Johnny Depp

With all the news about the release of Sweeney Todd, I haven’t talked much about Johnny’s other upcoming projects. Shantaram is set to begin filming in January. It will be directed by acclaimed Indian director, Mira Nair, whose recent films include The Namesake and Vanity Fair. The screenplay was written by Eric Roth, whose other screenplay credits include The Good Shepherd, Ali, and Forrest Gump, among many other popular films. The only two cast members confirmed have been Johnny and Indian actor, Amitabh Bachchan. I’ll give you other Shantaram news as it becomes available. In the meantime, here’s a synopsis of the book, as it appears on Amazon:

Crime and punishment, passion and loyalty, betrayal and redemption are only a few of the ingredients in Shantaram, a massive, over-the-top, mostly autobiographical novel. Shantaram is the name given Mr. Lindsay, or Linbaba, the larger-than-life hero. It means “man of God’s peace,” which is what the Indian people know of Lin. What they do not know is that prior to his arrival in Bombay he escaped from an Australian prison where he had begun serving a 19-year sentence. He served two years and leaped over the wall. He was imprisoned for a string of armed robberies peformed to support his heroin addiction, which started when his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his daughter. All of that is enough for several lifetimes, but for Greg Roberts, that’s only the beginning.

He arrives in Bombay with little money, an assumed name, false papers, an untellable past, and no plans for the future. Fortunately, he meets Prabaker right away, a sweet, smiling man who is a street guide. He takes to Lin immediately, eventually introducing him to his home village, where they end up living for six months. When they return to Bombay, they take up residence in a sprawling illegal slum of 25,000 people and Linbaba becomes the resident “doctor.” With a prison knowledge of first aid and whatever medicines he can cadge from doing trades with the local Mafia, he sets up a practice and is regarded as heaven-sent by these poor people who have nothing but illness, rat bites, dysentery, and anemia. He also meets Karla, an enigmatic Swiss-American woman, with whom he falls in love. Theirs is a complicated relationship, and Karla’s connections are murky from the outset.

For more movie news, visit Movie Review Report.

Johnny Depp, Depp, Shantaram, Sweeney Todd, Mira Nair, Forrest Gump, Ali, The Good Shepherd, The Namesake, Vanity Fair, Amitabh Bachchan

Here’s the second trailer for Sweeney Todd! The more I see about this movie, the more excited I am to see it!

There’s none of Johnny’s singing in this trailer. The blogosphere is really buzzing about Johnny’s singing (or lack thereof) in these trailers. Does it mean he can’t sing? Is his voice awful? Can’t he carry a tune? There’s been a lot of pointing out that his singing was dubbed in John Waters’ film, Crybaby. And also a lot of pointing out that Waters had his reasons for not letting Johnny sing that had nothing to do with his voice.

Tom O’Neil over at theL.A. Times is comparing Depp and Sweeney to Rex Harrison in the 1964 George Cukor film My Fair Lady. He quotes Julie Andrews, Harrison’s stage co-star with saying He couldn’t sing, but he had an innate musicality which enabled him to kind of do a sing-speak sound, which was great and exactly right because it blended straight out of dialogue into song.”

He then goes on to say that, even if Johnny can’t sing, he may be able to pull of the same “sing-speak” thing that Rex Harrison did. But then, O’Neil is not known to be a fan of Johnny Depp. Personally, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.

Not only because this is Johnny Depp we’re talking about, but because composer Stephen Sondheim had final say over the stars. Both Johnny and Helena Bonham Carter had to audition for him. Also, Sondheim has seen the film and he says it’s great. And Sondheim is not known for being diplomatic if he has issues!

In a recent interview, Sondheim said of the movie, “It’s not the Broadway show. It’s only an hour and 45 minutes. A lot of the score has been cut. They’ve made it its own thing. You have to go in knowing that. But what they’ve done is great.” If the composer thinks it’s great, what else can you say?

Personally, I’m going on the belief that Johnny Depp and Tim Burton together can do no wrong!

For more on upcoming movies, see Cinema Hype.

Johnny Depp, Depp, Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton, Stephen Sondheim, Helena Bonham Carter, Rex Harrison, My Fair Lady, Julie Andrews, John Waters, Crybaby

Reuter’s news service recently interviewed Tim Burton, following his receiving the lifetime Golden Lion Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival. Here’s a portion of that interview:

Q: Your next movie is based on the story of Sweeney Todd. What is it about the story that makes it so popular, with a series of revivals and adaptations recently hitting stages around the world?

A: “I don’t know if it was that popular in terms of just mass culture as a musical … It’s probably my favourite musical just because of all the different elements — the horror, the humour, the drama and the beauty of the music all juxtaposed in there. I just felt like on stage the one thing that they don’t have the opportunities to see (is) the actors’ faces and eyes, so this is a case where we almost felt like we were making a silent movie with music.”

Q: Although many of your films feature music, this is your first proper musical. Why do it?

“This is the first pure (musical) and this musical is even different from most in the sense that there’s a lot of music in it. This one is almost musical throughout. That was an extra challenge that I got excited about, really.”

Q: Johnny Depp has been quoted as likening his singing voice to “the mating call of a rutting stag”. I don’t know if he said that, but having directed him in a musical, do you agree?

A: “That sounds like him! No I don’t. He’s great. When I asked him to do it I had no idea if he could sing or not. I know he’s in a band and all that, but then when he said yes, I knew that he wouldn’t say yes unless he himself knew he could do it. That’s the great thing about him, he’s always up for a challenge and I think he’ll surprise people. I think he sounds amazing.

Q: You regularly work with Depp. Would you have considered making this movie with anyone else in the lead?

A: “I was involved with Sweeney Todd about 10 years ago. It just never happened. He (Depp) would have been too young for it at that point. Things have a weird way of working themselves out. On stage they always portray them (Todd and partner in crime Mrs. Lovett) as old, like in their 50s or whatever. But it just felt more passionate somehow to have them younger than that in the movie, sort of in their 40s. In some ways it’s kind of a luck thing where yeah, I might have made it with somebody else but I’m glad I didn’t, because I think he’s amazing in it.”

Q: Helena Bonham Carter also stars in this film. Is it ever a problem directing your partner?

A: “Yes! The good thing is that she was really right for the role and (that) sort of supersedes anything, and we’re still together and that’s a positive side. A few rocky moments. But when somebody’s right for a role that kind of takes the edge off a bit.”

Q: Why is this Golden Lion award important to you?

A: “I’ve been to this festival a few times, and each time I’ve come here I’ve just had this very special feeling about it. You grow up in Hollywood and that whole scenario and what you feel here is that there is just passion about movies. So that’s what makes it special to me — it’s not about business, it’s not about finance, it’s about just the love of movies. And so to get this at this point in my life I just think is an inspiration and I can always remember it and hopefully use that as an inspiration to keep going.”

Johnny Depp, Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd, Venice Film Festival

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

EW.com reports that Johnny will soon begin work on The Rum Diaries. The Rum Diaries is Hunter S. Thompson’s autobiographical book, written in 1959 when he was 22 years old, but not published until 1998.

Johnny will play Paul Kemp, a freelance newspaper journalist in Puerto Rico in 1959. Kemp is surrounded by a group of self-destructive lost souls. He is also producing the film.

Work on Rum Diaries is expected to begin as soon as Johnny wraps Shantaram, about an Australian drug addict who resumes a life of crime after escaping to India. Johnny has a lot of projects in the works. Looks like we’ll be seeing lots of him in the near future!

Johnny Depp, Depp, Rum Diaries, Hunter S. Thompson, Shantaram

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.