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Humble Beginnings and Stardom Johnny Depp has always been a misfit even before he was an actor. When he was young, he didn’t plan to graduate high school, and ended up dropping out to become a musician. He was a guitarist for a band called the Kids. He and his band moved to Los Angeles. During his time in the band, he became a struggling musician, but ended up finding steady work as an actor since he was introduced to Nicolas Cage by his then-wife Lori Anne Allison. Nicholas helped Johnny to audition for Wes Craven for the low-budget horror film ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street.’ The film achieved international success since it scared its audiences and featured a memorable kill by showing a young Johnny Depp being brutally killed by the boogeyman, Freddy Krueger (played by Robert Englund). 1980s The following year, Johnny Depp starred in ‘Private Resort...

At the Hollywood Film Awards in Hollywood. Johnny Depp to try to stage a Hollywood comeback after winning defamation suit against Amber Heard. Johnny Depp is an American actor, producer and musician. He has appeared in films, television series and video games. He made his film debut in the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984.[1] In the two following years, Depp appeared in the comedy Private Resort (1985), the war film Platoon (1986), and Slow Burn (1986). A year later, he started playing his recurring role as Officer Tom Hanson in the police procedural television series 21 Jump Street (1987–1990) which he played until the middle of season 4, and during this time, he experienced a rapid rise as a professional actor.] In 1990, he starred as the title characters in the films Cry-Baby and Edward Scissorhands. Throughout the rest of the decade, Depp portrayed lead roles in Arizona Dream (1993), What’s Eating Gilbert Grape...

In a world where mermaids are supposed to eat people, a human and a mermaid form an intimate bond that might just surpass traditional oceanic expectations in Jessi Sharon's The Sea in You. A modern-day twist of The Little Mermaid, Sharon's The Sea in You is now being crowdfunded by C. Spike Trotman and Iron Circus Comics, and we've been provided with a preview from the new graphic novel to share with Daily Dead readers!

Below, you can check out our preview pages and details on the crowdfunding campaign for The Sea in You. To learn more about how to support this new graphic novel, visit:

https://ironcircus.com/product/sea-in-you/

Press Release: Crowdfunding pioneer C. Spike Trotman and Iron Circus Comics are helming their latest independent crowdfunding campaign for The Sea In You, a whimsical dark fantasy retelling of The Little Mermaid which will upend everything you thought you...

“American Song Contest” continued its premiere season with Episode 4 on Monday, April 11. Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg host the NBC reality TV competition that showcased 11 more qualifiers hoping to reach the semi-finals. So which state or region outshined the rest? Below, read our rankings for Season 1 Episode 4 from worst to best.

See Everything to know about ‘American Song Contest’

Representatives from each of the 50 states, five US territories and the District of Columbia will take part in this round-robin tournament to find the best original song in America.

Each locale will be showcased with an original song that will be performed by a home-grown talent, be it a solo singer, duet or band. There will be three rounds: the first five weeks will be qualifiers followed by two semi-finals and the final. Voting will be by both fans and “a jury of music industry professional.”

See ‘American Song Contest’ episode...

In 2001, Paul Gosar was a local dentist who passionately led a campaign to put fluoride in the drinking water in the Arizona city of Flagstaff. Faced with fierce opposition, Gosar called anti-fluoride conspiracy theories “disturbing,” suggested they could harm children, and vowed to “flood” the City Council chambers with people who supported fluoridation.

“When we go back to the basics of prevention, if the fluoride ion has been proven — scientifically proven in well-versed, peer-reviewed science — to reduce decay by strengthening teeth, why not?” Gosar asked in the March 18, 2001 edition of the Arizona Daily Sun.

Exclusive: Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Woody Harrelson, Emmy nominee Kaitlin Olson, Grammy nominee Cheech Marin and Matt Cook will lead Champions, a recently-wrapped film that Bobby Farrelly directed for Focus Features and Gold Circle Entertainment.

Champions is based on the Goya Award winning Spanish film Campeones, which Universal Pictures International released in 2018. It centers on a stubborn and hotheaded minor league basketball coach who is forced to coach a Special Olympics team when he is sentenced to community service. Actors with intellectual disabilities rounding out the cast to ensure authenticity in the storytelling include Madison Tevlin, Joshua Felder, Kevin Iannucci, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, Alex Hintz, Casey Metcalfe, Bradley Edens and Champ Pederson.

A group of Spanish filmmakers denounced the San Sebastian’s film festival’s announcement that it would honor Johnny Depp with the Donostia Award at the 69th annual festival next month.

The Associated Press reported that the women filmmakers said awarding Depp the highest honor at San Sebastian gives the event a bad name after a British judge ruled last year that allegations of domestic violence against the actor were “substantially correct.” His ex-wife Amber Heard had accused Depp of domestic violence, charges that he denied.

Cristina Andreu, president of Spain’s Association of Female Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media, said she was “very surprised” by the award. The Donostia Award is the festival’s top prize and aims to honor lifetime achievement.

“This speaks very badly of the festival and its leadership, and transmits a terrible message to the public: ‘it doesn’t matter if you are an abuser as...

Described by Spain’s San Sebastian Festival as “one of contemporary cinema’s most talented and versatile actors,” American actor Johnny Depp will receive San Sebastian’s highest honor, its Donostia Award, in a ceremony taking place on Sept. 22 at the festival’s Kursaal Auditorium.

Depp is already one of San Sebastian’s favorite sons, having figured as one of the highest profile star presences at last year’s on-site festival, where he co-presented “Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane McGowan” with director Julien Temple.

This year’s award puts Depp among recent honorees including Ethan Hawke, Sigourney Weaver, Judy Dench, Penelope Cruz and Viggo Mortensen.

Breaking out in the early 1990s with lead roles in John Waters’ “Cry Baby” and Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands,” Depp secured his left of field artistic credentials making films with prestigious foreign directors such as Emir Kusturica (“Arizona Dream”) and Lasse Hallström...

A24 has released the first official look at Sean Baker’s “Red Rocket” ahead of the film’s world premiere next month in competition at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. “Red Rocket” is Baker’s first Palme d’Or contender, although he’s no stranger to Cannes as his last directorial effort, “The Florida Project,” was one of the most acclaimed breakouts in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar of the 2017 festival. Baker’s previous efforts screened at festivals such as Sundance (“Tangerine”), SXSW (“Starlet”), and more.

While A24 has not released an official synopsis for “Red Rocket,” here’s how Deadline described the movie when it was first announced last year: “‘Red Rocket’ is a darkly comedic film about Mikey Saber, a 39-year old ‘suitcase pimp.’ That is the kind of pimp who lives off of women in the adult film industry. Finding himself down and out in Los Angeles, Mikey decides...

Exclusive: Jim Parsons and Todd Spiewak’s That’s Wonderful Productions has named Alison Mo Massey as Head of Development and Production. In her new role, Massey, who joined the company in 2017 as VP of Development, will oversee Twp’s slate of television and feature film projects, working closely with Parsons and Spiewak.

Additionally, the company has promoted Michael Scott Allen to Director of Development, focusing on the company’s television slate under its overall deal with Warner Bros. TV, and has appointed Alyssa Murphy to the newly created position of Director of Development – Film.

“Todd and I are really excited to continue this journey with Alison as our new Head of Development and Production. Alison has been such an integral part in getting the company to where it is today and without question, it was time to put her in a leadership position,” said Parsons. “Michael started with us...

Ever have a dream so vivid that you’d swear it was real? Ever seen your dream spring to life from your frontal lobe and collide with another person’s dream? Most folks wistfully sigh about following their dreams with an inert yearning, as if they’re hoping somebody else will do it on their behalf; the characters in Emir Kusturica’s “Arizona Dream” literalize the search, chasing after their dreams starting in their sleep and continuing on to their waking hours.

Continue reading Hidden Gems: ‘Arizona Dream’ Destroys An Out-Dated American Concept With Ecstatic Joy & Humor at The Playlist.

Johnny Depp is no stranger to complicated souls.

In 1993, he was just emerging from the matinee-idol phase of his career and was rapidly cultivating a reputation as a fearless actor unwilling to trade on good looks alone. Depp opted out of Hollywood blockbusters (those would come much later) and into work by equally fearless filmmakers like John Waters (Cry-Baby), Jim Jarmusch (Dead Man) and a young Tim Burton (Ed Wood). That same year, he played Axel Blackmar, a young man living in New York who travels home to Arizona in search of freedom, romance, fish and a way to ...

Amid his ongoing row with former wife Amber Heard, actor Johnny Depp's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has been defaced.

Depp's star, which was unveiled in 1999, had three words scribbled on it using a black marker, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Someone has written 'phoney' just above his name, along with the curse words a** and b**** in-between his name and the gold film emblem. It appears that star was defaced sometime on Thursday (September 26).

It's not the first time the Walk Of Fame has been vandalised, with members of the public frequently scrawling on Us President Donald Trump's star, and Mariah Carey's star being graffitied back in 2017.

Depp got famous with classic horror film "Nightmare On Elm Street" in 1984, followed by his sting on TV show "21 Jump Street". He went onto feature in projects such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise,...

I annoyed Jerry Lewis once by asking him about The Day the Clown Cried, a movie he starred in and directed in 1972, and then refused to release. "It's awful," said Lewis of the Holocaust drama in which he starred as a circus clown who entertains Jewish children as he leads them to their deaths in Nazi gas chambers. Why not show it and let the world decide? "I'm ashamed of it," Lewis told me flatly. When I pressed him, he flashed a look that could be subtitled "End of Discussion.

Tony Sokol Aug 21, 2017

Versatile, innovative and controversial, Jerry Lewis leaves a legacy of laughs and charity work.

Jerry Lewis, the legendary comedian, actor, singer and philanthropist, has died at the age of 91.

Lewis is as well known for starring and directing films like The Nutty Professor, Cinderfella, and The Bellboy as he is for his marathon fundraising telethons on Us TV for Muscular Dystrophy. He first found fame with his legendary ten-year partnership with Dean Martin.

Lewis paired with Dean Martin in 1946. Starting in nightclubs, Martin and Lewis moved their way through almost countless radio shows and made 16 movies. The pair costarred in such films as My Friend Irma (1949), At War With the Army (1950), Sailor Beware (1952), The Caddy (1953), Living It Up (1954), You’re Never Too Young (1955), and Artists And Models (1955). The last movie they made together was Hollywood Or Bust (1956).

After the partnership ended, Lewis teamed with director Frank Tashlin...

Have you ever wondered what fake drugs and alcohol seen in movies are made of? Prop experts Jeff Butcher (“The Wrestler”) and Eric Cheripka (“American Gangster”) have revealed some tricks of the trade via Refinery29.

For cocaine, Butcher usually uses inositol, a vitamin found in plants and animals that is commonly used to cut the real drug. “It’ll give you a slight energy lift because it’s a Vitamin B,” he said. The vitamin gives people such a strong lift that, according to Butcher, while filming “The Wrestler,” Mickey Rourke asked him, “Are you sure there’s nothing in this, I feel like I’m getting a lift?”

Read More: ‘Take the 10’ Trailer: Tony Revolori’s Netflix Comedy Involves Drugs, Car Chases and Andy Samberg

In a perfect world, the drug would look as realistic as possible in appearance without actors having to actually snort any substance. To accomplish that,...

Did Johnny Depp show up to play this time? Depp's career direction these days seems to be the opposite of the daring and quixotic choices in the halcyon years when he was working with Tim Burton one day (“Ed Wood”), Emir Kuristica (“Arizona Dream”) the next, and Jim Jarmusch (“Dead Man”) the following day. Now the actor’s career seems to be dictated by what his audience wants, or the bundles of cash they send his way after starring in the umpteenth ‘Pirates’ movie. Could this all change with the crime drama “Black Mass,” which looks like it could even be fall film contender? Already demonstrating some ‘Godfather’-ish tones in its early photos and the trailer, in “Black Mass,” Depp puts vanity away and stars as a cold-blooded and infamous true-life mob boss from Boston. Here’s the official synopsis: In 1970s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly persuades...

A roundup of news from the inaugural St Petersburg International Media Forum includes a busy French delegation and a local controversy brewing over Leviathan.

The King Of Madagascar, a kind of Russian answer to the pirate adventure films à la Pirates of the Caribbean, is being set up as a $ 16m international co-production by producer-director Oleg Ryaskov’s Moscow-based Bft Movie.

Speaking at the opening of St Petersburg International Media Forum’s (Spimf) co-production market this morning, producer Ryaskov revealed that the project - which is based on real historical events abouta Russian expedition by Peter The Great to the island of Madagascar in danger of being thwarted by Great Britain’s King George - has Spain’s Smartline Spain and the Us casting company Scott Carlson Entertainment on board as partners and is currently in talks with French and German production companies to join.

Ryaskov added that he intends to have American, European and Russian...

A roundup of news from the inaugural St Petersburg International Media Forum includes a busy French delegation and a local controversy brewing over Leviathan.

The King Of Madagascar, a kind of Russian answer to the pirate adventure films à la Pirates of the Caribbean, is being set up as a $ 16m international co-production by producer-director Oleg Ryaskov’s Moscow-based Bft Movie.

Speaking at the opening of St Petersburg International Media Forum’s (Spimf) co-production market this morning, producer Ryaskov revealed that the project - which is based on real historical events abouta Russian expedition by Peter The Great to the island of Madagascar in danger of being thwarted by Great Britain’s King George - has Spain’s Smartline Spain and the Us casting company Scott Carlson Entertainment on board as partners and is currently in talks with French and German production companies to join.

Ryaskov added that he intends to have American, European and Russian...

Jonathan Lethem's reviewed David Cronenberg's first novel, Consumed, for the New York Times. Also in today's roundup of news and views: Morgan Meis on David Lynch's paintings and films; Jonathan Rosenbaum on Guy Maddin's The Saddest Music in the World (2003); Adrian Martin on Emir Kusturica's Arizona Dream (1993); Reverse Shot on three films by Martin Scorsese; Nick Pinkerton on Hype Williams's Belly (1998); and from the New Yorker's archive, six classic profiles: Diane Keaton, Angela Bassett, Julia Roberts, Tilda Swinton, Katharine Hepburn and Cate Blanchett. » - David Hudson...

Jonathan Lethem's reviewed David Cronenberg's first novel, Consumed, for the New York Times. Also in today's roundup of news and views: Morgan Meis on David Lynch's paintings and films; Jonathan Rosenbaum on Guy Maddin's The Saddest Music in the World (2003); Adrian Martin on Emir Kusturica's Arizona Dream (1993); Reverse Shot on three films by Martin Scorsese; Nick Pinkerton on Hype Williams's Belly (1998); and from the New Yorker's archive, six classic profiles: Diane Keaton, Angela Bassett, Julia Roberts, Tilda Swinton, Katharine Hepburn and Cate Blanchett. » - David Hudson...

As problems go, it’s a pretty First World one to be saddled with. You’re a movie star pocketing obscene paychecks to appear in Hollywood blockbusters. But something is missing. Fame and box office success alone aren’t why you started making movies. You are an actor If only your fans could see just how cool and fearless and devoted to the craft you really are. What to do? Worry not. There’s a well-trod path laid out that will put this plight behind you once and for all: You will make a boldly uncommercial art film. The weirder,...

The National Day Laborer Organizing Network, a broad coalition of immigration activists, has teamed up with indie film director Alex Rivera (Sleep Dealer) to use the power of culture, specifically film and music in the form of music videos, to highlight the dire need for immigration reform. Earlier this year LatinoBuzz spoke to Rivera about making political films and his interest in the border. We share his answers here.

LatinoBuzz: Alex, you are not Mexican. Can you talk about why the U.S.-Mexico border has been such an important part of your work?

Rivera: My father is Peruvian, my mom was born in Brooklyn, of Scottish descent. I grew up in something of a "borderland" with icons of Peru around the house in which I watched "Gilligan's Island." But that's not the real reason to be interested in the border, and interested in the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. Anyone who's seriously interested in the future of America - and therefore the future of the world - needs to consider the deep, deep connections between the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America. These are histories that are as intertwined as those of Great Britain and India. Or Palestine and Israel. You can't understand one without the other.

LatinoBuzz: Which came first your interest in politics or becoming a filmmaker? Were your films always political or did you evolve as a filmmaker?

Rivera: For a long time I've worked from the belief that Every Film Is Political. It's impossible to make a non-political film. Every time you make a decision about theme, location, cast, etc., you're making a decision that puts certain people and certain points-of-view in the center of the frame. And inevitably, you're also pushing other people and themes to the margins. Always. So the question any thoughtful filmmaker must confront is: who do I want to put in the center? Whose point-of-view do I want to explore?

In his most recent project, through powerful stories, told in music videos and using impassioned songs, Rivera is able to convey what statistics cannot. The intense emotional toll that living life under the constant threat of deportation can take on undocumented immigrants, their families, and entire communities. As the director of both "El Hielo" by the eclectic L.A.-based band La Santa Cecilia and soul singer Aloe Blacc’s acoustic rendition of his hit single "Wake Me Up," Rivera chose real-life day laborers, activists, and family members of deported immigrants as subjects in the music videos. Check out both music videos and their featured cast below.

Aloe Blacc "Wake Me Up"

The Cast

Hareth Andrade Ayala is an immigrants' rights leader in the state of Virginia. She has spent her teen years traveling across the nation to share her family's story. And recently to fight to stop her own father's deportation.

Margarita Reyes is a Los Angeles actress and producer whose first guest star appearance on prime time was opposite Emmy-award winning actress Alfre Woodard on the television series The Practice. She is currently starring in the film "Combat Ready". Despite being born in the Us, Margarita was deported as a child alongside her mother. Much of her work focuses on the issues of Latino and immigrant youth.

Agustin Chiprez Alvarez has been in the Us for 18 years. He is a proud father of an infant son and, like in the video, seeks work on Los Angeles day laborer corners to provide for his family. He is a songwriter and first became involved in acting through fellow actor Jose Mangandi at Teatro Jornalero.

La Santa Cecilia "El Hielo (Ice)"

The Cast

At age 9, Katherine Figueroa, came home from school and turned on the television only to become witness to the arrest of her own parents by Sheriff Arpaio's deputies. She led children’s marches at the capitol, testified in Congress, and successfully organized their temporary release. Her efforts are featured in the full-length documentary, Two Americans.

Erika Andiola is a nationally recognized leader in the undocumented immigrant youth movement. A graduate of Arizona State University, she moved from Mexico to Arizona when she was 11 years old and later became a co-founder of DRM Capitol Group and the Arizona Dream Act Coalition (Adac). When Ice raided her home and took her mother and older brother, Erika’s case became nationally known when she mobilized hundreds of thousands to stop their deportations.

Maria Arreola (Erika's mom) came to the United States to provide a better life for her children. Saying that they were following-up on a previous traffic stop, Ice agents arrested Maria and her son this past winter. After being detained, she was placed on a bus to be deported to Mexico only to have it turned around as a result of the national outcry organized by her daughter. She was given one year of deferred action but may face deportation orders again in 2014.

Juan Romero is a day laborer who looks for work outside a Los Angeles Home Depot where he meets contractors for temporary home construction jobs. He has been an actor in the community drama troupe, Teatro Jornalero, since 2010. He hasn't seen his wife since he came to the Us.

Isaac Barrera is an undocumented immigrant and organizer with the Immigrant Youth Coalition in Los Angeles. Isaac spent two and a half weeks in detention after being purposefully arrested by border patrol in Alabama in order to expose the inhumane treatment of immigrants in detention. His case is still pending.

Written by Vanessa Erazo. LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook.

MGM's been releasing out-of-print selections from its library for a while now; while it's been nice to show oddities like Arizona Dream the light of day, this process has also unearthed some residual byproducts of the studio system that probably didn't need to exist in the first place. Don't Worry We'll Think Of A Title is just such a film. Inept, irritating, and profoundly unfunny, Title simply wreaks of non-effort on the part of a few creative people, talented and otherwise. It may occupy some time while you're waiting to die or other morose activity, but under no circumstances go out of your way to see it.

Read more...

Bulle Ogier and Jacques Rivette on the set of L'Amour fou

Photo by Pierre Zucca

In the last issue of Senses of Cinema, Daniel Fairfax reviewed Douglas Morrey and Alison Smith's Jacques Rivette, and now, for Issue 61, Mary Wiles has allowed the editors to choose a chapter from her forthcoming Jacques Rivette. Rolando Caputo's decided to go with the one on L'amour fou (1969) for a number of reasons, but primarily because "the film seems the point of historical conjunction between the end of one wave and the coming of a second wave of filmmakers that washed up in its undertow. At a stretch, one can see the shadow of this film on the cinema of Jean Eustache, Maurice Pialat, Philippe Garrel and others. L'amour fou is a great and wondrous film." And he's running Rivette's 1950 essay "We Are Not Innocent Anymore" as well.

Also in this issue: Marko Bauer,...

Fresh off an Ecuadorian tour with his No Smoking Orchestra, the twice-awarded Palme d’Or director Emir Kusturica flew to Morocco for the closest thing he can get to downtime. As President of the Jury of the 11th annual Marrakech International Film Festival, Kusturica got to enjoy one of his favorite pastimes, absorbing a dozen or so independent films from around the world in a week. His second time at the festival, the auteur was honored with the Golden Star award in 2009 for his outstanding career.

While he spent most of the festival behind the scenes, apart from presenting a new Golden Star to another like-minded conspirator, Terry Gilliam, Kusturica granted us a rare interview at La Mamounia in a dark intimate conference room. He detailed what he’s up to when he’s not busy being a professional Jury President, and it’s a doozy. To call Kusturica a renaissance man is an understatement.

Currently with $10.63 million at the North American box office, The Rum Diary has the dubious distinction of possibly ending up as the biggest Johnny Depp flop in "very wide" release — movies screened at more than 2,000 locations. Among 38 Johnny Depp titles found on Box Office Mojo's inflation-adjusted list, The Rum Diary ranks no. 31. With luck, The Rum Diary will ultimately settle somewhere between What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Astronaut's Wife, and Cry-Baby. With inflation-adjusted box-office totals ranging between $15m-$19m, those are all releases from the 1990s — before Depp became a worldwide box-office superstar as a result of Gore Verbinski's international blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003. In case The Rum Diary manages to outgross The Astronaut's Wife, it'll be Depp's second-lowest-grossing movie in "very wide" release. In order to achieve that feat, The Rum Diary will have...

Farewell (L’Affaire Farewell)

Releases on DVD, Other Formats April 19, 2011

“The most important espionage case of the 20th Century” --Ronald Reagan

www.farewellthemovie.com

Culver City, CA/Vancouver, BC, Canada—March 24, 2011—Vancouver based NeoClassics Home Entertainment will release the critically acclaimed film Farewell, (L’Affaire Farewell) from Academy Award nominated Director Christian Carion and starring Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet, on DVD in the Us April 19, 2011. The film will be available on release from Amazon, Blockbuster, iTunes, Sonic, Sony, Verizon, and is scheduled to be on Vudu and YouTube. Dish, In Demand and Tvn have all picked up the film for video-on-demand (VOD) for April 12.

This French film has garnered significant acclaim and box office success since its Us theatrical debut last July. It played in dozens of cities over a period of five months, staying in release through November 2010. The film world-premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and...

Also Wants To Adapt Tom Robbins' 'Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates' We miss Johnny Depp. Let us clarify that point. We miss the Johnny Depp of "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?," "Arizona Dream," "Dead Man" and "Donnie Brasco." We miss the young actor who took chances with ambitious directors and material. And while his early work with Tim Burton in films like "Edward Scissorhands" and "Ed Wood" was great, the actor has settled into a comfortable rut, collecting millions upon millions of dollars in tentpole land. And when he's not working with Burton on whatever his next watered down mess…...

At the end of 2009, we heard that Johnny Depp might be re-teaming with his Arizona Dream director Emir Kusturica for the long-titled film Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers. an adaptation of James Carlos Blake's novel The Friends of Pancho Villa. However Blic Online (via Bleeding Cool) reports that Depp is no longer involved with the project, and Gael Garcia Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries) and Benicio del Toro (The Wolfman) are the frontrunners to play the titular revolutionary. The director will apparently meet with both actors in Cuba very soon and make his decision after that. Read on! The story will focus on how Villa, an early 20th-century bandit who became a guerilla fighter and a hero to the poor, and his ragtag team of bandits had a great time fighting and robbing the rich, but also dancing, partying and making love. ...

With Johnny Depp almost completely giving up his once considerable character acting chops these days – being happy and content enough to spend his days as a paycheck/blockbuster actor – his attachment to play Mexican Revolutionist Pancho Villa in an obscure, Spanish-language performance piece, always looked vulnerable for the chop. And so it is with little surprise that news has filtered through from a Serbian site (via Bleeding Cool) that Depp has dropped the challenging project from his schedule and is no longer attached.

Thankfully, even without his former star, director Emir Kusturica (who worked with Depp way back in 1993 with Arizona Dream) still intends to make the film and there’s interest from two of Depp’s more interesting peers who are now circling the project, namely Benicio Del Toro and Gael Garica Bernal – both of whom have memorably played another revolutionist on film, Che Guevara!

Director Kusturica is to...

Director, Jerzy Skolimowski (Moonlighting) will see his latest feature, 'Essential Killing' compete at this year's 67th Venice Film Festival for the event's prestigious Golden Lion. 'Essential Killing', which is co-produced by Ireland's Element Pictures, will have its world premiere screening at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, which takes place from September 1st-11th 2010. The film [previously titled Essence of Killing] is produced and directed by veteran Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski and stars Vincent Gallo (Arizona Dream) and Emmanuelle Seigner (La Vie en Rose).

Arizona Dream is a film of details, rather than one of plot and character. Though the scenes do connect in a loose way, and the same couple of people are regularly featured in them, they could barely be said to form any aesthetic worldview when placed in conjunction with each other. Rather, that task falls to shot composition, lighting, and frequent shots of flying fish. Whether or not you will respond to this film’s vision of absurdist comedy without a single guffaw, or love it in the way it seems to outright demand to be loved really depends on just far out there you’re willing to go, or how amused you are by the sheer oddness of things (and the odder, the better). I’ll admit that I was unable to fully engage with this film, but I chalk this up to an issue of taste rather than...

Disc 2 episodes are bonus/supplement episodes of The CriterionCast. Rudie Obias, Ryan Gallagher & Travis George ramble on and on about movies and movie experiences. “On The Screen” is where they discuss anything and everything that has been on their screens in the week. So anything from TV & movies to music & web material, everything “On The Screen” is up for grabs. This is what they recommend to you, their listeners.

Special Guest: Justin Vactor – Host of The Entertainment Overload Podcast and The Geekland Podcast.

What do you think of their show? Please send them your feed back: CriterionCast@gmail.com or call their voicemail line @ 347.878.3430 or follow them on twitter @CriterionCast or Comment on their blog, http://CriterionCast.com.

Thank you for listening. Don’t forget to subscribe to their podcast and please leave your reviews in the iTunes feed.

They broadcast every episode Live on UStream every Friday @ 7pm Est/4pm Pst.

French actor Tahar Rahim is in negotiations to take the lead in Serbian director Emir Kusturica’s Cool Water.

If you had a chance to see Rahim’s performance in Oscar-nominated drama A Prophet this year, then you’ll agree that he may be the young actor but he’s definitely the talented one.

On the other hand, Kusturica could be just a perfect director for this kind of movie.

And yes, we already know that he’s busy with that Pancho Villa movie, together with Johnny Depp (or if you prefer the full title Seven Friends Of Pancho Villa And The Woman With Six Fingers huh?) but we are really happy to hear he’s already having a new project like this.

And, if you are familiar with his work, then you know he’s best known as a man controversial at home and abroad, but he’s definitely...

There’s only one reason for Warner Home Video to release the 1993 disaster of a film, Arizona Dream: Johnny Depp. Anything with him in it is virtually a license to print money so the movie is released this week as a part of their Archive Collection. The DVD comes with the movie and nothing else as in keeping with the line designed for collectors.

While Depp was still at the beginning of his film career, the cast includes veterans who should have known better, including Faye Dunaway and Jerry Lewis. That’s right, Jerry Lewis playing a straight role. The film also has veteran character performer Michael J. Pollard in a cameo and relative newcomers Lily Taylor and Paulina Porizkova.

The movie was shot in 1991, released in Europe only two years later and didn’t come to America until 1994. The original cut ran for 142 minutes while the television and...

What was that movie, with that guy? I can never find it at the rental store.

Over the past year, Warner Brothers has begun presenting the world with a collection of films that have never seen the light of DVD. Films that perhaps did poorly at the box office, but have remained popular amongst online fans, or have some sort of relevance in today’s film world.

This past week, we saw the release of Emir Kusturica’s Arizona Dream, starring Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Vincent Gallo, and Faye Dunaway. While this is certainly not Johnny Depp of Nightmare on Elm Street or 21 Jump Street, it is certainly the Johnny Depp of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Released in the States in September of 1994, it did rather poorly in a limited release, and has remained largely unknown, despite a European release on DVD and HD-DVD, by Studio Canal.

I had...

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)

I’ve spoken to a few of his contemporaries in the past, and all of them described the drive and determination related in Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story (Vivendi, Not Rated, DVD-$26.97 Srp), a documentary which uses the comedian’s build up to his most recent world tour to explore his life and comedy. It’s a brilliant, brilliant portrait of a brilliant comic mind. Bonus...

Actor Johnny Depp and director Emir Kusturica will be learning Spanish for an upcoming biopic titled Wild Roses, Tender Roses, of the Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa, the filmmaker told Screen Daily. Kusturica — a Serbian director will begin shooting this project also starring Salma Hayek in 2011. “Believe it or not... Johnny and myself have to learn Spanish,” said Kusturica, who previously worked with the American actor on the 1993 film Arizona Dream. The film will be an adaptation of James Baker’s 1996 book The Friends of Pancho Villa. ...

We finally have confirmation thatJohnny Depp will take on the role of Pancho Villa in directorEmir Kusturica's upcoming project about the Mexican Revolutionary general.

The film, originally called Seven Friends Of Pancho Villa And The Woman With Six Fingers, will now be titled Wild Roses, Tender Roses, and will begin shooting in February 2011 now that Depp and Kusturica, who worked previously together on Arizona Dream, have found time in both of their schedules to fit in the project.

The film will be shot in Spain and in Kusturica's Serbian studio, while Kusturica's band, the No Smoking Orchestra, will do music for the film as well. As promised, the film will indeed be shot in Spanish, with Depp performing his dialogue in that language.

Before all that though, Kusturica will be working in Israel this summer on Cool Water, a film about a male stripper who returns to his native Middle East for his father's funeral.

The Third International Kustendorf Film and Music Festival opened on Wednesday in Serbia with Johnny Depp present as guest of honour.

Johnny Depp and Emir Kusturica | Kustendorf

The festival is organized by film director Emir Kusturica, in his Drvengrad (wood town), the village which was created by Kusturica for his film, “Life is a Miracle“.

The festival started in an unusual manner- without saying a word, Kusturica removed flags covering Johnny’s nearly life-sized bust, which was followed by impressive fireworks.

In addition to the statue, Johnny also received the “Award for Future Movies.”

Johnny Depp and his statue | Kustendorf

“I am completely shocked because I could not have imagined that such a magical and beautiful place could be home to a movie festival, of the kind I’ve never been to before. Unlike other festivals, people can communicate and get to know each other here. I’m impressed with this place,...

Johnny Depp is in Serbia where he will be the star attraction of the third edition of the Kustendorf International Film and Music Festival in Drvengrad, launched by Emir Kusturica. Before heading for the festival town, Depp met with Serbian president Boris Tadic in Belgrade. The festival kicks off tomorrow, Jan. 13, with the unveiling of a life-sized bust of Depp himself, "along with the fireworks and the music of Dejan Petrovic Orchestra." Depp will later be handed the special "Award for Future Movies." Also, three of Depp’s films will be screened at the festival: Kusturica’s Arizona Dream, Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands, and Mike Newell’s Donnie Brasco. Twenty-eight short films from 18 countries are in competition at [...]...

Serbian director Emir Kusturica is in talks with Johnny Depp to star as the infamous Mexican revolutionary hero Pancho Villa. The upcoming Spanish-language biopic is titled "Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers." Kusturica wrote the script with his regular collaborator Gordan Mihic. The script is based on the biographical novel "The Friends of Pancho Villa," in which author James Carlos Blake recounts Villa.s wild days robbing the rich with his men.Shooting would not start until 2011 due to Depp's prior workload. The film will be shot partly in Mexico.According to Variety, Salma Hayek is in talks to co-star.Depp starred in Kusturica.s indie film "Arizona Dream" in 1993 alongside Faye Dunaway and Jerry Lewis.

Johnny Depp has made a name for himself as an actor largely due to his ability to fully take on the character he’s playing, which adds a dimension of believability to his portrayal 0f the role. This talent should serve Depp beautifully in his next potential role, Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa.

While Depp hasn’t officially signed on to play the hero, he is in advanced talks to join director Emir Kusturica on the biopic Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers. This isn’t the first time the two have worked together, having joined forces on 1993’s Arizona Dream. Salma Hayek is also in talks for the film.

The script for Seven Friends is based off of a biographical novel about Pancho Villa, which tells how Villa and his friends were known for their fighting and robbing the rich also spent time dancing, partying and making love.

Variety reported yesterday that Johnny Depp, one of our recently anointed Entertainers of the Decade, is in negotiations to star in Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers, a Spanish-language biopic of the Mexican revolutionary. Depp is a famous chameleon, able to slip in and out of distinct roles so well that I sometimes have difficulty realizing it’s him (call it a lack of Depp perception - ha!), but does he have it in him to play another nationality in another language? Especially a character as iconic as Villa? I have faith in the actor,...

Serbian director Emir Kusturica is in advanced negotiations for Johnny Depp to take on the title role in Mexican revolutionary hero Pancho Villa biopic.

Johnny Depp

The movie, based on the biographical novel “The Friends of Pancho Villa” written by author James Carlos Blake, is titled “Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers.”

James Carlos Blake recounts how Villa and his loyal companions had the time of their lives robbing from the rich, partying, dancing, drinking Tequila, and making love.

The script, which is written by Kusturica and Gordan Mihic is completed, although lensing is not set to start until 2011 due to Depp’s prior commitments.

The drama, which revolves around an early 20th Century bandit who became a guerilla fighter and hero to the poor, will have Depp acting in Spanish. The Spanish-language biopic will be shot partly in Mexico.

Villa has previously been played onscreen by Antonio Banderas,...

Johnny Depp is in talks to become the latest big name to play Mexican bandit revolutionary Pancho Villa in a new movie.

The movie star is slated to lead the cast of Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica's biopic, The Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers.

The Spanish-language film will be shot partly in Mexico in 2011 and Depp's Once Upon A Time In Mexico co-star Salma Hayek is in negotiations to co-star, according to Variety.

If the film comes together, it won't be the first time Depp and Kusturica have worked together - they previously collaborated on 1993 movie Arizona Dream.

Antonio Banderas, Telly Savalas and Leo Carrillo are among the stars who have portrayed Pancho Villa in the movies.

The real revolutionary, aka Jose Doroteo Arango Arambula, played himself in silent movie mogul D.W. Griffith's The Life of General Villa in 1914.

<a href='http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118012121.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&ref=bd_film' target=_blank>Variety</a> reports that Johnny Depp is in advance talks to star in Emir Kusturica's

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Total Images: (0)');">Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers.Emir Kusturica has collaborated with Gordan Mihic in writing a script which is now completed but due to Depp's prior commitments filming wont begin till 2011. Also Salma Hayek is in advance negotiations to co-star Johnny Depp. Who is she playing? The woman with Six Fingers? Well she has played a woman with beard in

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Total Images: (23)');">Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, so playing one with an extra finger shouldn't be that hard!Emir Kusturica and Johnny Depp worked together in Arizona Dream in 1993 and this will mark their second collaboration on big screen.

Johnny Depp's looking to get back into the world of biopics, eyeing a role as Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa for Serbian director Emir Kusturica, with whom he worked on 1993's Arizona Dream.Kusturica's film will not only boast Depp in the leading role (and Salma Hayek, if she signs as a co-star), but also plans to enter the competition against Percy Jackson for Longest Movie Title, as it's currently lumbered with the moniker Seven Friends Of Pancho Villa And The Woman With Six Fingers. Catchy!The director and his co-writer Gordan Mihic based their script on James Carlos Blake's novel The Friends Of Pancho Villa, which chronicles both the man's life of fighting the good fight, robbing the nasty rich and making with the sweet lady-pleasing love. Everything will have to wait a while though: Depp's not available until 2011, so Kusturica will have the time to shoot an entire...

When I see that Johnny Depp is in talks to play Pancho Villa in Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers, I don't get terribly interested. Then I see that the film is planned as a Spanish language production, and that Depp would act in Spanish. Finally, there's the director: Emir Kusturica, who directed Depp in Arizona Dream, one of the actor's early feature starring roles. (An odd piece of film that, I think, has never had a proper DVD release in North America.) With all those details in place, the project is a lot more interesting. Too bad we're not likely to see it for two years. Due to Depp's packed schedule, 2011 is likely the earliest the picture can shoot, says Variety. But Kusturica and Depp seem to be planning on making it happen, potentially with Salma Hayek to co-star. The film would loosely adapt...