Johnny Depp recently spoke with Collider promoting his upcoming gangster flick, Public Enemies, where he also gave some new details on his upcoming projects Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, and the upcoming Dark Shadows adaptation. He also talked about his collaborations with director Tim Burton, and why they work well together. I know, wanted to hear about The Lone Ranger and his role as Tonto, too…
Tim Burton’s upcoming take on Alice in Wonderland is definitely one fans of both Burton and Lewis Carroll’s original story are looking forward to. Burton and Wonderland go together perfectly – it’s been a long-time easy guess that the Edward Scissorhands director would take on the classic Wonderland tale at some point in his career.
Depp was just as much of a no-brainer to play a part in Alice in Wonderland; him being cast as The Mad Hatter being utter perfection in my books. Depp spoke to Collider about the kind of research he (and Burton) did for the film, where he revealed that, “the book is the basis for everything [they’re doing with the movie].” To be prepare for playing the character, Depp said there are, “little mysteries, little clues in the book that I found fascinating that were keys to at least my understanding of the Mad Hatter.”
For Alice in Wonderland, Depp also revealed he is very much on Burton’s creative boat as far as coming up with concept drawings for characters – “I made my little weird drawings and water colors and brought them to Tim [Burton] and he brought me his weird little drawings and water colors and they were not dissimilar [laughs]. You could’ve put them right together and they were pretty darn close.”
On Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Depp didn’t give much, other than saying what they’re “trying to do is just get a script in order and make sure it’s the right thing to do. If we can get a great script it’d be a ball.” As Collider points out, you can basically read that statement as the project is happening but we’re probably a long ways off from seeing it move into production.
For his next collaboration with Mr. Burton, after Alice in Wonderland, Depp spoke about the Dark Shadows adaptation, which he is excited about doing. Depp confirms that it, “is happening,” and reveals that the script is, “very, very close,” with he and Burton probably going to, “attack it next year.” He seems more enthusiastic and excited about this project than even Wonderland or even Pirates, adding that, “it’s very, very exciting… I loved the show when I was a kid… It’s like a lifelong dream for me.”
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Lastly, Depp spoke about his cinematic relationship with Burton, and why they work well together. Depp feels lucky that Burton has given him so many jobs over the years, and he looks forward to even more collaborations (with them producing such quality together, he’d be crazy to not to want to continue). Depp says that, “There’s no real definition other than there is some kind of connection, some sort of understanding that Tim and I have that is at most times unspoken.” Depp deems it better not to question why it works, and I’m with him – let’s not jinx it, folks!
For the rest of the info about Depp’s upcoming projects you can head over to Collider, where they promise a transcript of the fuller interview with the actor.
I’m always excited to see not only Depp in his newest role (I can’t wait for Public Enemies), but also to see him and Burton work together again and again. You’d think it would get tiresome, but it’s one of those rare collaborations that just continues to work. Even though I didn’t like Pirates 2 or 3, I still very much look forward to seeing Depp return as the swashbuckling Captain Jack Sparrow, the role that arguably shot him to worldwide fame and popularity (he already had some of both, to an extent, but that role took it to a whole new level, I think you’ll agree).
Depp’s role as The Mad Hatter is also something I’m very much looking forward to. As I said above, he’s absolutely perfect for it and I can’t wait to see what he’ll do. The image recently released (shown above) of him in the full costume and make-up looks fantastic and extremely encouraging. Dark Shadows has me intrigued, even though I’m not familiar with the original TV series (too young, I’m afraid). Depp’s enthusiasm for the project is great to see, though.
What do you make of what Johnny Depp has said about his upcoming projects? Which of them are you looking forward to most?
Alice in Wonderland is set to be released on March 5th in the US, and on March 12th in the UK, both in 2010. Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is slated for a release sometime in 2012. Dark Shadows hasn’t started production yet, and no release date has been set at this point. Public Enemies will hit theaters on July 1st, 2009.
