The Mad Hatter Ala Depp

Johnny Depp is no stranger to bizarre films. From the beginning with his first movie Nightmare on Elm Street, then on to stranger flicks like Cry-Baby, Dead Man (WTF?), Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka to Sweeney Todd and the voice of Corpse Bride, the man has an insatiable appetite for the bizarre and macabre.

Now Depp and Tim Burton have teamed up once again, for Lewis Carroll’s tale Alice in Wonderland. I am sure Burton will put his signature creepy spin on this film and it may turn out to be yet another cult classic.

Willy Wonka on the other hand, did not fair too well in my opinion. I think it had a lot to do with Willy Wonka fans not wanting to see such a classic movie redone, especially the way it was redone.  Some classics you just have to leave alone, whether it has a big star in it or not. Count me in as one of those people who hated Willy Wonka for those reasons.

I will however give Alice In Wonderland a go as it’s one of my favorite childhood stories.

Now I LOVE John Christopher Depp II (who doesn’t?) and I think he is way up there on the yummy scale. Of course I have liked him since his 21 Jump Street days when he played Tom Hanson. I knew way back then he was going to be a huge star.

My favorite Depp films are simply NOT the strange ones with the big exception of Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas , which is on my favorite movie list. Although it pained me to see Depp made up as the far from handsome Raoul Duke. But he was brilliant, as well as his side kick, Dr. Gonzo played by Benicio Del Torro.

I never cared for Scissorhands, hated Wonka, and was never really a big fan of The Pirates of the Caribbean, although I did enjoy Pirates for the special effects. I am more of a What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (although young Leo DiCaprio stole the show in this flick) and Donnie Brasco fan. I’d be remiss not to mention Benny and Joon, except it also starred of Juliette Lewis and I have ALWAYS despised that broad, and when I found out that she was a Scientologist, well…let’s just say it explained a lot, to say the least.

But one of my all time Depp movie favorites has to be Don Juan DeMarco. Depp got his sexy on in that movie and had an accent to boot. If you haven’t seen this film, you really have missed out on some serious Depp hunk time. It was muy caliante!  And in the words of Don Juan himself…”No woman has ever left my arms unsatisfied. ”

Excuse me…..cold shower time.

That's One Lucky Gal!

Depp also got to work with one of his biggest idols, Marlon Brando. Depp said the hardest part of working with Brando in this film, was keeping a straight face. And of course let’s not forget the steamy Chocolat. Yum! and I am not talking about the Chocolate.

I have missed Sweeney Todd, Finding Neverland, The Brave, The Libertine and about eight other of Depp’s flicks. This man has a HUGE filmography and even a fan has their limits!

Depp’s newest film, Public Enemies has him portraying outlaw John Dillinger will be in theaters on July 1st. I am sure most audiences will be cheering for the bad guy in this one. And once again, Depp is sexy as hell in his 1930’s pin striped suit.

Back to the rabbit hole, Alice in Wonderland, which is not slated to come out till March 2010 has Depp playing the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway as Alice and Helena Bonham Carter as The Queen of Hearts. The film also stars Christopher Lee as the Jabberwock, Allen Rickman as the Caterpiller, Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, Michael Sheen as The White Rabbit and Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts. It is complete with gorgeous costumes and 3D computer animation.

Notice the faces in the flowers above?  This is going to be one trippy flick! Depp said playing the Mad Hatter was fun and speaks about the look of the Mad Hatter and jokingly said he was surprised he didn’t get fired from the film:

“The Hatter was awfully fun,” Depp said in a news conference on Monday in Beverly Hills, Calif. “After doing something like John Dillinger, a performance where it’s somewhat restrained because of the responsibility you have to that guy and his memory, that Mad Hatter was like being fired out of a cannon. The Hatter was great fun, and, again, it’s one of those things that you’re just amazed you weren’t fired. I truly am.”

“All I’ve seen, I’ve just seen the little bits and pieces of it, but, yeah, what I ended up looking like is how I thought he was going to look, how I thought he should look, which was one of the first reasons why I’m surprised I didn’t get fired,” Depp said.

In the words of Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane, who sang the trippy rock/acid song White Rabbit…
“Remember what the dormouse said, feed your head” 

Wonder if they will use this song in the sound track? Or maybe just at the end. Hey Burton…are you listening?

Already confirmed for Depp’s new upcoming projects, are Pirates Of The Caribbean #4 (careful Johnny don’t spread yourself to thin with this one) and oddly Dark Shadows.  I say oddly, because I actually watched “Dark Shadows” back in the day. It was a weird Gothic soap opera about vampires and other creatures, and dealt with time in the past and future in a parallel universe. 

Dark Shadows has Depp written all over it. Don’t know what kind of spin will be put on this one. I personally think Depp should skip this one, but I bet Dark Shadows fans will be champing at the bit.

Johnny Depp is just getting started. Regardless of the premise or the writing of a movie, Depp takes on all roles and is a true chameleon and plays every part with sheer brilliance. Hats off to the many faces of Johhny Depp! Keep em’ coming!

Source: Queen