I don't think that filming has started yet, or at least Johnny is not filming yet.  There have been reports that Johnny is/has been in London but they were all suspect- and had some contradictions with each other.  Plus, there was an unrelated rumor claiming that he was in New Orleans earlier in the week, filming his cameo for the 21 Jump Street movie.

Today, though, there is photo evidence that Johnny is in Chicago.  He apparently taped an interview with Oprah and then visited a music store where he bought a guitar.  Here is the report with a photo:

Sighting: Johnny Depp at Chicago Music Exchange store

(We also heard today that he will be taping an interview with Larry King- don't know where or when that'll happen, though).

And I stand by mine.  My post was WELL within reason, and if you don't like what I say, jimbo, then so be it. 

Didn't Bob Cobert recently say that he was going to consult or collaborate on the movie, even though he is happily retired?  And I do seem to remember Elfman's name coming from somewhere in addition to IMDb.  It's not a stretch- there are very few Burton movies that Elfman did *not* do the music for (Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd are the only ones I can recall).

Re. a blond Frankenstein monster, this probably doesn't count, but Rocky Horror immediately came to mind 

Ah, great, I just saw this MTV interview in my news alerts, and I scampered over here to make sure it'd been posted here.  As always, jimbo's got it covered!  I love hearing Johnny speak with such respect about Frid, and I also love hearing that he feels that Barnabas is "poetic".  You can tell that he really feels very deeply about the character!

Until this snippet, I'd been a little bummed that we haven't heard more talk about DS yet in these press interviews (though it's still early- the interviews have taken place over the last few days, but sometimes it takes a few days for them to trickle out).  However, remember that Gore at least will only be able to talk about The Lone Ranger, since he's not involved with DS.  So hopefully when some more one-on-one interviews with Johnny come out, hopefully they'll be asking him more about DS.

So, it's interesting that MTV says that Bella is Victoria, though they still may just be repeating what they've read...

Cathy

Cool to hear more location scouting news/rumors!  It'll be so interesting to see the "look" of the film.  I actually was hoping that they would do some exterior shots in Maine or at least New England, but I think that as long as the look and tone of the film are great, that's all that matters.

Gotta point out the article describes Depp as married.

They've been married for years haven't they?  The wife and kids live in France...

Johnny and Vanessa Paradis have been together since 1998 but are not legally married.  They have often said that they consider themselves married but that they don't really need the piece of paper.  They don't rule out doing it someday, and so every few years, a new rumor pops up and ya never know, but honestly, they seem to be very happy just the way they are.   Johnny was briefly married at age 20 and maybe has the idea that the piece of paper doesn't mean it's gonna work out!

BTW it's probably TMI but they have homes in both LA and France (and probably other places, plus an island in the Caribbean), and the kids attend school in LA.

Cathy

Re. the Johnny diet rumor, I wouldn't put too much stock in that.  It is a tabloid report, and we are constantly hearing complete fabrications, such as the recent rumor that he bought a place in Venice (eventually denied by his publicist).  IF Johnny wants to shed a few pounds (and I'm not saying that he does), it would probably just be to return to his usual weight- he admitted to "putting on a few pounds" for The Tourist, and was probably still a bit thicker for Pirates.  Still, he has never considered himself to be a real "method" actor, and has never done the extreme weight fluctuations that Christian Bale has done.  We've seen several paparazzi shots from within the past week, and he is looking very healthy and fit.

Re. Jackie Earle Haley, I did see Little Children, and thought he was amazing in that, walking a fine line between being despicable and sympathetic (didn't he get an Oscar nomination for that one?).  I have really loved him in so many things: Breaking Away, Watchmen, Human Target (TV show that I watched several episodes of).  I'm pretty psyched about his casting.

Re. Eva Green, I don't know much about her but I remember thinking she was pretty hot in Casino Royale.  I'll bet she could be a fiery Angelique!

Re. the comedy aspect, I hope I am right in that I am still envisioning an atmosphere along the lines of Sleepy Hollow or Sweeney Todd, where there are some funny lines, but nothing slapstick or overtly knee-slapping comedy.  Both films were definitely able to hold a menacing vibe.

Re. Helena Bonham Carter, I also vaguely seem to recall something about her denying she'd be in DS, but I can't swear to that, and I suppose I wouldn't be totally shocked if she did get a role, lol. 

I'm hoping to continue hearing more casting news- it seems like now is the time when the cast will start to fall into place 

Cathy

Hmm, I'm not really aware that there is any obligation on a filmmaker's part to hold open auditions for a particular subset of their roles, though of course oftentimes the more minor roles are cast that way.  Even when they are, I think it's usually pretty hard for us outside the industry to know many details-- as a Depp fan, the only casting calls I usually hear about are extras for films like Pirates or Public Enemies, but not for the main roles.

I *love* the idea of Jackie playing Willie.  True, he's not a young man-- I just looked him up, and he'll be 50 this year.  On the other hand, some were tossing Steve Buscemi's name around as a possible Wilie, and Steve is several years older.  I don't really think of Willie as having to be a particular age.  He's just a thug who gets more than he bargained for when he decides to do some grave-robbing    I think it could work very well.  Jackie is great at playing thugs, but I always remember how sweet his character is in Breaking Away, so I can definitely see him also being the meeker, more submissive Willie.

I only saw a few articles (MTV and a few others, saying that Bella would play Vicki, so I didn't know that Variety was reporting the character as a waitress.  (I tried to access the Variety article, and I was blacked out, so thanks for that info, MB).  If she *is* a waitress, don't forget that the characters in the movie may not be identical to the ones we know- you never know if they will alter them or even combine some characters together, so I will keep an open mind about that.  (Off topic but relevant- for The Rum Diary, which is also co-produced by Johnny, a few characters from the novel are combined and one is omitted altogether for the movie version.  Some are upset about this, but since I haven't read the novel I'm not sure of how the changes impact the story, but obviously they felt that they could tweak it to make it more amenable to a film screenplay.  So something like this could certainly happen in the case of DS, too).

Anyway, I was SO excited, after working overtime tonight and returning home late, that we're finally starting to hear some casting news!!!

Cathy

Wow, awesome news!!