"It's a miracle that I still get jobs," says Johnny Depp: Transcripts of the UK press conference for CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY posted!

Transcripts of the CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY press conference held in London on July 16th have been compiled by Jack Foley and posted by emma on the News & Views forum. (Thanks, emma!) There are separate interviews for Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, Freddie Highmore, and David Kelly (who played Grandpa Joe), but since all the participants were seated at a long table, they frequently interrupt and elaborate on one another’s answers. Foley’s transcripts capture the give-and-take and spontaneous wit of what must have been a hilarious afternoon. Here are a few samples:

QUESTION: (to Johnny) You choose to play a lot of characters who are the eternal child. Are you not afraid of getting stuck playing the same role? Do you not want to try to change or move on to different types of characters?

JOHNNY: With each character, as an actor, I think you owe it more to the audience, not to yourself or the filmmaker, to try something different each time. I think it’s important to try to keep playing different types of guys and to keep exploring, because you are constantly learning. If you keep playing the same characters it’s like, you know, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, meatloaf. It’s the same old thing over again. So I just try to do different things each time. Frankly, it’s a miracle that I still get jobs.

QUESTION: Can you see yourself playing the conventional romantic comedy lead because all of your characters seem to have something weird or surreal about them?

JOHNNY: I thought FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS was conventional. [Laughter]. I thought ED WOOD was a conventional romantic comedy. [Laughter] Tim and I came here to announce that we’re going to do FRIENDS: THE MOVIE.

QUESTION: I know Tim and Johnny, you’ve collaborated on five films together if you count CORPSE BRIDE, And Freddie and Johnny, you’ve worked together. What do you find are the advantages or disadvantages, if there are any, of working with the same people over and over?

TIM: Well for me, every time I’ve worked with Johnny it just gets better and better because you see him change and do different things. There’s something that when you work with the same people you get that feeling, and I love it because it’s like a weird family when you’re making a movie, so it’s nice to be around people you like.

JOHNNY: There’s kind of a built in language from having had other experiences together before, having explored other stories and characters before. So, it’s great for me. Working with Tim is like arriving home.

QUESTION: Tim, did you train forty squirrels to crack the nuts and throw them down the chute?

TIM: I did not personally train 40 squirrels, there is a guy in an asylum that we gotta go get out after he’s recovered. Do you remember the look on his face?

David Kelly: He’s in the Home for the Bewildered.

QUESTION: (to Freddie) How did you become Charlie? Where did you get the inspiration from and what did you have to go through to find that person and become Charlie? How did you prepare?

FREDDIE: As I said earlier, I read the book. […] You just try and get inside the character each time you play it. Obviously when you’re working with Johnny and when you look into his eyes, you don’t see Johnny. You see Willy Wonka. That helps a lot.

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