September 2001 #59

Hello Johnny Cyber Fans!

Our thought-provoking picture of the month is courtesy of Helle, who found it in the August issue of the Danish magazine called Women. Man, I love that pic! By the way, that photo was also on a Blow poster, which is on the Blow credits page. Wanna see that version of it? OK, then Click here!

The big excitement early in the month was that Patrizia, Ariel, Yolanda and Beach (all Canadian fans) got to see Vanessa Paradis in concert on August 4, 2001 at the FrancoFolies de Montreal, and Patrizia got to see Johnny as he was leaving the concert by a side door, and he was carrying a sleeping Lily-Rose as he shielded her from public view.

And now, let's head 'em up and move 'em out with the monthly magazine round-up!

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MAGAZINES

Roxana's magazine connection always comes through: There was a photo of Johnny and Penelope in the August 7, 2001 issue of Hello Magazine. It is included in the cover story about Penelope. It's not a large photo, but it is nice.

And be it ever so small, any mention of Johnny is always of interest to die-hard fans. Jessy told us that in the September issue of Glamour Magazine, there's a mention of Johnny's Man Ray restaurant. It's on page 102 and it reads "Star Career Crossovers -Johnny Depp Man Ray- The Blow star invests his dough in New York City's chic Asian infusion restaurant." It also has a small pic of Johnny from Cannes '98.

Also from Jessy, EW magazine had its Fall Movie Preview, and on page 40-41 they had a full page pic of Johnny & Heather and a write up about the movie From Hell which is due to hit the big screen on Oct 19.

With the movie Blow about to premiere in Japan, Kyoko has been a busy girl!

(1) 10/2001 Roadshow - 2 nice page-size photos from OUATIM, which aren't new, and some small photos from Blow and BNF.

(2) 10/2001 Premiere Japan - The cover, and 3 page-size photos inside, are from Movieline. You can see the Cover Photo here and the photos inside are Sweet!  Sweeter! and Sweetest!

(3) 10/2001 Flix - A nice page-size photo (again from the Movieline photo shooting), which I'd never seen before: Hidden Treasure

(4) 10/2001 Kono Eiga ga Sugoi - This mag has an 8-page feature on Johnny with many small photos.

BLOW

Kyoko alerted us to the Japanese official site that Skipper found, where you can see the Japanese version of the trailer - and view the photo gallery.

Johnny in Marrakesh? The news from karelle is that Blow is apparently selected for the Marrakesh Film Festival that will take place in September-October, and rumor has it that Johnny is planning to show himself over there! It's not official yet....

Here's a great Blow interview clip from Aya, playable on a Quicktime player, so you can save it!

Irene was indeed a happy camper over Aya's find, and gave us some additional information:

Hey...you wonderful person you!! I've been pining for AGES to capture this particular on-set interview, and you've given me the link! A bigger version of these clips are at FilmFour.com, but they're in Real Player/Windows formats only, so it's never been possible to save them to my pc. So, a HUGE Thank You, Aya!! By the way, anyone who hasn't seen the FilmFour version, you have to register at the site first and then you can play the clip from their archives (do a search on JD, and at the bottom right of the Results page you'll see the Blow Interview listed). Unless you have a super-fast connection, you'll keep getting long, loooong pauses while the link rebuffers, but the joy of seeing That Look is worth every second!

I'd like to add that the above interview clip was visually fascinating...did anyone notice that there are remnants of George Jung in Johnny during that interview? I sure did! Look at his facial expressions, and think of Johnny's character in Blow. Johnny was still inhabited by George during that interview, no doubt in my mind!

Again from Aya, a fabulous Blow photo gallery and a Johnny Depp photo gallery at an Austrian site.

Here's a nice little Johnny Blow interview in the online Herald Sun, an Australian site, that you might want to take a look at.

And Meeps brought us these kind words from Penelope Cruz which appeared in the Se & Hør (Danish TV guide) on August 23rd on page 41:

Q - "This time (in Blow) you played with Johnny Depp, how was that?"
A - "Johnny is fabulous. He is a very unique actor, because there is so much honesty in his work. He lives his life and relates to people in the same way. He is a very special person."

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FROM HELL

The trailer From Hell was literally the trailer From Hell when it first came online, in terms of getting it to work properly. Here's the Official Site (still under construction, but the trailer is operational). And the official MPAA rating for this movie has been announced: R (for strong violence/gore, sexuality, language and drug content). Is anyone surprised?

If you have trouble with the From Hell site, try this link (thanks, Natz!)

Vicki delighted us all with a report from Movieline magazine:

I received Movieline magazine today with an interview of Heather Graham (she's on the cover). Interesting for us but maybe not for her, the first several questions asked of her were about Johnny. I find this odd but hey, we'd all do the same thing if we were the interviewer. :-)) Well, here is the transcript of the Johnny parts -

Q - Early word on From Hell is that it's the scariest Jack the Ripper film ever made. What interested you in such a dark story?
A - It's a great script. To me, it's always about the script. And the Hughes brothers are very talented. Plus, I'd always wanted to work with Johnny Depp. He's a hero for a lot of actors I know--Johnny's the guy they look up to because of the work he does.

Q - Christina Ricci, who's worked with Depp on several films, including the recent The Man Who Cried, has described him as a generous actor. How did you find him?
A - Generous is a really good word for him. He's been in the business for so long that he's confident enough in himself to be supportive and warm. And he has his own way of doing things.

Q - Like what?
A - Well, he listens to music through an earpiece while he works.

Q - Isn't that distracting?
A - No. He listens to this music really faintly while he's doing a take. He let me listen to it and it was really cool. One time he was listening to Billie Holiday, another time, Lauryn Hill. I recall him saying he got the idea while doing a movie with Marlon Brando, who used an earpiece to remember his lines.

Q - How does that mesh with your style?
A - I think I'm kind of similar to that. I'm definitely not trying to dominate the room. Not a lot of ego, supportive and fun.

Q - What is Depp like off camera?
A - Lighthearted. He's mischievous, maybe even eccentric, but mostly, he doesn't pretend to be somebody else. He enjoys being who he is. One night he had a bunch of gypsies in his trailer, and they were all playing music. He's really great at creating a mood in his trailer. It's decked out like an opium den. He had all these benches with fabrics over them, and lights, candles, incense--it didn't look like your normal trailer. He is also really in love with his daughter and he constantly talks about her.

Lilac shared an MSN Preview of From Hell and had this to say: Looks like the press for From Hell is starting. I hope we'll see lots more!! I found this little preview on the MSN site.

And Luca gave us an oh-so-true chuckle with this report: From Hell will be premiered in Venice Saturday 8th September at the Venice Film festival. A friend of mine who has her mother working there told me that, on a program printed for the insiders, near the name Johnny Depp (who should be in Venice for the premiere), there is a big question mark with the following comment: "Because with JD you never know what is gonna happen."

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THE MAN WHO CRIED

Reemi rewarded the UK fans with good news: This movie is now out on DVD in Region 2 (UK). As for Region 1 fans? I guess we'll be the Fans Who Cried, because we have to wait several more months for Region 1. Buhuhu!

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CHOCOLAT

Roxana was the first to give us a report on the Region 1 Chocolat DVD:

There are a total of 50 minutes of special features on it. "The Making of Chocolat" is almost a full half hour. It has several times in it where Johnny talks to the interviewer about the movie. The best part is watching him sit with his guitar in his lap sort of practicing. It is only a moment long, but worth watching. The section of deleted scenes has 7 different scenes to choose from. Only one has Johnny in it, and that is the one next to last. It is another short version of Johnny walking into the bar with the little girl asking for a glass of water for her. Then the featurette of costume design is rather short and has a little Johnny in it. The featurette of production design was longer and has no Johnny in it. But I did notice that the man talking to us is sitting in Johnny's chair, and you can see the JOH in the inside of the chair where he is sitting. It's fun, not too boring, but sure could have used more of Johnny. They seemed to have enough interview material of everyone else. Wish there was more of him. And they could have interviewed the little girl who played Juliette's daughter.

Aya found two interview clips from Chocolat: Terra Cine and El Norte ... AND ... A beautiful picture of Johnny.

And here's a looooong video interview with Johnny, courtesy of karelle, for French channel Canal+ for the release of Chocolat: The interview is in English with French subtitles. It's about 5-10 minutes long! You can see Johnny smoking at one moment, and at the end, when the journalist tells him, "Merci beaucoup, Johnny" ("Thank you very much, Johnny"), he replies in French, "De rien" ("You're welcome") with a cute accent! It's in realvideo and it's HERE!

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ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO

According to the Upcoming Movies site, OUATIM is now slated for a Fall 2002 release. Once upon a time, it had been suggested that it might be released in Spring 2002. This new release date means, after From Hell is released, a very long year of waiting for another Johnny movie. Anyone up for a trivia game?

New Pics from OUATIM at Ain't It Cool News (one with Johnny). Holy cow! Some cool stunt scenes! And a sweet pic of Johnny with a fan.

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CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND

It appears as though Johnny will NOT be in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The news began with Ariel, who attended the Vanessa Paradis concert in Montreal:

I checked an old VOIR and found the ad in which they were asking for extras for the Johnny film [Confessions of a Dangerous Mind] from July 11th. Today I went to that agency and asked info about the movie. The guy interviewing the extras told me that it is not sure that they are doing the movie because his informant from Hollywood told him that Johnny and George Clooney had a difference of interest (they fought or something: gossip), but it seems that Johnny won't be in the movie. They are not even sure when the shooting will start.

Then the Corona Coming Attractions site had this:

Has Clooney signed his contracts to star and direct this picture? According to a scooper who contacted us today, yes -- and not only has Clooney inked his deal, he's filming test footage on the WB lot today! "George C. is here today directing some test scenes for Dangerous Mind," writes our lurker on the WB lot. "And playing Chuck Barris in these test scenes? Mr. Furious himself, Ben Stiller. A preview of the casting of the real movie? Who can say?"

So, did Johnny get gonged? [groan]

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NEW MOVIE/NEW PROJECT RUMORS

No Johnny in London's West End
For a while it looked as if Johnny Depp might be the latest Hollywood star to appear in the West End, following an invitation from Dame Judi Densch to appear in The Royal Family, which opens on Nov 1 at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. But no, he won't be coming, according to The Sunday Times.

Deep Cover?
Aries and Roxana added a little more fuel to the fire on the rumor about a Mike Newell sequel to "Donnie Brasco." Aries found it at the My Video Store site and Roxanna found it a Cinefantastique.

Lord Byron biopic on HOLD
A Friend emailed an article from The Guardian, wherein it appears that the Lord Byron biopic has collapsed because of financial problems. Johnny was rumored to have been in talks for the role of Lord Byron, the aristocratic rebel poet and club-footed lover, who died fighting for Greek independence. I suppose there's always hope for this film in the future, "... but what is Hope? Nothing but the paint on the face of Existence; the least touch of truth rubs it off, and then we see what a hollow-cheeked harlot we have got hold of." (Lord Byron, Oct. 18, 1815, to Moore)

Nailed Right In
We're hoping that this project is moving right along, although we've heard no news this month. Filming is "supposed" to begin in September.

Dead Man in Deptford: Is Kit Marlowe alive and well?
Reemi found this at the This is London site: Of the three film projects on the slow train to development about the playwright over the past year or so, the first to arrive is the movie from Ewan McGregor’s Natural Nylon company. McGregor, Jude Law, Sadie Frost and chums are now in pre-production on a film of Anthony Burgess’s novel about the death of Christopher Marlowe, Dead Man in Deptford, starring Johnny Depp as the unfortunate Kit. Keep those fingers crossed for this one, fans!

It Started With Eve
Natz got ahold of August's Film Review mag, and there's a small mention on this film that may star Johnny & Jennifer Love Hewitt. It says basically what we've heard before, but there may be something new here: Johnny Depp and Jennifer Love Hewitt are teaming up for a new version of the 1941 romantic comedy It Started With Eve. The $40 million remake will have virtually the same story as the Deanna Durbin and Robert Cummings original, recounting the deathbed wish of a crusty millionaire to meet the fiance of his wayward son. Because he's free and single, the son asks a cloakroom attendant to pose as his bride-to-be for a day. The farcical complications begin when the millionaire takes a shine to the girl and then makes an unexpected recovery from his illness. Albert Finney is being sought to play Depp's screen dad, the part originally taken by Charles Laughton, and Bruce (Dog Park) McColloch may direct. [no comment (-:]

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VANESSA NEWS

There were plenty of write-ups about Vanessa during her Montreal gig, but Beach summed it all up ever so nicely on the message board:

Vanessa was interviewed on Musique Plus yesterday. She looked and sounded great -- very sweet, intelligent and happy. She talked about music and cinema saying her first priority was music making these days. When asked whether she had any upcoming plans to do a movie with her "fiancé" (Mr. Depp) she said no. She was very coy, smiling, saying everyone was trying to get an on-screen kiss from the couple and that they have received many scripts. They played most of her videos. The Que Fait la Vie video was incredible. She has the most haunted look in her eyes. It looks like there's nothing going on in that video, but really, there is so much going on. Wow, great director ;)

And if you'd like to see some pics of Vanessa performing, taken by Ariel at the FrancoFolies de Montreal on 8/4/01, take this little trip.

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ODDS 'N' ENDS

Check this page!!! A super-dooper find by karelle at the fotoweb site.

Renee gave us our first report on the new photo book, Rebelle Attitude by Juliette Souchon:

It is 48 pages long and about 8x10 in size. Anyone on this site would already be familiar with all of the biographical info. It is primarily a picture book. The photos are great and the paper quality is good. I purchased it from Amazon.com (France). The cost, including shipping (I live in the US) was just over $18.00. I am happy with the book. Hope this helps anyone interested in purchasing it.

Aya seems to love smokin' Johnny, and she found some nice ones at a Greek site: Smokin' One and Smokin' Two

What's Eating Gilbert Grape on DVD...FINALLY!
Yep, according to the dvdfile site, Paramount intends to release it on 11/27/01. Retail will be $24.95. It doesn't sound as if there will be any to-die for extras (just trailers), but as time draws closer, we shall see.

Guess Who?
Johnny's in a new book, but he may be unrecognizable! Take the link to The UK Sunday Times and read all about it. It sure sounds like fun!

Reemi found an interview with Heath Ledger from "This is London" and here are the parts about Johnny: Ledger's Hollywood hero is Johnny Depp - 'he's so brilliant and consistent' - and there are certain parallels in evidence when we meet. Though Ledger has not, to the best of my knowledge, brandished planks of wood at the Brit paparazzi, he is as reluctant as Depp either to trade on his looks or let them be glimpsed in their unadulterated glory. His dark blond hair hasn't seen any comb action in a while (thank goodness for the bandana then), and his face has not had razor contact of late either. He even dresses like Depp - scruffily and grungily - and sports the same sort of manly leather-thonged jewelry round his neck. This was the look he also wore for last week's swanky London premiere of A Knight's Tale.

And here's a coup in the queue for our very own JohnnyDeppfan.com from BBC's Online WebGuide - Each week they highlight certain sites as 'Sites of the Week' and here's the JohnnyDeppFan listing! Yeah! (-: Congratulations, Vicki!

From karelle, we got some fabulous pics of Johnny with fans at the July 8 'Estival d'Istres' in France. And one of Johnny onstage with Vanessa! The scans are donated by Valou. Click here for the story and pics.

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TRIVIA

What's the deal with the way Johnny sometimes wears his belt buckle on the side? Rockinchick filled us in: The belt buckle worn to the side was a fashion in the 40's and 50's, and is worn thus by rockabilly guys everywhere. Maybe JD was influenced from his Cry Baby days. He knows 'cool' when he sees it.

Minor Swing in Arizona Dream!
Amy recently noticed (after watching Arizona Dream maybe for the 10th time) that the song Minor Swing that Johnny plays guitar to in the movie Chocolat can be heard at the beginning of Arizona Dream, when Johnny, Faye Dunaway, Vincent Gallo and Lily Taylor are eating together and talking about Papua, New Guinea (just before Johnny starts telling about his dream).

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SITE UPDATES

"Victims of the Stalker" - Daisy/Danielle's exciting fan fiction story has been uploaded to the Fan Fiction Page.

"You Give Me Asthma" - Kayla's interesting and beautiful poem about Johnny has been uploaded to the Poetry Page.

"The Death of TMWKDQ" - Natz's transcript of the September 2001 Empire article/interview with Terry Gilliam has been uploaded to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote page, representing an explanation of the demise of that film (the link to the article transcript is at the bottom of the page).

"Art Nouveau incarnated" - a new drawing by Mihneea - has been uploaded to the Art Page.

"Vanessa's Paradise" - a candid interview with Vanessa that appeared in the August 2001 Elle magazine, transcribed by Meeps, on the Interviews Page.

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And THAT'S A WRAP for this month, fans. Johnny love to you all!

Namaste!
Langley
For Vicki at Johnnydeppfan.com

August 2001 newsletter

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