1st pic of Depp as the Mad Hatter

[jimbo]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=50620

[mspeel007]

God....he even looks HOT in that photo!!!!!!!

[Gothick]

Hmm.  To me he resembles a luridly colored version of Lon Chaney in the lost classic London After Midnight from the 1920s.

G.

[Charles_Ellis]

Now I know what kind of men's clothing Vivienne Westwood would make.......

[D_Friedlander]

Good heavens, if this is Burton's and Depps' concept of the Mad Hatter, I shudder in my socks at the mere thought of what their designs for BARNABAS will be....
 P.S. to Tim Burton & Johnny Depp, in addition to the hoses spouting fake blood, PLEASE leave the death-white face paint, charcoal eye shadow and cheek contour, and thrift-store rag-bag costumes home as well...
And, special note to Johnny D.:  PLEASE put on a few pounds, dear fellow. 
(I don't want a willowy Barnabas, do you all?) 
I'm scared (and NOT in a GOOD way!) --- somebody HOLD me!!!

[bluefielder]

Gothick, you are right about Depp resembling Lon Chaney in London After Midnight.  All he needs are those razor sharp teeth to complete the look.

[RachelDrummand]

I couldn't agree more with you...someone is going to have to calm us both down.

[Taeylor Collins]

It also has a ? on the article.  It could be a picutre of them trying looks.  This will be heavily CGI so who knows what they will do with him.  I SAY bring on BARNEY.  Look at Jon Frid after [spoiler]The Leviathans [/spoiler] changed him B back in to a vamp. He is PAINTED and CONTURED very heavily with silver in his hair.  I like the vampire makeup and would love to see their take on it!

[madscntst]

From what little I've heard, a very reputable Depp forum, johnny-depp.org, first broke the photo.  They claim that they have a reliable source who was on the set and verifies that this is the Mad Hatter's "look", though the image may have been photoshopped or tweaked a bit.  I only have their word for it, but I am trusting it.  Meanwhile, the photo has shown up on a million other film sites, all wondering whether it's real or not.  There is also some dispute about the CGI-ness of the film-- we've heard that the film is a combination of live action and the CGI style of Beowulf, but I don't think it's ever been announced which characters would be CGI'd.  So either the Mad Hatter is one of the live characters (like Alice), or they need the makeup and costume to complete the "look" for the CGI.  The background in the wonderland scenes are surely CGI'd, since there have been a number of reports that they are filming in front of a green screen while in LA (there were also some "real-world" location shots in England).

The overall reaction has been much like this thread- very divided!  I was pretty shocked, but on the other hand, once I got over the shock a little, I'm pleased that it is unexpected and edgy despite being a Disney film.  Love the hat!  Also, as soon as I saw the eyes, I thought: "vampire" 

Quick addendum:  I forgot to mention that between Pirates 2 and 3, there was a photo circulating of Captain Jack Sparrow wearing an Asian costume, much like the one Elizabeth Swann wore in Pirates 3.  The photo ended up being a fake, and Disney was fairly quick about going around to all the sites that posted it and demanding that it be removed.  So I would imagine that if Disney has a problem with this Mad Hatter one, we'll know about it soon enough.

[madscntst]

Also meant to say, thanks Gothik for the Lon Chaney reference.  I wasn't familiar with the film but checked IMDb and saw what you were getting at.  Also, I think both Tim and Johnny are fans of Chaney Sr. and Jr., so it's quite possible that it served as some inspiration.

[Gothick]

Well I read Alice's Adventures Underground (original title) several times as a child, saw the Disney cartoon and even took a swipe at the Annotated edition that came out in the late Sixties or early Seventies (a jewel of a book)--so, I would think that the "humanoid" characters such as Mad Hatter and Red Queen will be costumed actors, while such beings as the Caterpillar on his mushroom (Gods, I'm already hearing Grace Slick warbling dreamily in the background), the Dormouse, and the White Rabbit will use the latest fancy-schmancy winking-blinking gizmo tech from BeoWOOF (as we call it in the bear community).

I doubt whether I have the stamina for this sort of thing.  But I do find the photo of Depp Hatter very trippy and psychedelic! 

I wonder whether the present-day sequences for Depp Shadows will have a more toned down post-Victorian Goth look, while the 18th cent. flashbacks might experiment with the more trippy way-out stuff that Burton can't seem to get enough of.

Pondering,

G.

[Taeylor Collins]

Grace SLICK!  I love it Gothick! SONS OF SATIN, SONS OF BITCHES all were there in my dreams!  I used to perform that song!!!

Who knows if we will even get a flashback.  At this point, I think it would be nice to see the first DS focus on the present day family! JMO 

[D_Friedlander]

I don't have objections to a Barnabas who looks this bad when he's first popped from the box.  That's one of the things I rather liked about the 2004 pilot--- HOW do you EXPECT a vampire to look after 200 years with no nourishment and the clothes he/she was buried in? 

However, as he gets more and more of his minimum daily requirements met, and then some, I'd expect him to beef up a bit--- slowly at first of course, so nobody really notices, then when they do notice, it's like, "Gee, I guess Barnabas is working out a little in his spare time" or "Maybe the poor guy had cancer, glad to see he's recovering."   But the FIRST thing that would go would be the chalky face /charcoal eyeliner look, with his first delicious bite.
 
That's what I didn't like about SWEENEY TODD--- Depp & Bonham-Carter looked like really bad Victorian PM portraits come to life, compared to the rosier folks around them.  Like they needed to hit you over the head with the whole "They've lost their souls, and the other people look like meat on the hoof."  RIGHT, I get it, I GET it, I GOT IT already. 

That's what I will miss, the subtle menace thing that the original series had when the Barn character came on board, via Jonathan Frid.  There wasn't as much subtlety in Ben Cross's 1991 version, but there was good menace, and I think the 2004 attempt with Alec Newman wasn't a slouch in that department, either.   A Barnabas who looks like someone you can trust, then the truth gets you in the throat--- I don't foresee that effect with a Depp/Burton collaboration.  But to each his/her own.