September  2005

Question: Can you talk a bit about 'pirates?' how hard was it to get two more sequel scripts that were just as good as the first one?

Verbinski: We don't have those scripts yet [LAUGHS]. We're just making the movie. No. We actually have a pretty good second script and the third script is still on the operating table. And we're in triage constantly, everyday. I don't recommend making two movies at once. I think that we're going to get there, but it's just madness. You're like building ships and the ships aren't ready and you have four hundred extras. There's a lot of fun and I think that the second movie is strong and clever and has a lot going on. The third movie we're still working on.

Question: So you're not doing like 'lord of the rings' and shooting them both at the same time?

Verbinski: No. We are. We are. We're shooting scenes in the third movie without even knowing what the hell we're doing. We are.

Question: Will Keith Richards be in it?

Verbinski: We hope so. We're trying to work out his dates. We all want it to work, but it's his tour dates and his lawyers.

Question: How much of the magic was Johnny's [Depp] performance holding it all together?

Verbinski: Yeah, but it's tricky. You can't just phone that in. We actually have a story that's challenging and compelling and dangerous and he's still the character that gets to weave his way through  that story and affect  everyone else with his own agenda. But you don't want to make the mistake of going, 'Well, they loved Johnny Depp. Put him in every scene.' You'd then kind of wear that out. You need a very unique take.

Question: So he's still a supporting actor in these movies?

Verbinski: Supporting? No. I think that he's carrying the movie.

Question: Technically, have you wrapped two and doing three now?

Verbinski: No. I'm a quarter of the way through the third one and three quarters of the way through the second one. It's madness.

Question: Did you talk to Peter Jackson at all about doing this?

Verbinski: I did talk to Peter Jackson about it. He said, 'Re-shoots.'

Question: When is it supposed to open?

Verbinski: July 7th.
Question: Will you do re-shoots then?

Verbinski: We don't have time for re-shoots. We don't have the time.

Question: Is it a lot of pressure doing this and did you know what you had on the first film?

Verbinski: Well, I mean, I knew we had a fun movie that was going to make it's money back, but the exponential factor was Johnny's performance and that character which they were so nervous about.

by Scott Colothan on 9/27/2005

Rolling StonesIn the on-off saga, Keith Richards is now thought to be making an appearance in the new Pirate of the Caribbean film as Johnny Depp’s dad.

Orlando Bloom, who plays Will Turner in the movie, has revealed that the rock dinosaur will make an appearance in the film.

Bloom said: “We’re going to have an appearance by the great Keith Richards.”

It’s not yet clear whether Richards will make a brief cameo role in the film or play a lengthier part.

Posted Sep 27, 2005, 1:03 PM ET by Martha Fischer

Johnny DeppThere's a fascinating review in today's Guardian of Johnny Depp's performance on England's Radio 2, for whom he hosts a James Dean feature tonight. What's so interesting about the article is that it is based entirely on Depp's voice, an aspect of his acting that doesn't always get much attention. Though the writer has great regard for what he calls Depp's "vocal range," he nevertheless is bothered by the actor's decision to do the Dean piece "as himself," a delivery he describes as "a low Kentucky mumble."

While the poor review is as much for Radio 2's misguided effort to change its image by casting a Hollywood star as it is for Depp's work, it's well worth a read for the new perspective it provides.

and here is the Guardian story
From the Guardian
Johnny Depp on James Dean ... on Radio 2

Mark Lawson
Tuesday September 27, 2005
The Guardian

There's a popular showbiz story about Tom Stoppard turning down an offer to write a movie for Steven Spielberg because of a prior commitment to the BBC. "Oh, you don't want to miss this for a television script," insists the director, to which the playwright replies: "Actually, it's radio."

For the British, it's a self-congratulatory anecdote turning on Hollywood incredulity that anyone could be bothered with the wireless. The assumptions behind it are overturned tonight when Johnny Depp makes his Radio 2 debut, hosting a documentary about James Dean. With Martin Scorsese making his BBC TV directing debut last night - with the Bob Dylan films for Arena - the corporation may soon be putting palm trees in its gardens to make all the tinseltown visitors feel at home.

 Johnny Depp has occasionally used the pseudonym Oprah Noodlemantra for off-the-wall projects, and he might have been wiser to employ it here - although, of course, Radio 2 would have ceased to be interested. "And now, on 88-91 MHz, The James Dean Story, presented by Oprah Noodlemantra," doesn't quite have the same popular attraction.

What does attract the publicity is the undeniable glamour and curiosity value in one of the world's best and sexiest actors popping up just after The Organist Entertains on Radio 2. Fair play, as they say on Match of the Day, to the network for getting him but, in truth, he's just delivering a voiceover. Although Depp clearly has a fascination with Dean - which is presumably why he took the assignment - he hasn't written the script and isn't actually acting.

So what Radio 2 is paying for is Depp's voice, and here there's a problem. The actor is notable for his vocal range, playing pitch-perfect Scots as JM Barrie in Finding Neverland, a falsetto whisper as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and theatrical macho in Pirates of the Caribbean.

But, for The James Dean Story, he seems to be speaking as himself, which turns out to be a low Kentucky mumble. Radio 2 has spent years trying to lose its image as a station for the old - hiring presenters like Depp is part of the strategy - but if there are still any old Aldershot soldiers or retired headmistresses among the audience, they are going to spend a lot of time shouting "speak up, for God's sake" during The James Dean Story.

Even with Depp in low-key mode, though, the programme has another problem: too much attention is drawn to the script by the fact that he's delivering it. Required to deliver a banal set-up to the next speaker - an "ident" in radio jargon - Depp speaks the line: "David Bailey was a young photographer when he first saw Rebel Without a Cause," with such low, rumbling, threatening resonance that you start to wonder if it's actually a line from a sacred book. Even the simple two-word ident "David Puttnam" is given such an ominous vibrato that the unknowing would assume the producer of Chariots of Fire to be the leader of a sinister religion.

The difficulty is that a talented actor finds it almost impossible to give a line nothing at all, which is sometimes what a voiceover demands. When Depp has to say "Jimmy carried his belongings in two brown paper bags", he gives the final word a strange elongation - "ba-ah-ah-ags", as if to emphasise that they were bags rather than sacks, boxes, cases or any other type of container made from brown paper.

The lesson of The James Dean Story is that an anonymous script can't stand the weight of superstar presentation. But, following this evidence of Radio 2's personality pulling power, where will it end? Melodies for You with Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts's Friday Night is Music Night.

Perhaps the next stage should be an exchange scheme, with Jeremy Vine and Steve Wright starring in Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

To mark the 50th anniversary of his death at the wheel of his Porsche on September 30 1955, Johnny Depp presents this profile of one of Hollywood's most popular icons.

Although he died before Elvis had his first hit, Dean's rebellious image has always been associated with rock 'n' roll and he was idolised by musicians like Presley, Bob Dylan and John Lennon, who is quoted as saying "without James Dean, the Beatles would never have existed."

Johnny Depp highlights the artistic passion that drove this country boy from rural Indiana, to become a 20th century icon. He starred in only three movies but when he died, aged just 24, his sensitive, violent, moody and tormented portrayal of rebellious youth had inspired a generation of disaffected teenagers.

The programme features interviews with fans including Morrissey, David Puttnam, David Bailey, Dennis Hopper, Martin Landau, Bill Wyman and Sir Paul McCartney.
The link will be good for 7 days

James Dean is the eternal youthful rebel - the movie idol blessed with the looks, style, talent and attitude that captivated a generation.

Battle for first
1. Flightplan $24,629,938
2. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride $19,145,480
3. Just Like Heaven $9,621,591
4. Roll Bounce $7,570,366
5. The Exorcism of Emily Rose $7,448,102
 

There is a report in the Hollywood Reporter today (September 23, 2005) about the appearance
Quoting from the Hollywood Reporter: page 3
Sept 23, 2005
  Animated look ahead at Dis slate
Walt Disney Studios chairman Richard Cook took on the role of stand-up comedian Thursday as he hosted the Walt Disney Studios Showcase, which offered previews of the studio's slate through 2008 and featured cameo appearances by Johnny Depp, Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and Elton John.

The day long event held at the Kodak Theater at Hollywood and Highland.  It treated ..exhibitors.. to footage from upcoming movies.

The presentation concluded with loud applause for Depp, who stepped on stage in full Captian Jack Sparrow garb to herald the summer 2006 release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Boylesports said Depp was in the lead at 11/8 to win the Avica Best International Actor Award at the Irish Film and Television Awards after his box-office hit Charlie and the Chocolate Factory wowed Irish audiences.

However, come-back kid Mickey Rourke is hot on the heels of the Pirates of the Caribbean star, at 7/4, for his role in cult hit Sin City.

The category is one of the People’s Choice Categories in the glitzy Irish awards which will be voted for by the public.

Film-lovers can celebrate the talent in the film industry by voting for their favourite performance by an international male actor in 2005.

The winner of all the categories will be announced at the awards ceremony, which takes place on November 5, 2005.

The Oscar-nominated actor joined the ranks of other celebrated stars who immortalized their hand- and footprints in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, according to published reports. His partner, French actress Vanessa Paradis, was also on hand to witness the honor.

"So this is weird," says Depp. "I mean, to say that this is overwhelming is probably the understatement of the millennium."
 

What to Watch -- Zap2it
Movie News

Depp Makes an Impression at Grauman's
Mon, Sep 19, 2005, 09:09 AM PT
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Johnny Depp, who's all thumbs as a nervous groom in "Corpse Bride," used his hands to make an impression on Friday, Sept. 16.

The Oscar-nominated actor joined the ranks of other celebrated stars who immortalized their hand- and footprints in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, according to published reports. His partner, French actress Vanessa Paradis, was also on hand to witness the honor.

"So this is weird," says Depp. "I mean, to say that this is overwhelming is probably the understatement of the millennium."

Depp, 42, was last seen as the eccentric Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's take on "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

The ceremony took place on the same day as the limited release of Burton's "Corpse Bride," which will be released wide on Friday, Sept. 23. Depp voices the animated puppet Victor, who accidentally marries a dead woman, but pines for the live one he left behind aboveground.

He will return to filming the sequels "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 3," and celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day by being himself. Arrgh!

Self-Depprecating: Johnny Depp is a genuinely unaffected star and the only person consistently happy to prick the Depp balloon. No wonder we love him

JOHN GRIFFIN - Montreal Gazette

Though he would be loath to admit it, Johnny Depp may be the most respected, best-loved actor in the movies today.

Of all the performances in the circus of the 30th Toronto International Film Festival, Depp's publicity turn for pal Tim Burton's gleefully macabre new stop-motion animated feature, Corpse Bride, has generated the deepest buzz.

Kids who wouldn't know an auteur from an iPod love "Johnny" for his rock-star persona, his aching vulnerability and his roles in movies they actually watch, like Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl and Burton's current international smash, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Women like him for all of the above, for his devotion to the notion of family (he has two young children with French pop and movie star Vanessa Paradis), for his cheekbones and for his refusal to buy into Hollywood celebrity.

If it is possible in the movies, Depp, at the age of 42, is that rare thing - a genuinely unaffected star.

Everyone, including men who aren't normally big on actors women adore, honours Depp for marching to his own drum in his life and his career.

He might have hit the big time with an Oscar nomination for last year's enchanting Finding Neverland and made Hollywood bean counters very, very happy for the box office he generated in Pirates, but he has never sold out. Insomuch as anything can be predicted, he never will.

So there was serious excitement in Toronto when Depp showed up in a battered fedora, thick horn-rims, facial fur and rock 'n' roll jewelry to talk to the world's media.

Hacks who wouldn't push themselves away from the bar for Tom Cruise arrived hoping Johnny would autograph their Corpse Bride media kits - to give to their kids, of course.

Colleagues in to support Corpse Bride - director Burton, co-star Helena Bonham Carter, co-director Mike Johnson, producer Allison Abbate and composer Danny Elfman - were unfailingly generous in their opinions of his work.

The only person consistently happy to prick the Depp balloon was Depp himself. No wonder we love him.

Corpse Bride is the visually intoxicating gothic tale of the accidental marriage of Depp's bumbling young Victorian groom-to-be to a grieving, and sadly deceased, bride, voiced by Bonham Carter. It marks the fifth collaboration between Hollywood eccentrics Depp and Burton - Depp first broke hearts as the man-child in Burton's Edward Scissorhands in 1990 - and there's no sign the relationship is in trouble.

There's also no way it's become sexual, Burton joked as the tape recorders rolled in a downtown Toronto hotel.

"I like working with him because he's maintained his artistic integrity," Burton explained, sporting shades and his own trademark bed-head hair. "He's basically a real character actor trapped in a leading man's body."

Depp self-deprecatingly observed: "I was just trying to save my own ass during Corpse Bride."

Burton had hatched the devilish idea of working on both Charlie and Corpse Bride at the same time during an extended stay in Britain two years ago.

"I was so focused on the Wonka character and somehow, in my mind, I thought we'd start working on Corpse Bride in a couple of months," Depp commented. "I was somewhat remiss in this.

"One day on the set (of Charlie), Tim came to me and said, 'Maybe tonight we can record some Corpse Bride.' I said, 'Ah, sure we can,' and then sat down and grilled him for 15 minutes about the guy."

Depp found the character after seeing the "amazing, amazing" puppets created for the agonizingly slow process of stop-motion animation (you know the look of stop-motion from Burton's 1993 classic The Nightmare Before Christmas).

"It was not so far away from other characters I've played in the past with Tim. You know, the outsider, fumbling, deeply insecure, nervous. Like Edward Scissorhands."

Asked if he could have known about the success of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Pirates (two Pirate sequels are already in the pipeline), Depp said, "I've learned to condition myself not to have any expectations at the box office.

"As you all well know - at least I do - that kind of success escaped me for many, many years. This is a relatively new experience.

"More than a few people don't see my films. But recently, I have noticed a change in the attitude toward me from the upper echelon of the industry.

"In the past, every time Tim wanted to cast me, he had to fight like a bastard with the studio. But he was telling me today that when he sat down with Warner Bros. to talk about the cast of Corpse Bride, the studio said, 'What about Johnny?' The fact they brought it up first was pretty astonishing news."

Depp loves working with Burton because he knows "I'm going home to this place that's very comfortable. There may be great risks involved and you have to be prepared to explore a character, but you feel great safety working with him.

"More than anything, I'm interested in covering an area as an actor, then being able to say, 'That's territory covered. Where do we go next?' And that's terrain Burton calls home."

Depp admits constantly seeking new ground is a challenge. "I hear the voice of Marlon Brando reverberating in my ear (the two worked together on 1995's Don Juan DeMarco).

"One time, he says to me: 'How many films do you do a year?' I said, 'I dunno. Two or three.' He says, 'You've got to watch yourself. We've only got so many faces in our pocket.' "

Depp has run through a few in a wide-ranging yet surprisingly consistent career that has included What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Benny & Joon, Blow, Chocolat, and the coming The Libertine, in which he plays a 17th-century womanizing poet.

Yet he gives the impression he wouldn't mind much if it all went away tomorrow, except for another reason everyone loves him so much.

"More than anything, it's the kids who have stuck with me since the beginning, and believed in me when I didn't even believe in myself.

"I don't like to refer to anyone as a fan, but the kids outside the movie theatre; the kids who go and watch these things (my movies); the kids who've stuck with me on a very long, strange, bumpy road; that's what means most to me.

"They're the people who keep me employed. They're my boss."

Quirky Hollywood beau Johnny Depp has been inaugurated into Hollywood's elite club, after he was immortalised in concrete on the Hollywood Boulevard.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star joined the likes of Tom Hanks and Steve McQueen, when he had his hand and footprints cast on the pavement outside the legendary Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory actor was joined by his partner Vanessa Paradis and their two children, for the occasion which appeared to be a little overwhelming for the 42-year-old star.

He melodramatically told the gathered crowds and Hollywood dignitaries: "To say that this is overwhelming is probably the understatement of the millennium."

Fortuitously enough, the ceremony coincided with the release of Depp's new film with long-time collaborator Tim Burton, Corpse Bride, a unique-looking stop-motion animation that co-stars Helena Bonham Carter.

Depp is currently working on the two sequels to the 2003 summer blockbuster, Pirates of the Caribbean.

The tradition of Hollywood greats leaving imprints on the Forecourt of Stars at Grauman's began before the cinema opened in 1927, when actress Norma Talmadge accidentally walked over some wet concrete.

The historic celluloid memorial also features John Wayne's fist and Al Jonson's knees.

Ten Alps Radio is producing a one hour programme for BBC Radio 2, presented by Johnny Depp, marking the 50th anniversary of the death of Hollywood legend James Dean, who died on September 30, 1955...
 

Guests in the programme include Paul McCartney, Dennis Hopper, Bill Wyman, David Bailey, Morrissey, Carl Barat from The Libertines, Craig & Charlie Read from The Proclaimers, Sir David Puttnam, Alan Parker, Dennis Stock, Martin Landau and Elia Kazan, as well as archive interviews from the late Sammy Davis Jnr, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo & Sir Alec Guinness.

`Johnny Depp on James Dean' airs on BBC Radio 2 at 8.30pm Tuesday night September 27.

September 16, 2005 - Just a few years ago, Tim Burton had to butt heads with studios to get them to agree to casting Johnny Depp as the lead. Everyone knew that Depp was a great actor. He had countless terrific performances to prove that, from Edward Scissorhands to What's Eating Gilbert Grape to Donnie Brasco and Ed Wood. Box office draw was the title he had somehow avoided. All of that ended in the most unlikely circumstances, headlining a long-thought-dead genre, the pirate movie, and creating an endlessly entertaining character named Jack Sparrow.

In 2005, Depp is on top of Hollywood. He headlined another Burton film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, earlier this summer. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing more than $200 million domestically. Now, Burton laughs that it's the studios that are suggesting Johnny to him.

"The Warner people came to see [Burton] in London," says Depp. "[They] said, 'Let's talk about cast.' And Tim was like, 'Uh, yeah. Let's um talk about cast...so maybe…' And they were like, 'What about Johnny?' And Tim was like, 'Oh, yeah, good.' (Laughs.) The fact they brought it up was pretty astonishing. It surprised him… Tim wanted to cast me in his films [but before he] had to fight like a bastard with the studio to be able to cast me…"

Depp was initially planning Corpse Bride as the follow-up to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but Burton figured they could go ahead and work on the voicing right at the same time. "I was so focused on Charlie, so focused on the Wonka character - Somehow in my mind I thought, 'Well, we'll do Corpse Bride, I'm sure, in two or three months.' Then suddenly, one day on the set, Tim came to me and said, 'Maybe tonight we can go and record some Corpse Bride.' And I was like, 'Yeah. Sure we can.' I had no character. So, I sat him down and grilled him for about 15 minutes and that's how I found the guy."

"He's a character who isn't so far away from character's I've played in the past with Tim - Edward Scissorhands or a little bit outsider, bumbling, deeply insecure, nervous. A lot like me in life… [That] feeling of being inept, unable to be understood. That's a pretty consistent theme in a lot of people's lives. It's like Victor kind of represented in the same way Edward Scissorhands [did] of not feeling comfortable of feeling in life. That universal feeling we all drag around with us for the rest of our days…"

In Corpse Bride, the land of the living is drab and devoid of color. In sharp contrast, the land of the dead is filled with colors, a party atmosphere where the after-life is cause for celebration. "Well, Tim, he explained it really earlier, but I'll butcher it. He'll explain it himself. The idea that in life there is this constant fear and obsession with death and the mystery of what death is to the point that people are unbelievably tense about arriving there. We all know we're going to arrive there at some point. The fact that the land of the living is this uptight, grey, heavy place and going down to the land of the dead - that could be heaven, hell or purgatory - and it's like 1920's Paris. (Laughs) Flappers with craziness. I thought it was pretty amazing."

Depp has become synonymous with oddball, over-the-top characters. These are the parts where he really excels and also the characters he's most drawn to. When asked about playing someone more like himself, Depp laughs. "No, that's…any actor with any semblance of sanity or insanity, that's probably our biggest fear. To go anywhere near who you are. It's ok to use certain truths."

"It is a great challenge and I've touched on it here and there. Even though it's more charactery, [I have] parts like The Libertine coming up. It is a great challenge. More than anything, I'm kind of interested in exploring one area and being like, 'Well, that's territory covered. Let's see what happens next. Where can you go next?'"

When Depp worked with the legendary Marlon Brando, the actor gave the young Depp a priceless pieces of advice. "One day he said to me, 'How many films do you do a year?' I said, 'I dunno. Two or three?' So he said, 'You gotta watch yourself.' And I said, 'Why is that?' 'Because we only have so many faces in our pockets.' And you get to a certain point playing all these different characters and you're like, 'My god, he really was right.' But, one of the luxuries for an actor, one of the joys of the gig is that you get to observe people. And by observing people you find these little traits, these little interesting traits of what people do and you go, 'Oh, I'll have a bit of that and I'll have a bit of that and you'll store it and save it for later.' And you never know when you'll need it."

At this point in the interview, a loud crash of dishes breaking echoes through a conference room of the Four Seasons.

"You saw; I was right here," says Depp. "I didn't do anything at all. (Laughs) I'll be blamed for that, you know that?"

Depp is taking a time out from a lengthy shoot for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3 to talk to press about Corpse Bride. The return to the role of Jack Sparrow in Pirates will mark the first time he has returned to a character since his television days on 21 Jump Street. "What happens to me is that for every character, when you know every character and you really know the guy, you become very close to him. [You] love him and enjoying playing with him. So, it's always very difficult at the end. There is that week to ten days before wrap where you can feel and hear the clock ticking. And then you go through a really natural depression after. There is an odd separation anxiety. You've just been this person for a good amount of time and then suddenly [he whistles] gone! For me, with Captain Jack, I had a sneaking suspicion I'd see him again. And when they said they wanted to do Pirates 2 and 3 back to back I was all for it. Just selfishly to be able to be the guy. To play him again."

Future Burton projects seem inevitable, but Depp says there is nothing concrete at the time being. "I hope so. It's all up to him. He gives me the job. Yeah, working with Tim, I've said this before. The only analogy that works [when] working with Tim is [it is] like going home to this place that's very comfortable. Even with the knowledge there are a lot of risks that have to be taken. And you really have to be prepared to explore. But there is great comfort and great safety there."

As yet, Depp says that he hasn't approached Burton with projects to direct. He prefers to let the director call the shots. "It's always been with Tim and I - besides Scissorhands, which was more of a general meeting - but after that I get these mysterious phone calls out of nowhere. After months, sometimes years. He'll say, 'What are you doing?' 'Nothing, just sort of hanging around.' 'Can you meet me for dinner next week?' 'Sure. Where?' 'New York.' 'O.K.' 'O.K. I'll see you then.' (Laughs) No subject, there is no project, there is nothing! I see Tim in a week; it's always been like that.

LOS ANGELES - Johnny Depp scrawled his name and dipped his hands and feet in cement Friday in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

The ceremony coincided with the release of Depp's latest film, the animated "Corpse Bride," which opened in limited cities Friday. The movie expands to wide release next weekend.

"So this is weird," Deep said before hundreds of fans who lined up to see the actor. "I mean, to say that this is overwhelming is probably the understatement of the millennium."

Depp recently starred as the eccentric Willy Wonka in director Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Burton also directed and produced "Corpse Bride" - the fifth collaboration with Depp.

Depp is currently filming "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

Actor Johnny Depp Receives Hollywood Honor

HOLLYWOOD - As his latest movie opened across the country, Johnny Depp put his feet and hands in the cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, earning him a permanent place in Hollywood history.
"So this is weird," Depp said during the ceremony, which attracted hundreds of fans, some of whom spent the night along Hollywood Boulevard to get a glimpse of the actor. "I mean, to say that this is overwhelming is probably the understatement of the millenium."

Depp received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his portrayals of J.M. Barrie in "Finding Neverland" and of Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."

Depp was seen more recently in director Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," portraying eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The animated "Corpse Bride," a Burton project that opens today, marks Depp's fifth pairing with the quirky director.

 He is currently filming "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 3."

Wearing a brown hat and blue-tinted sunglasses, Depp scrawled his name into the cement, then stuck in his hands and feet.

"I'm going to come check on it weekly, just to make sure that somebody, you know, that you guys don't take it away, just like store it in a warehouse or something," he said.

Depp's breakout role came not on the big screen, but on television, portraying undercover detective Tom Hanson on the Fox show "21 Jump Street."

He then appeared in John Waters' "Cry Baby" and teamed with Burton on "Edward Scissorhands" and "Ed Wood."

His screen credits also include "Nightmare on Elm Street," "Platoon," "Donnie Brasco," "Dead Man" and "Don Juan Demarco," in which he appeared with Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway.

Actor Johnny Depp puts his handprints in cement in the courtyard at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday. (AP/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The hands that were replaced with cutlery in Edward Scissorhands and wore gloves in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are now immortalized in concrete.

Johnny Depp signed his name and placed his handprints and footprints in wet concrete in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

"So this is weird," Deep said as hundreds of fans watched the ceremony Friday.

"I mean, to say that this is overwhelming is probably the understatement of the millennium."

The sidewalk honour coincided with the release of Depp's latest film, the animated Corpse Bride, which opened in limited release Friday. The movie expands to wide release next weekend.

It was his fifth collaboration with director Tim Burton, who also directed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edward Scissorhands.

Depp is currently filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

Johnny Depp's versatile hands now in concrete

The hands that were replaced with cutlery in "Edward Scissorhands" and wore gloves in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" are now immortalized in concrete.

Johnny Depp signed his name and placed his handprints and footprints in wet concrete in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

"So this is weird," Deep said as hundreds of fans watched the ceremony Friday. "I mean, to say that this is overwhelming is probably the understatement of the millennium."

The sidewalk honor coincided with the release of Depp's latest film, the animated "Corpse Bride," which opened in limited release Friday. The movie expands to wide release next weekend.

DEPP LEAVES MARK AT THEATRE

Johnny Depp scrawled his name and dipped his hands and feet in concrete Friday in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. The ceremony coincided with the release of Depp's latest film, the animated ``Corpse Bride,'' which opened Friday. ``So this is weird,'' Deep said before hundreds of fans who lined up to see the actor. ``I mean, to say that this is overwhelming is probably the understatement of the millennium.''

Posted Sep 18, 2005, 10:23 AM ET by Adam Finley

I keep hearing all this stuff about how Johnny Depp wouldn't have had a career if it weren't for Tim Burton. I guess that's true in a way, but the actor does have chops, and I think even without his collaborations with Burton he would have done just fine on his own. Of course, that means a world without Edward Scissorhands, and I wouldn't have been able to accept that. Anyway, Depp was embraced once again by Hollywood when he sunk his hands into some wet concrete on Hollywood Boulevard. He was then chased away by a construction crew who told him to stop messing up there work. Wait, sorry, I got that wrong. Actually he was honored in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theater as his fans looked on in admiration. Personally, I've stuck my hands in concrete on a number of occasions, but the media rarely does a story on it. Kind of a shame, really.

JOHNNY DEPP has missed out on the chance to star alongside ROLLING STONE KEITH RICHARDS, because the rocker's schedule is too busy.

The CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY star had been looking forward to Richards making a cameo appearance as his dad in 2006's PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST.

But now the legendary guitarist, who was the inspiration behind Depp's alter-ego JACK SPARROW, is too busy with his band's world tour to take time out for acting.

Depp says, " It doesn't look like it will happen now. Keith is on tour so it's hard to fit into the timeframe we're working to."
18/09/2005 11:03

LOS ANGELES — The hands that were replaced with cutlery in "Edward Scissorhands" and wore gloves in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" are now immortalized in concrete.

Johnny Depp (search) signed his name and placed his handprints and footprints in wet concrete in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre (search) on Hollywood Boulevard.

"So this is weird," Deep said as hundreds of fans watched the ceremony Friday. "I mean, to say that this is overwhelming is probably the understatement of the millennium."

The sidewalk honor coincided with the release of Depp's latest film, the animated "Corpse Bride," which opened in limited release Friday. The movie expands to wide release next weekend.

It was his fifth collaboration with director Tim Burton (search), who also directed "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Edward Scissorhands."

Depp is currently filming "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 3."

Johnny Depp told SCI FI Wire that he never paid attention to the box office performance of his films until his recent blockbuster hits Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

"I've learned to sort of condition myself to not have any expectations in terms of box office or result to that degree, because, as you all well know as well I do, that kind of thing escaped me for many, many years," Depp said at a small press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival. "So it's relatively a new experience to have more than a few people go and see my films. But it's very exciting."

The whole box office game is foreign to him, Depp said in Toronto, where he is promoting his voice work in director Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. He said he called his agent recently to ask how Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was doing. "She said, 'Yeah. It looks like it's going to cross the $200 million mark domestically,'" he said. "I didn't know what that meant, and I said, 'Well, is that good?' She said, 'Yeah. It's very good. Don't worry.'" Charlie, which cost about $150 million to make, is continuing to make money.

As for Pirates, Depp earned an Oscar nomination for best actor, and the film became a treasure trove for Disney, making $305 million domestically after costing about $140 million to make.

Now, Depp is poised for another blockbuster in his first animated role and his fifth team-up with Tim Burton, who directed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"Every time that Tim wanted to cast me in his films [in the past], he had to fight like a bastard with the studio to be able to cast me," Depp said. "And he was telling me today that the funny thing was he sat down with the Warners people who came to see him in London and said, 'Lets talk about cast.' Tim said, 'Yeah, lets talk about cast.' And they went, 'What do you think of Johnny?' Tim said that he was like, 'Yeah, OK. Good.' So the fact that they brought it up was good. Astonishing. It surprised him."

Friday, September 16, 2005 Page R6

Johnny Depp relishes full-blown transformation.

He got a kick out of inserting gold teeth and kohling his eyes to play the inimitable campy pirate Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. He enjoyed putting his own face-powdered stamp on Willy Wonka with Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And now he's hitting the screens as a clumsy, insecure and well-meaning puppet named Victor, in Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.

Depp, in Toronto last weekend to promote his friend Burton's stop-motion animated film, says these roles have been a nice change from character-driven parts that perhaps are a bit closer to the real Johnny Depp. "Any actor with any semblance of sanity -- probably our biggest fear is to go anywhere near who you are. It's okay to use certain truths," he continues, but then is interrupted by a tray of falling plates just outside a room at the Four Seasons Hotel.

"You saw I didn't do anything at all. I'll be blamed for that."

Then Depp, who has always had a loyal cult of fans but only recently enjoyed blockbuster, box-office success, says he's never forgotten the words of a wise man he worked with on 1995's Don Juan DeMarco. "I can hear Marlon's [Brando] words reverberating. One time he said to me, 'How many films do you do a year?' " Depp recalls.

"And I said, 'I don't know. Two or three.' And he said, 'You gotta watch yourself.' I said, 'Why's that?' And he said, 'We only have so many faces in our pockets.' And as you get to a certain point, and you've played different characters, you think, God, he really was right."

Since Depp broke out of obscurity as a teen heartthrob in the TV series 21 Jump Street, he's been incredibly productive, pumping out close to 35 feature films that show a multitude of Depp faces and run the gamut from fantasy, thriller, biography, horror and bizarre adventures for adults and kids.

His next film is Laurence Dunmore's The Libertine, the story of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, the 17th-century poet who drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.

While Depp is now a staunch family man, he admits The Libertine edges back to a role that has more shades of himself in the character. He doesn't elaborate, but this could, perhaps, be a nod to the actor's younger years, when he owned the infamous Viper Room, partied hard, trashed the odd hotel room -- and like Lord Rochester -- brushed close to a flammable existence.

Roles that infringe on home territory, Depp acknowledges, are by far the most challenging. "It is a great challenge, and I've kind of touched on it here and there in more charactery parts. I just . . . more than anything, I am interested in exploring one area, and then that's territory covered. Let's see what happens next. But I have the voice of Marlon reverberating. . . .

"One of the luxuries of an actor, one of the joys of the gig, is that you get to observe people, and by observing people, and you find these little traits, these interesting things that people do. Well, I'll have a bit of that and I'll have a bit of that. And you store it up and save it for later, later on when you'll need it."

Unlike other stars, Depp lacks all pretension. His wrists are loaded down with homemade bead bracelets, leather straps and a white piece of cloth that looks like it might be covered with drawings by his two kids, Lily-Rose, 6, and Jack, 3. Around his neck, he's got a half-dozen chains, all cheap costume stuff with teeth and more beads. His long hair is flattened down by the usual frumpy hat.

He acknowledges that the box-office bonanza of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- many at TIFF predict that Corpse Bride will be another crowd pleaser -- has been more than a long-time coming. He's grateful for it, but doesn't give it much thought. "I've learned to condition myself not to have any expectations in terms of box office because as we all know, that kind of thing escaped me for many, many years," he says with a grin. "So all this is a relatively new experience."

Depp says it wasn't until the breakout success of Pirates that studios started seeking him out. "I've noticed a change from the upper echelon of the industry," Depp concedes. But it's recent. "Every time Tim wanted to cast me for a film he had to fight like a bastard with the studio. He was telling me today that when he sat down with the people in London [for Charlie], they said, 'Okay, let's figure out our cast.' And then they added, 'Maybe we could use Johnny.' "

Burton, apparently, almost fell off his chair. "He's like, 'Okay, yeah. Good.' The fact they brought it up was pretty astonishing and surprised him."

Five times now, Burton and Depp have collaborated. And the offers from Burton usually come right out of the blue. The two men will have gone months, sometimes years, without getting together, and Depp says he'll suddenly get a call. "He'll say, 'What are you doing?' And I'm like, 'Nothing. Just hangin' around.' He'll say, 'Can you meet me for dinner next week?' Sure, where? 'New York.' Okay, I'll see you then. There's no subject. No topic. Nothing."

Depp, who was born in Kentucky, hates to use the word fan. But he goes on to say he appreciates all the people -- agents, family, colleagues "and all those kids who are outside the movie theatre and who go and watch. I appreciate the kids who have stuck with me on this very long, strange and bumpy road. They're the ones who keep me employed."

As for the critics who matter most? His partner Vanessa Paradis and their kids. The night the rest of the Depp family went to see Charlie for the first time, Johnny says he stayed home.

"I was afraid in the theatre my kids would not react well," he says. "So I was sitting at home, waiting for them to come back. And when they arrived my son, Jack, walks in, stands in front of me and in Willy Wonka's voice, says, 'You're really weird.'

"It was liberating."

Johnny Depp has said he didn't set out to be 'captain weird,' but his affection for off-kilter, misfit roles seems to fit the Hollywood rebel perfectly.

In Toronto at the Film Festival this week to promote his newest role in Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, the animated movie that opens today, Depp looked perfectly the oddball part. He channeled a style somewhere between a homeless beatnik thespian and Hunter S. Thompson in a haphazard outfit, complete with ragged, handmade accessories, fedora-like hat, bulky, dark rimmed glasses and gold teeth.

Despite his own eccentricities, Depp said the inspiration for his offbeat characters comes not from a hidden inner weird well -- but from outside sources, specifically, other oddball celebs.

"When I read a script, images of people will come to me, like with Sleepy Hollow I kept seeing Roddy McDowell and Angela Lansbury. For Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates Of The Caribbean), Keith Richards became the inspiration, because I started thinking of pirates as rock stars," said Depp, during Sunday's Corpse Bride press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel. "You just start taking tidbits and storing them up for later."

Depp credits his people-watching skills for his ability to channel the idiosyncrasies of a specific person.

"One of the primary responsibilities and luxuries of an actor is the art of observation -- being able to watch people and their behaviour -- which is fascinating, because people are really nuts," said Depp, whilst unknowingly calling the kettle black. "I really enjoy that -- stealing little bits from people and incorporating them into the character."

Fittingly of course, it isn't until Burton's name comes up that Depp admits to being weird.

"More than anything, what drew me to (Corpse Bride) was Tim," said the 42-year-old actor. "I think he's a genius ... and our working relationship is, as you can imagine, weird."

Corpse Bride marks the actor's fifth film with the campy director. Other Burton/Depp credits include Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood and, most recently, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, which the two worked on simultaneously with Corpse Bride.

Burton himself says it was Depp's unconventionality that drew him to the actor in the first place.

"(The cast) are all outcasts in a way -- that's part of the beauty of it -- and that's why I immediately responded to Johnny," said Burton. "He's a handsome leading man -- but he's also something different."

Still, Depp shrugs off any suggestions that he may just be captain weird after all, along with any hints to his monumental mainstream success.

"I've done everything from sell pens over the phone to screening T-shirts. I was a musician, I was a busboy -- I've worn many hats -- literally," said Depp. "But I'm somewhat together enough to know that if the ride's smooth this week, that it could all change next week and once again I'm the weird guy doing art films."

Warner Bros. Pictures News: Johnny Depp to Be Honored with Hand and Footprint Ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

WHAT:  JOHNNY DEPP will be immortalized in a Hollywood landmark when
       he places his hand and footprints in cement in the forecourt of
       the world-famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
       Honorary Mayor of Hollywood Johnny Grant will emcee the event.

WHO:   JOHNNY DEPP has earned both critical and popular acclaim for
       his unique work in a variety of memorable feature films.  Tim
       Burton's "Corpse Bride" marks Depp's fifth collaboration with
       director Tim Burton.  Most recently, he collaborated with
       Burton on the fantasy adventure "Charlie and the Chocolate
       Factory."  Based on the beloved Roald Dahl classic, Depp played
       eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.

       Recently, Depp received an Academy Award nomination, Golden
       Globe nomination, Screen Actor's Guild nomination and BAFTA
       nomination for his role as J.M. Barry in Mark Forster's
       "Finding Neverland" in which he starred opposite Kate Winslet
       and Freddie Highmore.

       Depp also received an Academy Award nomination,  Golden Globe
       nomination, BAFTA nomination and a Screen Actor's Guild Award
       for Best Actor for his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in the
       action adventure "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the
       Black Pearl."  He is currently filming "Pirates of the
       Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 3."

       Hailed as the "Best Actor" of his generation for his
       performance in Mike Newell's "Donnie Brasco" with Al Pacino,
       Depp has also starred in Jim Jarmusch's "Dead Man" and in
       Jeremy Leven's "Don Juan Demarco" in which he starred as a man
       convinced he is the world's greatest lover, opposite legendary
       actors Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway.

       It was his compelling performance in the title role of Tim
       Burton's "Edward Scissorhands" that established Depp as one of
       Hollywood's most sought-after talents and earned him a Best
       Actor Golden Globe nomination. Depp reunited with Burton for
       the critically acclaimed "Ed Wood" for which his performance
       garnered him his third Best Actor Golden Globe nomination.

       Depp began his career as a musician, joining a rock group named
       "Kids," which eventually took him to Los Angeles.  When the
       band broke up, he turned to acting and earned his first major
       acting job in "Nightmare on Elm Street."  He went on to earn
       roles in several films including Oliver Stone's Academy
       Award-winning "Platoon."  Depp then won the role that would
       prove to be his breakthrough, as undercover detective Tom
       Hanson on the popular Fox television show "21 Jump Street."  He
       starred on the series for four seasons before segueing to the
       big screen in the lead role of John Waters' "Cry Baby."

WHEN:  Friday, September 16, 2005
       Crew Arrivals: 10:30AM
       Ceremony: 11:30AM

WHERE: Grauman's Chinese Theatre
       6925 Hollywood Blvd.
       Hollywood

Johnny Depp, 42, has been letting his hair down with Pirates of the Caribbean pal Orlando Bloom, 28. They met up in Toronto while publicising their latest films. An insider said: "Orlando spent almost an entire night with Johnny in his room. They ordered bottle after bottle. They had DVDs sent up - mostly old movies and Westerns."

Movie File: Johnny Depp, JoJo, Naomi Watts, Steve Martin, Tom Cruise
Depp starring in film about heroin addict who escapes from prison, joins Indian crime underworld.

Fans have long appreciated the way Johnny Depp's career proudly straddles both sides of the line between big-budget crowd pleasers ("Pirates of the Caribbean") and edgy indie fare ("Dead Man").

For his upcoming film "Shantaram," Depp said he hopes to fully merge the two aesthetics. "I don't know that I can say I see it as a big commercial thing, that's something nobody can predict. But I see it as being quite epic," he said of the film, expected in 2007 and based on the biography of a heroin addict who escapes prison and teams up with the Indian underworld crime syndicate. "I mean, if one's hope is to sort of be true to the book, and true to [author] Gregory Roberts' intent, it's pretty sprawling. It's pretty large, it's pretty epic. It's a book that deserves to be read, and hopefully it will be a film that deserves to be seen." ...

by Rebecca Murray

Johnny Depp on Getting Into His "Corpse Bride" Character: “The great luxury was that when I arrived that night to do the recording for the session, [the] Victor [puppet] was standing there and so I got to meet the puppets. They were beautiful. Beautiful. Really inspiring.”
 

Johnny Depp on the Inspiration for the Character of Victor: Depp said he wasn’t thinking of anyone in particular when he began working on his character in “Corpse Bride.” “No. Not particularly, no. I was just trying to save my own ass basically for being ill prepared. Tim [Burton] was so helpful - as he always is. He's a character that's not so far away from other characters that I've played in the past for Tim, like Edward Scissorhands or a little bit of an outsider..A bumbling, deeply insecure nervous character. A lot like me in life.”

Johnny Depp Identifies with Victor: “Yeah. Feeling like a failure I suppose. Feeling inept, unable to be understood. That's a pretty consistent theme in a lot of people's lives. But it's like Victor kind of represented, in the same way that 'Scissorhands' did, that emotion of not quite feeling comfortable in life. It's that universal emotion of growing up, really, that we all drag around with us for the rest of our days.”

Johnny Depp on the Land of the Dead in “Corpse Bride:” “Well, Tim explained it really beautifully earlier, and so I'll butcher it but he'll fix it for me. It's the idea that in life there is this kind of constant fear and obsession with death and the mystery of what death is and all of that, to the point of where people are unbelievably tense about arriving there, even though we all know we're going to arrive there at some point. In fact, the land of the living in this thing is sort of super uptight and grey and heavy as a place and going down to the land of the dead where it could be heaven or hell or it could be purgatory, and it's like 1920s Paris. Flappers and craziness. I thought that it was pretty amazing.”

Johnny Depp on Working with Tim Burton: Depp said he hopes he’ll get to work with Burton in the future. “It's all up to him whether he gives me the job. Working with Tim, I've said it before, but it's the only analogy that works. Working with Tim is really like going home for me. It's this place that's very comfortable even with the knowledge that there's a lot of risks that have to be taken and you have to really be prepared to explore. But there is great comfort there and there is great safety there.”

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton – How the Relationship Functions: “It's always been, with Tim and I, aside from 'Scissorhands' which was kind of a general meeting, but after that you get these sort of mysterious phone calls out of nowhere after sometimes months, sometimes years. And he'll say, 'What are you doing?' 'Nothing. I'm just hanging around.' 'Can you meet me for dinner next week?' 'Sure. Where?' 'New York.' 'Okay.' 'Okay. I'll see you then.' 'Okay.' I mean, there's no subject. There's no project. There's nothing. It's just like, 'Okay. I'm going to go see Tim in a week.' It's always been like that.”

Does He Consider Himself Tim Burton’s Muse?: “No. For me, I see myself as just a very, very lucky boy who's been drafted to come along for the ride. I would say that the fact that he's chosen me these last times to interpret these characters is either great luck or a huge mistake on his part. No. I think that it's just that we're good friends and we understand each other. We have a similar sense of humor. A similar background. Similar fascinations. So I just feel really lucky. I felt lucky after 'Scissorhands.'”

On Playing Characters for Tim Burton that are Reflections of Himself: “Oh, I think that they definitely are to some degree. Reflections of me, too, but certainly the seed starts with Tim. I think that Edward Scissorhands was a character that Tim started drawing when he was a teenager and then that developed over the years, and clearly it's him. I think that there is a lot of Tim in this character. Quite a bit.”

Johnny Depp on Box Office Success: “I've learned to sort of condition myself to not have any expectations in terms of box office or result, to that degree, because as you all well know as well I do that kind of thing escaped me for many, many years. So it's relatively a new experience to have more than a few people go and see my films, but it's very exciting.

That whole part of the process is so foreign to me and so distant that I literally, maybe two or three weeks ago, called my agent Tracy and said, 'Is ‘Charlie’ doing okay?' She said, 'Yeah. It looks like it's going to cross the $200 million mark domestically.' I didn't know what that meant and I said, 'Well, is that good?' She said, 'Yeah. It's very good. .

Depp admitted that while he isn’t aware of exactly how each one of his films is performing, he is definitely aware of the impact his recent success has had on the film industry. “I've noticed a bit of a change and I've noticed certainly a change in the attitude towards me from the upper echelon of the industry, which is pretty interesting,” said Depp.

Depp said the change doesn’t mean that everyone wants him in their movies now, but it does help directors – like Tim Burton – get approval from the studio to cast him in their projects without having to do a song and dance act to get them to agree. “Like, for example, Tim – every time that Tim wanted to cast me in his films, he had to fight like a bastard with the studio to be able to cast me. He was telling me today that the funny thing was he sat down with the Warner's people who came to see him in London and said, 'Lets talk about cast.' Tim said, 'Yeah, let’s talk about cast.' And they went, 'What do you think of Johnny?' Tim said that he was like, 'Yeah, okay. Good.' So the fact that they brought it up was good. Astonishing. It surprised him.”

Johnny Depp on the Challenge of Transforming for Roles: “It's easier to play a puppet. No. Any actor with a semblance of sanity or insanity, probably our biggest fear is to go anywhere near who you are. It's okay to use certain truths.

It is a great challenge and I've kind of touched on it here or there with more sort of character type parts like 'The Libertine' coming up. But, yeah, it is a great challenge. Just more than anything I'm kind of interested in exploring one area and then saying, 'Alright. That's territory covered. Let’s see what happens next and where I can go next.'

I do have that voice of Marlon [Brando] reverberating in there. I have Marlon's words reverberating in there. One time he said to me, 'How many films do you do a year?' I said, 'I don't know. Two or three.' He said, 'You've got to watch yourself.' I said, 'Why's that?' He said, 'Because we only have so many faces in our pocket.' You get to a certain point and you've played all these different characters you start going, 'My God, he really was right.' But I don't know. One of the luxuries for an actor, one of the joys of the gig is that you get to observe people and by observing people you sort of find these little traits, these interesting little things that people do and you go, 'Oh, I'll have a bit of that. I'll have a bit of that.' And you just store it up and save it for later because you'll never know when you'll need it.”

On Fame and Being Able to Observe People: “Yeah, that's the rub. That's the rub. That's one of the sort of occupational hazards because you want to be the observer and then suddenly you walk into a room and everyone goes, 'Isn't that that guy? What's his name?' Yeah, that's one of the dangers, but there are still ways to sort of do it. I mean, you can still kind of do it from afar.

What's fascinating for me is like the idea that you can watch the straightest couple in the world – really straight laced, a super conservative couple having a meal or whatever and if you watch them for long enough you'll realize that they're absolutely insane. I mean they are insane. It's the things that we do that are insane. It's really fascinating.”

Johnny Depp on the Most Important Form of Validation: “The thing for me that's most touching is that a couple of the people who have been with me have stuck with me since the early days. One being my agent, Tracey Jacobs. She really believed in me. You can hear the violin's starting. But she really believed in me when no one else did. I mean, they wouldn't even look at me and Tracey was always there. I didn't believe in me and she did. But more than anything, it's those kids, and I don't like the word fan – I don't like to refer to anyone as a fan – but the kids outside the movie theater. The kids who go and watch these things and the kids who have stuck with me on a very long, lengthy, strange, bumpy road. That's what means the most. They're the people who keep me employed. So I kind of look at them like they're my boss.”

On His Role as Dad: Have his children seen any of his recent movies? Depp said, “Well, Jack was real little when 'Pirates' came out. He was sort of in the Neanderthal stage. Lily Rose was there and she loved it.

It's interesting because they had come on the set of 'Pirates' so they were sort of used to seeing poppa as this weird, greasy, pirate guy and then when they knew that I was going to be playing Willy Wonka, they were of course very excited about it because they knew the original film with Gene Wilder. My daughter is pretty familiar with the book, the story. So they came to visit me on the set and, like I said they're pretty used to that sort of thing, but they came to the set and they walked into my trailer and there I was decked out in the top hat and the Prince Valiant hairdo and the cha-cha heels and the eyes and the teeth and the rubber gloves and they just kind of froze and just stared at me for what felt like an eternity, about two minutes.

And then they sort of got over it and wanted to try everything on, the top hat and glasses and stuff. I was so scared when they were going to see 'Charlie,' and way more than the idea of being reviewed by a movie critic. I was so in fear that my kids were going to not react well to the film. So I was sitting at home waiting for them to come back and they arrived back and my son of three years old, Jack, walks in and looks up at me and quoted Wonka. He went, 'You're really weird.' [Laughs] I felt suddenly liberated.”

Johnny Depp on Returning as Captain Jack Sparrow in “Pirates 2 and 3:” “What happens for me, and I can only speak for myself, but what happens to me is that with every character once you've clicked into that character and you really know the guy, you become very close with him and you love him. You enjoy playing him. So it's always very, very difficult at the end. There is that week to 10 days before wrap where you can feel and hear the clock ticking, and then you go through sometimes a really nasty kind of depression afterwards. There's an odd separation anxiety because you've just been this person for a pretty good length of time and then they're suddenly gone.

For me, with Captain Jack, I had a sneaking suspicion that I'd see him again. And when they said, 'We'd like to do two and three together,' I was all for it because I just wanted, selfishly, to be the guy again, just to see him again, play him.”

On Keith Richards: Depp hasn’t worked with Richards yet. “It's sort of not totally official yet. It might be. Everyone is trying. He's got a little tour to do.”

The Changes to Jack Sparrow in “Pirates 2 and 3:” “I don't know. I think that there's some kind of fun plot stuff that they're planning on."

Johnny Depp on Saying Good-Bye to His Characters: “It's weird because sometimes separation is more emotional than others. I remember after 'Scissorhands,' and I really feel like a dunce having to say this, but it's the truth – I remember the last day of that movie, it had been 89 days or something, and I remember after we did the makeup I looked into the mirror and thinking, 'Well, this is it. This is the last time I'll see you.' So it becomes very emotional. It's a weird, weird thing. I don’t think that it's normal and I don't think that it's particularly good for you. But it's sort of what I got.”

Johnny Depp Evaluates His Work: Asked if there are any performances that, looking back, now make him cringe, Depp said, “Oh, I cringe at all of them. That's a subject that's so far away from me. I have no idea. I'm not a particularly good judge of my own work because I honestly do my best to avoid seeing the things, and with all due respect to the writers and the filmmakers and the technicians and the artists involved – it has nothing to do with them. I'm really proud of the experience most of the time, but I just can't stand seeing myself up there because you start to second guess yourself. You start to go, 'Why didn't I do this? Why didn't I do that? God. Look at my nose. I hate myself.' That kind of thing. You just start thinking about yourself and that's where you don't want to be because you were playing a character. So I have a tendency to really just take the experience with me and that's plenty. So I feel like once they wrap me it's none of my business anymore.”

"I'm insane but I'm not completely dumb." JOHNNY DEPP insists reports he's opening a club in Las Vegas, Nevada, are ridiculous.
15/09/2005 09:16

Hilary Alexander reports from behind the scenes at New York Fashion Week

Anna Wintour                Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka

Anna Wintour hasn't seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory yet, so she can't comment on whether Johnny Depp was inspired by her style when he chose his Willy Wonka look.
Anna Wintour and Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka

However, her daughter, Bea, has seen Depp's latest film - and she's convinced. "Completely, totally - especially when he's wearing those big dark glasses," she tells me. "He's got the bob and he's even got these little bangs, just like my mother. It's fantastic."

JOHNNY DEPP might be the most famous man who doesn't want to be famous. He has been twice nominated for Oscars and once voted the "Sexiest Man Alive" - but awards ceremonies scare him and Hollywood just annoys him.

But after his performances in Pirates of the Caribbean and Finding Neverland, and his latest outing as Willy Wonka in Roald Dahl's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, the 42-year-old is suddenly very hot property in Hollywood.

It's not a position in which he is particularly comfortable.

"Very selfishly and simplistically I like keeping a distance from Hollywood and the social expectations there, because I'm not good at it," he says..

"I find great comfort in having that distance, because I don't have that pressure or responsibility of knowing who is the top dog this week and who is out from last week. I don't know who anybody is, and I really like that."

Instead, Johnny spends six months a year in Los Angeles and the other six at his home on the French Riviera. It is an idyllic family life with his children Lily Rose Melody, six, three-year-old Jack, and their mother, model and actress Vanessa Paradis, 32.

The star says his life started with the birth of his first child. And despite the pressure of his career he is determined not to be separated from them.

"The most I've ever been apart from my kids and my girl was four or five weeks and that drove me mad," he says.

"One shouldn't have to do that. I can't do it. So, as much as I can, I try and bring them on location with me. If Vanessa's doing a film and I'm not working I'll go on location with them."

For now that means living in the Bahamas, where he is on location filming the next two instalments of Pirates.

He bought a Caribbean island for about £1.5m this summer, and the family travels with a minimum of 30 suitcases wherever they go.

As he relaxes in a hotel suite, wearing his trademark glasses and a hat on the back of his head, he laughs: "My family are here with me. They're always with me. We're doing all the fun stuff - running around on the beach with the kids, taking them swimming, going out on a boat. They love it.

"But we don't spoil them - we're very careful about that kind of thing."

If life seems rosy now, Johnny has also had his share of bad press, despite his long and respected career.

Film star River Phoenix collapsed and died outside Johnny's club in LA, The Viper Room, in 1993, while the actor has also had a few brushes with the law for trashing a hotel room and a brawl with photographers.

He's also had a number of failed engagements, including to Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder, and Kate Moss, while his 1983 marriage to Lori Anne Allison collapsed after two years.

A self-styled rebel and high school dropout, his big break came after a chance meeting with Nicolas Cage, who introduced him to his agent - which resulted in a small role in the horror classic, A Nightmare On Elm Street.

"I really have a lot to thank Nic for," he says.

He followed that up with a string of roles including an undercover FBI agent in Donnie Brasco, starring alongside Al Pacino, a druggie in Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas plus parts in Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow.

Bigger roles started coming his way and in 2003 he took Hollywood by storm with an Oscar-nominated performance as Captain Jack Sparrow in the £300 million grossing Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl, before being nominated again the following year for his portrayal of Peter Pan author JM Barrie in Finding Neverland.

"I try not to think about that kind of thing," he says.

"I'm really flattered and honoured that I've been able to get the nominations for various awards. That was totally unexpected and shocking to me.

"But that's enough for me. I don't want to go up in front of all those people and say thanks - that just scares me.. It would be nice but I don't need it."

While his movie career has skyrocketed recently, he has suffered personal blows, most notably the suicide of his close friend Hunter S Thompson, who penned the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

"I found out about an hour or two hours after it happened and it was devastating," he remembers.. "He dictated to life what it was going to be like so he made his exit in the same way. But that doesn't make it hurt any less."

Now all eyes will be on to see whether Charlie And The Chocolate Factory will give him another shot at Oscar success.

He was selected for the part by longtime collaborator, director Tim Burton. It is their fourth film together since Johnny starred in Edward Scissorhands in 1990.

Actor Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka in Tim Berton's version of the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

"We were having dinner and he said, 'You know that story Charlie And The Chocolate Factory? Well, I'm going to do it and I'm wondering if you'd want to play...'

"And I couldn't even wait for him to finish the sentence. I said, 'I'm in, absolutely, I'm there, no questions about it'.

"To be chosen to play Willy Wonka is a great honour," he adds, explaining he's a long-time fan of author Roald Dahl.

But Johnny admits he felt a heavy sense of responsibility playing such a well-known children's character.

Roald Dahl and his widow, Felicity, were never fans of the first Wonka film, although Gene Wilder's performance remains a popular classic.

So he was relieved when Felicity called his partnership with Tim Burton "the ideal combination" and the movie "absolutely unbeatable".

There's no doubt that the new movie is a treat for the eyes, conjuring up the magical world inside the chocolate factory, and is reportedly much more faithful to the book than the original.

With Freddie Highmore, who starred alongside Johnny in Finding Neverland to critical acclaim, playing Charlie, it's set to be a huge success - with children and their parents.

Part of the magic of filming for Johnny was that his kids loved watching their dad rule over a giant chocolate kingdom.

He even took them onto the set to sample the giant marshmallows and meet an Oompa Loom-pa. "I think both my kids would be closer to Charlie's personality," the actor grins.

"Luckily, they're pretty well balanced, pretty well grounded."

And he admits he was no Charlie as a boy himself. "I would like to think I was like Charlie, but I don't think I was.

"My mum says I was a hellion. I wasn't obnoxious or precocious but I was curious and there were a lot of practical jokes. I got on her nerves basically."

FROM THE NEWS ARCHIVES OF CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL

INTERVIEW: Johnny Depp on "Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride" and "POTC2 and 3"
POSTED ON 09/13/05 AT 1:30 A.M.
BY ETHAN AAMES
Despite the bad boy image he used to project during his younger years, Johnny Depp comes off as a soft-spoken, shy artist when it comes to doing interviews.
That’s not to say that he’s a bad interview. In fact, I would say that our interviews with Johnny Depp contain some of the most insightful and interesting takes on the art of acting.

Johnny reunites with his “Edward Scissorhands,” “Ed Wood,” “Sleepy Hollow,” and “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory” director Tim Burton in “The Corpse Bride” a stop-motion animated feature where he provides the voice of Victor Hugo, a lonesome man who is caught in an unusual love triangle involving a polite, rich girl named Victoria (Emily Watson) and a bride from beyond the grave (Helena Bonham Carter.)

Below he talks about working with Tim again, as well as going from the unknown cool indie actor to one of Hollywood’s most sought after stars.

Q: We see you really get into character in “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.” But when you’re doing a voice, do you have to get into character for this character even though you’re not playing him physically?

JOHNNY: I guess under normal circumstances you would. I was somewhat remiss only because I was so focused on “Charlie [& The Chocolate Factory].” I was so focused on the [Willy] Wonka character. Somehow, in my mind, I thought we would do “The Corpse Bride” in a couple of months. Suddenly, one day on the set, Tim comes up to me and says, “What about tonight? We’re going to record something for ‘Corpse Bride.’” I say, “Yeah, we can.”

I had no character so I sat him down and grilled him for 15 minutes. That’s how I found the guy.

Q: Did looking at the puppet help?

JOHNNY: That was one of the great luxuries. When I arrived that night to do the recording for the session, a picture was standing there and I got to meet the puppet. It was beautiful; really inspiring.

Q: Were you thinking of anyone when you were doing your character?

JOHNNY: No, not particularly. I was just trying to save my own ass basically for being ill-prepared. Tim was so helpful, as he always is, with the idea. He’s a character that’s not so far away from other characters that I’ve played in the past for Tim, like Edward Scissorhands. He’s sort of an outsider, bumbling, insecure, nervous – a lot like me in life.

Q: Was there one theme with Victor in the movie that you identified most with?

JOHNNY: The feeling of failure, I suppose. Feeling inept and unable to be understood. It’s a pretty consistent theme with a lot of people’s lives. Victor represented, in the same way Edward Scissorhands did that, that emotion of not quite feeling comfortable and that universal feeling of growing up. We all drag that feeling for the rest of our days.

Q: What is it that brings you and Tim together and do you have any plans to do anything else in the future?

JOHNNY: I hope so. It’s all up to him if he gives me the job. I’ve said this before but it’s the only analogy that works: working with Tim is like going home to this place that is very comfortable, even with knowledge that there’s a lot of risks you have to take and you really have to be prepared to explore but there’s great comfort there and great safety there. The fact that he keeps casting me is either huge luck or a great mistake on his part.

Q: What’s your reaction to the success of “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory” being your 2nd biggest movie after “Pirates of the Caribbean”?

JOHNNY: I’ve learned to condition myself and not have any expectations in terms of box-office or results to that degree because as you all well know - as well as I do - that that kind of thing escaped me for many, many years. It’s relatively a new experience. I have more than a couple of people going to see my films.

Q: You really don’t pay attention to box-office numbers?

JOHNNY: That whole part of the process is so far into me, so distant, that literally two or three weeks ago, I called my agent and said, “Is ‘Charlie’ doing O.K.?” And she said, “Uh, yeah. It’s going to cross the 200 million mark domestically.” I didn’t know what that meant and so I said, “Is that good?”

Q: Is there a surge now in your popularity?

JOHNNY: I’ve noticed a bit of a change in the attitude towards me from the operation of the industry which is pretty interesting.

Q: Does that mean everybody wants you in their movie?

JOHNNY: I don’t know about that but for example, every time Tim wanted to cast me in his films, he had to fight like a bastard with the studio to cast me. He was telling me today that the Warners people came to see him in London. They were like, “Let’s talk about cast.” He says, “Yeah, let’s talk about cast. What do you think about Johnny?” They were like, [pauses] “Yeah, O.K., good.”

Q: The last two movies, “Pirates” and “Charlie,” had you playing characters that were way over the top. Do you prefer to play things closer to you or have nothing to do with you?

JOHNNY: Any actor with any semblance of sanity or insanity will tell you that our biggest fear is to go anywhere near where you are. It’s O.K. to use certain truths. It’s a great challenge and I’ve touched on it here and there in more character-y parts, like “Libertine” coming up. I, more than anything, am more interested in exploring one area and saying that it’s territory covered and seeing what happens next. Where do you go next?

There is that voice of Marlon Brando’s that reverbs to me. One time, he said (Johnny in Marlon Brando voice) “How many movies do you do a year?” “Two or three.” And he said, “You gotta watch yourself.” I said, “Why?” He says, “We only have so many faces in our pocket.” You get to a certain point when you play all these different characters that he really is right.

But one of the luxuries of an actor and one of the joys of the gig is you get to observe people. By observing people, you find little interesting traits and say, “I’ll have a little bit of that.” And you just store it up and save it for later because you never know when you’ll need it.

Q: But as you get older and more famous, isn’t it more difficult to make observations because people are observing you all the time?

JOHNNY: There’s the rope. That’s one of the occupational hazards. You want to be the observer but when you walk into a room, people are going, “Isn’t that that guy?” There are dangers but there are ways you can still do it from afar.

Q: Going back to Marlon’s comment, you have never returned to a character since “21 Jump Street” so what was it about Captain Jack Sparrow that inspired you to do two more “Pirates” sequels?

JOHNNY: Speaking for myself, what happens to me is that with every character, once you’ve clicked into that character, you really know the guy. You become very close to him and love him. It’s always very difficult at the end, that week to 10 days before wrap, where you can hear that clock ticking. Then you go through this really nasty depression afterwards. There’s an odd separation anxiety because you’ve been this person for a pretty good length of time and then suddenly (whistles), gone.

For me with Captain Jack, I had a sneaking suspicion that I’d see him again. So when they said they wanted to do “2” and “3” together, I was all for it selfishly just to be the guy again and see him again.

Q: Are there any characters that you were glad to separate yourself from?

JOHNNY: Oh yeah, definitely. It’s weird because it’s sometimes more emotional than others. With “Edward Scissorhands,” and I feel like a dunce if I didn’t say this but it’s the truth, I remember the last day of “Scissorhands” after 89 days, they did the makeup and I looked into the mirror and thinking, “This is it. This is the last time I’ll see you.” It becomes very emotional. It’s a weird, weird thing.

Q: So when it comes to box-office and Hollywood, do you want to continue doing things for your fans or seek projects for yourself and career?

JOHNNY: I don’t like to refer to anyone as a “fan.” Kids outside the theater - who watch the movies and stuck with me during this long, lengthy, bumpy stretch of road – that’s what means to me the most. They’re the ones who keep me employed. So I kind of look at them as my boss.

Depp Game For New Quixote

Johnny Depp told SCI FI Wire that director Terry Gilliam still asks him to do the The Man Who Killed Don Quixote again, and Depp added that he'd love to do it, with qualifications. Now that the actor and director are both at the Toronto International Film Festival—promoting different movies—Depp said he expects it will be brought up more than once.

Gilliam was at the festival three years ago promoting the documentary about the demise of the film project, Lost in La Mancha, which chronicled the scuttling of the director's dream project in 2000 after a series of bad weather, serious accidents and financial woes. Depp was part of the cast at the time.

"Oh, I'd love to" do Don Quixote again, Depp said at a press conference for Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. "If there's anyway to avoid the curse, that would be better. Every time that I see [Gilliam], he threatens this. In fact, I saw him last night. I'd love to do it again. I'd love to do the film if it at all possible. I stress that part: if at all possible. Because it was going to be good. We all felt that. It was really sad. It was like the best of Terry Gilliam."

Gilliam didn't fare too well with his modest response to his recent The Brothers Grimm movie, and Tideland—which is premiering at the festival—isn't getting high praise either.

"Unfortunately there was that hideous curse on it," Depp said of Quixote. "I hope he can salvage it." He added: "I felt really good about my character. The good news is that if he wants to go back and do that, I already know the character, and so I have less homework to do."

Bonham Carter is the voice of a ghost in director Tim Burton's new film, animation epic Corpse Bride.

Her character comes back from the dead to claim she is legally married to Victor Van Dort, voiced by Johnny Depp, after he puts a ring on the finger of her skeleton as a joke.

Emily Watson, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney and Christopher Lee also voice parts in the film.

Burton said of Corpse Bride: "It's not like a normal animated movie. We tried to give it pace and make it more like a regular movie.

"In America they claim that drawn animation is dead because everyone can do it on computers, but I'm really glad there are still people out there doing beautiful drawn animation."

TORONTO (Reuters) - Johnny Depp, the chameleon-like actor who has played so many different roles that he may not have a self, says he's finally found a role he wants to stay in: the buccaneer Captain Jack Sparrow.

Sequels frighten Depp, but he said the chance to reprise his role as the suave Sparrow in the next two editions of "Pirates of the Caribbean" was too delicious to pass up.

For an actor who has received far more critical praise than box office success, it is not about the money.

"More than it having anything to do with money, or franchise, or hopefully continued success, it actually had ... more to do with selfishly being able to meet up with that character again," Depp said in an interview at the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday.

He was in town to promote "Corpse Bride," an animated feature made by his longtime friend, director Tim Burton.

Depp said he's often felt separation anxiety when he finishes a film, notably after his breakthrough performance in "Edward Scissorhands," also directed by Burton.

But he said he developed a deep affinity with Jack Sparrow, a character based on Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Depp was nominated for a best actor Oscar for the role.

Depp had a sneaking suspicion he'd see Sparrow again after Pirates was released in 2003, but never imagined he would be part of a franchise.

Two Pirates' sequels are filming in the Bahamas and are slated for release in 2006 and 2007.

MANY ODD CHARACTERS

Over the years, Depp has played many odd characters like Hunter S. Thompson in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," the cocaine trafficker George Jung in "Blow," and Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie in "Finding Neverland."

 "I've always considered myself very lucky to still be getting jobs after all the weirdness I've put people through in terms of having to watch my films," he said.

The critical acclaim didn't make him a bankable property though and studios were nervous about using him.

"He's basically a great character actor in a leading man's body. He's always kept that integrity. To me, it's something I find that's really amazing in this business," said Burton, who has cast Depp in five movies to date.

For years, Burton clashed with studio executives over casting Depp, but with the actor's hilarious turn as Sparrow, the studios took notice and actually asked Burton about Depp as a lead in summer 2005's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

Their latest collaboration, "Corpse Bride," is a stop-motion animation film based on a Russian folk tale about unintentional unions between an unfortunate man and a dead bride.

There will likely be more projects together, but where would Depp's career be if not for Burton?

"I don't want to do anything to embarrass future generations of Depps to come, but I don't know that I would have had this much luck or success without a Tim Burton. I owe him a lot."

By GAYLE MACDONALD

Monday, September 12, 2005 Page R1

Before Johnny Depp entered the ballroom at the Sutton Place hotel this weekend, the room was abuzz with anticipation. Would he be shorter or taller than imagined? Would he be sporting his goatee and one of his frumpy hats? Would his deep-brown, usually unkempt locks, be long, short or pulled back in a pony tail?

Well, damned if any of us, sitting in the seats behind a sea of flash-bulb-frenzied paparazzi, had a clue. Practically frothing at the actor's arrival, they screamed Depp's name -- "Turn left Johnny! Turn right Johnny!" -- virtually ignoring the not-exactly lightweight company Depp was in, namely director Tim Burton (with whom the actor has made five films) and Burton's feisty partner, Helena Bonham Carter, all here to talk about their new film, the stop-motion romance Corpse Bride.

When the moderator finally managed to get the mob in front to take their seats, Depp looked relieved but kind of stunned. He grimaced at Burton and Carter, and for the first 10 minutes of the press conference could not quite meet the gaze of anyone in the crowd.

There is celebrity elite, and then there is Hollywood royalty. And despite years of trying to shun stardom -- and stridently searching for roles that were distinctly non-mainstream -- Depp has still somehow landed himself in the surreal realm of the latter category. His stature clearly makes him squirm.

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It took a while for Depp to unwind, but once he did, the man who came through was a mature, serious actor who loves his craft, feels honoured by the roles he's been able to escape into for the past 20 years, and usually can't wait to go home to France to his partner, Vanessa Paradis, and their two kids, Lily-Rose, 6, and three-year-old Jack.

Unlike many actors, who are loath to mention their family -- especially their kids -- Depp brought them up when speaking, usually without prompting. Asked if his kids are scared of some of the weird characters he's portrayed on screen, Depp said no. "They're scared of me when I wake up in the morning and see me before coffee," he added.

His daughter, he went on, has been pretty good at differentiating his on- and off-screen personas -- and is never unnerved by his freakier types. "My daughter watched Edward Scissorhands a couple of years ago . . . and she loved it. She loved the film," he said. "She was amazed but then at a certain point, they told me -- because I wasn't there -- that she started weeping. [But] she wasn't scared of me. She was scared for me. So she understands the separation that papa is playing a character."

Then Depp -- once a bad-boy actor who trashed a hotel room in his Kate Moss days -- added it'll be a good 20 years, though, before he lets Lily-Rose watch him in the Hunter S. Thompson-inspired Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

"When they came on the set for Charlie [and the Chocolate Factory], they walked into the trailer and there I was decked out as Willy Wonka, with the Prince Valiant [hair], the cha-cha heels, the teeth, the eyes and the white makeup. And they just kind of sat there, staring at me, for about two and a half minutes," Depp chuckled. "And then they got used to it."

It was obvious from the camaraderie on the stage between Burton and Depp that they serve, for each other, as mentor and muse.

Burton, with his trademark black bug sunglasses and spider's nest of unruly hair, said "ever since Edward Scissorhands, Johnny is somebody who just loves change and to become different characters.

"It's a very exciting, creative process to work with him. Each time, it's better because it's something really different. And that's the true joy of making a movie, that organic, creative process."

Depp said working with Burton, with whom he's collaborated on five films, is always an education. First, Depp said he was in awe watching Burton juggle the two films that were released this summer, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and now Corpse Bride.

"What's most inspiring is his drive and his inability to compromise his vision," said Depp. "It really gives you strength. The atmosphere that he creates for actors, or puppets, is so incredible for me. It's like getting home. It's a place like home where you can take a risk and not worry that you've gone too far because there's always someone to reign you back in."

When the two friends were asked what it was like working with the gaggle of child actors on Charlie, Depp started off on a politically correct bent, until Bonham Carter started to titter uncontrollably. "I enjoyed working with the kiddies," Depp began. But then Bonham Carter snorted. "The sets were fantastic," Depp continued, trying to change the subject in order to avoid saying anything negative about the experience. Then Burton started to laugh. "Freddie Highmore really is an actual treat to work with, in Charlie and in [Finding] Neverland. Tim?" Depp flung out, hoping Burton would help.

"Oh, yes, they were all very good kids." And the two of them smirked.

Depp, 42, is a chameleon who loses himself in each character, from Captain Jack Sparrow in the 2003 smash Pirates of the Caribbean, his portrayal of his deranged pal Thompson in Leaving Las Vegas (Depp helped arrange for his friend's ashes to be shot from a cannon, the journalist's last request), and Burton-concocted misfits such as Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Ichabod Crane (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow), Willy Wonka, and now the hollow-eyed Victor in Corpse Bride.

Depp, his face the trademark patches of stubble -- plus moustache and goatee -- says he's "always searching for new guys or new characters" in his head.

"I'll be playing with Barbies and dolls with my kids and suddenly I'll assume a character voice and my daughter will stop me and say, 'Dad, will you just use your normal voice please,' " says Depp, whose deep baritone is a balm for scattered nerves. "So that puts you back in your place."

Born in Kentucky, he dropped out of school at age 15. A trouble maker with a penchant for rock bands (he's fronted many), he finally got lucky in the early eighties after a chance meeting with Nicolas Cage, another nobody then who persuaded Depp to try to make it as an actor.

Depp's first big break was Burton's 1990 Scissorhands, which set the track Depp has followed of seeking out unique and quirky characters.

The actor said he finds it hard to say goodbye to each role, and move on. "You get to know this character and you fall in love with this character. And then you know that the clock is ticking and you have to say goodbye to them at a certain point. And even though they're still in there somewhere, the experience is sad, and the separation. For me to play the same character a couple of times is a real gift." (Depp is resurrecting Jack Sparrow for Pirates II and III.)

As the press conference came to a close, and the photographers prepared to swarm Depp once again, one journalist asked if he ever finds himself forgetting who the real Johnny Depp is -- what does he do to regain equilibrium?

The actor met the guy in the eye and retorted, with a smile: "I'm looking forward to that one day."

Will Depp Do Don Quixote?
Source: Edward Douglas
September 12, 2005

The plight of Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote with Johnny Depp was well-documented in the 2002 documentary Lost in La Mancha, as the director's lifelong dream project ground to a halt in 2000 due to a series of unfortunate mishaps and coincidences.

While talking to Depp about Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, his fifth collaboration with the director, ComingSoon.net asked the popular actor about the project, since Gilliam himself had been suggesting recently that he'd like to try to revive the film for a third time.

But is Depp himself interested in being involved with the failed project and has Gilliam talked to him about it yet? "Every time I see him, he threatens to do something," Depp told us. "I just saw him last night. I'd love to do it again…well, I don't want to do that again. If there's any way to avoid the curse, that would be better. I'd love to do the film, if at all possible, and I stress that 'if at all possible' because it was really going to be good, that was the thing we all felt. It was really sad. It was really going to be good, like the best of Terry Gilliam. I felt really good about my character, and the good news is that if he wants to go back and do that, I already know the character, so I have less homework to do."

Who knows if The Man Who Killed Don Quixote will ever see the light of day, but you can at least hear Depp's voice in Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, which opens in limited release on Friday, September 16.

Supermodel and face of Calvin Klein Natalia Vodianova and Helena Christensen will jointly host the fete, which is to support the Russian supe's charity, the Naked Heart Foundation.

The event will kick off Wednesday evening when boats start leaving Battery Park to the Ellis Island, where the Statue of Liberty was completed in 1886.

An expected 600 plus revelers, including Johnny Depp, Drew Barrymore and the upper crust of the New York social scene, will get to see Duran Duran playing live on a barge.

WHEN Johnny Depp makes a rare public appearance at Birks in the Manulife Centre at 11.30 p.m. Saturday and hopefully at the screening of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. (Sept. 10, 9 p.m. at the Elgin)

and found HERE
Sep. 7, 2005. 06:41 AM
(excerpt)
What’s a film festival without Nick Nolte almost being roadkill on Avenue Rd., as was the case in 2004? Unlike this unplanned event, celebrity worship has changed the rules.
Distant stars
The popular myth about Toronto's film festival is that it's a celebrity petting zoo in Yorkville
RITA ZEKAS

Let the names begin.

The 30th annual Toronto International Film Festival kicks off tomorrow and everyone from Judi Dench to Justin Timberlake will be here.

The popular misconception is that it's a celebrity petting zoo out there in film festival land. They may "guarantee" the presence of celebs such as Johnny Depp at the party at Birks for Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, but don't even think about getting up close and personal. You can't get near the quarry because of the doorzillas, the self-important American studio flacks with clipboards, earphones and no-neck enforcers.

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) -- In Tim Burton's ghoulish but hilarious animation movie "Corpse Bride," the world of the dead is full of color, music and fun while the land of the living is black, white and oppressive.

For his latest film showcased at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, the director used painstaking "stop-motion" animation techniques with models, setting it apart from the more common computer generation used in hits like "Shrek" and "Toy Story."

The film which took Burton 10 years to bring to the screen is not in competition for the Golden Lion this year, but the thunderous reception it received at a preview for the press and critics late on Tuesday suggested it may have been a contender.

When Victor, the bumbling hero voiced by Johnny Depp, wanders into the woods outside his town, a twist of fate takes him to life beyond the grave.

The surprise arrival of a "breather" in their midst prompts skeleton band The Skeletones to strike up, a severed head scuttles across the bar at the Ball and Socket pub and a general with a cannon ball-sized hole in his chest knocks back a glass of wine.

Emily, the decomposing damsel who believes she is betrothed to the living Victor, has the unfortunate habit of losing an eye whenever the worm inside her head pops out to make a point.

Based on a Russian folk tale, Corpse Bride also features the voices of Helena Bonham Carter as the corpse bride and Emily Watson as Victoria. Christopher Lee is the authoritarian pastor and Richard E. Grant the sinister Barkis Bittern.
Technological advances

Because it could take animators a full day of work to come away with just a few seconds of action, Burton and his team developed new techniques to ease the burden since his 1993 animation effort "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

In that film, facial expressions were achieved using replacement heads on the models.

In Corpse Bride, puppeteers created a gearing mechanism inside the puppets' heads which could be adjusted through the ears or at various points hidden in the hair.

The corpse bride's tattered veil and accompanying tiara alone took 10 months to develop.

"It can be tedious work," said co-director Mike Johnson in the production notes. "It's just the kind of thing that you have to be passionate about and willing to commit to completely." While Burton's film means the attention on the Lido on Wednesday is away from the main competition, two entries get their official premieres.

Since its arrival in the UK in the 1990s, absinthe, nicknamed the green fairy, has become infamous with party-goers for its high alcohol quantity of about 70 per cent proof.

In 19th century Paris the drink was popularly served with water poured into a glass through a sugar cube. Green Utopia, which produces the La Fee brand of absinthe, attempts to recreate the history of the drink using an original recipe obtained from the Paris Absinthe Museum.

Regular customers include Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Marilyn Manson and artist Damien Hirst. Produced in France and the Czech Republic, Green Utopia is exported to a dozen countries.

The Rolling Stones have come and gone (and are due back in Detroit in February for the Super Bowl) but it's not too late to marvel at the rock 'n' roll spirit of swashbuckling guitarist Keith Richards.

The November issue of Guitar World magazine is out with an interview with Mr. Living Death. If at times it all sounds a bit hazy, well... read on.

• On reports Richards will play Johnny Depp's pickled pirate father in the upcoming sequel to Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean": "I will tell you that Johnny and I were in L.A. two weeks ago dressed up as pirates," Richards says. "So there's a hint. But at the same time, I don't know about the ins and outs of scheduling and whether it will actually happen. I never worked for Disney before. I never expected to. Mickey Mouse?" So why was rock's once most toxic man interested in the role in the first place? "I'll do anything," Richards admits. "How difficult is it for me to play a pirate? Just stick a hat on me and a beard. Put on an eye patch and we're away. Arrgh! But it's not necessary to wear all that stuff to be a pirate. Most pirates these days wear suits."

There have been 25 TV appearances and 35 media including magazines and newspapers.  It's been a very
hard schedule.  The Japanes News HERE if you can read Japanese or HERE Kyodo News.

Chiko reports it is raining today in Tokyo.  The photo is of the "red carpet" turned into part of the Wonka Factory for the premiere.  From Sakura, Video of the television coverage can be seen HERE  with stills on the Japan 2005 pages More videos from Chiko and Sakura