Johnny Depp.org

ust as a drug trip, the day was an upward motion from reality to a dream, with its rise and its flash when I met Johnny and remembering our meeting when I went to bed after a very special trip.

THE PRESS CONFERENCE: A bad beginning. For the beginning of the day, I’m not really lucky. The press conference is over-crowded and I couldn’t enter the room. Anyway, I didn’t have the right pass. The access is only authorized to the journalists with the pink pass and I had the white. But there was another way to watch the press conference. On the first floor of The Festival Palace, there was a place where you can sit on deck-chairs (as if you were on the beach) and follow the press conference live as it is broadcast on TV Festival ! ! ! A lot of people agree with me when I say that’s the best way to hear and record a press conference. You’re well installed and the sound is better for your recorder. That’s how I saw and recorded the Fear and Loathing press conference. Vicki will put some clips from the conference soon with this report.

THE MOVIE: Let the delirium enter your mind. SYNOPSIS – The gonzo journalist Raoul Duke is scheduled to write an article about a motorcycle race in Las Vegas. He travels there with his attorney, Dr Gonzo, driving a crimson convertible full of every sort of drug and pharmaceutical product. They begin a savage drug-fueled trip into the heart of the American Dream. REVIEW – The most interesting part of this movie is Gilliam’s choice to dedicate the entire movie to his characters, by the cinematography, the special effects and the editing, to make the audience live the trip of the individuals from inside. Sure, Gilliam uses too much moving animals for the hallucinations. But the choice of the frames, the deep focus, the colors, the filters, the design ? Las Vegas is absolutely fabulous ? the acting a little exaggerated from Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro but exactly right for their mad characters. The editing which follows the trip exactly, slow or fast depending of the characters’ mind, give the film wealth, which make the hallucinatory trip of the two individuals almost palpable. Terry Gilliam tells a story showing the trip at the good and bad moments, without any morality about drug-addiction in his filmmaking. People may regret his no-engagement against drugs, but it’s an artistic choice depending on his interpretation of the novel upon which the movie is based. The two characters don’t care about the consequences of their behaviour. They just enjoy their journey in Las Vegas, experiencing with drugs the limits of their bodies. That may be shocking for our 90’s eyes, but we have to remember the spirit of the 1971 Hunter Thompson novel. Gilliam’s filmmaking gives a light and humorous but finally realistic description of the perception of drugs in the early seventies.

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Title: Why did Johnny Depp Say That?

Publication: Bop

Issue: May 1998

There’s not doubt about it: Johnny Depp is a man of few words. You might say that to this 21 Jump Street actor, talk is cheap—he’s an action -oriented sort of guy!

But when 25-year-old Johnny does choose to speak up, he says a great deal—with so few words! In fact, one simple sentence from Johnny uncovers a whole world of meaning. Here’s some classic examples:

“CELEBRITY? WHO’S A CELEBRITY?”

That brief remark is a typical “Johnny-ism,” clearly revealing that this 5’10” tall performer has never, does not, and never will view himself as a “star.” Actually, the whole concept of being a celebrity is a bit odd to him!

Johnny doesn’t feel that his appearances in movies and television merit any special treatment from anyone. The fact that he’s talented, and quite adorable to boot, does not figure into his self-image. All these qualities, insists this Owensboro, Kentucky-born boy, are “no big deal.”

“WHAT’S ACTION?”

After several hardworking years of trying to make it big as a rock and roll guitarist, Johnny found his sudden break into acting unexpected, to say the least!

On the set of his first film, 1984’s Nightmare On Elm Street, a guitar less Johnny seemed like a wide-eyed, confused child. On the first day of shooting, he was still getting over having left his band-mates only a couple of days earlier.

“Action,” is the word a movie director calls when he wants a scene to begin. The question above was posed by this naive Johnny to the director of Elm Street, Wes Craven!

“I was scared and lost” confesses Johnny.

“I RAN INTO IT BLINDLY.”

If love is blind, then that would provide the perfect explanation for Johnny’s first marriage back in 1983. The marriage, which ended in divorce less than three years later, gave him his first, tough lesson in love.

Following his divorce, Johnny kept company with actress Sherilyn Fenn. Alerted to the dangers of becoming too close too fast, he didn’t allow the relation­ship to become too serious.

Today, with a more mature understanding of the true meaning of commitment, Johnny has become engaged to marry Dirty Dancing actress Jennifer Grey. Johnny confides that he has finally learned the secret to a long-lasting relationship: “You have to be comfortable with yourself first.”

“I LIKE PICASSO AND CHAGALL“

Johnny’s fondness for these two famous painters points out the fact that there’s more to this guy than acting and rock ‘n’ roll. Johnny has a full appreciation of life, and that includes the arts.

An avid reader, Johnny’s ideal weekend would be to cozy up in his Vancouver, Canada home and devour novels by well-known authors.

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