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In Wonderland
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The year 2010 was one of
Johnny Depp’s busiest, opening auspiciously with Johnny’s People’s
Choice Award as “Favorite Actor of the Decade,” and followed in
February by the Royal World Premiere of Tim Burton’s Alice in
Wonderland, where Johnny and his castmates shook hands and
conversed with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Despite
Johnny’s prediction that he would spend the gala evening “hiding in a
broom closet,” he handled his duties with aplomb. Johnny’s portrayal of
the Mad Hatter—fierce and whimsical, loyal and tormented—perfectly
complemented Mia Wasikowska’s luminous Alice and Helena Bonham Carter’s
imperious, demented Red Queen. The result was critical and box-office
magic: Alice in Wonderland earned over $1 billion
worldwide and won two Oscars, for art direction and costume design.
As soon as Alice
opened, Johnny flew to Venice to begin shooting the romantic thriller The
Tourist for Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Johnny’s
“everyman” character, Frank Tupelo, was quite a departure from his
usual colorful roles—a modest traveler who crosses paths with an
elegant woman of mystery, played by Angelina Jolie. The
Tourist opened in December 2010 and eventually earned $278
million worldwide and three Golden Globe nominations, including a Best
Actor nod for Johnny.
In June 2010, Johnny
donned Captain Jack Sparrow’s boots to film the fourth installment of
the beloved Pirates of the Caribbean saga, On
Stranger Tides. Under the guidance of new director Rob
Marshall, and with an incandescent new leading lady, Penelope Cruz, On
Stranger Tides filmed on location in Hawaii, California,
Puerto Rico, and England, including a memorable sequence staged in
Greenwich. Released on May 20, 2011, On Stranger Tides
became the eighth film in history to reach more than $1 billion in
ticket sales, proving Johnny Depp’s box office magic yet again.
As On Stranger
Tides hit theaters, Johnny reported for work on Tim Burton’s
new version of the classic Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.
Johnny plays the iconic vampire Barnabas Collins, leading an impressive
ensemble that includes Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham
Carter, Jackie Earle Haley, and Chloe Moretz. Dark Shadows
is scheduled to appear in theaters on May 11, 2012.
Between the release of The
Tourist and On Stranger Tides, audiences
flocked to see Gore Verbinski’s clever animated Western Rango,
in which Johnny voices the title character, a chameleon stranded in the
Mojave Desert who turns into the gunslinging savior of a desperate,
water-starved town. Rango was a surprise critical
and box-office hit, earning nearly $243 million worldwide. Director
Verbinski, who helmed the first three Pirates
movies, will reunite with Johnny and producer Jerry Bruckheimer for a
retelling of the classic Western Lone Ranger, with
Johnny playing Tonto and Armie Hammer portraying the masked lawman. Lone
Ranger will shoot in spring 2012 for a theatrical release on
May 31, 2013.
Mad Hatter, everyman
tourist, chameleon, displaced pirate, two-hundred-year-old vampire,
Native American guide . . . Johnny Depp’s most recent work continues to
dance between fantasy and realism and dazzle us with the breadth of his
imagination and the intensity of his connection to the human condition.
What links all of his creations is their humor and heart, a passion for
life that lights up the screen.
--Part-Time
Poet
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