Johnny Depp charms in appearance on THE LATE SHOW with David Letterman

David Letterman introduced Johnny Depp as “a fascinating man on and off the screen, and one of the coolest guys on the planet,” and in a relaxed and wide-ranging conversation with Letterman, Johnny proved those claims true on Thursday night. They discussed Johnny’s family, his work habits, his life in France and on his island in the Bahamas, the Vajoliroja (which Johnny calls “a boat”), Johnny’s favorite movie actors (“Bogart, first and foremost”), and–the reason for the visit–John Dillinger and Public Enemies.

Johnny told Letterman that his children, ten-year-old Lily Rose and seven-year-old Jack, are “out of the tiny drunk phase” and have “entered the age of technology now; texting and Playstation.” As Letterman nodded sympathetically, commenting about the way children grow steadily more independent, Johnny added, “I also see little boys starting to line up to date my daughter . . . and I fear for them.”

Letterman praised Public Enemies–“It’s a great story”–and had difficulty believing he had seen the movie, but its star had not. Had Johnny been too busy to see the film?

“In a way, once my job is done on the film, it’s really none of my business,”Johnny responded. Does that mean he “deliberately” avoids looking at the finished product? “Oh yeah,” Johnny told Letterman. “I stay as far away as I possibly can. If I can, I try to stay in as profound a state of ignorance as possible.”

Quipped Letterman, “Well, you’ve come to the right place.” To see this exchange, CLICK HERE and select the clip of Johnny Depp. To see a larger version of our screencap of Johnny on Letterman’s stage, CLICK HERE, and to see a different shot, CLICK HERE.

The Zone thanks Theresa for the screencap and Carasun for the video link; you can read much more about Johnny’s appearance on Letterman on the News & Views forum and the Pit. Don’t miss the in-person accounts from Zoners who waited outside the theater to get Johnny’s autograph! You’ll find those on the Porch forum, and we thank our Zoners for sharing their experiences. –Part-Time Poet

"Sit down when shots are fired"–Johnny Depp describes filming PUBLIC ENEMIES at Stateville prison

One sequence of Public Enemies was filmed at the Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet, Illinois, a maximum-security prison built in 1925 (and thus authentic to Dillinger’s era) and still in use. In an interview with Trailer Addict at the Chicago press junket, Johnny Depp describes what it was like to film inside a functioning maximum-security prison:

Q: Can you tell about the experience going through the prison? That must have been very . . . surreal.

JOHNNY DEPP: Stateville was wild. Yeah. Stateville was wild, because it’s an active prison, and we were shooting there. Funnily enough, it was a place that my stepfather had spent some of his time [. . .] he’d done a few years in Stateville.

And then they took us to go and look at the maximum security section. All these guys are in there, hundreds and hundreds of guys in lockdown, and . . . uh . . . they’re looking out their bars, out their doors at me, and they’re screaming, “Hey, Captain Jack! Come get me!” [laughing] “Come and help me escape!”

Q: Is it creepy, being in that environment? What do you feel when you are there?

JOHNNY DEPP: It’s pretty intense. There’s a sign . . . I’ll never forget it. The sign that I saw [. . .] on the cafeteria wall, said, “Please sit down when shots are fired.” Not if shots are fired; when shots are fired. And that’s the image I’ll probably take with me to my grave.

To watch the full (and very entertaining) Trailer Addict interview with Johnny Depp, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for finding and sharing the video, and AnaMaria for making our screencap. To see a larger version of our screencap of Johnny being interviewed, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet