depp: 'I don't want an Oscar'
December 13, 2007
Actor Johnny Depp arrives to the special screening for DreamWorks Pictures'
'Sweeney Todd' held at the Paramount Theater on December 5, 2007 in Los
Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter, Getty Images)
Johnny Depp never wants to win an Oscar, because he hates getting up in front of huge audiences.
The 44-year-old actor was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for his role as Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl, and again in 2004 for his part in Finding Neverland.
But he has never actually won the coveted accolade, and he never wants to.
He says, "I don't want to get up in front of all these people and thank
them. It scares the **** out of me! The nomination was enough for me. I
felt very honored. It's not really about the awards, though, it's about
the work for me. I just love acting.
Form Emma found at Home Media Magazine
'Pirates' Sails in at No. 1
Author: THOMAS K. ARNOLD
Posted: December 13, 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
The third time did prove the charm for Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment,
as Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End turned out the biggest sales
performance of the Big Three sequels that stormed the box office this summer.
The third installment in the Disney franchise easily topped the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert DVD sales chart its first week in stores, selling more than twice as many copies as Spider-Man 3 and significantly more DVDs than Shrek the Third in their respective first weeks.
First Alert data does not include Wal-Mart, which accounts for about 40% of the overall business and tends to skew higher toward kid-friendly titles.
Also turning in a strong first-week sales performance was the Sony Pictures comedy Superbad, which debuted at No. 2 on the sales chart.
On Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week ended Dec. 9, Superbad came in at No. 1, with estimated rental earnings of $14 million. Pirates debuted at No. 2 with $9.5 million, while the previous week’s top renter, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s Live Free or Die Hard, slipped to No. 3, with $8.4 million.
On the high-definition disc front, Pirates and Superbad chalked up a
No. 1 and No. 2 finish on the Blu-ray Disc chart, while BBC Video’s Planet
Earth: The Complete Series returned to the top spot on the HD DVD chart.
From KTLA
"Atonement" Leads Golden Globe Nominations
December 13, 2007, 6:18 AM PST
(excerpt)
"Atonement" Leads Golden Globe Nominations The period drama "Atonement" led the Golden Globe nominations today with seven nods.
Nominated for best motion picture drama along with"Atonement" were "American Gangster," "Eastern Promises," "The Great Debaters," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," and "There Will Be Blood."
Up for best picture in the comedy or musical category were "Across the Universe," "Charlie Wilson's War," "Hairspray," "Juno," and "Sweeney Todd."
Actors George Clooney, Daniel Day Lewis, James McAvoy, Viggo Mortensen and Denzel Washington were nominated for best actor in a motion picture drama.
McAvoy's co-star, Keira Knightley, was nominated for best actress, along with Cate Blanchett, Julie Christie, Jodie Foster and Angelina Jolie.
On the comedy and musical side, actresses Amy Adams, Nikki Blonsky, Helena Bonham Carter, Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page were nominated. Nominations for best actors in a motion picture comedy or musical went to Johnny Depp, Ryan Gosling, Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly.
The Golden Globe Awards are scheduled for Jan. 13 -- also at the Beverly Hilton -- and will be broadcast by NBC, on a delayed basis on the West Coast. Steven Spielberg will receive the Globes' Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.
Nine days later, on Jan. 22, the Academy Awards nominations will be
announced. It will mark a major milestone in an award season that also
includes the the Directors Guild of America awards on Jan. 26 and the SAG
awards on Jan. 27 before culminating with the 80th annual Academy Awards.
From ShowBizSpy
Johnny Depp says he is scared of karaoke
Johnny DeppJohnny Depp has revealed he is scared of KARAOKE. The actor - who sings in new movie musical Sweeney Todd - said he has never tried the bar pastime. And he admitted he would need to be seriously drunk before having a go. Asked what his favorite karaoke song is, Depp replied: “Honestly, I’ve always been frightened of it. “I’ve never tried it. It scares the hell out of me. I’ve never been that drunk. I’ve been drunk - but not that drunk.”
Depp plays the Demon Barber of Fleet Street in the upcoming Tim Burton Hollywood film. But he said he was terrified when he won the part - because he hadn’t sung before. Depp, 44, added: “I was probably more frightened than anyone. I’d never sung before in my life. So I thought it was important that I keep it very low-key. Initially I did demos in my friend’s garage studio because I didn’t know if I’d be able to hit a note. I sent it to Tim [director Tim Burton], crossed my fingers and waited for the outcome.”
He told a US magazine: “I really went through some angst.”
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will be released in the
US on December 21 and in the UK on January 25.
From ABS-CBN News
Golden Globes nominations launches wide-open awards season
Agence France-Presse
LOS ANGELES - The race for Oscars glory shifts into overdrive here Thursday as nominations for the 65th Golden Globes are unveiled with analysts predicting one of the most open awards seasons in years. The failure of one, single favorite to emerge across multiple categories has left Hollywood pundits scratching their heads as the nominees for the 65th Golden Globes, which take place on January 13, are revealed. Often viewed as a signpost of what films may eventually strike gold at the Oscars, which take place on February 24 next year, the Golden Globes offer awards in 25 film and television categories.
While a handful of films have emerged as front-runners, honors have been evenly divided in awards handed out by US critic groups in New York and Los Angeles, with thriller "No Country for Old Men" and violent oil industry epic "There Will Be Blood" both faring well.
Tim Burton's gruesome adaptation of the musical "Sweeney Todd", featuring Johnny Depp as the blood-thirsty demon barber of Fleet Street, is also being tipped as a contender.
"It's a real cliff-hanger this year," said Tom O'Neil, a pundit with the Los Angeles Times' theenvelope.com, describing the early indicators from various critics groups as "schizophrenic."
"We're seeing vastly different preferences by the awards groups instead of years where there has been general agreement on the front-runners," he added.
O'Neil said that while Joel and Ethan Coen's bleak "No Country for Old Men" was likely to establish itself as a best picture contender at the Golden Globes, the same could not be said for "There Will Be Blood", which stars Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead role.
"'There Will Be Blood' is a quirky, gloomy, downbeat movie ... It could be the film that gets the critical awards but fails to connect with the more sentimental Globes and Oscars voters," he said.
Lew Harris, the editorial director of movies.com, said he expected awards to be shared between "No Country for Old Men,", "Sweeney Todd" and "There Will Be Blood's" Day-Lewis.
"There have been a bunch of awards and it seems clear that the clear front-runners are those films," Harris said. "I can't imagine they won't translate to the Golden Globes."
Both O'Neil and Harris believe heart-throb and "Pirates of the Caribbean" star Depp could emerge as favorite for top acting honors this year.
O'Neil said Depp, 44, who has already been nominated twice for Oscars before, was a certainty to win best actor in a musical or comedy at the Golden Globes, which could become a launchpad for success at the Academy Awards.
"Johnny Depp seems to be the front-runner for all of the major awards. He's the man to beat," O'Neil said.
Harris said Depp may finally be about to reap the rewards from a long career where he has proven himself in a wide variety of roles.
"There's a feeling that he's made his mark in a lot of movies recently," Harris said. "He's proven himself to be a really adept actor, and a big fan favorite. Little by little he's been winning the respect of the more traditional awards voters."
The race for best actress is one of the few categories where a clear favorite has emerged, with Marion Cotillard tipped for glory for her portrayal of tragic French chanteuse Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose."
"She is certainly the front-runner and odds on favorite now," O'Neil said. "She'll definitely win the Globes and she'll be nominated for the Oscars."
Golden Globes nominations are announced in Beverly Hills at 5.20 am
(1320 GMT) on Thursday.
From AP
Johnny Depp Says He Wants Anonymity
December 12, 2007
LOS ANGELES (AP) — To Johnny Depp, freedom means simplicity and anonymity.
"I'm sure it will be a possibility someday again. Maybe when I get old. They get tired of you," the actor tells Esquire magazine in its January issue, available Friday. "`Didn't you used to be Johnny Depp?' That will be the clincher."
The 44-year-old star of "Sweeney Todd," which opens Christmas Day, talked with the magazine about the lessons he's learned over his two decades in Hollywood.
His friend and mentor Marlon Brando taught Depp to keep his private life private.
"That's your world and it's nobody else's business," he recalls Brando saying. "It's not anybody's entertainment."
A self-described people-watcher, Depp says he's learned to enter restaurants through the kitchen and hotels through the parking garage.
"It'll definitely make you a little weird if you're constantly being stared at," he says.
While he loves his work, Depp says he's "not a great fan of all the stuff that goes along with it."
"I don't want to be a product," he says. "Of course you want the movies
to do well. But I don't want to know ... who's hot now and who's not and
who's making this much dough and who's boffing this woman or that one.
I want to remain ignorant of all this. I want to be totally outside and
far away from all of it."
Want Jack Sparrow in your home? Check out this link sent in by In_Too_Depp HERE
From Hutchison Leader
Iggy Pop
Iggy inspired Depp’s ‘Sweeney Todd’
Submitted by Jorge Sosa on December 11, 2007 - 11:48am.
Iggy Pop, circa 1973 Iggy Pop, circa 1973 It’s fairly common knowledge that Rolling Stone guitarist Keith Richards inspired Johnny Depp's performance as Capt. Jack Sparrow.
In a recent interview with New York Magazine, Depp revealed Iggy Pop was an influence on his role in the forthcoming “Sweeney Todd.”
“Sweeney Todd” is based on the Broadway musical about a murderous barber. It marks the first time Depp is singing on-screen, although he shared the screen with Iggy Pop in John Waters’ 1990 musical, “Cry-Baby.”
“If there was anybody in terms of inspiration for my sound, it was Anthony
Newley (the Broadway vet),” Depp told New York Magazine. “And Iggy Pop,
you know? Iggy’s kind of this very aggressive crooner. Especially in the
early stuff, there’s something about his attack that’s haunting.”
From the Examiner
Johnny Depp tells Esquire: `I don't want to be a product'
Dec 11, 2007 5:20 PM (3 hrs ago) AP
LOS ANGELES - To Johnny Depp, freedom means simplicity and anonymity.
"I'm sure it will be a possibility someday again. Maybe when I get old. They get tired of you," the actor tells Esquire magazine in its January issue, available Friday. "`Didn't you used to be Johnny Depp?' That will be the clincher."
The 44-year-old star of "Sweeney Todd," which opens Christmas Day, talked with the magazine about the lessons he's learned over his two decades in Hollywood.
His friend and mentor Marlon Brando taught Depp to keep his private life private.
"That's your world and it's nobody else's business," he recalls Brando saying. "It's not anybody's entertainment."
A self-described people-watcher, Depp says he's learned to enter restaurants through the kitchen and hotels through the parking garage.
"It'll definitely make you a little weird if you're constantly being stared at," he says.
While he loves his work, Depp says he's "not a great fan of all the stuff that goes along with it."
"I don't want to be a product," he says. "Of course you want the movies
to do well. But I don't want to know ... who's hot now and who's not and
who's making this much dough and who's boffing this woman or that one.
I want to remain ignorant of all this. I want to be totally outside and
far away from all of it."
December 11, 2007
Critics Choice nominates "Sweeney Todd," Johnny as Sweeney and the Ensemble Cast for "Sweeney Todd." Full article HERE at CNN
December 9, 2007
Kazren's review of Sweeney Todd is up
News about the Japanese Sweeney Todd premier dates:
The press conference will be on Monday, Jan. 7, 2008. The premiere will be on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. Tim and Johnny will be at both of these events.
From the Boston Herald
Johnny Depp confronts his fear
By Herald wire services
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Johnny Depp confessed he was petrified to take on a singing role in his upcoming flick “Sweeney Todd,” but got through the fear with the help of his longtime lady love, Vanessa Paradis.
“I was more fightened than anyone, except maybe (director) Tim Burton,”
the sexy actor told the New York Daily News. Depp, who currently lives
in France with Paradis and their two young children, said he’d never carried
a tune before and was afraid to let anyone hear him sing. “I’ve never sung
before in my life, so I kept it very low-key and recorded a demo in my
friend’s garage studio,” Depp said. “The first person I played it for before
Tim was Vanessa Paradis, who gave me tips on singing, since she is a singer.”
From ShowBizSpy
Johnny Depp warns the paparazzi to stay away from his children
Johnny DeppActor Johnny Depp has issued a fierce warning to the paparazzi - stay away from my children or risk the consequences. The Hollywood heart-throb says snappers should avoid capturing images of his son and daughter, while also revealing some camera-dodging tricks of his own. In an interview with Esquire magazine, to hit the stands on Friday, he said: “There’s no limit to the possibilities of what I could do to the paparazzi if I catch them photographing my children.”
The Pirates of the Caribbean star tells how he cheats photographers while out and about in LA. “You don’t go through the front door of hotels anymore, you go through the garage. Or you go through the kitchen of a restaurant. Some people want to think that’s cool, that’s exciting. But it’ll definitely make you a little weird if you’re constantly being stared at.”
However, his stream of adoring fans help make up for the inconvenience, he added. “People are super nice in the street. If they want me to sign something, that’s great, I don’t mind that at all. Part of the process that I’ve always enjoyed is being the observer. You know, just watching people and learning. At a certain point, the reversal took place. I was no longer the observer - I was being observed. That’s obviously very dangerous because part of an actor’s job is to observe.”
And Depp, 44, says he hopes that one day his fame will die down and
leave him to get on with a normal life with his long term partner Vanessa
Paradis, and their children Lily-Rose, 8, and Jack, 5. “My definition
of freedom is simplicity, really,” he added. "Anonymity. I’m sure
it will be a possibility someday again. Maybe when I get old. They get
tired of you. ‘Didn’t you used to be Johnny Depp?’ That will
be the clincher.”
From InTooDepp scanned from People Magazine
From Alex, the World's Oldest Jack Sparrow fans at You Tube
More confirmation from Reuters
(image
from Kazren)
Johnny Depp casing 'Public Enemies' movie
By Carly Mayberry and Borys Kit Reuters - Tuesday, December 4 08:47 am
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Johnny Depp doesn't shy away from blood in the upcoming "Sweeney Todd," and he might himself awash in the stuff again if he opts to play bank robber John Dillinger in a movie for filmmaker Michael Mann.
The "Miami Vice" director has long been interested in mounting a screen adaptation of Brian Burrough's non-fiction book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34" for Universal; at one point, Leonardo DiCaprio was attached to the project, but DiCaprio is headed into Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island".
As for Depp, he was to have starred in a pair of projects that were
postponed last month, leaving the actor with an opening in his schedule.
So Depp and Mann are sitting down this week to discuss the possibility
of joining forces. Universal is looking at a March start in Chicago if
all the elements come together.
"Sweeney Todd", meanwhile, opens in limited U.S. release on December
21.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
and from Movies,
Monsters and Critics
Movies News
Public Enemy Johnny Depp
Dec 7, 2007, 14:30 GMT
Johnny Depp will play a ruthless gangster in his new film. The Hollywood actor will portray renowned bank robber John Dillinger, who is on the run from the FBI, in 'Public Enemies'. Depp reportedly signed up for the project just hours before the Hollywood premiere of 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' on Wednesday night (05.12.07).
A source said: "Everyone is delighted to have Johnny on board. He has great charisma but has proved before that he can bring an intimidating, threatening presence too. "Director Michael Mann is very pleased that he has got his man."
'Public Enemies' is set during the great crime wave of the early 30s, when FBI boss J. Edgar Hoover was chasing a host of infamous criminals, including Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd. Dillinger has become a mythical figure in US history, with some reports claiming that Hoover kept his penis in a jar after his death at the hands of the FBI in 1934.
Shooting for the film, which is adapted from the book of the same name
by Bryan Burrough, will begin on March 10.
From Variety
Johnny Depp goes 'Public'
Actor steps up to 'Enemies'
By DIANE GARRETT, MICHAEL FLEMING
Michael Mann and Johnny Depp will make "Public Enemies" for Universal.
Meeting hours before the Hollywood premiere of Depp’s "Sweeney Todd," the director and actor shook hands on a deal that triggers a March 10 start for "Public Enemies" in Chicago.
Drama is set during the great crime wave of 1933-34, when the government’s attempts to stop Depression-era criminal legends such as John Dillilnger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd transformed J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI into the country’s first federal police force. Mann wrote the script, based on Bryan Burrough’s 2004 tome.
Depp will play John Dillinger, considered the most notorious gangster of the era. Mann and his Forward Pass will produce with Kevin Misher and his Misher Films. Tribeca’s Jane Rosenthal will be exec producer.
While Mann had been mulling several projects that included a reteam
with "Collateral" star Tom Cruise on "Edwin A. Salt" at Columbia, "Public
Enemies" gained momentum in the past six weeks, and became a reality when
Depp became available after Warner Bros. postponed "Shantaram" due to concerns
about script, costs and the prospect of shooting in India with monsoon
season approaching.
From IMDB
Johnny will be on the cover of Esquire Magazine January 2008 issue
From AZ Central
Johnny Depp believes in Santa Claus
BANG Showbiz
Dec. 5, 2007 09:28 AM
Johnny Depp believes in Santa Claus.
The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star has two children, Lily-Rose, eight, and five-year-old Jack, with girlfriend Vanessa Paradis, and is looking forward to Father Christmas coming down his chimney later this month.
He jokingly said, "I'll be hanging out with the kiddies and waiting for Santa Claus."
Although Johnny is looking forward to the festive period, he is not yet sure whether the family will spend Christmas in their English or French home.
The actor recently revealed he considered quitting Hollywood when his daughter fell ill.
Lily-Rose was hospitalized after reportedly contracting the E.coli bacterial infection earlier this year, and Johnny insists nothing matters more to him than his family.
He said, "I wasn't sure if I would be able to come back. My kids and
my girl - nothing else matters in life. My kids are very grounded, not
monster-like at all. We keep discipline under control."
From Empire Magazine
100 Sexiest Movie Stars
#5 Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
Living proof that there’s nothing more sexy than not giving a damn what
others think. Depp’s taken roles that could have been embarrassments in
any other hands (Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka) and dresses like he’s
being attacked by a charity shop, but his innate air of cool makes everything
work.
Johnny Depp's Sexiest Moment Sexiest Moment
Hallucinating numerous incarnations of himself in Pirates of the Caribbean
3. The only thing better than Captain Jack is more Captain Jacks.
Johnny Depp's Did You Know...? Did You Know...?
He’s played guitar on two Oasis records.
With the reviews starting to come in for "Sweeney Todd," the news on those pages is moving swiftly, so be sure to hit the 'back' button and make sure you haven't missed anything.
From E! Online
Johnny Depp Tests Our Limits
Categories: fashion
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp is so irritatingly endearing. He makes us feel like Eliza Doolittle whenever she's around Professor Higgins.
It definitely has something to do with that "I'm Johnny Depp, and I can wear whatever the ef I want" attitude.
Take this ensemble he donned at the Sweeney Todd premiere last night. We would rip apart anyone else who tried to pull this fashion disaster and then act like nothing was wrong.
But Johnny Depp is like, "Hi, I'm Johnny Depp. You don't like my greasy hair, my peculiar gangster suit that reduces my height by two feet or my muddy shoes? Well, bollocks to you. Now, who has a cigarette?"
And then we swoon and apologize profusely until we're back in his good favor.
Does Mr. Depp have a similar power over you? Vote
in their poll.
Link to The Insider's video interview of the Sweeney Todd Premiere HERE Photos from the New York premiere of "Sweeney Todd" are HERE
From the Hollywood Reporter
The Vine: Depp casing 'Public' heist
By Carly Mayberry and Borys Kit
Dec 4, 2007
Johnny Depp doesn't shy away from blood in the upcoming "Sweeney Todd," for which he's being touted as a major Oscar contender, and he might again find himself awash in blood if he opts to join up with producer-director Michael Mann for a film about the Depression-era crime wave.
Mann has long been interested in mounting a screen adaptation of Brian Burrough's nonfiction book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34" for Universal; at one point, Leonardo DiCaprio was attached to the project, but DiCaprio is headed into Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island."
But Mann -- who has considered taking the helm of Columbia's spy thriller "Edwin A. Salt" but has not committed to that project because he believes it needs a rewrite -- has an open slot.
As for Depp, he was to have starred in Warner/Initial Entertainment's "Shantaram" followed by Warner Independent's "The Rum Diaries," but both of those projects were postponed last month, leaving the star with an opening in his schedule.
So Depp and Mann are sitting down this week to discuss the possibility
of joining forces; Depp is said to be eyeing the role of bank robber John
Dillinger. Along with Mann, Kevin Misher is on board as producer; Robert
De Niro and his partner Jane Rosenthal, who originally optioned the book,
have been involved as exec producers; and the studio is looking at a March
start in Chicago if all the elements come together.
From Fox News
Dec. 3: Johnny Depp arrives at the premiere of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York.
'Sweeney Todd' — Best Movie of 2007
Tim Burton’s film version of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is without a doubt my top movie choice for 2007.
Everything about it is just perfect, and all this was confirmed when I got to see this extraordinary movie musical on a big screen with a great sound system at the Ziegfeld premiere Monday night in New York.
This is the film to beat for Best Picture this year; the only "big" picture that is also a work of art. Academy voters should eat it up, pun intended.
Most Broadway musicals have trouble transferring to the screen. Think "Hello Dolly!" or "The Producers."
There were a thousand wrong turns Burton and crew could have taken, but somehow they avoided them. They condensed a complicated three-hour show into a highly entertaining two hours without missing a beat — literally.
I told you last week about Johnny Depp’s Oscar-certain performance as the crazy barber who cuts people’s throats while waiting to avenge himself on his enemies.
What maybe I didn’t make clear is that Helena Bonham Carter is a delight as Mrs. Lovett, who turns Sweeney’s victims into meat pies. She is acerbic, sarcastic, sexy and she can sing. She may come from behind and out run the two potential Best Actress front runners, Marion Cotillard ("La Vie En Rose") and Julie Christie ("Away From Her").
The other performance not to be missed is Sacha Baron Cohen, who sheds his Borat/Ali G persona and literally steals the movie as Pirelli, the faux Italian snake oil salesman who confronts Sweeney and tries to blackmail him with horrendous results.
I asked Cohen at Monday night’s premiere how in the world he went from nude wrestling as Borat to singing Stephen Sondheim.
"I had to audition, and put my singing on tape for him" Cohen said. "I had played Tevye a long time ago in a production of 'Fiddler on the Roof.' So I put all Tevye’s songs on tape and sent it in. He said yes, right away."
Cohen looked skeptical even now, as the movie opens, that he got the part. But if Monday night’s audience is any indication, Cohen may wind up with a Supporting Actor nomination in a fiercely competitive category this year.
The "Sweeney Todd" premiere was a lavish red-carpet affair with all the stars present except Carter, who is also Mrs. Tim Burton. She’s home in England awaiting the birth of a baby.
But everyone else turned up, including Keith Richards and Patti Hansen, who came at Depp’s invitation and had dinner with him while the movie screened. Depp, you see, doesn’t watch his own movies.
"I like the work to speak for itself," he told me.
Will this be his year? It seems every Oscar season I write that "this is Johnny Depp’s year" and it doesn’t happen.
"I’m sorry I’ve disappointed you," Depp said good-naturedly Monday. He is a genial, private, soft-spoken soul who is really not a good Oscar campaigner. But maybe this year the work will speak for itself, as he sings, in an accent no less, and even does a little dancing.
By the way, Sondheim loves the movie version of his insanely wonderful musical. He’s held a bunch of private screenings for friends already, including nearly anyone who’s appeared in the show and tough cookies like Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou and Patti Lupone.
He’s also hosted Bernadette Peters and Hal Prince. All of them have given a "thumbs up." Monday night, the most recent actor to play Sweeney, Michael Cerveris, echoed that opinion as well.
"Sweeney Todd" is a Paramount/DreamWorks production, which means DreamWorks made it and Paramount is marketing and distributing it.
The studios are at each other’s throats, a feud that began a year with "Dreamgirls" when DreamWorks’ David Geffen decided that Paramount didn’t appreciate all the award-winning films they were being given by the smaller studio.
"Dreamgirls" suffered in the crossfire and lost a much-deserved Oscar. Will this happen to "Sweeney Todd"? I sure hope not.
Paramount parent Viacom should put a higher value on these DreamWorks releases. But lately the situation is playing out similarly to the Disney-Miramax divorce that forced the Weinsteins to start their own company. In Hollywood, no one learns from history, and it just keeps repeating itself.
On Wednesday night, Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider -- all of DreamWorks -- host a "Sweeney Todd" premiere on the Paramount lot. Oh, to be a fly on that barbershop wall!
The Top 10, 2007
Realistically there are about 30 fiction movies which will yield nominations in all the award categories.
I thought I would introduce my own Top 10, drawn from that list. On Wednesday, the rest.
This year’s group was harder to figure out than most. The number of quality films, especially released at the end of the year, is higher than ever. This is a totally subjective list, and one that shouldn’t surprise regular readers of this column.
1. "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" — director Tim Burton.
2. "Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead" — director Sidney Lumet.
3. "The Namesake" — director Mira Nair.
4. "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" — director Julian Schnabel.
5. "The Savages" — director Tamara Jenkins.
6. "I’m Not There" — director Todd Haynes.
7. "Juno" — director Jason Reitman.
8. "Into the Wild" — director Sean Penn.
9. "No Country for Old Men" — directors Joel and Ethan Coen.
10. "Atonement" — director Joe Wright.
From Fox News
Johnny Depp's Bloody Oscar Bid
Is this Johnny Depp’s year?
Every year we say it, and whether he’s played J.M. Barrie or a swashbuckling pirate, something or someone always gets in the way.
Who could it be this year? Philip Seymour Hoffman in "The Savages" or "Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead?" Daniel Day-Lewis as a lunatic in "There Will Be Blood?"
It’s bloody unlikely. Depp gives such a complete and textured performance as the demon barber "Sweeney Todd" — in which he sings, as well — that it would be hard for the Academy to deny him again.
And though there are plenty of great directors this year, such as Sidney Lumet ("Devil") and Joe Wright ("Atonement"), Tim Burton will be hard to ignore as well. He’s done the impossible and brought a masterpiece of a musical to film intact and almost to perfection.
I have to tell you that "Sweeney Todd" is my favorite Broadway musical because it’s so much more than that. But Stephen Sondheim’s magnificent piece of art divides people.
While the music is absolutely glorious from beginning to end, many audience members blanch at the grisly nature of the story. Sweeney, the embittered barber who goes mad, cuts a lot of throats. His accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, makes meat pies from his victims. It’s all done with humor, but still … you love it or hate it.
I loved Burton’s film version, which the American press saw Thursday night for the first time. But there were those in the theater whom you could feel wanted to run for the exits when the blood started spurting.
There are some graphic scenes, admittedly. I can only hope it’s not a turn off for Academy voters, because "Sweeney Todd" should be a Best Picture nominee this year and perhaps even the winner of the Oscar. It’s that good.
Burton opens up the stage musical so we finally see, after all these years, that "there’s no place like London." From Mrs. Lovett’s bake shop to Sweeney’s barber shop to the English seaside where the pair take a fanciful imaginary holiday, Burton cuts through the usual dilemma of transferring a play to film. It’s a totally two-dimensional experience on film.
He’s cast everyone perfectly, too, from Depp to Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall as the animal-like Beadle and three exceptional newcomers as, respectively, young lovers Antony and Joanna — Jamie Bower and Jayne Wisener — to the very young Ed Sanders as Toby, the child who sings one of the show’s two lynchpin songs, "Not While I’m Around." Bower sings the other one, "Joanna," and they are each superb.
The show-stopper, though, is Sacha Baron Cohen, aka Borat and Ali G, cast as Pirelli the Italian barber who threatens to unmask Sweeney and starts him on his bloody killing spree.
While the rest of the movie is shot in muted blacks, greys and prison blues, Pirelli arrives in a bright, super hero-blue costume and cape. With his hair slicked down, Cohen looks a little like a Blue Meanie from "Yellow Submarine" and just about steals the film in a remarkable turn that includes a faux Italian operatic aria. Brilliant!
"Sweeney Todd" premieres on Monday night, so we’ll be getting into more on Tuesday. But for now, it’s safe to say that Burton, Depp, Bonham Carter, Baron Cohen, et al have done a remarkable job bringing Sondheim’s greatest show to the screen.
No, it’s not for everyone. Queasy is a word you will hear associated with this movie a lot. But it’s enough to say that "Sweeney Todd" jumps to the head of an Academy Award pack that includes "No Country for Old Men." "Atonement," "I’m Not There," "The Savages," "Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead" and a few others we’ll discuss next week.
Billy Joel's New Song, Protege
Billy Joel has written a new song, but he’s not recording. Instead, he’s given it to new up-and-coming 21-year-old Long Island performer Cass Dillon. Mr. Dillon’s version of "Christmas in Fallujah" will debut on iTunes on Dec. 4.
Net proceeds from "Christmas in Fallujah" will be donated to Homes for Our Troops, a nonprofit organization that builds specially adapted homes for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe disabilities. Joel is an avid supporter of Homes for Our Troops. (www.homesforourtroops.org).
In a release I got late Thursday night, Joel said: "I didn't feel I was the person to sing this song. I thought it should be somebody young, about a soldier's age. I wanted to help somebody else's career. I've had plenty of hits. I've had plenty of airplay. I've had my time in the sun. I think it's time for somebody else, maybe, to benefit from my own experience."
That’s great and very generous. But, Billy, we wouldn’t mind a new album from you, buddy. The last one was in 1993.
Warner Music No Longer a Record Company
Warner Music Group conceded on Thursday that it is no longer a viable record company. Forget about ‘em. They are now Warner Miscellaneous Group.
In a conference call with investors and analysts, Edgar Bronfman Jr. dropped this bombshell: "We’re not going to continue to sign artists for recorded music revenue only." So that’s it, and that explains in some small way why WMG no longer has hits or develops recording artists.
The conference call produced a lot of interesting tidbits. Not only is Bronfman clearly not interested in recorded music, he is more enthusiastic about being a management company. During two questions from analysts he stood firmly behind WMG’s $10 million investment in Irving Azoff’s Front Line Management.
Here’s the funny thing about that: Azoff manages the Eagles, who used to record for Warner Music. They don’t anymore. They are now on their own and are the current top-selling pop/rock CD act in the country, thanks to a deal with Wal-Mart. So Bronfman has a $10 million investment in a company that manages an act that records for someone else.
Bronfman must know something about how the record business works that Clive Davis and Doug Morris don’t. They just sell records (aka CDs). They don’t manage any acts. And believe me, if their companies had investments in management companies, they’d be releasing the CDs of the artists they represented.
So far, all this is really working: Warner Music Group lost another 58 percent of its value in the fourth quarter, as announced on Thursday. It had a net income of $5 million in this quarter. A year ago it had $12 million income. So you get the picture. Multimillion-dollar settlements with Kazaa and Napster helped them, but as you can see, WMG still collapsed.
I’m proud of the analysts. On Thursday I asked in this space whether
they would ask hard questions of Bronfman. They did, and they sounded disgusted
and perplexed by the answers. No kidding.
From Emma posted at JDZ
In this photograph provided by Paramount Pictures, actor Johnny Depp, left, composer Stephen Sondheim, center, and Director Tim Burton pose as they arrive for a private screening of the film "Sweeney Todd: The Demon barber of Fleet Street" in New York, Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007, in New York. The film will open nationwide on December 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Albert Ferreira, Paramount Pictures)
These ads are from the Hollywood Reporter and Variety, also by Emma
From the Sunday Mirror
Rum sales up thanks to Depp
EXCLUSIVE Sales rocketing thanks to Depp
By Stephen Hayward Consumer Correspondent 02/12/2007
Well, shiver me timbers! Sales of rum are rocketing - because of the huge success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Johnny Depp's portrayal of loveable rogue Captain Jack Sparrow has helped demand for golden rum leap 31 per cent.
The boom has been driven by the growing popularity of pirate-themed fancy dress parties and a craze for rum cocktails such as mojito, pina colada and mai tai.
Tesco rum buyer Katherine Abram said: "Demand for rum is at its highest since the Sixties, when everyone was drinking Cuba Libres.
"There's no doubt Pirates of the Caribbean has helped. The swash-buckling theatricality of the films has inspired people to hold pirate parties with rum punch the order of the night."
Party-loving princes William and Harry have joined in the craze. Their favourite cocktail - a rum, brandy, peach liqueur and champagne mix called Treasure Chest - is served for £100 at trendy London nightspot Mahiki.
Golden rum, which mixes best in cocktails, has seen the sharpest rise
in sales, up 65 per cent year-on-year at Tesco.
