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Title: Village of the Damned!

Author: Simon Braud

Publication: Empire

Issue: January 2000

AFTER TREKKING UP THE MUDDIEST FOREST TRACK in the entire history of mud (and, no doubt, tracks), Empire finally crests a densely wooded hill to be met with an arresting and slightly unsettling sight: occupying a clearing in the trees some 300 meters below is a tiny, perfectly formed 18th century village which appears to be under attack from alien spacecraft. Hovering above the spiky church, ramshackle half-timbered cottages and suspiciously bijou bridge is a collection of vast, incandescent slabs which are bathing the settlement below in a pale and unearthly light. It looks like the type of tableau you might find gracing the interior of an enormously expensive snow globe.

What is also rather eerie is that earlier in the day Empire inspected exactly the same scene, complete with glowing monoliths, meticulously rendered in miniature in a model shop at Leavesden Studios. And to add a further prickle of unease, as we set off down the mercifully less soggy path that leads to the cluster of buildings below, it occurs to us that this Is precisely how New York constable lchabod Crane first enters the Hudson Valley hamlet of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of grisly murders. And it’s here that he first encounters the local legend of the headless horseman.

THERE’S NO CAUSE FOR ALARM, OF COURSE.

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England There is no ground; there is only mudthick, oozing, inches deep, and alive. Put your foot in and pull it out, and you can hear it breathe. Above the dark woods, the sky is a flat piece of black construction paper. Perfectly, uniformly, almost unnaturally black. Somewhere between the mud and the sky isjohnny Depp. ‘l’hat`s about as specific as he likes to get. It`s the middle of the night in the middle of March in the middle of England, which means it`s raining. And cold. Tim Burton, the director of movies in which night is never far away (two of them, Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood, with Depp) is shooting his latest collaboration with the actor: Sleepy Hollow, a creepier, more violent take on Washingtori Irving`s tale ofthe Headless Ilorseman. Burton and his crew have built an entire18th-  century village in an isolated valley about an hour’s drive from London. There are fully constructed houses, shops. an inn, a pub, and a covered bridge with a rooster weather vane. All are beautihilly crumbling outside and mere shells inside, empty but for the fog.

The fog is a character in Sleepy Hollow as are the mud and the rain and the natterjack toads that clack in the dark like monster crickets. lt wraps itself ‘around you, soaks you to the skin. It softens the edges ofeverything: the crewin their fleece jackets; the extras in spattered gowns or tricornered hats; the scaffolds and generators and trucks parked on sheets of metal so that they don’t sinkinto the muck and disappear forever.

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Title: Johnny Depp Acting in Character for Sleepy Hollow

Author: Jean Cummings

Publication: Shivers

Issue: December 1999

JOHNNY DEPP has always chosen roles that are differ­ent, and his newest film Sleepy Hollow he displays his talent for humour and drama in a film reminiscent of the Hor­ror films of the ’50s and ’60s. Depp has the starring role in this new version of Washington Irving’s fable The Legend of Sleeply Hollow but the success of the film comes from the multi-faceted character of Ichabod Crane.

American-born Depp now lives with his wife Vanessa and their young daughter in France, but he had to adopt an English accent for the role of Crane. It is something he worked hard to develop.

Inspiration

“You know what I did?” he responds to our inquiry. “I watched a lot of old Horror films. People like Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.” The inspiration for the character, he says, was in fact three people. “Number one was Basil Rathbone from the old Sherlock Holmes movies. Number two was a very great friend of mine that recently passed away, Roddy McDowell. He was a great man, a great actor and he was a very impor­tant model for the character. In a way this was my opportunity to tip my hat to him, to thank him, to salute him. The third was a terrific actress, Angela Lansbury, she was a great model for the character.

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Title: Johnny Deeper

Author: Bill Zehme

Publication: Sky Magazine

Issue: September 1991

Johnny Depp is his real name. As a boy he was ridiculed for it. In the schoolyard he was called Dipp. Or Deppity Dawg. Later he was cal­led Johnny Deeper, this being based upon a popular adolescent joke he barely remembers: “Something about some guy having sex with some girl who kept saying, Johnny, deeper!’”

The day we meet he extends his hand to shake mine, except that his hand is more like a piece of weaponry. In place of fingers there are blades. We are on a Twentieth Century Fox sound stage where he is making Edward Scissorhands, his second major film, in which he portrays the man-made boy with scissors for fingers. He laughs quietly at his own comic gesture.

Later we meet one morning in a coffee shop, where Winona Ryder, his movie-star fiancée, has left him before driving off to do some errands. He is smoking too much and drink­ing too much coffee. He says he is ensla­ved by caffeine and nicotine and doesn’t sound proud of it. “I like to be pumped up and hack­ing phlegm at the same time,” he says wryly.

“Coupla tequila worms flying out here and there,” Depp says, but he is joking about that. He hasn’t touched the hard stuff for a solid month, maybe longer. Depp is as dry as he’s ever been in all of his 27 years.

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Title: What’s All This Talk About Johnny Depp?!

Publication: Bop

Issue: April 1989

When you’re John Christopher Depp II, you get used to being the prime subject of conversation.

Fortunately, Johnny (which he prefers to be called) doesn’t take himself too seriously. His attitude is that people are going to talk, so why not let them?

Since most of the chatter concerning this 25-year-old talent is positive, Johnny’s feelings are rarely hurt, nor, surprisingly enough, has he let any flattery go to his head. He simply takes it all in stride.

“Getting attention from the public is very nice, but it’s still a little strange, you know?” he ponders aloud with a clear gaze in his brown eyes that lets you know he is too strong to ever allow fame to affect his ego.

If there is any truth to the study of astrology, then it’s only natural that this Owensboro, Kentucky-native takes an easygoing stance on his celebrity status.

According to the stars, it is a characteristic of those born under the sign of Gemini, as Johnny was, (June 9, 1963 was the magical date) to be the most talked about and controversial folks in the entire zodiac!

Of course, Johnny didn’t exactly choose a career that’s custom-made for those who prefer to keep out of the public eye. As someone who’s dedicated to the field of entertain­ment,

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Title: Does Johnny Depp Alone Make 21 Jump Street A Success?

Publication: Bop

Issue: February 1998

During the 1987-88 season of 21 Jump Street, it could have been very easy to mistake Johnny Depp for the star of the show. It seemed like the gorgeous actor was featured in every single episode!

Things have changed in the “new and improved” 1988-89 season of the series! This year, it’s already apparent that the folks in charge of Jump Street want you to know all four main characters (as well as the new guest star) as real people. Not only are you seeing plenty of Johnny as “Tom Hanson,” but you’re also getting a chance to see more of Peter DeLuise (“Doug Penhall”), Dustin Nguyen (“Harry Ioki”) and Holly Robinson (“Judy Hoffs”), along with the show’s newest addition, Richard Grieco, who plays “Dennis Booker”!

But how do the sparkling personalities of 21 Jump Street fit together behind the scenes? You already know that they’re a distinctly diverse group as far as their hometowns and backgrounds go—so what is the glue that holds them together?

First of all, they get along great’. There’s not a trace of jealous rivalry amongst this bunch! There are, however, lots of good times! Johnny and Peter decided they would place pretty Holly to the fun-test when she initially arrived on the set by ambushing her with water guns! She has since armed herself with her own water pistol and keeps the two banditos at bay with her sharp eye and aim!

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Title: Everything You Wanted to Know

Publication: Teen Machine

Issue: 1998

Dark-eyed Johnny Depp might view himself as one of television’s most reluctant sex symbols, but everytime he appears on the screen, the hearts of viewers can’t help but hop to 21 Jump Street.

When Johnny was growing up in Miramar, Florida, the last destination he envisioned for himself was on a television show At that time, all he wanted to do was play in a rock and roll band. He recalls: “People would remember me as the kid with the long hair who was always playing guitar. I used to bring my guitar to school, skip certain classes and sneak into the guitar class. That’s pretty much how I spent my high school years.”

He finally become a player in a band called the Kids, and they headed out to Hollywood in the hopes of landing a record deal. Once when they were playing a gig at one of the clubs on Sunset Strip, Johnny met and befriended Moonstruck star Nicolas Cage. Johnny’s cash flow of the time was very low, so when Nicholas offered to introduce Johnny to his agent, Johnny complied. He explains: “She sent me out on an audition. The director gave me a script and told me to study it; I did, came bock two days later, read for the part and they gave it to me. That was my first film—Nightmare on Elm Street.”

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