Russian film market lures Hollywood

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia may not become the next Hollywood, but Tinseltown is definitely coming to Russia, where audience numbers are growing fast and US blockbusters are gaining greater popularity over domestic films.

Recognising Russia’s potential as a rapidly emerging film market, Hollywood has been flying silver screen stars to Moscow for red carpet events, to the delight of avid Russian fans.

Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz visited Moscow for the Russian premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” in May, while the world premiere of Hollywood 3D blockbuster “Transformers: The Dark of the Moon” attracted 80 Hollywood names including director Michael Bay.

“Moscow is an emerging market, it plays a very important international role,” Bay said before the premiere. The film made $22 million in Russia in its first week, 3.4 percent of the global box office take so far.

Cinema-going is booming in Russia two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union put a night out at the movies out of reach for many. Cinemas made a record $1 billion in sales last year on the back of 15.2 percent audience growth.

“We’re seeing a solidly positive trend, which shows that people feel comfortable. Russians are adopting the lifestyles and consumer behaviours of the developed nations,” said Yevgeny Nadorshin, an economist and former government adviser.

Foreign movies became Russian favourites two years ago, when their Russian returns first outperformed those of domestic films. Last year, U.S. productions made almost five times as much as the Russian ones.
The latest high-profile Russian film “Tired with the Sun-2: The Citadel”, heavily promoted at last year’s Cannes festival by veteran actor-director Nikita Mikhalkov, flopped, earning less than 4 percent of its $34-million budget in its first two weeks.

“The problem with producers here is they don’t co-produce well with other countries, or with each other, and a lot of them get money too easily. They are not as hungry as foreign producers are, they churn out movies with very little quality,” said Russian-based independent film director Johnny O’Reilly.

Johnny Depp turns bar into 'Pirates' set

Johnny Depp was so desperate for a relaxed atmosphere on the set of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' that he insisted on holding the rehearsals at a bar!

Depp's co-star in the film Geoffrey Rush has revealed that Depp was so determined to make everyone comfortable from the start that he got them out of the studio and into his bar, 'The Viper Room' - which he has since sold - for a read through.

"I can't deny the scale of it. I remember when we were all about to sit down for a table read through at the Disney offices once and Johnny decided we should do it in his club, the Viper Room, instead, so as we would feel on a human scale.

"So if there is a relaxed atmosphere on set, I think it is down to him. He says he sees it as an independent film that happens to have a s**tload of money attached to it," Contactmusic quoted Rush as telling 'Seven Magazine'.

Penelope Cruz made Johnny Depp feel broody

Actor Johnny Depp has revealed that working with new mother Penelope Cruz has made him feel broody.

Cruz, who gave birth to son Leo in January, was shooting for "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", while she was pregnant and Depp admits the sight of her being pregnant on set and then seeing Cruz with her husband Javier Bardem and their new baby evoked a desire on him to have more kids.

"It's great to watch the three of them in action. It's just adorable and it makes you incredibly broody and clucky," femalefirst.co.uk quoted Depp, who has daughter Lily-Rose, 11, and son Jack, 8, with long-term partner Vanessa Paradis, as saying.

Johnny Depp loves working with Penelope Cruz

Actor Johnny Depp says he loves working with Spanish actress Penelope Cruz because they have so much fun together.

The two worked together in Blow and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
"It's been a long road of giggles. There's nothing bad to say. I've even tried to provoke her into some fit of anger, it doesn't work, I get nothing. Giggles, more giggles," a website quoted him as saying.

Cruz and her husband Javier Bardem became parents to son Leo in January and Depp feels the actress is a "phenomenal" mother.
"She's an inconceivably phenomenal mommy, which I've witnessed firsthand, and it's pretty incredible. She's as loyal and true a friend as anyone could ever dream of and I'm very privileged to be able to have her in my life," he said.

Johnny Depp voted 'hat' person of the year

Hollywood actor Johnny Depp has been voted as the Hat Person of the Year by the headwear association.

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" star, who is frequently pictured wearing a hat, beat off competition from "No Doubt" singer Gwen Stefani and actor Hugh Jackman, who were placed second and third, respectively, in the online poll, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"Depp is rarely seen without a hat, and prefers wide brim fedoras," said a spokesperson from the group.

Also making to the list were Justin Timberlake, Kate Hudson and Nicole Richie, who came fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

Johnny Depp loved being ‘silly’ for new movie

LOS ANGELES: Johnny Depp enjoyed making his upcoming movie Rango as it gave him the chance to “be silly”.

The actor provides the voice for the film’s title character, with stars including Bill Nighy, Isla Fisher and Abigail Breslin also displaying their vocal talents.

The comedy is CGI-animated, with the actor’s own facial expressions providing a reference for their characters, and Johnny loved delivering his performances on a soundstage alongside his co-stars.

"I think it just gives a bunch of grownups an opportunity to be silly," he laughed.

The movie is set for release next year, and tells the tale of a chameleon that aspires to be a swashbuckling hero before finding himself stuck in a Western town plagued by bandits. Johnny felt he had a great deal in common with his reptile character, as he too sometimes wonders who he really is.

"Rango is a lizard attempting to adapt to his surroundings," the star told ET. "He's trying to figure out what he's supposed to be, like most of us in life. It's certainly like nothing I've ever done before, or any of us have ever done before."

Johnny Depp lends his voice chameleon

This actor seems to allow no pause themselves: No sooner is the last movie filmed begins work on a new animation strips. Johnny Depp (47) now lends an inattentive chameleon named Range and his voice is so from the 3rd to appear on the cinema of March.

The Nickelodeon film is about reptile Rango, to assert himself in a Western city against vicious bandits must and so with his duties of self-confidence to win.

In addition to the carefully written story gives Johnny the chameleon that certain something. In the interview he says of his role: "He's trying to figure out how and who he should be, like most of us."

Especially were the dubbing, because instead of sitting on his stool blunt and speak into his microphone, opted director and spokesman for the thing to breathe real life. Therefore, dance, jump and scream, the actors in many scenes in a real small set around too, so that the images actually look realistic, too.

"This is something I've never done before yet. Instead of moving images to record, we here on emotions and get the actors to give the characters feelings. "Says Depp of the exceptional work against Studio.



"There's just a bunch of adults a chance to be silly." How silly Mr. Depp has behaved in fact, you can see in the following clip and also learn a few words about the animated film.

Johnny Depp recalls meeting Paradis

Johnny Depp has described the first time that he fell in love with his eventual wife Vanessa Paradis at a Paris hotel 13 years ago.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, he explained: "I was doing a film with Roman Polanksi, The Ninth Gate, and across the room I saw this woman's back.

"I saw this neck attached to the back, and I was sort of fascinated by it. Honestly, it was a very beautiful sculptural thing. Then suddenly the back and the neck turned, and it had a face."

The pair had met several years before, and Depp revealed that the French singer asked him: "Hi, do you remember me?"

He added: "'I knew it was over - I was done. I was in big trouble from that second on."

Depp's latest movie The Tourist was released in cinemas earlier this month.

Johnny Depp 'loved exploring Venice'

Johnny Depp has revealed that he enjoyed exploring the city of Venice while filming The Tourist.

Speaking to AFP, Depp noted that he often found himself walking around the famed Italian city each night after work had wrapped.

"My experience of Venice really happened between 10pm and 2am when the streets closed and I was able to walk around and experience the poetry of Venice, the ghosts of Venice, all those wonderful dark alleys," he said.

The actor further explained that he was able to draw on the city's mystique to inform his performance in The Tourist.

He remarked: "For an actor being able to film within the confines of that magical city certainly helps.... The city's magic shone through completely."

Earlier this week, Depp insisted that he is "floored" to have been nominated for two Golden Globe awards.

Johnny Depp has no mobile phone

LOS ANGELES: Johnny Depp, who calls himself as ‘Mr. Stench’, was born to a waitress and a civil engineer in Owensboro and dropped out of high school by the age of 15. He then pursued his dream career as a rock musician with various garage bands, including ‘The Kids’ band.

He emerged as an actor with his debut film “A Nightmare in Elm Street” in 1985. Depp turned into a ‘teen idol’ with the popular Fox TV television series “21 Jump Street”. After numerous teen-oriented films, he decided to take up rightful challenging roles, thereby starred in the title role in “Edward Scissorhands” by Tim Burton.

Depp always fascinates his fans and critics by taking up unique, charming, characteristic roles in each of his films. His recent popular films include “Alice in Wonderland”, the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” series in which he portrayed the charming “Jack Sparrow” role and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. He has won the prestigious Golden Globe Award for the Best Actor for “Sweeny Todd: The Demon of Fleet Street” and has been nominated for the Academy Awards three times and BAFTA Awards two times.
With the world going gaga over mobile phones, it comes as a surprise that Depp actually does not use cell phones and not even call when he is at home! But he says, though he doesn’t like to be reachable all time through mobile phones, Internet does fascinate him as an “interesting” form of communication. When he was queried how he would be contacted, he replied that he could be just buzzed on the Internet or something. (And what if that fails?! Try the old pigeon messenger or some other form of “interesting communication”!) Yes, it’s so strange. Well but that’s – ‘tech-free’ or may be ‘mobile-free’ – Johnny Depp for you!!

Avoid Jolie, Depp's 'Tourist' trap

What's served under a label promising first-class Champagne tastes like last night's prosecco in "The Tourist," a zero-chemistry pairing of Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp that opens in theaters Friday.

Staggeringly misjudged in virtually every department, from the wannabe effervescent script to Depp's dopey hairdo, the Sony release stands as an object lesson in the perils of succumbing to the siren call of big-time Hollywood filmmaking for a foreign director with one art house hit behind him. The studio's publicity machine will work overtime to drum up some initial business, but "Tourist" will fall into a trap of its own making.

After receiving near-universal acclaim and a foreign-language Oscar for his 2006 debut feature, "The Lives of Others," a quietly riveting suspense drama set in East Germany, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who grew up partially in the US and speaks perfect English, was inundated with offers from all quarters but wanted to choose carefully. After such a long delay, for him to have finally settled on this trifling romp over the rooftops and in the canals of Venice is stupefying to say the least and will give plenty of ammunition to the small band of detractors of his earlier outing.

Embalmed in makeup and elegant gowns that puts one in mind of Loretta Young and employing a reserved English accent that allows no possibility of genuine emotional expression, Jolie plays Elise, the object of much male attention in the opening scenes, which is no surprise even though the men in question are all surveillance experts intent upon following her every move in the hope she'll lead them to her criminal lover, one Alexander Pearce. After she receives a note instructing her to take a morning train from Paris to Venice, the chase is on, and she knows it.

With every guy on board keen for Elise to sit next to them, she instead gloms on to the scruffy, rather forlorn-looking Frank Tupelo, a mild-mannered math teacher from Wisconsin. Baffled and unnerved by her attentions, Frank is thoroughly unequipped to partake in the kind of witty, insinuating dialogue expected in stories of train-bound intrigue. Not that Donnersmarck, having revamped previous scripts by the estimable Julian Fellowes and Christopher McQuarrie, has written any. But it's woefully clear from their first scene together that, not only is there nothing clicking between the stars, but that the entire enterprise is madly artificial and silly, that whatever games are being played here are not going to be fun.

Donnersmarck, along with his multitude of producers, must have dreamed that, with two of the most glamorous and best-looking stars in the business, he had a shot of making a modern Hitchcock romantic thriller along the lines of "The 39 Steps," "To Catch a Thief" and "North by Northwest." Well, dream on. No one here evinces the slightest feel for that sort of sly sophistication. Instead, we get tiresome scenes of the hapless Frank, who's presumed to be the much sought-after Alexander, being pursued by goons of a Scotland Yard contingent led by Paul Bettany and by those of a gangster tycoon (Steven Berkoff) from whom Alexander stole a fortune and who you'd believe to be Russian but for his British accent.

Least accountable of all is the growing affection Elise seems to be feeling for the ineffectual Frank. Or is she pretending? One minute she invites him into her sumptuous suite at the Danieli, the next she makes him sleep on the couch. After telling him to go home and dropping him at the airport, she then dances with him at an elegant ball. But no matter as the film manages to build nary a trace of interest in either character.

Looking puffy and unassertive, Depp never has registered less effectively in his entire film career. For Jolie's part, the nature of her role doesn't allow her to show her hand to anyone, severely limiting the extent of characterization. This is where wit and lively banter would come in handy, but this is more difficult to appropriate from old movies than is format.

Surely Donnersmarck did not set out to remake Death in Venice, but artistically, that is what has been achieved.

Johnny Depp 'doesn't plan to marry Paradis'

Johnny Depp has remarked that he does not need a marriage certificate to feel bonded with his longtime partner Vanessa Paradis.

During an interview with Extra, Depp insisted that he has never felt the urge to tie the knot.

"I never found myself needing that piece of paper," he said. "Marriage is really from soul to soul, heart to heart. You don't need somebody to say, okay you're married."

The actor admitted that he would only ever consider officially marrying Paradis if it proved to be important to his partner, but joked that he would be reluctant for his girlfriend to take his last name.

"If Vanessa wanted to get hitched, why not… But the thing is, I'd be so scared of ruining her last name. She's got such a good last name," he jested.

Depp will next star in The Tourist, which is released on December 10 in US and UK cinemas.

Depp bans phones at home

'Pirates of the Caribbean' star Johnny Depp has banned phones in his French home to ensure that private time with his family is uninterrupted.

The 47-year-old star shares a luxury home in the country with his partner Vanessa Paradis and their two children.

He makes makes sure they can relax during their stays there by cutting contact with the outside world.

"When I'm at our house in France I totally cut myself off from the rest of the world. I never have to listen to phones ringing and that's because - and Vanessa would confirm this - phones are banned from the house," Contactmusic quoted him as telling the Sun.

"We have a beautiful life and I feel that spending time in France has just calmed me down and made me stop worrying about things which aren't really important," he added.

How Angelina Jolie And Johnny Depp Met Each Other?

Hollywood filmmakers must have been eagerly waiting for the golden opportunity of bringing the two superstars Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie together in a movie. However, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck became the first lucky one to cast them in his upcoming film 'The Tourist'.

It's surprising to know that these two popular stars have never met earlier before they started working together in this film. Both the stars were called together to discuss on the action thriller movie and that is when 'The Pirates Of The Caribbean' star Johnny Depp met the 'Mr and Mrs Smith' star Angelina Jolly for first time.

Usually, when two actors meet for the first time, they discuss work or their films but Jolie and Johnny bonded over their similar interest, their kids. Both of them are very close to their children and that helped them to bond well. In fact, Jolie says that she could approach Depp easily because she saw photos of his lady Vanessa Paradis and their children in his Hollywood office.

The 35-year-old actress, Jolie, is a self claimed big fan of the 47-year-old Johnny. Angelina added that she has watched Johnny Depp starrer 'Alice in Wonderland' several times along with Brad Pitt and her kids.
Their mutual admiration is sure to reflect in 'The Tourist' and we hope it becomes one of the biggest hit of 2010!

Johnny Depp Belts Out 40,000 Pounds To Protect Movie Crew From Cold Wave

Hollywood actor Johnny Depp, who is currently filming the latest version of the popular franchisee 'Pirates of the Caribbean' reportedly belted out 40,000 pounds from his own pocket to purchase jackets after witnessing his crew members shivering in the freezing cold.

Depp is currently at the Pinewood Studios in Bucks and reports say that the studio has been hit by the cold wave.

It was one of the crew members at the studio who brought the incident to the media's attention, stressing on the fact that the incident made it clear that the actor has a heart of gold and is one of the best people Hollywood has ever seen. Reports suggest that Johnny Depp made sure to provide waterproof jackets to all the 500 people present on the sets of "Pirates of the Caribbean" so that they can enjoy a nice warm winter. Each waterproof cost him 80 pounds, but the actor did not think twice before lending the money from his own pocket.

Johnny Depp plays Captain Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean", a film which has broken all box office records, ranking second in the list of the highest grossing films of Hollywood. Johnny Depp has always been known for his philanthropic ways.

Johnny Depp tops entertainment power poll

Johnny Depp has been voted the world's 'Most Powerful Entertainer'.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor came top of the list, compiled by Entertainment Weekly.

Editors at the magazine cited Depp's huge popularity as a factor in his success, making him a highly bankable star who can "do anything he wants".

Depp has generated £3.72bn in movie sales through his wide variety of roles, from full-length
features to cameos and voice work.

Lady GaGa came second in the list, followed by Oprah Winfrey, Simon Cowell and Will Smith. Robert Downey Jr, Sandra Bullock, Leonardo DiCaprio and Eminem also appeared in the top ten.

Bebo, Saif crazy about Depp

Kareena Kapoor's birthday plans for September 21 have undergone a change. Bebo was to originally fly to Paris with her mother, sister Karisma and beau Saif Ali Khan.

Now Babita Kapoor and Karisma have dropped out because Karisma's children are too young and the actress doesn't want to put them through too much travel in a span of just four days.

Saif is now taking his girlfriend for a four-day trip to the most romantic city in the world. While the actors are likely to stay at the Ritz Hotel, they will be having the birthday dinner at the Mandala Ray, a restaurant near the Champs Elysees. This restaurant and bar is co-owned by Johnny Depp, Sean Penn and John Malkovich.

Bebo says, "Both Saif and I are crazy about Johnny Depp. And Saif just thought it is appropriate to buy me my birthday dinner at Johnny's restaurant." The actress won't reveal anything further... but one hears that Saif has another 'surprise' planned for her in connection to Johnny Depp. But this one is truly a surprise and Saif refuses to divulge anything till after the 21st.

Jolie strips to seduce Depp in The Tourist

Actress Angelina Jolie has been pictured stripping off as she seduces her co-star actor Johnny Depp in The Tourist.

Jolie, 35, was seen letting her silky robe fall to the floor before sharing a saucy snog with Depp, 47, in the newly released trailer, the Sun reported.

Depp plays an American tourist who meets the mysterious Elise on a train in Italy and gets drawn into a complicated spy plot.

‘The Tourist’ is set to hit cinemas in December.

Depp to star with girlfriend

Hollywood actor Johnny Depp and his longtime girlfriend Vanessa Paradis will be seen together in a new film about feminist writer Simone De Beauvoir.

While the French actress will play De Beauvoir in the film titled My American Lover, Depp is in negotiations to play her lover Nelson Algren, reports digitalspy.co.uk.

"They're still writing the script but the idea would be amazing because it's such a beautiful story. You only know when you're really actually shooting," said Paradis.

The couple were previously cast together in Terry Gilliam's Don Quixote, but the film could not be completed.

"We've had plenty of opportunities to work together. But I don't know that I could do it... It's something we don't look for, otherwise it would've happened many times," she said.

"My American Lover came along and it might happen just because the story is great and why not if we can, but we don't push things. Playing in front of one of the best actors in the world that we have and someone I know so well will be challenging," she added.

Celebrities and Their Odd Phobias …

Phobias aren’t as abnormal as most people think. I’m severely arachnophobic, and cannot stand spiders. They don’t scare me, as such, they terrify me. And I have a friend who is so claustrophobic that anything less than a medium sized room will induce vomiting and panic attacks, almost straight away. Phobias always seemed to be something quite secret, though, so I was surprised to learn that these ten celebs have them too!

1. Johnny Depp
The fearless pirate isn’t as fearless as he first seemed… he suffers from arachnophobia, plasmophobia and coulrophobia. Which means he is scared of spiders, ghosts and clowns! “There’s something about the painted face and the fake smile. There seems to be a real darkness lurking under the surface, a potential for real evil,” Depp explained. Well, I’m with him on the spiders, and I do my best to avoid clowns!

2. Billy Bob Thornton
Angelina Jolie’s ex Thornton has a phobia of antiques… he refuses to stay in the room with furniture made before 1950. Which sounds very unusual, but apparently 250,000 people in America suffer from this same problem. “I’ve had friends tell me that maybe I was beaten to death by an antique chair in a former life,” Billy has said, by way of explanation… well, whatever causes it, it’s not as rare a phobia as I thought!

3. Alfred Hitchcock
Film maker and produced Hitchcock has another odd phobia… the fear of eggs. Especially runny ones… people who worked with Alfred claimed that cracking an egg made him gag, and he wouldn’t eat any food containing eggs. And suddenly my fear of spiders doesn’t seem that bad… His daughter explained her dad’s fear by saying, “He just said they were so horrible-looking… that you’d cut into them and that yellow stuff would run all over. He thought it was absolutely disgusting.”

4. Christina Ricci
Christina suffers from botanaphobia, which is a fear of house plants. Sufferers find plants dirty, and can’t bring themselves to water them… Christina admitted, “If I have to touch one, after already being repulsed by the fact that there is a plant indoors, it freaks me out.” So I guess she doesn’t have green fingers… I think I’d miss my house plants if I had to put them all outside!

5. Tyra Banks
While most of us would love to swim with our intelligent friends, Tyra won’t be jumping in the pool with dolphins anytime soon. “I have dreams that I’m in a pool and there are dolphins bumping me and I am frightened.” She revealed, and she has reportedly suffered from the phobia since she was just eight years old. A pretty rare phobia!

6. Matthew McConaughey
Matthew has famously admitted to having a fear of revolving doors, and of tunnels. It’s not being underground that bothers him, but the point where you go from being above ground to underneath… and he’s also revealed that he hasn’t worn deodorant in twenty years. I’m a little anxious about revolving doors myself, especially the vicious ones…

7. Nicole Kidman
Nicole suffers from lepidopterophobia, which is a fancy word for the fear of butterflies. “It’s so bizarre. I’m not scared of snakes or spiders,” Kidman revealed, and even tried to face her fear by going through the butterfly exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, but couldn’t make it through. I share the same fear… I can’t go outside if I can see a butterfly. I love their colours, and their patterns, but their bodies scare me and I’m terrified if they land on me.

8. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey has a weird phobia…she’s scared of chewing gum. There is a rational explanation, however. “My grandmother used to save it (used gum) in little rows in the cabinet. I’d be scared to touch it because it was so gross, so I have a thing about gum. One guest in my home sat at the dinner table, took out some gum from her mouth and put it on the plate. After she left, I threw the plate out.” I think I’d be pretty scared of gum after that, too.

9. Madonna
Madonna has something in common with my dog… they are both utterly petrified of thunder. Named brontophobia, it’s a surprisingly common phobia! It can cause panic attacks, trembling, crying, a rapid heartbeat and a feeling of dread, even if the sufferer knows they are at no risk. I’m not particularly good during thunder storms, especially if I’m alone, so I sympathise!

10. Natalie Wood
Actress Natalie Wood suffered from hydrophobia, a fear of water, for her entire life. She died in 1981, after falling out of a boat into the water, and drowning. Her death was recorded as accidental drowning, as Wood had drank a few glasses of wine and didn’t remove her heavy coat and sweater. It makes you think, though… maybe phobias do have a purpose?
Well, now I’ve made myself look like a scaredy-cat (I’m not scared of life, I promise, but I do flinch at my own shadow)… I’m fascinated by how normal phobias are! It would appear that most people are scared of something, and that makes me feel a lot better. Have you got a phobia, or do you know of a celeb I’ve missed off? I’d love to hear about it!