Johnny Depp

Are we surprised? OF COURSE NOT! However, it was officially announced this week that the number one popular movie star according to the Internet Movie Data Base, is Johnny Depp, for the fifth year in a row! They have some fancy smancy Starmeter tool that ranks the celebs by popularity, and Johnny claims the top spot once again. The others in the top five are no surprise either, with Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie. The rest of the top ten include Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Kristen Steward, Will Smith and Gerard Butler. According to the managing editor of IMDB.cm “The Starmeter list is a true gauge of what’s hot in pop culture based on actual user interest and visits to a star’s page.”

Like we need THAT to tell us Johnny tops ANY list!

In other news - Dark Shadows is coming! Richard Zanuk, in an interview with Collider, confirmed that it WILL be the next project for Director Tim Burton after Alice in Wonderland wraps. Naturally, Johnny is slated to take the lead roll in the movie adaptation of the seriest that featured all manner of supernatural creatures; Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies - Oh my! Johnny is said to be on tap to play the vampire patriarch Barnabas Collins, which is only fitting as Johnny has often said he was so obsessed with the show as a child that he wanted to be… yup, Barnabas Collins.

Lucky for us, he may finally get that wish!

Though we don’t know what direction the script itself will take, with 1225 episodes of the television show, there is certainly enough material to work with.

Today, for your reading pleasure, here are some great Johnny Depp quotes from various interviews over the years.

“I can remember being totally fascinated with Bela Lugosi and the Dracula films when I was five years old, and I can remember sitting in class in first grade and drawing pictures of Dracula and Frankenstein. I remember it like it was yesterday,” Depp says. “And when I was a kid, in about 1968, I was completely, utterly obsessed with a television show called Dark Shadows.”

That gothic soap opera featured ghosts and werewolves. Its central character was a vampire named Barnabas Collins. “I wanted to be Barnabas Collins,” Depp laughs. “And I wanted the cane with the wolf’s head on it. For my parents, that must have been a very scary thing. ‘Where did we go wrong?’ ”

Sleepy Hollow interview for the Winnipeg Sun, November 1999

One of the greatest pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten in my life was from my Mom. When I was a little kid there was a kid who was bugging me in school. And she said, “Okay, I’m going to tell you what to do.” She said, “The kid’s bugging you. He puts his hands on you, you pick up the nearest rock, or whatever you can get your hands on, and you lay him out.” And I did! And I felt better. And it worked. So, for me, that was a great lesson because someone had invaded my space; invaded my being, you know, and was doing something against me that I didn’t want to be done. So I took control of the situation and I ran with it.

And many years later, after being turned into a product by a very huge corporation that had their hands all over me and I couldn’t escape it, I promised myself that I would continue to move forward and do my best not to compromise in any way whatsoever; not allow anyone to put their hands on me and affect me in that way. So that’s the best advice that I could give, is just to keep moving forward, and don’t give a shit what anybody thinks, you know. Just keep moving forward and do what you have to do for you.

Johnny Depp, Inside the Actors Studio, 2002

Charlie Rose: Why ‘Lily-Rose’?

Johnny Depp: In fact it was the only name that we’d come up with for a girl, ‘Lily-Rose’. We both loved the name ‘Lily’, and I think Vanessa’s mom suggested the ‘Rose’ part. My mom’s name is Betty-Sue and we wanted something that sounded kinda like ‘Betty-Sue’, that sort of southern thing. So ‘Lily-Rose’. And ‘Melody’, which is her middle name, was after a Serge Gainsbourg song called ‘Melody Nelson’.

Charlie Rose: So her name is Lily-Rose Melody…

Johnny Depp: Depp. She’s something!

Charlie Rose: Man, you really look happy!

Johnny Depp: I’m floating… I’ve never, ever in my life - I haven’t lived before that day. I was not alive. I existed. I imagine that I drew breath and exhaled and all that stuff, but I don’t have any particularly fond memories of it. I mean, I don’t think I took a real breath until my daughter was born.

Charlie Rose Show, November 1999

There’s that word that you don’t quite understand what it means, which is ’satisfaction’. Then there’s that great big question mark: What’s it all about? What’s it all for? You start thinking, ‘Am I just an actor? A puppet? Am I one of those ambitious cretins who’s just looking for accolades and applause and recognition?’ I’m happy to say I found out that I’m not.

Johnny Depp, The Big Issue February 2002

Johnny Depp, Depp, Johnny Depp quotes, Johnny Depp interviews, Dark Shadows

I posted recently regarding Johnny portraying vampire Barnabas Collins in an upcoming movie version of the TV gothic soap “Dark Shadows.” Now, I find out that the original “Dark Shadows” is, at last, being released on DVD! According to the Bay Area Reporter, the first set of DVD’s will be released later this month. I can’t wait! I’ve long been a fan of the original series, so this is something I’m really looking forward to seeing.

Here’s a copy of the article from Bay Area Reporter:

Depp shadows

Variety reported last week that Johnny Depp is set to take the lead in a film adaptation of 1960s TV show Dark Shadows, as vampire paterfamilias Barnabas Collins.

Sez the trade pub: “Depp has said before in interviews that he was obsessed with the show as a kid, and wanted to be Barnabas Collins as a child, so it looks like he’s got there at last. He’s developing the film with Warner Bros. producer Graham King and his own production company, but it’s a little way down his To Do list. He’s just wrapped Sweeney Todd and still has Shantaram in development, as well as a project about murdered spy Alexander Litvenenko.”

While we wait for Depp’s new take, we’re cheered to hear the first stirrings of the Gothic soap opera TV series will be released on DVD later this month. Dark Shadows: The Beginning (MPI Home Video; $59.98) presents the series’ early episodes before Barnabas’ arrival. Among the disc’s highlights is the complete unedited premiere episode, with its original 1966 commercials intact.

The creation of producer Dan Curtis, Dark Shadows tells the tale of the Collins family, a seemingly white-lace patriarchal dynasty that runs a New England town out of their family estate. Into this world enters young nanny Victoria (Alexandra Moltke), who soon learns there’s more to the family than meets the eye.

The series later went into overdrive when mysterious relative Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) moved into the dilapidated estate next door. Soon the household was beset with werewolves, witches and ghosts. The cast included Joan Bennett, Louis Edmonds, and Barnard Hughes. DVD bonuses are a new Dark Shadows introduction with Moltke (Victoria Winters); a Dark Shadows history with Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans); the original network promo; and episodes 1-35.

The photo above is of actor Jonathan Frid, the original Barnabas Collins. Can’t you just see Johnny in this role?!

Johnny Depp, Depp, Dark Shadows, Jonathan Frid, Variety, Graham King, Sweeney Todd, Shantaram, Dan Curtis, Alexandra Moltke, Kathryn Lee Scott, Barnabas Collins, Barnard Hughes

I was absolutely thrilled to see this news! The entertainment site CanMag is reporting that Johnny will be starring in a film adaptation of the 1960’s horror soap “Dark Shadows” from Warner Bros.

I was a huge fan of “Dark Shadows.” When I was in elementary school, it came on in the late afternoons, and I used to run off the bus, into the house, to get myself a snack and settle in front of the TV. Every day, I watched 30 minutes of vampire Barnabas Collins, and his dealings with others in the supernatural world-ghosts, zombies, werewolves, etc.

Turns out Johnny was a big fan of the show, too, as well as a fan of vampires in general. Apparently, he always hoped to play Barnabas Collins in the movies. I’ll be looking forward to this Johnny Depp project very much, and I’ll keep you up to date with any other news I find on it!

Johnny Depp, Depp, Dark Shadows, Barnabas Collins, Warner Bros.