Another Hollywood twerp to ignore or despise

[2dogs]

http://www.etherzone.com/2003/walf072303.shtml

JOHNNY DEPP:
PIRATE OF ST. TROPEZ

By: Paul Walfield

In recent weeks, there has been an upsurge, even from the Democrats in Congress, about the evils of expressing your first amendment rights if expressing them criticizes a Hollywood celebrity. The elite are protected from the “rabble†by Democrats who think they know who butters their bread, and by the media who sees anyone who doesn’t think like them as, well, “rabble.â€

Apparently the first amendment to the Constitution is at the disposal of the Left, but not anyone else. The Left can boycott, criticize and pretty much damn the government and country and anyone they see as a threat or even an annoyance. But woe to the person or persons who criticize the Left. For the Left, bad mouthing America is patriotic, but badmouthing the person badmouthing America, is downright treasonous.




USA Weekend.com ran a July 6, 2003, story on the “always offbeat†star of the new Disney movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.†Basically, the story on Depp is a condemnation of America, its people and its place in the world. Johnny “loves†America, but prefers France. He moved there five years ago and has never looked back. You see France is far more civilized than America for Johnny as he is “shocked by the gun violence in American schools and feels it is far safer raising a family in France.â€

Little Johnny prefers to “live a simple life†in France. According to the article, the simple life for Johnny is one in which he can “live as he pleases in a French farmhouse near swanky St. Tropez and choose which roles he wants to play.†Johnny also likes to go out and buy “$18,000 bottles of wine in restaurants, and pals around with Rolling Stones bad boys Keith Richards and Ron Wood.â€

However, Johnny loves “France and [to] be living in a tiny village with nothing around. There is still the possibility to live a simple life. You can go to the market, walk about, buy fruits and vegetables -- the things they did 100 and 200 years ago. We have moments when we're sitting in our house and our kids are playing, and we look at one another and think, 'Thank God we escaped.’â€

For Johnny, buying a cucumber or a cabbage from a market is primitive living and living and being in America is a place and state of being, to “escape†from. Just the same, Johnny wants us all to pay U.S. dollars to see him in the movies so he can continue to badmouth the country that allowed him to become an “artiste.â€

If anyone dare criticize that pompous little twerp for badmouthing America, it is an “infringement†on his first amendment rights.

Then again, the folks over at Disney love the guy. After all, they are the same company that wanted to bankroll Michael Moore’s new hate-America project until the word got out and many Americans became upset. Apparently Disney folded at the prospect of being discovered to be whom they really are (among the “elite Leftâ€), and now Mikey has to find funding elsewhere.

Although according to The Drudge Report, Disney’s Miramax did produce the movie “Buffalo Soldiers†in the summer of 2003, which according to its director, “Gregor Jordan describes SOLDIERS as a robust satire illustrating the corruption, drug use and violence that goes on in US Army bases.†In other words, while American soldiers are giving their lives in Iraq, Disney is presenting a film depicting America’s warriors as low life’s.

No wonder Disney loves Johnny.

Johnny sees the French as far more sophisticated and erudite than the backward Americans. “He rejects the view that there has been a surge of anti-Americanism there because of opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, and he believes the French people have behaved in a dignified manner while some Americans have resorted to ‘schoolyard tactics’ by renaming French fries ‘freedom fries.â€â€™

Johnny explains, “That was so revealing, that grown men sat around and came up with that idea,†talking about freedom fries. “It was tragic and embarrassing. At the same time, I was happy it was exposed, and people knew that a bunch of congressmen -- big people, the upper-drawer people -- made that decision.†Johnny seems to really like France and is very protective.

As far as the war in Iraq is concerned, Johnny only sees the ugly Americans bullying the world’s innocent and defenseless peoples. “I saw these American kids being shipped off to war, and I was looking at their faces and thinking, they're not ready for it.†Adding, “Is anybody ever ready for it? You're thinking about where they're going, what they're getting into. What's it really all about? It's about dough; it's about money. That's ugly.â€

Besides trashing America, Johnny also has advice on parenting and family values, you know, the things we all thought about whenever we used to think about Disney. Johnny has a couple of children who he loves dearly along with their mother. However, he hasn’t as yet chosen to marry. Johnny doesn ’t think it is important just yet. He wants to wait a while so that the marriage will mean something to his children. Johnny wants to wait to marry the mother of his children, who by the way, he loves dearly, until his “kids are old enough to enjoy it.â€

Johnny sees marriage the same way normal people view going to the movies. After all, seeing a movie is more enjoyable when you have friends around who also enjoy the night out. Marriage for Johnny, unlike us mere mortals, is all about the ceremony. Johnny is not getting married for the sake of his wife or for the sake of his children, but rather for the sake of entertaining his children. How sick is that?

Like Susan Sarandon, the Dixie Chicks and countless other celebrities before him, Johnny Depp has taken what was given to him by America and her people, and stepped all over it.

Perhaps next time America creates a new star with all the wealth and fame that goes with it, we Americans' remember to keep the receipt.

 

[greyhound]

You know what though? At least the stupid clown had the conviction to leave his hated "Amerikka". **cough**Alec Baldwin**cough**

I hope he remembered to renounce his citizenship on the way out

 

[XLMiguel]

Delusional twerps It amazes the hell out of me how these idiots have so little respect for a country that has achieved such a standard of living such that its people have sufficient leisure time to consume the 'products' of these 'artists' labors. They should try selling movie tickets and action figures someplace where the primary concern of the day is 'is there anything to eat?' as opposed to, say, 'what color should my new SUV be?' I'll bet Johnny never got any dirt under his nails digging for his own parsnips

Johnny, Alec, BaaBaa, et al, don't let the door hit ya where the dog shoulda bit ya. AMFs.

 

[BenW]

“I saw these American kids being shipped off to war, and I was looking at their faces and thinking, they're not ready for it.†Adding, “Is anybody ever ready for it? You're thinking about where they're going, what they're getting into...."

How would HE know? Did he play a soldier in a movie once?

 

[agricola]

are Democrats burning copies of this article? firebombing newstands that stock the magazine its in? so what if Depp prefers France to the US?

 

[El Tejon]

His money. Being free is being able to say silly things and do silly things.

Some consider martial arts and the Way of the Gun to be silly. However, I am free to study them.

BTW, ag, why are we agreeing more and more?

 

[rrader]

Then again, the folks over at Disney love the guy. After all, they are the same company that wanted to bankroll Michael Moore’s new hate-America project until the word got out and many Americans became upset. Apparently Disney folded at the prospect of being discovered to be whom they really are (among the “elite Leftâ€), and now Mikey has to find funding elsewhere.

Nope, turns out Disney was lying about yanking funding from Moore's new anti-American flick. They are at least providing "bridge funding" and Disney-Miramax will most likely still fund it in it's entirety.


http://www.moorewatch.com/

see: "Paying for Mikey" 6/23/2003

 

[hso]

I don't care one way or the other about Johnny Dep, but I do care about accuracy. This is the article written on Dep that the article that Walfield wrote was written from (ie an article about someone based on an entertainment article). You read it and figure out how many information step losses Deps's opinions went through before it got here. Before you get all spun up about what someone excerpted from another article ask yourself if some of us here don't also think the oligarchy in Washington had other than protective motives for the war on Iraq, that getting away from the rat race wouldn't be good for our families, that the USA is a great country because of it's freedoms, but hollyweird has taught our kids that violence is trivial and that firearms are toys, and that school violence isn't worse than when we were kids partially because of it.

From USA Weekend -
Imagine a doting dad playing Barbies on the floor with his 4-year-old daughter while he gives his baby boy a bottle early on a Sunday morning. Now move the scene to a farmhouse in the south of France, picture the father as a somewhat disheveled but darkly handsome long-haired man with mysterious gold caps on his teeth, and you have a glimpse into the life of daddy Johnny Depp.

But the former teen heartthrob -- remember "21 Jump Street"? -- isn't quite your average father. At 40, Depp loves to play loud electric guitar, wears clothes that could use a cleaning, occasionally orders $18,000 bottles of wine in restaurants, and pals around with Rolling Stones bad boys Keith Richards and Ron Wood.

Still, cultivating his domestic side is something of a change for the actor and star of the Disney epic "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", which opens Wednesday. These days, Depp's focus is squarely on girlfriend Vanessa Paradis, 30, a beautiful French actress and pop singer, and their two children, Lily-Rose and Jack. He says he wants to marry Paradis when their kids are old enough to enjoy it, preferably at a three-day "gypsy wedding." Making it legal would only seem fitting to a father so smitten with his children that he writes off the years before their birth -- when he was dating actress Winona Ryder and model Kate Moss and starring in a string of strong, offbeat movie roles -- as a total waste of time.

"I literally feel as though I didn't have a life before," says Depp, sitting in an elegant bar in Paris wearing a rumpled dark suit and smoking a homemade cigarette that would get him tossed out of most establishments in the United States. "It was like existing, but not living. When you have a baby, it's like a veil is lifted suddenly. [Before,] I did stuff and I smiled and I laughed, but it's like I didn't experience it until I had kids. You can't imagine the degree of joy and love and life that's available until you have a kid. I just didn't get it."

Depp seems to have outrun his demons. The early line on his career held that he was bound for self-destruction. He was expected to date one too many supermodels, develop a drinking or drug problem, destroy too many hotel rooms, attack too many paparazzi, alienate one too many producers and end up as a better-looking version of Mickey Rourke, unable to find meaningful work.

Instead he fell in love, first with Paradis and then with his adopted country. He says he is shocked by the gun violence in American schools and feels it is far safer raising a family in France.

"I was very lucky that something steered me to France back in '98," he says of his decision to make a movie with Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski in 1998. "I love America -- I love going back, seeing my family and friends -- but it's wonderful to get back to France and be living in a tiny village with nothing around. There is still the possibility to live a simple life. You can go to the market, walk about, buy fruits and vegetables -- the things they did 100 and 200 years ago. We have moments when we're sitting in our house and our kids are playing, and we look at one another and think, 'Thank God we escaped.' "

Depp comes from a poor rural family (he alternately refers to them as "hillbillies" and "white trash"), which makes his rise to international stardom even more unlikely. He moved from Kentucky to Florida when he was 5; once in Florida, his family moved "at least" 30 times in 10 years, for no particular reason, he says, except to satisfy his mom's wanderlust. (Depp was raised primarily by his mother after his parents divorced when he was 15.) "To this day," he says, "when I pack a bag, it triggers some kind of trauma."

A product of the rural South who spent many years in Hollywood, Depp never really felt at home until he moved to France. He rejects the view that there has been a surge of anti-Americanism there because of opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, and he believes the French people have behaved in a dignified manner while some Americans have resorted to "schoolyard tactics" by renaming French fries "freedom fries."

"That was so revealing, that grown men sat around and came up with that idea," he says of the freedom fries initiative. "It was tragic and embarrassing. At the same time, I was happy it was exposed, and people knew that a bunch of congressmen -- big people, the upper-drawer people -- made that decision."

He also was not convinced by the Bush administration's rationale for the war. He says the real reason was America's economic interests. "I saw these American kids being shipped off to war, and I was looking at their faces and thinking, 'They're not ready for it,' " he says. "Is anybody ever ready for it? You're thinking about where they're going, what they're getting into. What's it really all about? It's about dough; it's about money. That's ugly."

Depp used to scorn the Hollywood star-making machine and rail about the corrupt nature of the film business. But that harsh talk and superior attitude has faded. He realizes the absurdity of criticizing an industry that lets him live as he pleases in a French farmhouse near swanky St. Tropez and choose which roles he wants to play. "Pirates of the Caribbean" is the first in a sudden run of movies for Depp, including the modern-day Western "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" with Antonio Banderas, out in September, and the drama J.M. Barrie's "Neverland" with Kate Winslet, to be released next spring.

"It's a terrific job, and I'm very thankful to still get gigs," he says, still sporting the gold dental work on display for his role as Capt. Jack Sparrow in "Pirates". "There were a number of years when I took offense to Hollywood, when I took it all so seriously. But it doesn't bother me too much anymore. I understand it now pretty much, and I don't play it. If I play, I want to play on my terms."

That means having Hollywood come to him, not the other way around. When heavyweight producer Jerry Bruckheimer wanted Depp to star in "Pirates", he made a special trip to Paris to recruit him, because he saw Depp's screen presence as a way to broaden the film's appeal beyond young moviegoers naturally drawn to a pirate flick.

"He makes this movie more offbeat," Bruckheimer says. "He wanted to play Jack Sparrow as half-baked, out at sea too long, drinking too much, but very smart underneath it all. And he's very visual; he created the look of the character."

By playing a Disney swashbuckler, Depp hopes to add a summer blockbuster to his long list of smaller films. "It's up to the public to decide whether to make it commercial," he says.

And there is another aspect of the movie that pleases Depp: He can show it to his kids. "They should get a kick out of it," he says.

 

[rrader]

hso:

This is the article written on Dep that the article that Walfield wrote was about. You read it and figure out how many information step losses Deps's opinions went through before it got here then ask yourself if some of us here don't also think the oligarchy in Washington had other than protective motives for the war on Iraq, that getting away from the rat race wouldn't be good for our families, that the USA is a great country because of it's freedoms, but hollyweird has taught our kids that violence is trivial and that firearms are toys.

What information step losses specifically are you referring to. It looks like the article cited by 2Dogs is an accurate account of Depp's opinions as presented in yours.

As for naming french fries "freedom fries" being a childish act as Depp alleges, well... don't the French have several Government-funded commissions designed to weed Americanisms out of the French language, aren't they tasked with coming up with replacement phrases for terms like e-mail, hot dog, online, etc..., and by Depp's standards aren't the French far more childish in that regard?

 

[Gordon Fink]

… o what if Depp prefers France to the US?

Exactly!

Except for his fallacious correlation of guns and violence, Depp’s perceptions of the United States are not necessarily incorrect, though I suspect many European countries use creative accounting to minimize their crime rates. And fortunately for him, his wealth allows him to live comfortably in France despite the onerous tax burden.

~G. Fink

 

[dinosaur]

Banning the word e-mail this week comes to mind.

 

[longeyes]

"He also was not convinced by the Bush administration's rationale for the war. He
says the real reason was America's economic interests. "I saw these American
kids being shipped off to war, and I was looking at their faces and thinking,
'They're not ready for it,' " he says. "Is anybody ever ready for it? You're thinking
about where they're going, what they're getting into. What's it really all about?
It's about dough; it's about money. That's ugly."

And he's not into money and partying and beautiful actresses and the la bonne vie? Bit hypocritical, I'd say. Yeah, it's about dough, it's about money, Johnny Boy, and you're proving that from your "farm" in France.

Everyone needs a guardian spirit to steer them to the next big spiritual locus. His is Roman Polanski. 'Nuff said.

 

[Joe Demko]

Isn't this the spot in any "celebrity bashing" thread where somebody is supposed to make the obligatory post about that paragon of virtue and patriotism and all-around swell guy Ted Nugent?
I swear, sometimes this board reminds me of the years when I used to teach 7th grade. Those kids would get their undies all in a bunch over celebrities and sports figures, too.
Everybody repeat after me:
Johnny Depp is not a role model.
Johnny Depp doesn't know who I am or care what my opinion of him is.
Johnny Depp does not set governmental policies in either the US or France.
Johnny Depp is just an actor.
Johnny Depp has the freedom to hold whatever opinions he likes whether they agree with mine or not.
Johnny Depp is free to spend his money however he likes.

Now, just repeat this over and over until it sinks in. Replace Depp's name, as necessary, with the name of the next celebrity who comes up for a thrashing over not holding what a THR member considers the right set of beliefs. Alec Baldwin, Barbara Streisand, The Dixie Chicks, et. al. are likely places to start.

 

[CGofMP]

Genius In France!

Mr. Depp is OBVIOUSLY well suited to being in France....
In fact you COULD say that he is a "Genius IN France".

For those of you who do not recognize the allusion I am making it refers to the following song by WEIRD AL YANKOVIC. (Lyrics below)

Charles

--------------------
Genius In France
------------------
"Genius In France"

I'm not the brightest crayon in the box
Everyone says I'm dumber than a bag of rocks
I barely even know how to put on my own pants
But I'm a genius in France (yeah), genius in France, genius in France

Hoom chaka laka
Hoom chaka laka
Hoom chaka

I may not be the sharpest hunk of cheese
I got a negative number on my SATs
I'm not good looking and I don't know how to dance
But nevertheless and in spite of the evidence I am still widely considered to be
A genius in France, a genius in France, a genius in France

People say I'm a geek, a moronic little freak
An annoying pipsqueak with an unfortunate physique
If I was any dumber, they'd have to water me twice a week

But when the Mademoiselles see me, they all swoon and shriek
They dig my mystique, they say I'm c'est magnifique
When I'm in Par-ee, I'm the chic-est of the chic

They love my body odor and my bad toupee
They love my stripey shirt and my stupid beret
And when I'm sipping on a Perrier
In some cafe town in St. Tropez

It's hard to keep the fans at bay
They say, "Sign my poodle, s'il vous plait"
"Sign my poodle, s'il vous plait"

Hemenene humenene
himenene homenene
Poodle... poodle...

Folks in my hometown think I'm a fool
Got too much chlorine in my gene pool

A few peas short of a casserole
A few buttons missing on my remote control
A few fries short of a happy meal
I couldn't pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel

Instructions on the heel
Instructions on the heel

But when I'm in Provence, I get free croissants
Yeah, I'm the guy every French lady wants
And if you ask 'em why, you're bound to get this response
(He's a genius in France! Genius in France!)

That's right
(He's a genius in France, genius in France)
You know it
(He's a genius in France, genius in France, genius in France)

I'm not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree
But the folks in France, they don't seem to agree
They say, "Bonjour, Monsieur would you take ze picture with me?"

I say, "Oui, oui"
That's right, I say, "Oui, oui"
"Oui, oui"
He says, "Oui, oui"

I'm dumber than a box of hair
But those Frenchies don't seem to care
Don't know why, mon frere
But they love me there

I'm a genius in France
Yeah, I'm a genius in France

Gonna make a big splash when I show up in Cannes
Gonna make those Frenchies scream
"You ze man! You ze man! You ze man!"

Like a fine Renoir (waa), I've got that je me c'est quoi (quoi!)
Like a fine Renoir (ooh la la), I've got that je me c'est ...
Quoi quoi quoi quoi quoi, oo-we-oo
Quoi quoi quoi quoi quoi, oo-we-oo

Bow diddy bow di bow di bow bow diddy
Bow diddy bow di bow di bow bow diddy
Bow

[snort]

I'm a taco short of a combo plate
But by some twist of fate, all the Frogs think I'm great
Oh, the men all faint and the women scream
They like me more than heavy cream

When I'm in Versailles, I'm a popular guy
My oh my, I'm as French as apple pie (apple pie)
They think I'm awful witty, a riot and a half
When I tell a stupid joke, they laugh(haw haw haw haw haw)
And laugh (haw haw haw haw haw haw)

People in France have lots of attitude
They're snotty and rude, they like disgusting food
But when they see me, they just come unglued
They think that I am one happening dude

Bowm ba ba bowm ba bowm ba bowm
I'm about as sharp as a bowling ball
But they like me better than Charles de Gaulle

Entre nous, it's very true
The room temperature's higher than my IQ
But they love me more than Gerard Depardieu
How did this happen; I don't have a clue

Well, I'm not the quickest tractor on the farm
I don't have any skills or grace or charm
And most people look at me like I'm all covered with ants
But I'm a genius in France (yeah), genius in France, genius in France

And I'm never goin' back, I'm never goin' back
I'm never never never never goin' back home again
I'm tearin' up my return flight ticket
Gonna tell the folks back here where they can stick it

'Cause I'm never goin' back
I'm never goin' back
I'm never goin' back

The girls back home never gave me a chance
But I sho' 'nuff got them Frogs in some kinda trance
And I'm aware that it's a most improbable circumstance
But "Great Googily Moogily", I'm a genius in France

Every Frenchie that I meet
Just can't wait to kiss my feet
Get in line, pucker up! Tout Suite!

Bowm diddy bowm diddy bowm diddy

I'm gettin' even more famous by the hour
I'm stuffed with pastries and drunk with power
Now they're puttin' up my statue by the Eiffel Tower

A little more to the left, boys, a little more to the left
A little more to the left, boys, a little more to the left

I'm the biggest dork there is alive
My mom picked out my clothes for me 'till I was 35
And I forgot to mention
I'm not even welcome at the Star Trek convention

But the Frenchies think
That my poop don't stink
I'm a genius in France

Say, would you pass the Grey Poupon?
Merci beaucoup

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

Johnny Depp can go live in France if he wants. There he'll be with his own kind !

 

[jimpeel]

... he is “shocked by the gun violence in American schools and feels it is far safer raising a family in France.â€

If he wants to see how safe France truly is, he should simply declare that he is a Jew. Talk about a wake-up call that'd be.

 

[bjengs]

Golgo, you are completely right.

And, frankly, I didn't see one really objectionable thing in the article about Depp. I think most of us are appalled at gun violence in schools. I don't believe he actually criticized the RKBA.

He's got his head on straight in the sense that he recognized he had the ability to leave a situation that caused him discomfort and make what he perceived to be a better life without screwing anyone else over to do it. His stated motivations are exactly the same as thousands of Americans who chuck it all and go to live simpler lives in Idaho or Montana or wherever.

He didn't ask anyone to pass any laws against anyone.
He called out jingoism ("freedom fries") without bashing Americans as a whole.
He finally got over that cliched, angst-ridden view of Hollywood and understands it better now.
He is an excellent, devoted father who has embraced the miracle of parenting.
He did not stoop to feeble-minded stereotypes (like comments regarding the French). His only derogatory comments were aimed specifically at people he knew.
He felt compassion for the soldiers, but scorn for the men who put them in harm's way.

In other words, he's pretty much like any of us, except he doesn't troll message boards and gripe with envy about our lives.

 

[longeyes]

"In other words, he's pretty much like any of us, except he doesn't troll message
boards and gripe with envy about our lives."

No, pal, he's not, really he's not.

And neither you nor Golgo appear to get the influence that lightweights
like Depp have on our culture. I happen to like him as an actor but I struggle
to separate his political and cultural views from his histrionic performances.

I think most of us on this forum think our soldiers are in harm's way in Iraq
because, unfortunately, they have to be.

If Depp's your poster boy--and that's the way it sounds--that's your
privilege.

 

[2dogs]

Yes, Depp has the right to say what he wants, to live where and how he wants.

And I have the right not to give him or anyone else I don't agree with my money. And my list is getting longer.

 

[Joe Demko]

I think most of us on this forum think our soldiers are in harm's way in Iraq because, unfortunately, they have to be.

In the sense that they have to be there because they were ordered there by their commander-in-chief; then, yes, they have to be there. Other than that, I don't believe they had to be there at all.

 

[hso]

"the French have several Government-funded commissions designed to weed Americanisms out of the French language, aren't they tasked with coming up with replacement phrases for terms like e-mail, hot dog, online, etc."

Kinda, they have a comission that is trying to keep the French language the language spoken in France. As to whether it's Americanisms out or not, no. They're trying to keep english language words and phrases out of use, whether they come from the US, Canada, or the UK. Much like Americans are trying to keep other languages (spanish, mandarin, vietnamese, etc.)out of official and common usage in the USA. The difference is that 'mercan isn't likely to be overwhelmed by a tidal wave of french (or spanish, mandarin, vietnamese) like France anticipates.

I don't even like French culture subjectively, but I know that is based on predjudice. I don't treat such ignorance and predjudice on my part as a virtue. On the other hand it does allow me to enjoy the occasional joke mired in cleche' about the French probably more than if I'd spent any time there.