Sixty a month for PW??  Wow, no wonder I don't want to subscribe    Anyway, what I was trying to get at with regard to the publication is that it may just be meant as a listing for folks in the business- if say a cameraman sees a production starting up, they may try to contact them for work.  The nuts and bolts about the plot and even the cast or director may not be the only thing of importance from their perspective.  Just a thought.  

I may not have always followed every entry on IMDb, but I seem to recall that The Rum Diary *was* off the regular IMDb listing for awhile.  This film's been around for a long time- I remember seeing it when I first started getting die-hard about Johnny around late-ish '03 (have been a fan since Edward Scissorhands, but ya know, the internet sometimes does things to people   )  And then it was in limbo for a long time.  It makes sense that it's listed now because the film is about to get made, and many of the cast members have been announced already.  What I *don't* get is that a film like Sin City 3, which has similarly been in the works for years, but doesn't seem like it's going to be made any time soon (or Sin City 2, for that matter), and that one *is* still on IMDb.  

Fortunately, there was news today about The Three Stooges- Benicio del Toro is in talks to play Moe Howard, according to Variety, so hopefully that one is going to be taken off Johnny's cast list any time now.  And I hope that Dark Shadows will return to the regular IMDb area once there start to be announcements about a start date and cast members.  I agree though that the whole IMDb vs. IMDbPro thing is silly- guess they just want to try to tempt people into paying...

Sorry folks, there is a site to find old Production Weekly's, but I don't know about new ones.  The last one I've seen is from Jan. 15, so I guess they're about 2 months behind.  It'll be interesting to see what it says!  I still hope Sam Sarkar is right in that something will be officially announced about it soon.

Meanwhile, Johnny is in Puerto Rico for The Rum Diary, which starts filming on Monday.  Hope all gets done on schedule!

I think that teen girls are inevitably going to be part of the target audience for DS.  I'm not as sure about 10-13 year olds- certainly Johnny himself has many fans that age from the Pirates films, but I think that for DS, that's a little young.  I would guess that the *minimum* rating they'll go for is a PG-13, and I wouldn't be too surprised if they decide to go for an R, as they did with Sweeney Todd.  (Not that I am in favor of a slasher-type film, but I don't want them to be afraid to make it dark).  Didn't I hear that a lot of *moms* like Twilight, though?  The moms will definitely be all over a Depp DS film, especially if they're old enough to remember the original.  But I agree with MB and Taeylor that I hope the target audience is going to be much broader than this. 

Regarding the male audience, while a lot of the die-hard Depp fans are female, I think that males respect him, as well, and I think it won't hurt that his upcoming films Public Enemies and The Rum Diary will help to keep the male fanbase interested in what else Depp will be up to, including DS.

I agree, Jimbo, that Vicki should look 25 at the *most*.  College educated, perhaps with a master's in education, but still young and just starting a career.  I think Joanna Going was perfect, at the time.  I just checked IMDb, and she was born in '63, so was 27 or 28 for DS- that was pretty good.  

I saw the Cinematical article, and I think the mention of June was just a lazy guess from the reporter.  I think that Richard Zanuck was the first to say something concrete, and as I recall, he said "late summer".  Which is consistent with August, but not June.  I don't think I recall June being tossed around at all, and if I had, I think I would've been worried about it overlapping with The Rum Diary filming.   If filming starts in fall, that won't concern me because it's not really much different than "late summer."  But I took Nicki Finke's article as potentially a more open-ended delay (which I hope it won't be!!     )

All to say, it will be all the better if there is an official announcement very soon, as Sam Sarkar tells us there might be- any concrete news would be great, at this point!

I agree with all that's been said about Heath Ledger- he was a phenomenal actor and was transcendent in The Dark Knight, and amazing in Brokeback and so many other films.  Such a great loss to lose him so soon.

This blog in the Hollywood reporter is of the opinion that Depp has yet to pull off being "menacing -- true, bloodthirsty, win-at-all-costs menacing" and wonders if he'll achieve it as John Dillinger in Public Enemies:

I think the blogger may be disappointed in Johnny's Dillinger turn.  While I think he will be menacing, the real Dillinger was also known to be very charismatic and charming, and that he didn't wish to kill anyone, so I think we'll see a fair bit of Dillinger's sympathetic side in this film.  But I disagree with the blogger that his characters in Sweeney Todd and Blow weren't menacing enough (and I would add The Astronaut's Wife and Once Upon A Time In Mexico).  Why do people often think of him only being in sweet and cuddly roles?  I think he'll be able to do "bloodthirsty" (literally and figuratively) just fine!!   

I hadn't really been thinking of Jolie for DS, but I wonder who she could play?  I suppose she'd do justice to Angelique, but I actually see her as a better Dr. Hoffman.  Hmm.

And thanks for that blog, MB- cute!

Cathy

That's interesting, MB, I didn't know that about DC's plans.  I will try to keep an open mind no matter what they do, but I tend to agree that the best story will probably introduce Barnabas as a vampire so that we know him as what he becomes, first.  I love the idea of a trilogy or even a sequel, but don't want to bank on that too much, as I haven't heard any indication that they intend to do more than one movie (has there been any real hint of this?)

I just got the online Shadowgram, which says that if all goes well, it should start filming "before year's end."  Actually, I hope that they are still aiming for late summer!  I have heard that Johnny's animated film, Rango, has wrapped, and The Rum Diary is on schedule, so it seems late summer is still possible.  Let's hope!

That was a cute blog, except for the fact that they seem to be blaming the fans ("goo-goo for Depp") when I think it's really In Touch and all the other gossip magazines and sites who are just trying to sell magazines and get hits to their sites.  But geez, give it a rest sometimes!   

(I'm presuming for now the Three Stooges rumor is just wishful thinking on the Farrelly Brothers' part, though I actually think Johnny would probably have a ball doing those pratfalls )

Cathy

Yes, The Rum Diary is still supposed to be next, after the project he's working on right now, the animated film Rango.  (Unconfirmed reports say that Rango has already started- Johnny is doing voice work and some motion capture, and that it will only take 4 weeks).  I'm a little concerned that other than the casting call for Chenault, there's been no real hard info for The Rum Diary, such as the rest of the cast or an actual start date, but I'm crossing my fingers that it all goes well.

I am holding on to my trust in Richard Zanuck that Dark Shadows will be next up after The Rum Diary, and that it will start filming at the end of summer, as he says.  Please let it be so!!

Johnny was present at the Golden Globe Awards this past Sunday.  He was last year's winner for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical (for Sweeney Todd), and as is customary, he presented this year's Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical (to Sally Hawkins).  We fans were waiting with bated breath during the Red Carpet preshow, hoping that he'd be interviewed and maybe he'd be able to give a few tidbits about DS or other upcoming projects.  However, it just seemed like he showed up to present the award and was otherwise not really spotted there (he's a shy fellow    )  But unfortunately, that was a missed interview opportunity.