Johnny Depp

We all know Johnny is a hard man to find - but when he does come out and face his adoring fans, he always has something to say, something that reminds us how grounded he is, and just why we love him. One thing he’s never shy about talking about his love for his family. He told Britain’s Psychologies magazine recently that he “could sit there all day and do nothing but watch them grow. I’m totally inspired by them.”

Them = his longtime girlfriend Vanessa Paradis and the kids, Lily-Rose and Jack. He credits Vanessa with giving him the proper perspective and understanding in his life, adding that they have “a miraculous understanding of each other.”

Would that we all had that! When asked about his more memorable roles, Johnny admitted that he was “a million percent in love with Edward Scissorhands,” so much so that his last day of filming had him looking in the mirror for a sad goodbye to the character. He also loved Pirates, naturally. He and Orlando Bloom would look at each other and “say ‘We’re actually getting paid to do this?’”

Of course, he had to get in a dig or two about his celebrity status, and how he never wanted to be the guy people looked at. “It’s too mortifying.” Not on our side of the coin, Johnny, not at all!

In other news Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil purchaced the screen rights to a movie about Dante Alighieri, based off the book “In the hand of Dante” by Nick Tosches. The book gives the reader a parallel story of a modern day and a 14th century artist, Dante, and Johnny will be playing the role of the modern day artist.

In 2006, Johnny Depp, under his Infinitum Nihil banner, purchased the rights to Rex Mundi, the Arvid Nelson Dark Horse series with the intention to star as Dr. Julien Sauniere. Then there was very little information to be found, since then. Rex Mundi is set in an alternate history where Martin Luther was assassinated, there was no Reformation, and the Catholic Church is still top dog in the 1930s. Inquisition is still in effect, monarchs rule, and somehow magic still manages to exist. Dr. Sauniere finds himself investigating the disappearance of a medieval scroll and horrific ritual murders. Johnny loves the project, not just because he loves comics, but because of interest in the Templar Knights and that kind of research.

The exciting part is that Rex Mundi now has a script! It was written by Jim Uhls, and they’re now looking for a director. Johnny has been right in the middle of the entire process, along with co-producer Barry Levine. Levine says they are waiting on the second draft from Uhls. The original story was a search for the Holy Grail theme, as well as descendant of Jesus, but they changed it around due to DaVinci Code. There is some worry about that development, which puts the pressure on whoever is chosen to direct to make sure the story holds up. However, Warner Brothers is reportedly pretty excited about the project. They have a couple directors in mind, and are waiting for Depp to look at the list. Says Levine: “Everything begins and ends with Johnny.”

Funny, that’s how I feel too, but for entirely different reasons. Heh.