JohnnyDepp-Zone.com

Zoners aren’t the only ones wondering what Johnny Depp’s next film project will be: The Hollywood Reporter has a feature by Steven Zeitchik and Borys Kit called “Johnny Depp’s Next Is Up in the Air: Actor has several potential projects but no go pictures.” The reporters survey the status of Pirates 4, The Lone Ranger, and Dark Shadows, all delayed to 2010 at the earliest: the Disney pictures lack finished scripts and directors, while Warner Bros. Dark Shadows, which was to shoot this autumn, has been delayed so director Tim Burton can finish work on his 3D Alice in Wonderland, due in theaters on March 5, 2010.

As a result, “Depp is attached to a number of high-profile development properties but is facing a landscape devoid of go pictures,” says The Hollywood Reporter. “Instead, there are a dizzying number of possibilities and schedule permutations, none of which seems likely to result in a produced movie for him anytime soon.” Unless, of course, something comes in from left field and gets shot immediately, which happened with both Public Enemies and Sweeney Todd.

The Hollywood Reporter contributes to the slate of possible Depp projects by mentioning another role we haven’t heard of before: “Producers have been interested in Depp, whose deal is at Warner Bros., for the title role in the studio’s The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Kevin Lima’s remake that would continue a whimsical if slightly less drama-intensive streak for the actor. He has not signed on, however, and in any event the pic would not go into production until next year.” When, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Johnny Depp is likely to be very busy.

To read the article in The Hollywood Reporter, CLICK HERE. You can read a lively discussion of this story on the Zone’s News & Views forum. –Part-Time Poet

Confirming comments made by Johnny Depp during the Public Enemies junket, Tim Burton told Eric Ditzian of MTV Movies Blog that he will begin work on Dark Shadows just as soon as his current project, Disney’s 3D Alice in Wonderland, is complete. “That’s something that [Johnny and I] both love and are excited about,” Burton told MTV. “When I’m done with this [Alice] I’ll definitely focus on that.” Dark Shadows will be based on the 60s TV show “that incorporated elements of gothic romance, science fiction and supernatural phenomena like ghosts, zombies and vampires.” JD will play vampire Barnabas Collins, the iconic role created by Jonathan Frid.

Dark Shadows is famous for its unique tone that could effortlessly juxtapose genuine horror and suspense with campy melodrama. “Part of the energy of it was the tone and weirdness of it,” Burton said. “That’s our challenge, to try to capture that vibe.”

And will he emphasize the suspense, the horror . . . or the humor? “It’s always a fine line,” Burton told MTV. “That remains to be seen. That’s a question and a challenge we talk about a lot. I haven’t arrived at the answer,” he said frankly. “That’s definitely a main issue, the tone and the vibe of it because as we all know melodrama can cross over [into camp]. It’s one of the more interesting things about it.”

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for the MTV Movie Blog interview with Tim Burton. You can read more about Dark Shadows on the Zone’s News & Views forum; to read the MTV article, CLICK HERE.–Part-Time Poet