Johnny Depp

[BobbyD 2]

Show Will Go On for Heath's Last Movie, Says Costar

By Natasha Stoynoff

 

Originally posted Monday January 28, 2008 03:30 PM EST

 

Director Terry Gilliam is feverishly working to figure out how to keep Heath Ledger alive on film, according to one of the late actor's costars in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which Ledger was still shooting when he died last week.

 

"Terry's throwing himself into the job of trying to salvage the picture," veteran actor Christopher Plummer told PEOPLE over the weekend.

 

Despite earlier reports that the director might shelve the $30 million production, Gilliam, whom Plummer describes as "terribly saddened" by Ledger’s death is "trying to work out at this moment how to continue on. Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way, perhaps, of turning Heath into other people and then, using stills and I think they call it CGI…

 

"Terry was a very good friend [of Heath's]," adds Plummer. "He very wants to go on with the movie, and I can very much understand why. Because he wants to dedicate it to Heath, of course."

 

Ledger and Plummer both left the London portion of the movie's shoot last weekend and were due to continue filming next week in Vancouver. Leaving England, says Plummer, "Heath was in very high spirits. He was just enjoying himself tremendously. It's a rather fanciful script, and he was wonderful in this role."

 

Confirming earlier reports that Ledger hadnt been feeling well on set, Plummer says, "we all caught colds because we were shooting outside on horrible, damp nights. But Heath's went on and I don't think he dealt with it immediately with the antibiotics.…I think what he did have was the walking pneumonia."

 

On top of that, "He was saying all the time, 'dammit, I can't sleep'…and he was taking all these pills [to help him]."

 

As well as the damp cold and lack of sleep, Plummer describes the shoot as rigorous. "We had to shoot every second we were out there…there was hardly any time to go into the tent or the car to keep warm. We just kept shooting…boom, boom, boom…there was no pause. It was very, very hard work."

 

Ledger would have appreciated the show-must-go-on mentality, says his co-star. "He was terribly likeable and obviously enormously talented…and the combination was terrific. It's such a shame these things have to happen to the good ones."

 

As for reports that Gilliam has approached Johnny Depp to step into Ledger's role, the actor's rep tells PEOPLE: "There have been no official talks, and he is currently working on Public Enemies for Michael Mann for Universal."

[Lea 0]

Heath Ledger's Final Role to Be Finished by Three Actors

 

 

Heath Ledger's role of Tony in Terry Gilliam's film, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," is going to be tackled by three different actors. Jude Law's rep confirmed that Jude, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp, would be stepping in to help finish the film by taking on Heath's role and picking up where he left off at the time of his untimely death.

 

It's still unclear exactly how the actors will be filling in the holes, with the BBC theorizing that Gilliam will use the footage of Ledger that was already shot before his death and the other actors will be portraying different versions of Tony. The $30 million film suspended production at the news of Heath's passing.

 

 

http://socialitelife.buzznet.com/

[ElleDriver 0]

Johnny, Jude, Colin Sub for Heath

E!

Hollywood's version of the three musketeers is riding to the rescue of fallen pal Heath Ledger's final film.

 

Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law are literally embracing the all-for-one ethos, tag-teaming as Heath Ledger's character in the unfinished The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

 

The BBC quoted a spokesperson for Law confirming the actors' participation, "subject to negotiations."

 

No further details were immediately available. There was no further comment Monday from the actors or filmmakers.

 

The fate of the Terry Gilliam-helmed fantasy film had been in peril since Ledger's shocking death Jan. 22 due to an accidental drug overdose.

 

Because the film focuses on a magical acting troupe and alternate dimensions, it is believed Depp, Farrell and Law will each play a different incarnation of Ledger's character, known only as "Tony."

 

According to Variety, Ledger's name helped the independent production secure its $30 million budget. Without its biggest star, the movie has three options, the paper said: recast, shoot around Ledger's absence or call "cut."

 

Filming on Doctor Parnassus began in December. The 28-year-old Ledger, who died in New York, had been shooting in London the week before his death.

 

Following Ledger's demise, Gilliam and the producers said they "will be assessing how best to proceed."

 

Heath was a great actor, a great friend and a great spirit," the statement said. "We are still in a state of deep shock, saddened and numb with grief."

 

Depp, for one, probably felt an obligation to help out Gilliam.

 

The actor had been one of the stars of the director's ambitious The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which was scrapped midway through production in 2000 after the elderly actor playing the title role suffered a back injury and was unable to continue.

 

Ledger did complete work on The Dark Knight before he died. The Batman Begins sequel, featuring Ledger as the Joker, is due out July 18.

[Avalon 0]

IMPERFECT MEN ARE JUST...BETTER

Friday February 15,2008

 

Comment Speech BubbleHave your say(4)

By Claudia Goulder

 

It was a month ago that I met Johnny Depp and his irresistible nashers and I'm still running the scenario through my head every night before sleep.

 

I don't usually namedrop but for the past month I have inadvertently been name-checking the Deppster wherever I go. I can't help it. I've got Depp-Tourettes. I've been infected with Depp-itus. I've got Depp-theriar.

 

 

Oh ok. So it wasn't his wisdom that dazzled me per se (though he did seem quite intelligent). It was his teeth.

 

I was covering the Sweeney Todd premiere for work. A red carpet do at Leicester Square usually involves jet-lagged actors pretending to be excited about a film they wrapped months ago while inanely totting up the calories they'd consumed that day.

 

But Helena Bonham Carter - or Helena Cardboard Box as my friend inexplicably keeps calling her - takes me by surprise. She's bubbly, vivacious and wonderfully self-deprecating. A woman who really knows herself. (A rare specimen in showbizland).

 

And she immediately lifts my spirits. She also distracts me from the floppy dark-haired Depp-alike who slips passed us discreetly. Oh shucks. It was Depp. Every member of the British (print) press has just missed him. The pack titters "Was that him?... That surely wasn't him! ...Why wouldn't he talk to us?" Seems Depp simply can't be bothered. Fair enough.

 

We sit through the two-hour gore fest, in which Depp does his best Anthony Newley impression (a good one) and Cardboard Box looks like she's the last surviving victim of a chalk factory explosion. Then we are herded on to coaches and sped across town to the Royal Courts Of Justice on The Strand - Tim Burton's 'home from home', presumably - for the after-party.

 

Countless miniature pies and cosmopolitans later we are chatting to a couple of photographers who suggest, seeing as the party's thinning out (it's by now well past midnight) and all the stars are undoubtedly tucked up in bed, that we sneak into the VIP area.

 

Ok, we say. We're intrepid reporters. We can do this. Let's at least TRY to get over to the Other Side - aka diarist heaven, that Utopian world of higher beings and better canapes. And lo and behold.. we make it. (No eye contact, readers, that's the key).

 

Of course on the Other Side everything is just the same, but emptier. We carry on drinking and talking and mooching and schmoozing. Then in my (rather drunken) haze I look up and notice a random guy sipping red wine by himself, leaning on a crumbling pillar. My friend starts tugging excitedly at my dress. Hey watch it! I tell her. But I've already clicked. My heart pounds. I move round to get a better view. Yes, yes it is. It's Depp.

 

I edge towards him, flash a smile, and introduce myself as a journalist. I'm ready to be ordered to leave (it wouldn't be the first time). But I'm not. He returns the smile with a huge, toothy grin. And that's when I see them. A big set of wonky, yellow, haggard teeth. Oh, the imperfection! You wouldn't believe how rare it is to see anything but flawless uniformity in a Hollywood star.

 

In this job I see one plastic copycat 'android-ebrity' after another. No edge, no idiosyncrasy, no character. Teeth like Johnny's are a rarity. They look lived in, well used, indulged, pleasured. They have felt things, drank things, tasted things, smoked things (cheers, Terry Gillingham). These are the teeth of a man who has lived.

 

His eyes lock on to mine as we talk about Burton and his next project Alice And Wonderland and things I can't remember because they are just words and what I am looking at is so much more than words. They are real atoms and particles making up Johnny Depp.

 

I wake up the next day wondering the inevitable: was it all just a dream? (I've checked, it wasn't). And all I can keep thinking of is his eccentric high-pitched girly laugh and his wonky - dare I say it, near tramp-like - teeth.

 

Since then I keep seeing this image of David Beckham in his Emporio Armani pants smouldering ridiculously. It irritates me for dozens of reasons. Mainly it makes me want to puke. The hairless chest, the bulging packet, the pecs, the tan the... ugh. They scream out an insecurity-driven quest for 'perfection'.

 

I think of a comment a colleague made years ago when I admitted I was in love with Owen Wilson. "But his nose!" she shrieked. "It's just so crooked." Duh, I thought. She had totally missed the point. He is fanciable because of his nose, not despite it.

[BobbyD 2]

WB, Paramount dominate Saturns

'300,' 'Harry Potter' lead the way

By DAVID S. COHEN

 

Warner Bros. and Paramount dominated feature film nominations for the the 34th annual Saturn Awards.

Warners scored 23 noms, most of any studio, and its Frank Miller sword-and-sandal epid "300" led all films with 10 noms. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," also from Warner, had nine noms.

 

Par had 22 noms, including noms for Daniel Day-Lewis for actor, a pair of noms for "Cloverfield" and another pair for "Tranformers."

 

In TV, "Lost" led with seven noms, "Dexter" nabbed five and "Heroes" had four.

 

And the nominees are:

 

FILM

 

Science Fiction Film

"Cloverfield" (Paramount)

"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (20th Century Fox)

"I Am Legend" (Warner Bros.)

"The Last Mimzy" (New Line Cinema)

"Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight)

"Transformers" (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

 

Fantasy Film

 

"Enchanted" (Buena Vista)

"The Golden Compass" (New Line Cinema)

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (Warner Bros.)

"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End" (Buena Vista)

"Spider-Man 3" (Sony)

"Stardust" (Paramount)

 

Horror Film

"30 Days of Night" (Sony)

"1408" (The Weinstein Co.)

"Ghost Rider" (Sony)

"Grindhouse" (The Weinstein Co.)

"The Mist" (The Weinstein Co.)

"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

 

Action / Adventure / Thriller Film

 

"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate)

"300" (Warner Bros.)

"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal)

"Live Free or Die Hard" (20th Century Fox)

"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax)

"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage)

"Zodiac" (Paramount)

 

Actor

Gerard Butler ("300") (Warner Bros.)

John Cusack ("1408") (The Weinstein Co.)

Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood") (Paramount Vantage)

Johnny Depp ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street") (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Viggo Mortensen ("Eastern Promises") (Focus Features)

Will Smith ("I Am Legend") (Warner Bros.)

 

Actress

 

Amy Adams ("Enchanted") (Buena Vista)

Ashley Judd ("Bug") (Lionsgate)

Helena Bonham Carter ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street") (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Naomi Watts ("Eastern Promises") (Focus Features)

Belen Rueda ("The Orphanage") (Picturehouse)

Carice van Houten ("Black Book") (Sony Pictures Classics)

 

Best Supporting Actor

Javier Bardem ("No Country for Old Men") (Miramax)

Ben Foster ("3:10 to Yuma") (Lionsgate)

James Franco ("Spider-Man 3") (Sony)

Justin Long ("Live Free or Die Hard") (20th Century Fox)

Alan Rickman ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street") (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

David Wenham ("300") (Warner Bros.)

 

Supporting Actress

Lizzy Caplan ("Cloverfield") (Paramount)

Marcia Gay Harden ("The Mist") (The Weinstein Co.)

Lena Headey ("300") (Warner Bros.)

Rose McGowan ("Grindhouse" - "Planet Terror") (The Weinstein Co.)

Michelle Pfeiffer ("Stardust") (Paramount)

Imelda Staunton ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") (Warner Bros.)

 

Performance by a Younger Actor

Alex Etel ("The Water Horse") (Sony)

Freddie Highmore ("August Rush") (Warner Bros.)

Josh Hutcherson ("Bridge to Terabithia") (Buena Vista)

Daniel Radcliffe ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") (Warner Bros.)

Dakota Blue Richards ("The Golden Compass") (New Line Cinema)

Rhiannon Leigh Wryn ("The Last Mimzy") (New Line Cinema)

 

Direction

Tim Burton ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street") (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Frank Darabont ("The Mist") (The Weinstein Co.)

Paul Greengrass ("The Bourne Ultimatum") (Universal)

Sam Raimi ("Spider-Man 3") (Sony)

Zack Snyder ("300") (Warner Bros.)

David Yates ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") (Warner Bros.)

 

Writing

Roger Avary, Neil Gaiman ("Beowulf") (Paramount)

Brad Bird ("Ratatouille") (Buena Vista)

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen ("No Country for Old Men") (Miramax)

Michael Goldenberg ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") (Warner Bros.)

Michael Gordon, Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad ("300") (Warner Bros.)

John Logan ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street") (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

 

Music

Tyler Bates ("300") (Warner Bros.)

Jonny Greenwood ("There Will Be Blood") (Paramount Vantage)

Nicholas Hooper ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") (Warner Bros.)

Mark Mancina ("August Rush") (Warner Bros.)

Alan Menken ("Enchanted") (Buena Vista)

John Powell ("The Bourne Ultimatum") (Universal)

 

Best Costume

Colleen Atwood ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street") (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Ruth Myers ("The Golden Compass") (New Line Cinema)

Penny Rose ("Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End") (Buena Vista)

Sammy Sheldon ("Stardust") (Paramount)

Jany Temime ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") (Warner Bros.)

Michael Wilkinson ("300") (Warner Bros.)

 

Make-Up

Howard Berger, Greg Nicotero, Jake Garber - ("Grindhouse" - "Planet Terror") (The Weinstein Co.)

Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight - ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") (Warner Bros.)

Davina Lamont - ("30 Days of Night") (Sony)

Ve Neill, Martin Samuel - ("Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End") (Buena Vista)

Peter Owen, Ivana Primorac - ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street") (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Shaun Smith, Mark Rappaport - ("300") (Warner Bros.)

 

Special Effects

Tim Burke, John Richardson, Paul Franklin, Greg Butler - ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") (Warner Bros.)

Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl, John Frazier - ("Transformers") (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, Trevor Wood - ("The Golden Compass") (New Line Cinema)

John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, John Frazier - ("Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End") (Buena Vista)

Scott Stokdyk, Peter Nofz, Spencer Cook, John R. Frazier - ("Spider-Man 3") (Sony)

Chris Watts, Grant Freckelton, Derek Wentworth, Daniel Leduc - ("300") (Warner Bros.)

 

International Film

"Black Book" (Sony Pictures Classics)

"Day Watch" (Fox Searchlight)

"Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)

"Goya’s Ghosts" (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

"The Orphanage" (Picturehouse)

"Sleuth" (Sony Pictures Classics)

 

Animated Film

"Beowulf" (Paramount)

"Meet the Robinsons" (Buena Vista)

"Ratatouille" (Buena Vista)

"Shrek the Third" (DreamWorks SKG / Paramount)

"The Simpsons Movie" (20th Century Fox)

"Surf’s Up" (Sony)

 

TELEVISION NOMINATIONS

 

Network Television Series

"Heroes" (NBC)

"Journeyman" (NBC)

"Lost" (ABC)

"Pushing Daisies" (ABC)

"Supernatural" (CW)

"Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (Fox)

 

Syndicated / Cable Television Series

"Battlestar Galactica" (Sci Fi Channel)

"The Closer" (TNT)

"Dexter" (Showtime)

"Kyle XY" (ABC Family)

"Saving Grace" (TNT)

"Stargate SG-1" (Sci Fi Channel / MGM)

 

Presentation on Television

"Battlestar Galactica: Razor" (Sci Fi Channel)

"The Company" (TNT)

"Fallen" (ABC Family)

"The Family Guy" - "Blue Harvest" (Fox)

"Masters of Science Fiction" (ABC)

"Shrek the Halls" (ABC)

"Tin Man" (Sci Fi Channel)

 

International Series

"Doctor Who" (Sci Fi Channel)

"Jekyll" (BBC America)

"Life On Mars" (BBC America)

"Meadowlands" (aka "Cape Wrath") (Showtime)

"Robin Hood" (BBC America)

"Torchwood" (BBC America)

 

Actor on Television

Matt Dallas ("Kyle XY") (ABC Family)

Matthew Fox ("Lost") (ABC)

Michael C. Hall ("Dexter") (Showtime)

Kevin McKidd ("Journeyman") (NBC)

Edward James Olmos ("Battlestar Galactica") (Sci Fi Channel)

Lee Pace ("Pushing Daisies") (ABC)

 

Best Actress on Television

Anna Friel ("Pushing Daisies") (ABC)

Lena Headey ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") (Fox)

Jennifer Love Hewitt("Ghost Whisperer") (CBS)

Holly Hunter ("Saving Grace") (TNT)

Evangeline Lily ("Lost") (ABC)

Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer") (TNT)

 

Supporting Actor on Television

Michael Emerson ("Lost") (ABC)

Greg Grunberg ("Heroes") (NBC)

Josh Holloway ("Lost") (ABC)

Erik King ("Dexter") (Showtime)

Terry O’Quinn ("Lost") (ABC)

Masi Oka ("Heroes") (NBC)

 

Supporting Actress on Television

Jaime Alexander ("Kyle XY") (ABC Family)

Jennifer Carpenter ("Dexter") (Showtime)

Summer Glau ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") (Fox)

Elizabeth Mitchell ("Lost") (ABC)

Jaime Murray ("Dexter") (Showtime)

Hayden Panettiere ("Heroes") (NBC)

 

DVD NOMINATIONS

 

Best DVD Release

"Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" (Starz / Anchor Bay)

"The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (remix) (Image)

"Driftwood" (Image)

"The Man From Earth" (Anchor Bay)

"The Nines" (Sony)

"White Noise 2" (Universal)

 

Best Special Edition DVD Release

"Big" (Extended Edition) (Fox)

"Blade Runner" (5 Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition) (Warner)

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (30th Anniversary - Blu Ray) (Sony)

"Death Proof" (Grindhouse Presentation: Extended & Unrated) (Genius)

"Pan’s Labyrinth" (Platinum Series) (New Line)

"Troy: Director’s Cut" (Ultimate Collector’s Edition) (Warner)

 

Classic Film DVD Release

"Alligator" (Lionsgate)

"The Dark Crystal" (Sony)

"Face/Off" (Paramount)

"Flash Gordon" (Universal)

"The Monster Squad" (Lionsgate)

"Witchfinder General" (MGM)

 

Collection on DVD

"The Godzilla Collection" (Classic Media)

"The Mario Bava Collection" (Vol. 1 & 2) (Anchor Bay)

"The Sergio Leone Anthology" (MGM)

"The Sonny Chiba Collection" (BCI / Eclipse)

"Stanley Kubrick" (Warner Home Video Directors Series) (Warner)

"Vincent Price" (MGM Scream Legends Collection) (MGM)

 

Best Television Series on DVD

"Eureka" (Season 1) (Universal)

"Heroes" (Season 1) (Universal)

"Hustle" (Complete Seasons 2 and 3) (BBC Warner)

"Lost" (The Complete Third Season) (Buena Vista)

"MI:5" (Volumes 4 & 5) (BBC Warner)

"Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series" (BBC Warner)

 

Retro Television Series on DVD

"The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones" (Volume 1: The Early Years) (Paramount)

"Count Dracula" (BBC Mini-series 1977) (BBC Warner)

"Land of the Giants" (The Full Series) (Fox)

"Mission Impossible" (The Second and Third Seasons) (Paramount)

"Twin Peaks" (The Definitive Gold Box Edition) (Paramount)

"The Wild Wild West" (The Second and Third Seasons) (Paramount)

 

SPECIAL AWARD RECIPIENTS

 

THE GEORGE PAL MEMORIAL AWARD:

Guillermo del Toro

 

THE SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:

Tim Lucas

[ElleDriver 0]

Oscar acting nominees speak out

NY DAILY NEWS

 

Actor Viggo Mortensen spoke to the Daily News about 'Eastern Promises.'

 

The nominees up for acting prizes at Sunday's Academy Awards have their work to thank. In the lead-up to the Oscars, many have spoken with the Daily News. Here's a selection of comments some nominees for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress have made to New York's hometown paper in the last few months.

 

VIGGO MORTENSEN

Best Actor nominee, "Eastern Promises"

 

In David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises," Viggo Mortensen plays Nikolai Luzhin, a Russian chauffeur and aspiring mobster living in London who has spent time in Russian jails and has the tattoos to prove it. His ambitions are complicated when he befriends a midwife (Naomi Watts) who is trying to find the relatives of a newborn whose mother, a Russian prostitute, died in childbirth. Her search reveals the underbelly of London's Russian mafia. To get into the part, Mortensen, 49, spent weeks in Russia, acquainting himself with Russian gangsters and learning all he could about the tattoos they sport. - John Clark

 

Mortenson commented to the Daily News: "I talked to them about what they meant and where they were on the body, what that said about where they'd been, what their specialties were, what their ethnic and geographical affiliations were. Basically their history, their calling card, is their body."

 

ELLEN PAGE

Best Actress nominee, "Juno"

 

As the title character in "Juno," a pregnant teenager who decides to give up her child for adoption to a yuppie couple (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), Page has got an attitude and a unique, frequently hilarious, way of expressing it. Her performance has won her raves and made the 21-year-old Canadian the Kewpie doll underdog of this season's nominees. - John Clark

 

Page told the Daily News: "The other day I read something that said I'm like the teenager outside the 7-Eleven wearing a hoodie and smoking. One of my best friends said, 'That couldn't be more of an opposite than who you are.' Or they make me sound like I'm some ungrateful punk just because I don't totally get off on attention. All I know is that I love [acting], and I'm getting to do it and people seem to be responding well."

 

TILDA SWINTON

Best Supporting Actress nominee, "Michael Clayton"

 

For Tilda Swinton, 46, exploring the world of a morally compromised corporate attorney was like being a visitor from outer space: a trip into unfamiliar terrain. - Marshall Fine

 

Swinton said about her movie role, "I'm an alien in that [corporate] environment. I had to be convinced it exists. [My character] is a complete mess. But she's not some villain twirling her mustache; any woman in that corporate situation will tell you about those pressures. If they do the human thing, it somehow rings badly for them. So they feel the need to put their human conscience outside the door."

 

JOHNNY DEPP

Best Actor nominee, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

 

"Sweeney Todd" is the latest, and most audacious, offering from Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton. Despite the musical drama's macabre goings-on, Depp says that making the blood-squirting "Todd" was a "laugh riot" and that he, Burton and fellow cast members Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Sacha Baron Cohen and Timothy Spall "laughed like fiends" on the set. Yet the sheer scope of the production - not to mention the musical challenges - is not lost on Depp, an actor not averse to taking on wildly difficult challenges. - Colin Bertram

 

Depp commented about the film, "I think I was more frightened than anyone . . . except maybe Tim. But he trusted me. I didn't really have a 'process' in terms of singing - I'd never really sung before in my life, so I had to find my way to it. I thought it was important that I keep it very low key, so initially I did some demos in a friend's garage studio. But I didn't know if I'd be able to hit a note, to be honest. I really didn't."

 

MARION COTILLARD

Best Actress nominee, "La Vie En Rose"

 

"La Vie En Rose" is an impressionistic film biography of Edith Piaf, who, more than four decades after her death at age 47, remains the French equivalent of Judy Garland or perhaps Billie Holliday. On screen, Marion Cotillard seems to shrink into Piaf's birdlike, 4-foot-8-inch frame. But in person, Cotillard, 31, appears to be at least 5 foot 8, someone who could just as easily be stepping onto a fashion runway to model designer creations. The transformation was a mental trick, Cotillard said. - Marshall Fine

 

Cotillard noted, "Part of it was camera techniques, but part of it was that I really tried to believe I was tiny. By believing it so strongly, I thought it could work, because then your whole body is involved in that desire to be small. And the first time I saw the footage and I saw how tiny I looked, I was so happy. I told myself, 'It worked!'"

 

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN

Best Supporting Actor nominee, "Charlie Wilson's War"

 

Philip Seymour Hoffman, 40, may not have movie-star looks, but that doesn't stop him from flexing truly impressive muscles as an actor. In this fall's "The Savages," "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" and "Charlie Wilson's War," he plays three completely distinct characters who are nearly unrecognizable from one another, solidifying his rep as one of contemporary movies' most compellingly complex and watchable performers. - Marshall Fine

 

Hoffman opined, "I apologize to anyone who has to see me too often. The effect of winning an Oscar [for 2005's "Capote"] was not something so tangible. ... You can't graph it. I just kept working. I guess it has more to do with visibility and becoming more well known. Three or four years ago, my name might not have brought as much interest, in terms of being able to finance a film. "[but] I've got two kids, a 4 1/2-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl, so there's not much room in my brain to think about what I want."

 

JAVIER BARDEM

Best Supporting Actor nominee, "No Country for Old Men"

 

Despite being nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for 2000's "Before Night Falls," this was the breakout year for Bardem, 38, who comes from an acting family that's akin to the Spanish Barrymores. He says he's still surprised when top directors want to work with him. But his chillingly focused portrayal of enigmatic hit man Anton Chigurh in "No Country" guarantees he'll be busy for a long time to come. - Michael Giltz

 

Bardem said, "The fact that I'm from Spain gives me a perspective that is more sane. I can [put] myself in a place that is more distant from all the things that may go around this movie or any other movie. ... When you feel people have a response to what you've done, you feel happy. But I truly believe that performing is a need."

 

CATE BLANCHETT

Best Actress nominee, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"/Best Supporting Actress nominee, "I'm Not There"

 

In "I'm Not There," Cate Blanchett plays an early-'60s version of Bob Dylan, an intriguing mash-up with her reprisal of her performance as England's Queen Elizabeth I in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." The Australian actress, 38, seems relaxed in her own skin, a far cry from her elaborately corseted look as Elizabeth, or the stovepipe pants, rat's-nest hair and masking sunglasses she dons to play Jude, one of six representations of Dylan in writer-director Todd Haynes' dreamily kaleidoscopic exploration of the singer's life and career. - Marshall Fine

 

Blanchett told the Daily News, "You really couldn't get two characters who are more diametrically opposed. Elizabeth was this incredible diplomat, a great tactician. And she wasn't a warrior queen - she never really waged war on others. [Director Shekhar Kapur] and I had talked about doing a lot of things - but he kept returning to [a sequel to 1998's "Elizabeth"]. I didn't think he was serious. But then this idea emerged of ... a woman confronting herself."

[BobbyD 2]

Wenham, Graham join 'Public Enemies'

By Borys Kit

 

Feb 22, 2008

 

David Wenham and Stephen Graham have joined the cast of Universal's "Public Enemies," Michael Mann's gangster film starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.

 

An adaptation of Brian Burrough's book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43," the film centers on the government's attempt to stop John Dillinger and his gang. Depp is playing Dillinger to Bale's famed FBI agent Melvin Purvis.

 

Wenham is playing Pete Pierpont, a member of Dillinger's crew who has a violent hostility to all authority. British actor Graham will portray Baby Face Nelson.

 

Also in the cast are Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi and Stephen Dorff.

 

Shooting begins in March in Chicago.

 

Wenham recently finished production on Baz Luhrmann's "Australia," opposite Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, for 20th Century Fox. He also appeared in the "Lord of the Rings" movies and "300." He is repped by Endeavor, Artists-Independent Management in the U.S. and Shanahan Management in Australia.

 

Graham ("This Is England") is repped by Kritzer Levine Wilkins Entertainment and in the U.K. by Independent Talent Group.

[Lea 0]

What Is Going On Here?

 

 

Not even Vanessa Paradis managed to wear a truly fucked up dress to the Oscars tonight! If you can't count on Paradis to wear disaster on her body, who can you count on? What is going on? Johnny Depp and Vanessa actually look like they are wearing clothes and not costumes. I'm disgusted with them! I was counting on them to truly boggle my mind with their hideously awesome outfits. No dice.

 

Here's also some Javier Bardem, because if you can't have fug, you might as well have the hotness known as Javier. He just won an Oscar too! I think he was telling me he wanted my body in Spanish. That's what he was saying.

 

 

http://www.dlisted.com/

[BobbyD 2]

Shooting resumes on 'Parnassus'

Film went on hiatus after Ledger's death

By ADAM DAWTREY

 

Shooting has restarted in Vancouver on Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” with Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law all replacing Heath Ledger in the cast.

 

The pic went on hiatus after Ledger’s sudden death Jan. 22, when the live-action section of the production had just finished in London and Gilliam was about to embark on several weeks of bluescreen work in Canada.

 

The decision to use three actors to replace Ledger was made possible because of the fantastical nature of the story, in which characters pass from contemporary London through a magic mirror into parallel worlds of the imagination.

 

Ledger had completed filming the “realistic” sections, so Depp, Farrell and Law will play physically transformed versions of his character when he passes into the other worlds.

 

In a statement, producers William Vince, Amy Gilliam and Samuel Hadida said: “Since the format of the story allows for the preservation of his entire performance, at no point will Heath’s work be modified or altered through the use of digital technology. Each of the parts played by Johnny, Colin and Jude is representative of the many aspects of the character that Heath was playing.”

 

Gilliam said, “I am grateful to Johnny, Colin and Jude for coming onboard, and to everyone else who has made it possible for us to finish the film.”

 

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” also stars Christopher Plummer, Verne Troyer, Andrew Garfield, Lily Cole and Tom Waits.

[BobbyD 2]

Actors who look like they smell bad

By Ree Hines

MSNBC contributor

 

Colin Farrell

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

What is it about otherwise handsome A-listers who endeavor to look smelly? It’s as though the effort it takes to look good on film is such a burden, they just give up in their off time. Take Colin Farrell. The greasy locks, the poorly groomed beard, the rumpled clothes — he sets the bar for stinky-chic awfully high. Colin’s infinite pack-a-day smoking habit — seriously, he’s always smoking a cigarette — only adds to the list of malodorous evidence. And it’s not like he’s always looked like a stink bomb. Just a few years back Colin sported the standard freshly showered look we all know and love, but it seems like the more successful he gets, the grimier he looks.

 

Matthew McConaughey

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

It’s not hard to build the stinky case for Matthew McConaughey. The unkempt hair and beach bum lifestyle hardly rank a mention when the man himself admits he eschews deodorant. He wouldn’t even break the ban when his “Fool’s Gold” co-star, Kate Hudson, complained about his body odor. “She always brings a salt rock, which is some natural deodorant, and says, ‘Would you please put this on?’” But her efforts were in vain. “I just never wore it. No cologne, no deodorant.” In fact, Matthew defends himself by insisting no other co-stars ever mentioned it. (Note to Matthew: Sometimes when you reek of B.O., people try to be nice by not telling you that you reek of B.O. This does not mean that you don’t reek of B.O. Just FYI.)

 

Johnny Depp

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

It must be hard being the most desirable man in the world. Maybe that’s why Johnny Depp hides behind cartoonishly awful ensembles, like his ill-fitting pants, the grungy fedoras and those plucked-fresh-from-the-dumpster shoes. I can’t tell you how many times my best gal pal and I have sighed at the sight of Johnny only to add, “too bad he probably smells like cigarettes and dirty clothes.” We won’t ever get close enough to find out, but still! And not to belabor the cigarette thing, but Johnny smokes hand-rolled sticks exclusively. So all that foul gunk that normally ends up in a filter? It coats his hands and teeth instead.

 

 

Jared Leto

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A virtual chameleon of the grubby vibe, Jared Leto’s not content to rock just one dirty look. Hipster grossout? Check. Unwashed hippy dude? Check. Icky emo? You know it! Jared even went through a dingy spray-on tan phase à la LiLo. On occasion, he cleans up his act, but that doesn’t discount the greater trend towards trashy. And it’s not just the perpetually stringy hair or days worth of eyeliner that gives the not-so-fresh tip off, it’s the whole unwashed package. Oh, well, it’s not like any of it is holding Jared back. Every twenty-something it-girl in Hollywood happily dates him regardless of what he smells like.

 

Orlando Bloom

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

What happened to fresh-faced Orlando Bloom circa 2003? Remember that clean-cut cutie at the “Lord of the Rings” premieres? Sigh. Seems like a greasy haired doppelganger took his place ages ago. Maybe after three “Pirates of the Caribbean” installments the poor hygiene pirate’s life actually took hold. Whatever it is, it’s not a good look for him. Orlando’s girlfriend reportedly thinks so, too. “He’ll wear the same jeans for a week before he throws them in the washer.” And if that wasn’t specific enough, “Same goes for his sweaters, T-shirts and socks.” Ew!

[bittermuch? 0]

Hey, bitch stole my idea! And she left off the Pitt.

 

Johnny Depp is the special exception to my general "guys who look like they smell bad = not hot" rule. But mostly only in the Pirates movies.

[BobbyD 2]

Yo, B...Why don't you start a thread? I was contemplating it...so maybe a thread or poll on who we think smells the worse or smells bad? Do it! Do it!

[BobbyD 2]

(Pagesix.com)

 

He's No Gene

 

GENE Wilder bit his tongue when Johnny Depp starred in the 2005 remake of his 1971 classic "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." But he tells Time magazine, on stands today, "I haven't seen it. I like Depp, but when I heard they were doing a remake, I heard: mistake. When I saw clips on TV and I saw what Depp was doing, I thought, 'Don't see the movie - you like Depp too much.' I always get comments: 'Yours is better.' I know they're talking about 'Willy Wonka.' " In fact, Leonard Maltin's "Movie Guide" says: "Depp, though amusing, is no Gene Wilder."

[colorine 26]

I think Johnny really wants an Oscar because he wore a tuxe! He will get one in the future. He is a really good actor.

[ElleDriver 0]

First Look at Johnny Depp As John Dillinger

 

 

Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” shooting on location in Columbus, WI., along with Christian Bale and recent Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard.

 

[sanlee 49]

Janet Charlton

 

 

JOHNNY DEPP IS TAKING GOOD CARE OF HIMSELF

 

Johnny Depp, now starring as Dillinger in Michael Mann's "Public Enemies," has never been noted for his clean living, but it seems he has evolved.

Recently he worked in Vancouver and his list of requests was very revealing.

No hard liquor, no rolling papers. Johnny asked for a treadmill, weights, and a stability ball for his suite. He wanted his refrigerator stocked with blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, and soy milk.

As far as diet is concerned, Johnny asked for thoroughly cooked chicken breast, tuna packed in water, and hard boiled eggs.

No wonder he looks years younger than his 44 years.

[sanlee 49]

Depp To Help Coma Girl

 

Kind-hearted Hollywood actor JOHNNY DEPP has vowed to help a British girl who is fighting for her life after spending five months in a coma.

 

The parents of 17-year-old Sophie Wilkinson from Southampton, England, who was critically injured in a car crash last year (07), wrote to the Pirates of the Caribbean star as he is their daughter's favourite actor - and Depp was so moved by their plight he resolved to help.

 

Depp has agreed to record a voice message for the teenager which will be played to her in the hope it will help bring her out of the life-threatening coma.

 

He also agreed to try to visit the stricken teen at Southampton General Hospital. And Sophie's father Andrew was delighted the star offered to give up his time to help.

 

He says, "We are looking for the key to wake her up, so we wrote to Johnny and he said he would do the recording in the voice of (his Pirates of the Caribbean character) Jack Sparrow.

 

"Only this week Sophie moved her right leg, which she has never done before. When we got home my wife and I were jumping for joy!"

 

Source: contactmusic.com

[kathyk 0]

That is so sweet! I hope it helps her...

[sanlee 49]

Trojan Bosses Want Depp To Front Condoms

 

Hollywood star JOHNNY DEPP has been offered a staggering $10 million (GBP5 million) to become the face for American condom giant Trojan.

 

According to reports, Trojan bosses believe the Blow actor - who is an advocate of safe sex - would considerably boost sales of their Magnum range, and help inspire an anti-AIDS campaign to send free condoms to less economically developed countries.

 

Although Depp has yet to make a formal decision about the offer, safe sex campaigners have already expressed their approval of Trojan's choice.

 

A spokeswoman for California's Safer Sex Awareness Campaign says, "We'd welcome seeing a major Hollywood star helping to promote the cause. And there's no one bigger than Johnny."

 

Source: contactmusic

[sanlee 49]

Johnny Depp's Love Video

 

Johnny Depp has directed lover Vanessa Paradis' new music video.

 

The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor - who has two children with Paradis - also seemingly makes a cameo appearance in the video for 'L'incendie', a French song which translates as 'The Fire' in English.

 

The three-minute video shows Paradis dancing on the stage of an empty theatre wearing a flowing peach dress, while being observed by a male stranger wearing a hat - believed to be Depp, although his face is never shown.

 

Paradis' microphone stand then bursts into flames and the floor ignites with her every step.

 

At the end of the video, Paradis meets the stranger and, in a bright explosion of fire, the pair disappear.

 

'L'incendie' is taken from Paradis' album 'Divine Idylle', a record that has already topped the French and Belgian album charts.

 

The 35-year-old beauty was also crowned Best French Female Artist and won Best Pop Album at the recent Victories De La Musique awards.

 

Source: people.monstersandcritics.com

[sanlee 49]

Mischa Barton's Depp Fear

 

 

Mischa Barton wants to work with Johnny Depp, but would be too scared to shoot a love scene with him.

 

The former 'O.C.' actress has locked lips with a number of hunky actors on-screen - and was even involved in a lesbian storyline during her time on the hit US TV show - but admits the thought of getting intimate with heartthrob Johnny fills her with dread.

 

She said: "If I had to do a love scene with Johnny Depp, it would be really intimidating!"

 

Mischa - who can next be seen in 'Assassination of a High School President' - has previously revealed she has a massive crush on the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star.

 

She said: "I really like Johnny Depp, even though I know that everyone says they like him. But I honestly can't think of anyone hotter. I loved 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. I was so excited to see it!"

 

Source: people.monstersandcritics.com

[theempress 80]

She said: "If I had to do a love scene with Johnny Depp, it would be really intimidating!"

Yes, especially since he can act.

[ElleDriver 0]

Johnny Depp to marry his longtime love

MSNBC

 

After 10 years of living as an “almost married” couple, Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis plan to make it official. Life & Style reports the couple, who already have two children together, will marry this summer.

 

In the past, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star was reluctant to say “I do” again. Johnny married and divorced makeup artist Lori Anne Allison in the early ’80s and felt content with his current live-in arrangement. “For all intents and purposes, we are married.” But, he assured, “If she ever said, ‘Hey, let’s get hitched,’ I would do it in a second.”

 

An insider claims that’s just what happened. “Vanessa recently told Johnny that she would love to have a wedding,” a source close to the Paradis-Depp family told Life & Style. “Johnny loves Vanessa very much, and he said if that’s what would make her happy, then he’d marry her.”

 

The big event, which is set to take place June 14, will be a family affair. Johnny and Vanessa’s children, Lily-Rose, 8, and Jack, 6, “are really excited about it,” the insider revealed. “Actually the whole family is excited.

 

“They wanted to make it convenient for Johnny’s family in Florida,” so the nuptials will likely take place in Georgia’s Tybee Island, according to the source. “They’re going to send out invitations in a few weeks.”

[sanlee 49]

Depp Saves Lives On Set

 

Actor JOHNNY DEPP turned real-life action hero on the set of his latest crime drama PUBLIC ENEMIES, after saving a group of extras from being struck down by an out-of-control car.

 

Depp, 44, was shooting a scene as bank robber John Dillinger when a stuntdriver in a 1933 Ford car sped onto a patch of ice and skidded towards six extras, who were standing with their backs turned, oblivious to the danger.

 

But the Hollywood hunk spotted the potentially fatal incident and leaped into action.

 

An eyewitness tells British newspaper News Of The World, "Johnny slammed into the group with arms outspread, shoving them all back."

 

Source :contactmusic

[T.C.Darling 0]

Depp To Help Coma Girl

 

Kind-hearted Hollywood actor JOHNNY DEPP has vowed to help a British girl who is fighting for her life after spending five months in a coma.

 

The parents of 17-year-old Sophie Wilkinson from Southampton, England, who was critically injured in a car crash last year (07), wrote to the Pirates of the Caribbean star as he is their daughter's favourite actor - and Depp was so moved by their plight he resolved to help.

 

Depp has agreed to record a voice message for the teenager which will be played to her in the hope it will help bring her out of the life-threatening coma.

 

He also agreed to try to visit the stricken teen at Southampton General Hospital. And Sophie's father Andrew was delighted the star offered to give up his time to help.

 

He says, "We are looking for the key to wake her up, so we wrote to Johnny and he said he would do the recording in the voice of (his Pirates of the Caribbean character) Jack Sparrow.

 

"Only this week Sophie moved her right leg, which she has never done before. When we got home my wife and I were jumping for joy!"

 

Source: contactmusic.com

 

How were the parents of the girl able to get Johnny Depp's mailing address? I assumed most stars don't recieve fan mail or have a listed an address...