BERLIN (Reuters) - Overcome with remorse at having stolen a
bicycle, a thief in Germany wrote the victim a letter and fully
recompensed him for the loss, police said Monday.
After the theft
in the Bavarian village of Bidingen was reported, police in nearby
Marktoberdorf made an appeal in a local paper for any witnesses to the
crime to come forward.
Soon afterwards, the victim received an
anonymous letter from the thief containing 400 euros ($501.50) in cash
-- the exact value of the bicycle according to the police notice.
"The
thief also told the man he was sorry he couldn't remember where he'd
left the bike," said police spokesman Gerhard Kreis. "He may just have
been a thoroughly honest person who saw the error of his ways. You
still get them you know."
i try to hope. i cling to it with a relentless zeal. in a world full of uncertainty. hope is the only thing we can hold onto. hope is what keeps us going and strong. hope is all we have. and so i hope.
some fantastic quotes i stumbled upon which seem to relate greatly to life. Words we should all definitely live by:
and some wonderful thoughts on relationships and friends in our lives in reply to this message which though addressed to women can also apply to men and co-ed relationships::
There are many people that we meet in our lives..
But only a very few that will make a lasting impression on our minds and hearts.
It is these people that we think of often.. And who will always remain important to us as true friends..
They
are the ones who do not judge you for who you are, and will support you
regardless. They are there for you no matter how you feel, be it sad,
happy, or mad.
They stick with you, and stick up for you!
P.S. “A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway”—Fr. Jerome Cummings
shampooh was not afraid!!! it was so cute to see her be so adventure loving.
an article with something to think about, whether we knew employers do this or not. on another note, i think it's also important to mention that i actually do know of a few cases where employees have gotten in trouble over material they posted about themselves as well. so always consider what you say online, it might affect your professional life!
June 13, 2006
Job Hunting? Get Real About Your Virtual Identity
We have a saying in my family -- "light dawns over Marblehead"
-- that acknowledges the realization of something pretty basic. It's a
blinding flash of the obvious, sort of like Homer Simpson's "D'oh!" (.mp3 audio file)
Apparently, there are some young (and maybe not-so-young) job seekers out there who imagine that what they say or show online only applies to their online lives. Maybe they think what you write in your Facebook comments or display in your flickr photo gallery is similar to what the Las Vegas Visitors Bureau would have you believe about your activities in the City of Lost Wages -- what happens there stays there.
In the era of the Web, that's just not true anymore. Yet the well-educated naifs in this Sunday's New York Times article, "For Some, Online Persona Undermines a Resume," (log in required) are somehow shocked -- shocked!
(.WAV audio file) -- to discover that what they purportedly disclose
about themselves in the imagined privacy of a MySpace profile could
have an impact on their job search. Hello! Wake up!
When it comes to looking for a job, you should understand that
employers have a vested interest in learning all they can about
prospective candidates. Recruiters and hiring managers are using Web
search tools to check up on candidates and items on their resumes such
as employer and education references just to see what turns up. This
can be a good thing, such as when you search and discover someone who
says they wrote a book actually has that book for sale on Amazon.
But consider what an employer might think of your application after
reading your blog entry about winning that "Most Inebriated" award from
your fraternity buddies or viewing outtakes from your performance in
that wet T-shirt contest.
Get real about your virtual identity. What you say or how you
present yourself online matters. Here are some tips on how to make your
online presence work for you -- not against you:
Cupertino -- Fourth of July Celebration and Fireworks. Activities
begin at 7 a.m. July 4 with the De Anza Optimists pancake breakfast at
Memorial Park. Other events include children's parade at 10 a.m. and a
community sing-along. At 6:30 p.m., roving entertainers, games and face
painting begin at Creekside Park, Hyde and Sedgwick schools. Fireworks,
which begin at 9:30 p.m. at Cupertino High School, will be visible from
parks and open public spaces on the east side of town. The campus, plus
Finch and Tilson Streets, will be closed to traffic from 6-10:30 p.m.
Information: (408) 777-3120 (general information). Information: www.cupertino.org/ cupertino_living/ arts_and_culture/ festivals_and_events/ fireworks/index.asp.
Milpitas. Independence Day festivities include a parade at 11
a.m. on Main Street from Curtis Avenue to Carlo Street, pool party and
music from 1-5 p.m. at Milpitas Sports Center, 1325 E. Calaveras Blvd.,
and concert and fireworks at the Sports Center at 8 p.m. Free.
Information: (408) 586-3210.
Morgan Hill -- 112th Annual 4th of July Celebration in Morgan Hill.
Live music and entertainment, one-mile run/walk (starting 8 a.m. at
Walsh School on 353 W. Main St.), parade (starting 10 a.m. at Monterey
and Fourth streets), car show, rides, games, food and beverages.
Festival starts 11:30 a.m. at Second and Monterey streets, fireworks
after sunset. Free. (408) 221-1369, (408) 778-0721, www.mhidi.com.
Santa Clara -- Paramount's Great America. July 3: Fireworks choreographed to contemporary pop and patriotic music after sunset on July 3 only. No fireworks July 4. Open
10 a.m.-10 p.m. July 3; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. July 4. Great America Parkway,
off Highway 101, Santa Clara. $49.99, $39.99 seniors, $33.99 ages 3-6,
free ages 2 and younger. (408) 988-1776, www.pgathrills.com.
Santa Clara -- City of Santa Clara July 4th All-City Picnic.
Pancake breakfast, swimming pool, carnival area, petting zoo. Lawn
chairs and blankets recommended. Limited parking. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. July 4.
Central Park, Homestead Road and Benton Street, Santa Clara. Fireworks
at 9:30 p.m. Free. (408) 615-3140.
FIREWORKS -- OTHER AREAS
Alameda -- All-American 4th of July. Music, food and crafts
aboard the USS Hornet Museum, Alameda. Fireworks around the Bay can be
seen from flight deck. Noon-11 p.m. July 4. Pier 3, Alameda Point. $20,
$5 ages 5-18, free ages 4 and younger. (510) 521-8448, www.uss-hornet.org.
Berkeley -- Berkeley Marina 4th of July. Live entertainment,
arts and crafts, food and children's activities. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. July 4;
fireworks 9:30 p.m. 201 University Ave., Berkeley. Free. (510) 548-5335, www.ci.berkeley.ca.us.
Monterey. Community parade at 10 a.m. down Alvarado Street,
followed by a BBQ picnic and live music (featuring Johnny Rivers and
others) on the lawn near Colton Hall. Fireworks over Monterey Bay at
9:15 p.m.Free. Best viewing site is on the beach (free) and at Jack's
Park ($1 per person; gates open 5 p.m.). Information: (831) 646-3866.
Mountain View -- San Francisco Symphony's ``Magic of Movies.''
With traditional patriotic music and movies. 8 p.m. July 4; fireworks
follow the concert. Shoreline Amphitheatre, 1 Amphitheatre Parkway,
Mountain View. $23.50-$28.50, $15 children; $10 parking. (650) 967-3000.
Palo Alto -- Celebration with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Fireworks. 7:30
p.m. July 3, fireworks 9:30 p.m. Frost Amphitheater, Galvez Street and
Campus Drive, Stanford University. $38 adults, $19 students. (650) 725-2787, http://livelyarts.stanford.edu/.
Redwood City -- 19th Annual Independence Day Festival and Fireworks.
Art and crafts vendors, parade (starting 10 a.m. at Brewster and
Winslow streets), food, entertainment and children's activities. 9 a.m.
July 4, fireworks starting approximately 9:30 p.m. Marshall and
Jefferson streets, Redwood City. www.parade.org.
San Francisco -- 4th of July at the Cannery. Music, children's activities, fireworks viewing. 2-9 p.m. July 4. 2801 Leavenworth St. Free. (415) 771-3112.
San Francisco -- 4th of July Waterfront Festival. With music
by Tainted Love and Double Funk Crunch, Entrance Plaza stage, 1:30 p.m.
and 6 p.m. July 4. Fireworks 9:30 p.m. Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf,
San Francisco. Free. (415) 705-5500, www.pier39.com.
Scotts Valley. Events begin at 3 p.m. July 4 with games,
food; live music at 5 p.m. at Scotts Valley Community Center and
Skypark, 361 King's Village Road, Scotts Valley. Fireworks starts at
9:15 p.m. Admission is $5 advance, $7 at the gate. Parade at 3 p.m. on
Scotts Valley Drive. Advance tickets at Scotts Valley Market, Ben
Lomond Market, Scotts Valley Recreation office. Information: (831) 438-3251.
OTHER JULY 4TH EVENTS -- SOUTH BAY
Gilroy -- Bonfante Gardens Family Theme Park ``A Heroes Welcome.'' July
3-4. Free admission to the park for military, fire, police and other
emergency services personnel with ID, plus 50 percent off admission for
up to six family members. Information: www.bonfantegardens.org.
Los Gatos -- 4th of July. Music, games, food and beverages and dancing. 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. July 4. No fireworks. Main and Fiesta streets, Los Gatos. Free. (408) 354-6834, (408) 354-9300.
San Jose -- San Jose Wind Symphony. ``America on the March.'' 1:30 p.m. July 4. Los Gatos High School front lawn, 20 High School Court. Free. (408) 927-7597.
Saratoga -- July 4th. Bell-ringing, costumed Revolutionary
War characters, music and parade. 10:15-11:45 a.m. July 4. No
fireworks. Azule Park, 12777 Goleta Ave., Saratoga. Free. (408) 252-7447.
Sunnyvale -- ``State of the City'' Celebration in Sunnyvale. Barbeque
lunch ($4), entertainment, awards presentation, face-painting and
bounce houses. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. July 4. Washington Park, 840 W.
Washington Ave., Sunnyvale. Free. (408) 730-7535.
OTHER JULY 4TH EVENTS -- PENINSULA
Menlo Park -- Menlo Brass Quintet. 4:30 p.m. July 4. First Baptist Church of Menlo Park, 1100 Middle Ave. Free. (650) 323-8544.
Palo Alto -- Summer Festival and Chili Cook-Off.
Entertainment, line-dance instruction by Hedy McAdams, food vendors and
children's activities. Noon-5 p.m. July 4. Mitchell Park Center, 600 E.
Meadow Drive, Palo Alto. Free admission; Chili tasting kits $5. (650) 463-4921, www.cityofpaloalto.org/ entertainment/chili.html.
Redwood City -- An Old-Fashioned Fourth of July. Ice cream,
history re-enactments and exhibits. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. July 4. San Mateo
County History Museum, 750 Middlefield Road, Redwood City. $1.50. (650) 299-0104.
Redwood City -- Fourth of July Carnival. Rides, games, food
and beverages. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. July 4. Parking lot on Veterans
Boulevard and Middlefield Road, Redwood City. Free. (650) 592-3250.
OTHER JULY 4TH EVENTS -- EAST BAY
Fremont -- July 4th parade. Starts at 10 a.m., beginning at
Grimmer and Fremont boulevards, down Fremont Boulevard to Irvington
Avenue, ending at Irvington Avenue and Chapel Way.
Fremont -- Ardenwood Independence Day celebration. Old-fashioned
July 4th celebration from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Includes patriotic music,
games and contests. $8 adults, $6 seniors, $5 children 4-17. 34600
Ardenwood Blvd. Fremont. Information: (510) 796-0663. www.fremont.gov/Recreation/ArdenwoodPark/default.htm.
Fremont -- The 91st Division Band. ``Call to Duty.'' 7:30 p.m. July 4. Smith Center Amphitheatre, Ohlone College, 43600 Mission Blvd., Fremont. Free. (510) 659-6031.
OTHER JULY 4TH EVENTS -- SANTA CRUZ/MONTEREY
Aptos -- ``Shortest Parade in the World.'' Quarter-mile long
community parade featuring floats and unusual sites. Soquel and State
Park drives, Aptos. 10 a.m.-noon July 4. Other activities include
pancake breakfast at 7 a.m., antique show at 8 a.m. www.aptoschamber.com/.
Boulder Creek -- July 4th Parade. 10:30 a.m. July 4, Highway 9 and Flat Street and proceeds through downtown Boulder Creek. Free. Information: (831) 338-6833.
Santa Cruz -- ``Independence Day-1906 Style.'' Parade,
living-history demonstrations, children's crafts, music and games. 11
a.m.-4 p.m. July 4. Wilder Ranch State Park, two miles north of Santa
Cruz on Highway 1. (No fireworks.) Free admission; $6 parking. (831) 426-0505.
Santa Cruz -- Roaring Camp Railroads 50's Family 4th of July Fest. July 3-4. Includes Sock Hop Dance, noon-3 p.m., games and special train rides. Reservations: (831) 335-4484. Admission: $6 parking; $12-$20 for train rides, depending on destination and age of riders; other activities free.
Watsonvile -- Spirit of Watsonville Parade. 2 p.m. July 4 in downtown Watsonville. Free. Information: (831) 728-6183 or www.spiritofwatsonville.org.
JULY 4TH EVENTS ELSEWHERE
San Rafael -- Marin County Fair. Carnival rides, fireworks,
exhibits, petting zoo. Music by the Nelsons & Stone Canyon Band, 2
and 4 p.m. July 1; Eddie Money, 7:30 p.m. July 1; American Rhythm &
Roots Festival, 1 and 9 p.m. July 2; Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder,
2 and 4 p.m. July 3; Preservation Hall Jazz Band, 2 and 4 p.m. July 4;
BeauSoliel with Michael Doucet, 6 and 8 p.m. July 4. Fair hours: 11
a.m.-11 p.m. June 30-July 4. 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. $13,
$11 seniors and ages 4-12, free ages 3 and younger. (415) 499-6800, www.marinfair.org.
Are you a fan of characters? Shit, of course you are, who isn’t. I just came across a beta website called Mojizu.com,
which is an online community for artists and their characters. The site
is for illustrators/artists of all levels from the most professional
and famous to the casual classroom doodler, and everything in between.
There is a lot of promising functionality to be excited about at
Mojizu. There’s a general forum where discussions can openly take
place, a Moji Gallery, and a very cool Moji War. In the Moji War, the
competition begins with 16 entries (8 two-character battles) and people
vote on each battle to decide who advances in each round and then the
winner at the end.
There’s also a Mojizu Store that offers digital and physical
merchandise of submitted Mojizu art. All profit from the merchandise is
split evenly between Mojizu and the artist. Click on any character in
the store and you will find that you can purchase everything from a button, mousepad, tshirt, and sweatshirts with that character on the item.
He wasn't looking for superstardom, so superstardom came looking for him.
Johnny Depp on family, 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2'—and how he got a chest of
gold without selling his soul.
June 26, 2006 issue - Fatherhood
has a way of changing people, even iconoclasts. "When I became a dad for the
first time, it was like a veil being lifted," Johnny Depp says, as he leans
forward, rolling loose tobacco into dark brown paper and using his knee as a
table. "I've always loved the process of acting, but I didn't find the
occupational hazards particularly rewarding." Occupational hazards like being
stalked by paparazzi, mauled by strangers, packaged to sell bubble gum and other
side effects of fame. "I can't use the word 'fame' with myself, but yeah," he
says. "I just ... there was a long period of confusion and dissatisfaction,
because I didn't understand any of it. There was no purpose to it." He leans
back, lights the cigarette, exhales. "I was never horribly self-obsessed or
wrapped up in my own weirdness, but when my daughter was born, suddenly there
was clarity. I wasn't angry anymore. It was the first purely selfless moment
that I had ever experienced. And it was liberating. In that moment, it's like
you become something else. The real you is revealed."
The Real Johnny Depp. How long
have we searched for him? No one in Hollywood, it's fair to say, has worked
harder at not being a movie star than Depp has, and yet he has evolved
into one of the most adored actors of his generation not in spite of that
persistence but because of it. "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black
Pearl" may have grossed $653 million worldwide, made Depp a $20 million man and
earned him an Oscar nomination, but he still seems an unlikely addition to the
A-list. Top-tier stars, even those who are great actors, stay on top by being
true to their personas. We pay $10 to see Will Smith or Julia Roberts precisely
because they don't surprise us. It's not that they're playing themselves. It's
just that the force of their personalities swamps everything else. They're more
than actors. They're brands. Depp, 43, is almost pathologically unpredictable.
He can be bizarre, hilarious, unsettling—even annoying. But he is never the
same. He's the anti-Tom Cruise. "Nothing against Tom, but Johnny may be a bigger
star now," says director John Waters, who cast Depp in 1990's "Cry-Baby."
"Nobody is sick of Johnny Depp."
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead
Man's Chest," which opens on July 7, will likely be the highest-grossing movie
of the summer. And judging from NEWSWEEK's first look in the editing room, it
also promises to be a welcome blast of sunshine in a season when Cruise has
crashed and burned, and "The Da Vinci Code" has proved to be a joyless
blockbuster. In this second leg of the "Pirates" trilogy—the third installment
will be released next summer—lovebirds Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth (Keira
Knightley) are arrested on their wedding day for aiding the escape of Depp's
louche Narcissus, Capt. Jack Sparrow. To win freedom for his bride and himself,
Will must find Captain Jack, get him to hand over his mysterious compass and
give it to the wormy Lord Beckett, who plans to use it to rid the world of
pirates forever. Jack, meanwhile, has more immediate problems. He owes his soul
to undersea Capt. Davey Jones, is in danger of being destroyed by a giant sea
creature called a kraken and has landed on an island of cannibals who have made
him their god. Which would be great if the natives didn't make a habit of eating
their gods.
Returning director Gore Verbinski,
producer Jerry Bruckheimer and team have cranked up the action this time around.
One huge set piece includes an elaborate three-way sword fight on a massive
water wheel that has snapped off its frame and is rolling at top speed through
the jungle. ("It's those moments when you realize how absurd your job is," Depp
says. "It's great fun, but it was a bastard to shoot.") Luckily, they've also
given Depp plenty of playtime, too. Even more than in the first film, Depp's
exaggerated expressions and unexpected line deliveries turn "cute" moments into
hilarious ones. At one point, Elizabeth tells Jack, "You're a good man." Depp
replies, sloppily, under his breath, "All evidence to the contrary."
Sitting in a bungalow at the
Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, Depp flashes a bit of Captain Jack every time he
opens his mouth. Those gold pirate teeth are bonded onto his own. With the shoot
for the third "Pirates" resuming in August, Depp figured it was just easier to
keep them. "They don't come off until the ride stops," he says, and smiles.
"It's a horrible process. I didn't want to go through yanking them off and
putting them back on. And it leaves some residue of the character behind." Time
slows down when you're with Johnny Depp. He seems like a man who has never
rushed to, or from, anywhere in his life. He is chronically late for
interviews—sometimes four or five hours, sometimes days—but this time around
just a gentlemanly 50 minutes. And once he's with you, he never seems in a hurry
to leave. His voice is a soft, low mumble. His body is in almost constant
motion—rolling those cigarettes, rubbing an elbow, reaching for a glass—but the
rhythm is tranquil and fluid, like a cat licking its paw. He's a calm, almost
hypnotic presence. "He's always been true to who he is," says director Tim
Burton, who has made five films with Depp, including last year's "Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory." "He's never been ruled by money, or by what people think
he should or shouldn't do. Maybe it's just in America, but it seems that if
you're passionate about something, it freaks people out. You're considered
bizarre or eccentric. To me, it just means you know who you are."
Depp arrived in Hollywood in the
early '80s. Despite a physical beauty that had studio executives slobbering to
make him into a Romantic Leading Man and hordes of teenage girls (and a few
boys) dreaming of touching his hair just once, Depp escaped from the
Hollywood star machine around 1990, and managed to elude capture for almost two
decades. He hid out in strange, sometimes beautiful films, playing unforgettable
characters—Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Hunter S. Thompson, Gilbert Grape—in
movies that rarely made a dent at the box office. Of the 20 films Depp starred
in before 2003, only one, Burton's "Sleepy Hollow," squeaked past the $100
million mark. Depp got a reputation for being outré and unbankable. "Oh, yeah,"
he says, then rolls off the list of his crimes: " 'That guy can't open a film.
He does all those weird art movies. He works with directors whose names we can't
pronounce'." He smiles. "But there are worse things they could say."
The Real Johnny Depp. How long
have we searched for him? No one in Hollywood, it's fair to say, has worked
harder at not being a movie star than Depp has, and yet he has evolved
into one of the most adored actors of his generation not in spite of that
persistence but because of it. "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black
Pearl" may have grossed $653 million worldwide, made Depp a $20 million man and
earned him an Oscar nomination, but he still seems an unlikely addition to the
A-list. Top-tier stars, even those who are great actors, stay on top by being
true to their personas. We pay $10 to see Will Smith or Julia Roberts precisely
because they don't surprise us. It's not that they're playing themselves. It's
just that the force of their personalities swamps everything else. They're more
than actors. They're brands. Depp, 43, is almost pathologically unpredictable.
He can be bizarre, hilarious, unsettling—even annoying. But he is never the
same. He's the anti-Tom Cruise. "Nothing against Tom, but Johnny may be a bigger
star now," says director John Waters, who cast Depp in 1990's "Cry-Baby."
"Nobody is sick of Johnny Depp."
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead
Man's Chest," which opens on July 7, will likely be the highest-grossing movie
of the summer. And judging from NEWSWEEK's first look in the editing room, it
also promises to be a welcome blast of sunshine in a season when Cruise has
crashed and burned, and "The Da Vinci Code" has proved to be a joyless
blockbuster. In this second leg of the "Pirates" trilogy—the third installment
will be released next summer—lovebirds Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth (Keira
Knightley) are arrested on their wedding day for aiding the escape of Depp's
louche Narcissus, Capt. Jack Sparrow. To win freedom for his bride and himself,
Will must find Captain Jack, get him to hand over his mysterious compass and
give it to the wormy Lord Beckett, who plans to use it to rid the world of
pirates forever. Jack, meanwhile, has more immediate problems. He owes his soul
to undersea Capt. Davey Jones, is in danger of being destroyed by a giant sea
creature called a kraken and has landed on an island of cannibals who have made
him their god. Which would be great if the natives didn't make a habit of eating
their gods.
Returning director Gore Verbinski,
producer Jerry Bruckheimer and team have cranked up the action this time around.
One huge set piece includes an elaborate three-way sword fight on a massive
water wheel that has snapped off its frame and is rolling at top speed through
the jungle. ("It's those moments when you realize how absurd your job is," Depp
says. "It's great fun, but it was a bastard to shoot.") Luckily, they've also
given Depp plenty of playtime, too. Even more than in the first film, Depp's
exaggerated expressions and unexpected line deliveries turn "cute" moments into
hilarious ones. At one point, Elizabeth tells Jack, "You're a good man." Depp
replies, sloppily, under his breath, "All evidence to the contrary."
Sitting in a bungalow at the
Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, Depp flashes a bit of Captain Jack every time he
opens his mouth. Those gold pirate teeth are bonded onto his own. With the shoot
for the third "Pirates" resuming in August, Depp figured it was just easier to
keep them. "They don't come off until the ride stops," he says, and smiles.
"It's a horrible process. I didn't want to go through yanking them off and
putting them back on. And it leaves some residue of the character behind." Time
slows down when you're with Johnny Depp. He seems like a man who has never
rushed to, or from, anywhere in his life. He is chronically late for
interviews—sometimes four or five hours, sometimes days—but this time around
just a gentlemanly 50 minutes. And once he's with you, he never seems in a hurry
to leave. His voice is a soft, low mumble. His body is in almost constant
motion—rolling those cigarettes, rubbing an elbow, reaching for a glass—but the
rhythm is tranquil and fluid, like a cat licking its paw. He's a calm, almost
hypnotic presence. "He's always been true to who he is," says director Tim
Burton, who has made five films with Depp, including last year's "Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory." "He's never been ruled by money, or by what people think
he should or shouldn't do. Maybe it's just in America, but it seems that if
you're passionate about something, it freaks people out. You're considered
bizarre or eccentric. To me, it just means you know who you are."
Depp arrived in Hollywood in the
early '80s. Despite a physical beauty that had studio executives slobbering to
make him into a Romantic Leading Man and hordes of teenage girls (and a few
boys) dreaming of touching his hair just once, Depp escaped from the
Hollywood star machine around 1990, and managed to elude capture for almost two
decades. He hid out in strange, sometimes beautiful films, playing unforgettable
characters—Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Hunter S. Thompson, Gilbert Grape—in
movies that rarely made a dent at the box office. Of the 20 films Depp starred
in before 2003, only one, Burton's "Sleepy Hollow," squeaked past the $100
million mark. Depp got a reputation for being outré and unbankable. "Oh, yeah,"
he says, then rolls off the list of his crimes: " 'That guy can't open a film.
He does all those weird art movies. He works with directors whose names we can't
pronounce'." He smiles. "But there are worse things they could say."
That battle to remain authentic
has been long and bloody, and it made Depp an angry young man for most of his
20s. Born in Kentucky, the youngest of four kids, and raised in Florida by
parents who fought and finally divorced when he was 15, Depp's dream was to play
guitar in a band. By 16 he had dropped out of school and was doing just that,
his group opening for acts like Iggy Pop. "It was wonderful," he says. "I
couldn't have been happier." But after the band arrived in Los Angeles, Depp
found himself broke. A musician he was briefly married to at the time introduced
Depp to Nicolas Cage, who suggested that he give acting a try. On little more
than a whim, he did, and ended up with a supporting role in "A Nightmare on Elm
Street" and a small part in "Platoon." Still struggling financially, he signed
up for "21 Jump Street," a slick TV series about young cops going undercover in
high schools. It made Depp a teen idol, and made him miserable just as fast.
"Everything flips," he says. "Suddenly, you go into restaurants and people are
pointing at you and whispering. You feel spooked by it because that freedom of
anonymity is gone. You never get used to that. You'd leave the hotel to go to
dinner and there'd be tons of cameras and flashbulbs. " 'Smile, Johnny! Smile!'
" He looks annoyed by it, even now. "I thought, 'Jesus, I just want to go home.'
But there was no home."
Depp was locked into a multiyear
contract with the Fox network. "They turned me into this product, and I didn't
have a say in it," he says. "You have no voice, you know? I felt like I was a
captive." So he lashed out, becoming a disruptive force on the "Jump Street" set
in the hope that the network would fire him. "I was the only one who confronted
him on what an a--hole he was being," says costar Holly Robinson Peete. "I
totally understood his position, but I was over the moon to be a part of this
show, and it's hard to come to work every day with someone who is p---ing all
over it. So I went into his dressing room and told him how I felt, and right
after that he trashed his Winnebago." Peete doesn't have any hard feelings
toward Depp, and chalks it up to youth and inexperience. "He's got a really
great heart, but he was frustrated," she says. "He just hated the idea of being
on a lunch box or some teenage girl's wall."
Finally freed from "Jump Street,"
Depp played a succession of iconic loners and dreamers for visionary,
unconventional directors, such as Waters, Burton, Jim Jarmusch and Terry
Gilliam. But the anger, which Depp calls his "hillbilly rage," never quite
dissipated. He was famously arrested for trashing a New York City hotel room in
1994, and while Depp says the incident was blown out of proportion—"I wasn't the
Wild Man of Borneo"—he still believed that his fame and success lacked a point,
meaning. "I had these sort of self-destructive periods," he says. "We all go
through times where we poison ourselves a bit. Looking back on it now, it was
simply a waste of time, all that self-medicating and boozing."
Depp was rescued, in part, by
Marlon Brando. The two worked together on 1995's "Don Juan DeMarco," and hit it
off at the first rehearsal. "Within minutes, Johnny was in Marlon's lap with, I
think, a bottle of gin," says director Jeremy Leven. "And I think he stayed
there the whole time." It's easy to imagine the bond between the two men, both
actors with unconventional visions, talent to burn and a disdain for art
compromised by commerce. "Marlon was a pioneer," Depp says, quietly. "So I
wouldn't even put myself in the same thought bubble with him, but he understood
a lot of things about me, and was incredibly generous and helpful and caring.
Very rarely did we talk about movies or acting, so it wasn't that. He saw me
going through stuff that he had been through—my weird hillbilly rage—so yeah,
the connection was strong and deep."
But it wasn't until Depp met and
fell in love with French actress-singer Vanessa Paradis that everything seemed
to fall into place for the actor. After a series of highly public, long-term
romances—Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder, Kate Moss—his relationship
with Paradis seemed to anchor him. The couple's daughter, Lily-Rose, was born in
1999; their son, Jack, in 2002. Being a father released him from the pressure of
finding meaning and identity exclusively in his work. "I think it softened him
on one level, and then invigorated him on an artistic one," says Burton. "It's
an interesting juxtaposition." Depp himself puts it more directly: "Now I know
where home is."
It was Depp's desire to make a
movie for his kids that led him to "Pirates." In a visit to the Disney lot about
five years ago, he mentioned to studio chairman Dick Cook that he'd been
watching a lot of Disney movies with his daughter, loved them and was hoping to
voice a character in a Pixar movie. Cook mentioned that the studio was
developing a movie based on the theme-park ride "Pirates of the Caribbean." "And
he got very excited," Cook recalls. "He said, 'Like a real pirate movie? With
swords?' And I said, 'Yeah—with swords.' And he said, 'I'm in'."
As is now well known to "Pirates"
fans, studio executives were nonplused when they began to see the footage of
Depp in character. Whereas Capt. Jack Sparrow was initially conceived as a young
Burt Lancaster, Depp had re-imagined him as a debauched, vain, slightly fey rock
star, inspired by Rolling Stones icon Keith Richards and cartoon skunk Pepe Le
Pew. "The studio was, like, 'Is he gay? Is he drunk? We don't know what
he's doing!'" says producer Bruckheimer. "It took a little while to calm
everybody down." For his part, Verbinski, the director, loved it. "You know,
there's a lot of conspiring that goes on between actors and directors that I
think is very healthy," he says. "You should be a little concerned as a director
if you're not making the studio nervous."
Depp's off-kilter performance, of
course, was the very thing that catapulted "Pirates" into a cultural phenomenon.
"First of all, Johnny is a pirate in real life," says John Waters. "It's the
closest part he's ever played to his real self, but the fact that he played it
kind of nelly was a big risk." Pause. "If only real gay pirates were that much
fun." After decades of being daring and unexpected in daring and unexpected
little films, Depp was now staying true to himself in a big summer blockbuster.
He didn't have to be an outsider on the outside. He could be an outsider on the
inside. "You feel like you have infiltrated the enemy camp, like you got in
there somehow and chiseled your name in the castle wall," he says. The huge
success of the film "made perfect sense to me on the one hand, and at the same
time, it made no sense at all, which I kind of enjoyed." He takes another drag,
exhales. "Yeah, it just felt right. Even now, with the dolls and the cereal
boxes and snacks and fruit juices, it all just feels fun to me, in a Warholian
way. It's absurd. It doesn't get more absurd." Depp's not ready to let go of
Captain Jack just yet. "He's a blast to play," he says. "I'll be in a deep, dark
depression saying goodbye to him." He laughs. "I'll keep the costume and just
prance around the house, entertain the kids." Or the rest of the world. "Maybe
'Pirates 4, 5 and 6'," he says. "If they had a good script, why not? I mean, at
a certain point, the madness must stop, but for the moment, I can't say that
he's done."
These days, Depp and his family
divide their time between homes in Los Angeles and France, when they're not on
some movie set or other. He says the media perception of him as an expat and
wanna-be Frenchman has been overstated. "But, yeah, I love it there," he says.
"I've always loved it there. The phones don't ring as much. Movies are never
brought up in conversation. I'll take the kids and we'll go out to the
trampoline and the swing set, and we'll stop by the garden and see how our
tomatoes are doing. You know, old-fart stuff. Good stuff." At last, Depp has
learned to quit fighting fate/fame/whatever. "I think everything happened the
way it was meant to happen, but I don't know why," he says. "I remember every
bump in the road, and I still don't know how I got here. But who am I to ask
why? The fact is, this is where I am. So I enjoy it, salute it and keep moving
forward." He smiles, a flash of gold. "None of it makes any sense to me, but
then, why should it?"
So....this last week was one of the longest but greatest weeks for me.
Recently I have been blessed with having a lot of consulting work come my way in the form of project management and creative consulting.
Thus this past week was dedicated to working at the Guardian, school, and of course consulting for the Bay Area Youth Fund for Education who called and asked for assistance in hosting, planning, designing and executing its auction during its Cap & Gown Gala.
It was a grueling week with long late night work days dedicated to BAYFUND but it has all paid off. THE AUCTION WAS A MONUMENTAL SUCCESS (as was the enchanting gala as a whole).
Truly fulfilling work for a truly amazing organization is truly satisfying. And so is knowing that the efforts of my highly motivated team and myself resulted in the bringing in of over $28,000 for the organization which mentors children from 6th grade through graduation of college. Thus breaking the chain of poverty in that family forever.
And yes, the gala was at the Lucasfilm's new home in the Presidio and I have some awesome photos to share with you tomorrow. But as of now, I have to get ready for school.
SO enjoy this sneak preview:
-------event e-mail info---
Cap & Gown Gala: A Celebration of the First In Family to Graduate from College
Join us and our sponsors
at the Letterman Digital Arts Center, the new San Francisco home of
Lucasfilm Ltd., in the Presidio of San Francisco and the host location
for b.a.y.fund's 5th Anniversary and Gala fundraiser event on Saturday,
June 17, 2006 from 7PM - 10PM.
Drive
up to Yoda and leave your car with the complimentary valet. A brief
program will take place in the theater, after which guests will get a
brief tour of the campus before dinner and entertainment.
Honoring
those who were the first in their family with the First In Family Award
presented by Chuck Smith, President & CEO of AT&T West and the
first in his family to graduate from college.
For
more information or to request reasonable accomodations, please contact
Herve Ernest, Director of Marketing at 415.561.6826 or email to
hernest@bayfund.org.
email this
print this
purchase everything from a button, mousepad, tshirt, and sweatshirts with that character on the item.
Recent Comments