Tuesday 14 October 2008

What the...

Anyone who knows me even vaguely knows that I adore Johnny Depp. I see myself as quite a devoted fan, I think I know him fairly well. I love his acting, his personality, his generosity and his eccentricities. So today, after reading reports from Disney's big production announcement day, I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.

Firstly, Johnny's playing the Mad Hatter in Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Yep, heard the goss about it, and that's not surprising.

2nd, there will be a Pirates 4 and Johnny's signed on. It doesn't surprise me that Disney would do it, but it does kinda confuse me that Johnny will. An awful lot of people have had enough of Captain Jack... and I guess we just never expected Johnny to do so much of the same character. So yes, I'm baffled. He is one to surprise us, but now he seems to be surprising us by NOT surprising us... which, hold on, sounds awfully Captain Jack-esque, doesn't it...

3rd, The Lone Ranger. Johnny will play Tonto, the native American sidekick. Whoa! There's one out of left field! I don't know about in the US, but here, the Lone Ranger is an old character that people make fun of. Like, we laugh AT him, not WITH him, and that is exactly all of the information I know about him.

I adore the idea of Johnny playing a native American again (as he did in The Brave), and from all reports this is going to be a pretty grown-up take on the Lone Ranger. I do feel sure that it'll be fabulous, but wow, what a bit of randomness.

4th, and the most surprising to me, Johnny appeared at the announcement with Disney boss Dick Cook, dressed as Jack Sparrow, with a Lone Ranger feather in his bandana. I don't even have words for how weird that is.


I imagine Johnny's heading in more of a "big studio movie" direction because it means he can be home in LA more, seeing the children more, and making films they can appreciate. Plus, Vanessa and their kids mean the world to him, and as someone suggested on a Johnny forum I was reading, privacy costs A LOT of money for "celebrities" these days... so why not whip out some box-office hits to please all the new fans he's aquired since Pirates? He's worked bloody hard for over 20 years to get where he is now, he's got the clout and the money to make whatever choices he desires.

It's just Johnny doing what he does best.
"I don't pretend to be Captain Weird. I just do what I do. "
JD

2 comments:

Connor said...

On point the second, it might be disappointing, but they've earned my trust for now. I kind of feel that Jack Sparrow is the Indiana Jones of this decade... not that they have much in common otherwise, but the character has such an extensive implied history that at some point he gains de facto permission to act in episodes. The important thing is that the film takes us somewhere we haven't been before.

Also, yea, Tonto is the butt of jokes here as well.

Sumara said...

I don't think I'm disappointed, but a little worried. I personally haven't had enough of Captain Jack, but if the quality slips because they're aiming for Summer Blockbuster instead of Character-Driven Story, I will be terribly cranky. I trust Johnny's decisions and ability enough to know that HIS quality won't slip, but I'm just not sure that I can trust Disney in the same way.

You're right, though. Jack sure does have plenty more stories to tell, and we are yet to discover some of the secrets that are hiding behind his sneaky, charming bravado.

I wonder which other characters will be joing him? Barbossa, surely, judging by the end of #3.

Re: Tonto. Hopefully Johnny will be turning him from the butt of jokes, to a dignified and truthful (though still comedic of course, in a way that isn't based on his race) character.