Posts Tagged ‘johnny depp’

Heath Ledger’s final film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, has been in a state of limbo ever since the actor’s death, but things are back on track with the announcement that three actors will be used to play Heath Ledger’s character.

Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell will replace Ledger as the character is transported into three separate dimensions. Terry Gilliam will continue to direct the film, which is now slated for 2009. There is no word on when production will resume.

Johnny Depp is being rumored to replace Heath Ledger in the upcoming Terry Gilliam movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which begs the question: if a leading actor dies, what should happen to the film?

My personal belief is that a movie shouldn’t die based on one man alone. After all, there are hundreds of other people involved in the making of a film, and as tragic as Heath Ledger’s death was, should all their work be put to waste? Furthermore, what about the guy who wrote the movie? How would you feel if your work was about to be put into action and then it was stopped indefinitely.

The current status of the The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus movie is that it is on hold, but I’m sure we’ll see an incarnation of it at some point or another. Despite my belief above, according to MovieWeb, filming of the picture was almost complete, which begs another question:

What do you do with all that footage? Obviously, it will be released at some point or another, but if filming was nearly complete, does it make sense to redo all of his scenes with another actor or do something else (CGI, stand-in, what?). Some options might be disrespectful, others financially or artfully inappropriate, but if filming was almost complete, what makes the most sense?

In a recent Sun Times article, co-star Christopher Plummer said that there may be a way to salvage the film without Heath Ledger:Terry Gilliam is “trying to work out at this moment how to continue on. Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way, perhaps, of turning Heath into other people.”

So what will happen? Who knows. What should happen? I think they should try as hard as they can to finish the film without replacing him. Hell, turn the movie into a homage for Heath Ledger and have someone else play his remaining scenes. Terry Gilliam sure has a tough decision on his hands.

I like Johnny Depp. He’s a fun, dynamic actor. But ever since Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl put him back on the map, critics and audiences alike have kissed his butt like he is the ruler of the world. Has everyone failed to notice that he has only done two good movies since Blow in 2001?

That’s right, you heard me! Sure, some of his bad movies weren’t THAT bad, but they sure as hell weren’t that good, and some have been downright awful. Here are the good ones:

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black
  The idea sounded dreadful from the start, but somehow Disney and Johnny Depp managed to make an entertaining, funny and dark “family” film. A surprisingly good film, especially considering it’s based on a theme park ride.
• Finding Neverland
  This award-winning drama wasn’t particularly memorable, but was still entrancing while you were watching it.

And that’s it! Two good movies in the last seven years, yet Depp is still as popular as ever. That’s all fine and good, but acknowledge his failures, people!

The bad ones:

• Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
  This follow-up to one of my favorite action films of all time – Desperado – was supposed to kick ass, but instead it was one of the worst movies ever to grace the silver screen. Depp was dreadful in it, too.
• Secret Window (2004)
  This movie was good for a while, until the final act killed any chance of it being any good. The final minutes are particularly bad, especially when Depp dons braces.
• The Libertine (2004)
  Not as dreadful as it was boring, most people probably don’t even know Depp starred in this film – if they even heard of it in the first place.
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
  Another Tim Burton collaboration, this one had the makings of being awesome, except Depp’s portrayal of Willy Wonka came off more like a creepy Michael Jackson than anything else. Again, not horrible, but not very goo, either.
• Corpse Bride (2005)
  Probably his best of the bad, the only thing wrong with Corpse Bride is that it is no Nightmare Before Christmas. It was mildly entertaining but never very engaging.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
  They should have left it as a sequel. This movie sucked balls.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
  Not quite as bad as #2, this one still also sucked balls.
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
  Quite possibly the worst musical I have seen in a long while. Depp isn’t bad as the title character, and Tim Burton tries, but the story is surprisingly dull and the musical, presumably derived from the play, is terrible and often cringe-inducing.