Someone as beautiful, rich and famous Johnny Depp usually gets my blood boiling just from his existence, but his brilliant turns in some of my favorite films such as Ed Wood, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and now Charlie and the Chocolate Factory have changed all that. Also the fact that we got to go a press junket in the Bahamas because he is shooting both Pirates of the Caribbean sequels there didnt hurt either.
Depp is a very soft spoken man who litters his speech with humor and goodwill and he was a pleasure to meet. He is very friendly even when many of the journalists were crowding him and surprising him with flash photography.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the most faithful adaptation of a Roald Dahl novel ever onscreen. In fact, Dahl is even credited with the lyrics to the Oompa-Loompa songs.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens July 15 Daniel Robert Epstein: Was it your idea to do this junket in the Bahamas?
Johnny Depp: No, I wish that I could take credit for it. It just so happened that we were doing Pirates [of the Caribbean] part two and three so it worked out that the dates were going to be all down around in this area. They said, Well, why not do the press junket there? I said, Okay, done fine. I just figured that everyone would enjoy that, too.
DRE: You worked with Tim Burton on two projects at the same time, The Corpse Bride and Charlie. How was that?
JD: It was very interesting because when we were doing Charlie, Tim came to me and said, I have this other thing that I'm thinking about doing. It's a stop motion thing. I'd like to give you a script. Take a look and tell me what you think. I read the script and I thought that it was amazing and brilliant. But I had no idea that he was going to be doing them simultaneously. He literally would leave the set of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and go into the recordings and the stop motion things. It's an incredible energy that he has. For me it was really strange. I'd literally leave the stage from playing Wonka and then have to go and find this other character on the walk to the studio. Though anything with Tim is always just a blast.
DRE: Why are you both drawn to such quirky characters?
JD: One thing that Tim and I share is a kind of fascination with the human animal. I think that we also share the idea that most people in life, especially the ones who are considered super normal, if you really take a step back and observe them and watch them a bit, you'll realize that they're actually completely out of their minds. Most people are really nuts and that's fascinating to me. I think that Tim feels the same way.
I just love and respect Tim so much that I would do anything with him. The thing that I most enjoy about our relationship, our friendship, is that there's a lot of trust. One minute he and I are talking very deeply about Captain Kangaroo and then the next thing I know, we're doing impersonations of Sammy Davis Jr. and Charles Nelson Riley. We can go anywhere.
DRE: Youre very open about who was the inspiration for your character in Pirates of the Caribbean. Was there anyone who was the model for Wonka?
JD: On this, there wasn't specifically any one or two guys that were models for the character. But there were memories that I have as a little kid watching children's shows and children show hosts. I distinctly remember, even at that age, thinking that their speech pattern and the kind of musical quality of the way that they were speaking to the camera and to the children that I thought was really strange. Guys that I watched like Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Rogers and all of these guys became that main part of the ingredient. Then also game show hosts that I remember seeing and watching and thinking, My God, they can't be like that at home. They can't actually be like that. That led me to believe that they put on a mask in a way, that all important positive smile. That was the other side of Wonka. Then doing stuff for the look of Wonka was incredibly important. It was important to put that costume on and click those veneers into my mouth for the teeth which actually changed the shape of my face a little bit.
DRE: Which of the children in the movie are your children most like?
JD: I think that they'd both be closer to Charlie and his personality. Luckily the kids are pretty well balanced and not monster like at all.
DRE: How about you as a child?
JD: I'd like to think that I was like Charlie, but I don't think I was, as my mom uses a term, a hellion. I wasn't obnoxious or precocious, but I was curious. There were a lot of practical jokes and things like that. I got on her nerves basically. I pissed her off quite frequently.
DRE: How was it working with the kids in Wonka?
JD: Freddie [Highmore] is pretty impressive. The first thing that struck me about Freddie when I met him on Finding Neverland was his eyes. It wasn't just because they're these piercing beautiful blue eyes, but there's a purity in Freddie that is astonishing. It's mesmerizing and it is like he's incapable of lying or telling a lie. Then you get to work with him and you see what his abilities are as an actor, which are endless. Beyond all of the great things that Freddie is, he wants to play football. He goes on vacations with his family and he plays games and he's just a really normal, very well grounded kid.
DRE: Did you get to know the Oompa-Loompa man himself, Deep Roy?
JD: He's a ball and a real force to be reckoned with. I started calling him the hardest working man in show business. I'd see him on a Tuesday, Deep Roy and he'd be in his red outfit and then on the Wednesday he'd be in his blue outfit and then on Thursday the white one and then on Friday he's dressed up as like this 80's metal star. He was all over the place and just incredible.
DRE: The flashbacks Wonka has to the memories of his father were not in the original novel, how do you think they deepened the character?
JD: The first thing that I thought was that it was very brave of [screenwriter] John August and Tim to make that decision but still be able to keep it in the spirit of Roald Dahl's intent. That was no small undertaking and in terms of cinema that's a great tool. It's a beautiful luxury that you have as an actor because it explains a lot of where Wonka comes from. But for an audience it gives you a little bit more insight to what this guy is and how he's become what he's become.
DRE: Youve gotten Oscar nominations two years in a row, would you like to get another for this film?
JD: Its not something that I think about everyday because I try not to think about that kind of stuff. I'm really flattered and honored that I've been able to get the nominations and various awards that I ended up getting. That was like totally unexpected and shocking to me. In fact that's sort of enough for me. The nominations are fine. I don't need more. I don't really want to go up in front of all those people and say thanks. That just scares the shit out of me. It would be nice, but I don't need it.
DRE: On the new Pirates movie sets, is there pressure since you are following up such a big hit?
JD: What was weird was that we didn't quite know what to expect before we went back into Pirates. A lot of things had happened. Orlando [Bloom] had some big movies and Keira [Knightley] had some big stuff too. Everyone is all over the map and we didn't quite know what to expect. [Director] Gore [Verbinski] obviously has been working like a demon. But honestly we stepped on the set for the first day and for me jumping back into the skin of Captain Jack felt like we'd had just a week off from the first one. It's been a really great time. Everything has been super good and fun. I think that it's going to be good, knock wood.
DRE: I heard that on the day that Hunter S. Thompson took his own life, you powered through and kept working.
JD: On the day that Hunter made his exit, I found out about an hour or two after it actually happened. It was and is devastating. Even though on one hand I understand that a guy who lived his life exactly the way that he wanted to live it, so he made his exit in the same way, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. He was a great hero and a great pal, a great friend. He was a father and a grandfather. He was so many things to so many people. I'll miss him everyday. I think about that bastard everyday.
DRE: Is it hard to be away from your family for so long while you are working?
JD: They're with me. The most that I've ever been apart from my kids and my girl has been like four or five weeks and that drove me mad. One shouldn't have to do that. I can't do it. So as much as is humanly possible I bring them with me on location. If Vanessa [Paradis] is doing a film and I'm not working, I'll go on location with her. I have to have them around.
DRE: What did you do here together?
JD: All the fun stuff like running around on the beach with the kids, going swimming, taking them out on a boat. We haven't swam with any dolphins and certainly not any sharks. I hope that we won't swim with sharks.
DRE: Why do you keep your house in France?
JD: I don't want to be stuck in one spot. My childhood was spent moving around and we were total nomads, man. We were moving from one place to another all the time and that's kind of ingrained into my psyche and my being. I couldn't stand being in one spot for too long a period. For example, we essentially split the year with six months in Los Angeles and six months in France. It just seems to work for us.
DRE: Which one do you like the most?
JD: I very selfishly and very simply like keeping a distance from Hollywood and the social expectations in Hollywood because I'm not good at it. I'm really not good at that kind of game. I find great comfort in having that distance because I don't have the pressure or the responsibility of knowing who's the top dog this week and who's out from last week. I don't know who anyone is and I really like that.
DRE: How was it dealing with the negative reaction to the film you directed, The Brave?
JD: I wouldn't say it was traumatizing, but we had the premiere of the film at night and the reception for the film was beyond any expectations that I had. I had no idea that I'd be looking at Bernardo Bertolucci sitting there watching my film then to have Michelangelo Antonioni say bravo to and to also to receive applause. Then the next day the majority of it was American press. and they just turned it into this horrible thing. Once again everyone is entitled to their opinion. Maybe it's a bad film. Maybe it's a good film. But to me it's just a film. It's something that I needed to make, but they were sort of vicious about it. One of my favorite reviews, someone said, I haven't seen such an ugly group of people since Luis Buñuel. I thought, That's good. I like Luis Buñuel.
DRE: Are you almost done with shooting the Pirates movies?
JD: We've been shooting Pirates for months and months now. We had a hiatus that was supposed to start tomorrow. But we went into hiatus a bit early because there were bits that we were going to shoot up in Grand Bahaman, but there were sets and stuff that weren't ready. More than that though, one of actors, one of our main guys, Kevin McNally ended up with a really nasty ear infection in both ears. He was in England and was unable to get on a plane. So they just weighed out all of the options and said, Well, we'll just break now. Go on hiatus and when we start up again, we'll finish the bits from two.
DRE: Is Keith Richards going to make a cameo?
JD: I don't know exactly. It looks like it's going to happen, but I don't know when. It's all going to depend on where we are and where he is because he's got a little thing called The Rolling Stones tour.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck 
cause she was so much loved! but I think it was not so much commented. By the way I have to thank you for your support.
i got a skinned knee thanks to justin dropping me... i always get hurt when i hang out with him...
Sid 
