On Thursday evening, Johnny Depp made his Hollywood Vampires debut at The Roxy on Sunset. This is his old-fart supergroup full of guys like Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, and Duff McKagan. Depp’s bestie, Marilyn Manson, did not join the group but showed up to watch, and Amber Heard signed autographs outside the venue. Did she make eye contact? Who knows, but this was Johnny’s rock ‘n’ roll night, so I’m not sure what she was doing.
This week’s issue of The Enquirer says Alice wants to stage an alcohol intervention for the Scarfmonster, although I don’t necessarily buy the story. I think Johnny’s pals let him do whatever he wants because he’s so cool. What isn’t cool, however, is what Johnny said about Whitey Bulger. The families of Bulger’s victims are upset about what Johnny said outside the Boston lounge-lizard screening of Black Mass. No wonder:
The story of James “Whitey” Bulger hits theaters nationwide this week, but comments actor Johnny Depp made about the notorious Boston mob boss is raising eyebrows.
“Especially the families of the victims can say he’s just an evil person. I just don’t believe that exists. I think that people have their humanity,” Depp said.
No one disputes that Depp’s transformation into the murderous mobster is incredible, but victims’ families feel that giving Bulger any ounce of humanity paints a blurry picture of a horrific past.
“There’s a kind heart in there,” Depp said of Bulger. “There’s a cold heart in there. There’s a man who loves. There’s a man who cries. There’s a lot to the man.”
“They were making the movie, and they were kind of disrespectful by not making any efforts to maybe speak to the victims to see how they felt,” Pat Donohue, whose husband was killed by Bulger, said.
[From WMUR.com]
Not a solid idea, Depp. He’s almost holding Whitey out as a folk hero instead of the brutal gangster who ruthlessly killed so many people. Then again, Johnny is known for empathizing with other unsavory real-life-figures he’s played. He got all buddy-buddy with cocaine king George Jung after portraying him in Blow. They spent time pouring their hearts out to each other, and Johnny was thrilled to hang with the guy after he left prison. So Johnny’s real-life character judgment is a bit warped, so say the least.
There is one amusing aspect about Johnny’s empathy for Whitey Bulger, and that’s that Whitey is seriously angry about this movie. He didn’t want Johnny playing him either! Whitey’s lawyer said, “Johnny Depp might as well have been playing the Mad Hatter all over again as far as James Bulger is concerned.” Buuuurn.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN
Bulger is a hard murderer with zero compassion. His victims families are rightfully upset by this.
Depp should be embarrassed.
This comment and his out of touch comments about Terriergate have really made me lose respect for him. I have always loved Johnny, since Benny & Joon, but he is just a joke version of himself now. Oh, how the mighty have fallen so far in my eyes. I know this sounds over the top a little, but I mourn the loss of my love for this man. He once was my end all and be all for years and now I think he’s too insulated from the real world that he’s lost the real him 🙁 Or maybe this is the real him and we were fooled all those years. Le sigh.
I agree, I always thought that Johnny Depp was not the brighest bulb and his comments are often “off”. To me he is a “wacko” and is showing his true self more and more, he used the hollywood machine to make so much $$$ yet criticize and made fun of actors who were more mainstream. He was this sexy hearthrob once but it is long gone… I like to see actors like Pitt/Jolie who give so much of their personna for helping others much less fortunate. They are making a difference, not the ones who at 50 plus try so hard to be cool but there is not much depth to them, and have no shame to defend true criminals…
Bulger is more of a celebrity than the victim’s family. God forbid Johnny read about their struggles to seek justice for their MURDERED loved one.
I wonder if Johnny would find him so interesting if he had to be in the same cell as Whitey for a month.
I think Depp is the subject of the blind item about Hollywood leading man who worships Satan.
All of it screams Depp to me. I wish I could find the original it is at least 7 years old. Anyhoo. THis statement proves he has the whole Anarchist mind set. Not following societal type morality. (the “new” definition of it And High Priest in the Church of Satans BFF ( Marilyn)? I think its him. There was buzz it was Orlando Bloom, I think its him. To each their own but wasn’t he key to the Westmister 5 (Damian Echols, etc) (sp) , getting the help (which they 100% deserved) to get out of prison? I dunno I was a die hard Johnny Depp fan since Nightmare on Elm Street, but I think its him. He is getting weirder as he ages. I think most of these type end up nuttier than a damn fruitcake. (Lron, Aleister Crowley, everyone around them, Manson seems he is off .) Just an observation.
Not trying to nitpick here, but anarchists and satanists are two completely different things. Just want that to be clear.
“Westminster 5 (Damian Echols, etc)”
You mean the West Memphis three. Damien’s birth name, by the way, was Michael Wayne Hutchison… who picks “Damien” as their new name? In the case of Echols it’s someone obsessed with black magic, not someone who just liked the sound. His psychiatric records were entered into evidence at the trial (called “Exhibit 500”) in an attempt to have him spared the death penalty, and while he may or may not have been involved in the murders his records show how f*cked up he really was. Biased mainstream documentaries aside, I wouldn’t want to meet Echols in a dark alley.
http://wm3truth.com/damien-echols-profile/
West Memphis 3, not Westminster 5. Truly a rabbit hole case probably one of the few cases I’ve been obsessed with since the beginning. Depp is emo wacky and probably thinks him & Damien Echols have a lot in common. Think Depp is more emo, wants to appear to be an outsider than Satanic. Depp is a tri-hard “dark soul” of the night type of guy.
Sorry, but “Westmister 5” made me chuckle.
It’s the West Memphis Three.
Johnny Depp appears to be loony-tunes, but he did a good deed there.
“Who picks Damien as their new name?” A throw-away kid in a small-town trailer park, deparate for *any* kind of attention.
The West Memphis police were under enormous pressure to solve the case, although I doubt they could have found their a@@ with both hands and a search warrant.
The state’s evidence consisted of –
1. A coerced confession from a sixteen year old, interrogated for 12 hours in a room with a baseball bat prominently displayed in the corner.
2. Fiber evidence establishing that everyone in West Memphis shopped at Walmart.
3. Evidence of a “Satanic cult” from a self-proclaimed expert, a charlatan with a high school education and a mail order doctorate. Incidentally, the injuries inflicted on the three murdered boys have been conclusively established as post-mortem and animal in origin. So much for the “Satanic cult”
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Actually, he chose the name Damien when he got confirmed as a Catholic. I believe he got the name from a book of saints. I think it’s unfair to say he is obsessed with black magic, from all of his interviews, he expresses interest in spirituality but not any kind of dark magic.
“Actually, he chose the name Damien when he got confirmed as a Catholic. I believe he got the name from a book of saints.”
It’s possible that the choice of “Damien” had nothing to do with The Omen, but since according to his medical records and people who knew him back then, around the time of and leading up to the murders he identified as a Wiccan, a witch and a vampire, threatened to put hexes on people he was angry with, threatened to kill people he was angry with, etc. … I find it funny.
Oh for goodness sake. Leave Damien, Jason and Jesse out of this. As if they haven’t had enough shit slung at them.
Yes! Embarassed about this, his life choices, dirty trashed teeth and suit ect…
Anyone who grew up in the Boston area during that time remembers the horror that man and his gang inflicted upon the area. To say he had a kind heart—even to illustrate how people are multifaceted– is a slap in the face to cruelty that man inflicted upon his victims and the fear he created in the area.
I do think people are complex, and murderers can feel sentimental about certain things, like motherhood or whatever. But to say Whitey Bulger had a kind heart is just nonsense. In my experience, kind-hearted people don’t slaughter 11-19 other human beings for money. Imagine how you would feel if your father had been murdered by this animal and some Hollywood jerk was saying what a kind heart he had. Ugh. Johnny Depp is just an old rambling drunk at this point. I can’t believe he still has a career.
ITA. Just because someone say, loves his children doesn’t mean that he has a “good heart”. Look at the BTK killer.
Anyway, I question whether people like Dennis Rader or Whitey Bulger really understand what love is.
Bulger was devasted at the death of his son
Psychopaths are more than capable of mimicing the emotions and actions of others. It’s how they pass through life unseen. It’s more likely that he was upset about what his son’s death said about him, what it meant to him as far as losing a legacy, than his son losing his life and future.
The Green River Killer took his son along on a kill once and admitted to investigators when he was caught that had his son seen anything he would have more than likely killed him as well. These are not good people, caring people. They care only about themselves and their immediate needs and goals.
And Hitler “loved” dogs but not because he had a heart.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2icoh3/ive_often_heard_people_say_even_hitler_was_nice/
Being sad that one’s own son died is not a mark of goodness. Heinous people can have emotions too, particularly about stuff they mark as “theirs.” That doesn’t make them any less heinous.
In more Bulger is proud to be a baddie
From what I understand of him Bulger was a psychopath and no, they don’t understand what love is. Psychopaths can be superficially charming and brilliant manipulators but are incapable of feeling empathy or remorse over their victims. It sounds like Depp gets taken in and carried away by the ‘outlaw’ image that appeals to him without considering the effect these people have on others in real life. There’s not much depth to Depp.
johnny and amber are seeming really desperate to cling on to fame and attention. a sociopath or psychopath as you state does not feel feelings. jessica simpson, kanye, and justing thereaux are like a breath of fresh air compared to some of the post lately. johnny is a has been teen bop still craving adoration (insert amber). i usedto respect him as an actor though i no longer do.
frisbee
Exactly.
As a side note, there was a brutal crime committed. The Cheshire murders. The monster who organized it and dictated what was to be done to his partner was said to love kittens so he couldnt be so cold. The Kind heart in there comment reminded me of this.
@ FLORC – I’m not easily spooked as a rule but Psychopaths are the one group of people who scare the beejaysus out of me!
@frisbee – That’s why I stay away from my biological mother.
(So glad I can joke about that now, even if it really isn’t a joking matter.)
@ byland – WHAAAT – a Psycho bio mother! Staying away is so doing the right thing, but then you know that you can’t change them, save them or elicit any empathy – and that’s why they scare me, there’s nothing you can do about them.
This. We’re talking about a man who conspired with an agent of the government he was defrauding of to murder witnesses so that he could continue to defraud and murder. People are complex, there’s no doubt about that. But to deny that evil can exist? I think history has shown us time and time can again that it can, that everyday life shows us it can. To live in such a bubble as Depp appears to must be wonderful.
Agree about his stardom, but those of us who do pay attention, I say “Shame on him”.
Because people have been racing to the theaters to see the new Johnny Depp movie for the last few years? It’s nice to see that at least someone was a fan of Mordecai.
@Uhm, I’m not surprised because of his comments or personal life, though I can see how you read what I said that way. I’m surprised because he has become so unattractive, bloated, obviously unreliable due to his alcoholism, and seedy. I wouldn’t cross the street to see him.
murderers can be complex people who may treat certain people nicely or possibly care for someone else but be stone cold towards their victims. And as an actor, I can see why it would help the performance to understand the killers humanity. But Depp’s comments came off too simplistic. I can see why victims families are so irate.
I think that’s what made The Sopranos brilliant. Tony was a monster but a complicated one at that.
Tony was a fictional creation. Whitey Bulger was not.
I guess it’s like the yin-yang symbol. Even the best of people have a little bit of darkness in them, and even the most monstrous have a little bit of light. It’s still easy to understand why the victims’ families are furious though, like you said. I would be.
Lol @ Bridget
Once some has three flops in a row (I.e. Lone Ranger, Transcendence, Mortdecai) you can’t call them box office gold.
In all fairness, though, The Lone Ranger was a much better movie than it was given credit for. When I watched it I fully expected it to be terrible (hubby wanted to see it), but it was actually funny and quite good! I blame poor marketing on that one to a great extent.
The other two-I’ll never know. I have no interest in seeing them.
You said it better than I could.
Very few people if any are pure 100% evil all the time…but that small percentage of goodness doesn’t change what they have done. Think that pseudo compassion for psychos makes us feel more comfortable with grasping their bad deeds and our “sins”. Humans trying to rationalize an evil person because we ourselves want forgiveness & acceptance.
True. We try to understand, we want to believe in that spark of humanity because it seems incomprehensible to us that a person could be irredeemably evil.
Are some killers capable of empathy, love and remorse? Sure. But that does not negate the evil things they do. Others don’t or can’t because that’s how they were wired/born. It’s hard to accept.
We also find it really hard to believe that there are people in the world who are utterly evil. We don’t want to judge too harshly, to go down that slippery slope that ends in calling people monsters because they said something wrong on Twitter. But refusing to acknowledge that there ARE a very small number of people in the world who are evil, and whose motivations are entirely cruel and selfish, only allows those completely evil people to flourish.
I agree with this. I’m not sure I would empathize with Bulger but a lot of serial killers, especially ones for hire, are far more complex in terms of the psychology than just “incapable of emotion.” Which in my opinion makes them all the more terrifying–the fact that they CAN and DO care for some people and yet are capable of doing what they do to other people. A really good look at this is the HBO docuseries on Richard Kuklinski. Depp shouldn’t have said what he said or he should have phrased it differently to be respectful of the families of the victims.
I am so tired of his sh!t.
Me too. Lost all respect for Depp a long time ago.
They are trying to take the Oscar Johnny’s hand at all costs!
and still you are here, reading and commenting…
you aren’t so “tired” after all…
And you’re still here responding and defending this poser piece of SHIT who has zero morals…
He said he was a person; had some humanity. Even a monster loves someone. He was saying there were layers to the man, even though all people see is the monster.
He said he had a kind heart. Honestly, how can you pass over that and try to change it into something less grotesque?
I read the whole statement, that’s how: “He had a kind heart. He had a cold heart.” Meaning, he was complex.
No he didn’t say this murderer was a nice guy. He said “There is a kind heart in there AND there is a cold heart in there. There’s a lot to the man. (…) I think that people have their humanity.”
Newsflash humans are complex. Even murderers. For example, Hitler was an animal rights activist and couldn’t eat meat because the thought of eating wonderful innocent animals made him sad
So you think a person who kills a man because he owes him money has a kind heart anywhere inside him? A kind heart? He made children fatherless, took beloved husbands from their wives, sons from their parents, over MONEY, but he has a kind heart? Ok. I agree that people are complex. But to say that this murderer has a kind heart, even if you throw in a cold heart after it, is obscene. There may be some self-serving sentimentality in this man, or some cliché responses to puppies or babies, but that doesn’t mean he had a kind heart. A kind heart doesn’t allow you to kill people for profit. Sorry. He’s wrong. And it was a cruel and insensitive and stupid thing to say.
Agree. I feel for the victims families, certainly. To them, Whitey was pure evil because he killed their loved one. But these awful, horrendous, criminal deeds are not all the man is. They’re not all any killer is. Whitey did awful, unspeakable things, and he should pay for it with a total loss of freedom, which he is. He was also a child once, someone’s son, perhaps a sibling. Maybe he loved some people sometime. Maybe someone loved him. An actor can’t ‘just’ play pure evil; it’s one dimensional and not reflective of an entire person. That’s an actor’s job. Depp didn’t skimp on the heartless, ruthless and crazy parts of Whitey. But he also made him three dimensional, as we all are. Love him or hate him, Depp is a real, no kidding talent when he’s on his game.
@gnat, I agree completely. This is some form of excusing criminals for their behaviour, no more, no less. “He did unspeakable things!”, “Yes, but he was also a father who played with his children and took care of his labrador!”. This is no different than people saying that Hitler was a vegetarian and loved dogs, or that Polanski had a rough life and that made him a lot more sensitive!
My question is: who cares? I don’ t.
I do believe that people who are completely evil exist, and even if this particular person wasn’ t, I would still don’ t care about his good side, because his bad side completely engulfs it!
As for actors, I can understand that they need to make their characters somewhat likeable and entertaining for the audience, and I understand that one dimension villains aren’ t even interesting to play, but for the love of God, say that they were a**holes and that you had to make them less disgusting for plot reasons, and leave it at that instead of trying to come up with some philosophical bul**hit!
Bulger is Evil by definition. He might have had moments where it could be translated as kindness by empathy on our parts… Bulger hugged his son, I hug my son, hugs are a sign of compassion and love, therefor Bulger is not 100% evil….
But he is. That’s not to say Bulger wasn’t complex. Murders and evil people can be very complex. Just not with compassion sprinkled in.
He’s never shown a sign of remourse and he reminds me a lot of Bundy. Who was quite honest with the monster he was and others like him. They don’t feel like a rational person feels and we can’t truly make sense of their mentality because we can’t relate.
@Lea
Please go watch a documentary about WWII concentration camps and come back here and say that again. Frontline has one on their website right now, it is actual footage of the liberation of the camps. So, go, watch it. And than come back to this site and type that sentence about Hitler again.
I think I will show myself out of this thread. I cannot believe I just read a comment espousing Hitler’s vegetarianism and love of animals. Wow.
@stacey many criminals that have committed horrible crimes had good families, raised in good homes with good opportunities. My dad came from a horrible childhood and grew up to the be the sweetest & kindest man I’ve known. We in the end do have a choice, many choices and are responsible for them. When someone has murdered 19 people, think by that time you can argue, that person is a POS with selective morality and could be evil. No amount of a “bad” home should lead someone to killing 19 people in cold blood.
Lea,
Hitler was NOT a vegetarian. That is a myth. He loved sausage and game.
Thank you, GNAT. How anyone can try and rationalize his comments is seriously beyond me.
I apologize for being so macabre, but I’ll admit that I laughed when someone actually tried to describe Hitler as someone who “couldn’t bear to harm innocent animals”. Ummmm, no.
“So you think a person who kills a man because he owes him money has a kind heart anywhere inside him? A kind heart? He made children fatherless, took beloved husbands from their wives, sons from their parents, over MONEY, but he has a kind heart? ”
So you think a person who kills a man because he is told so by his commanding officer has a kind heart anywhere inside him? A kind heart? He made children fatherless, took beloved husbands from their wives, sons from their parents, over OIL, and not for himself personally, but he has a kind heart?
Killing people in war because you were commanded to (and because your life would be utterly ruined if you disobeyed) and killing people purely for personal greed are entirely different things. I just… how do you get there? How do you end up equating soldiers with murderers so readily?
Btw, I’m against the current wars the U.S. has going. I am not against the soldiers. They’re not the ones reaping the profits, not by a long shot.
It is exactly how I interpreted too.
Reading Johnny’s comments in context — I’m OK with it. He’s an actor giving a character analysis and saying that Whitey was capable of some human emotion. He’s not excusing Whitey’s behavior or saying he was a good person. It’s Johnny’s job to create believable multi-dimensional charactizations.
I like it
@Maleficent: Exactly! He didn’t give any excuses about Bulger- the criminal.
But I also can see that the way he phrased his opinion how people (especially the families of his victims) would be upset. He needs to be more careful in his word choices because he played a very real character. I can sense fear when people mention Bulger’s name here in Boston.
I see the sense of what you’re saying, I just wish he would out more thought into how he expresses stuff like this-like, just say “I found him to be a complex person”. Saying he doesn’t believe he was evil and that he had kindness in him makes it sounds like he was just some misunderstood misfit instead of a killer. I can see why the families of the victim would be pissed.
Yes, definitely should have been worded differently.
Exactly, there was a way of saying something similar without glorifying him. He also said he was disappointed that Whitey was captured. He’s so immature and self involved.
+1. People ARE complex, not to excuse what he did, of course. It’s harder to process that he was evil AND kind, but in my experience that’s what people are. I have never met anyone who is 100% good (however you define it) or 100% bad.
I have never met anyone who is 100% good (however you define it) or 100% bad.
Count yourself lucky. I know someone who is 100% bad. Thank goodness he’s spending life in prison for double murder of a woman and her days old baby.
That you have never met them (as far as you know) does not mean they don’t exist. I’ve never met an Estonian.
That’s how I interpreted his comments as well. Could they have been worded better? Obviously. But I also think it’s obvious that he wasn’t trying to be dismissive about WB’s monstrous acts and make him out to be some misunderstood, lovable teddy bear.
He’s right. No one is the bad guy in their own personal narrative. Everyone is a complicated mixture of good and bad intentions, good and bad qualities, good and bad motivations. Even that is a simplistic way of looking at it, because nothing is really “good” or “bad” at its core. There’s just things we construct value around as a society to keep us safe.
Outrage culture is making us shallow, simplistic individuals and it needs to stop.
I’m really curious about this comment. You aren’t outraged that someone commits numerous murders, and you consider that murder isn’t bad at its core and the sanctity of life is just something we construct value around to keep us safe. And people who are outraged by the depiction of this man as both kind hearted and cold hearted are shallow and simplistic? Ok. Do you have any values at all? What stops you from killing people who take the parking place you wanted? Or stealing from your employer? Or cheating on your husband? The fear of punishment? If you see nothing as good or bad at its core, what gives you humanity? If he had killed your father, would you think that was neither good nor evil? I’m really curious, not being snarky. How do you make decisions when you have no values?
@GoodNames
My “outrage” comment was directed at people getting riled up over Depp’s words, not over Bulger’s actions. I’m tired of people shutting out other’s viewpoints because somewhere, someone may be offended by them. To me it’s like sticking your fingers in your ears.
I do have values, and probably the same ones as you do. I recognize the value in not hurting other people, not cheating on my husband, etc. I do get upset when coming across people in real life or just in the news who don’t share those values and willfully act against them and sure I’m even more upset when they affect myself or someone I care about. That said, I don’t try to censor anyone who says things that make me uncomfortable (not that Depp’s viewpoint does, in this case).
I don’t believe in a god or a higher power and I think humans are just another animal. So yes, by definition I think morality is constructed by us. I never meant to imply that I don’t buy into our own constructed morality or that I don’t see any point to it.
@k… you’re taking the words right out of my mouth. I just wanted to write that at the end of the day humans are, well, animals.
And to quote Hiddleston (hehe):
“I think Ballard was always … fascinated by extremity, and what happens to human beings in the most physically and psychologically extreme situations — that actually the mask of civilization is a thin veneer. We’re only one sort of neighborly argument away from all-out chaos and murder, and descent of sort of going back to the jungle.”
You just need to take a look at how some of the European countries are dealing with the Syrian refugees and you see that he has a point (I’m taking this as an example because my country is right in the middle of this mess).
I agree with all of GNAT’s comments on the topic. Much as some of us would like to be so open minded that we can find good in everyone, and hope that every person is redeemable, the truth is that some are not. I don’t care that Stalin may have loved classical music, or that Hitler was a vegetarian, or that the monster of my childhood, Ceausescu (for this not up on communist dictators, Romania) loved nature as long as he could maintain preserves to hunt down black bears for his trophy wall. They were all psychopaths who ruined millions of lives, killed countless people and qualify as monsters.
If you have to play their character fine, I don’t care how you get through the day and what fairy tales about these people you tell yourself, but suggesting that good and bad are empty moral constructs we build insults those who have actually been victims and have had to live with the irreparable damage done to them.
There have been many evil people who thought they were doing evil deeds for the greater good. Even Christian church is guilty of it. “End justifies the means”, “with good intentions paved the path to hell” are well known phenomena. And they don’t excuse evil but they do explain how someone can think they are doing good when they are doing evil. And how they can live with themselves. This is still happening in our day and age on the global scale, by the way.
Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Truman are all examples of that. There are some contemporary examples as well but I don’t want to turn this into a major political discussion like on Emily Blunt’s blog, so I won’t mention them.
I will chime in to say that I, also, agree with GNAT’s cooments. She expresses them better than I could.
@k
Thank you for explaining. I see what you mean now about values – don’t completely feel the same way, but that’s ok.
As for what you say about outrage at comments, I agree somewhat. I guess it depends on what you mean by outrage. If someone understands the comment and strongly disagrees with it and gives a thoughtful reason, I’m ok with that. I think it’s useful to exchange ideas. When I do agree with you is when someone just calls the commenter a name or puts a label on them and doesn’t give it any more thought. That happens a lot and I don’t think it advances the conversation.
More about Hitler and his vegetarianism. Not compassionate.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2icoh3/ive_often_heard_people_say_even_hitler_was_nice/
I didn’t see your comment before I posted. That is both enlightening and disturbing.
I think that was not what he truly meant but whatever.
Mind reader tell us what Johnny truly meant. There are some things you cannot make excuse for. Anyone remember when Johnny was co owner of tge Viper Room where they were selling drugs and River Pheonix died from drug overdose there.
Depp loves the bad boys.He even is a proud owner of John Wayne Gacy’s paintings
Johnny does love his bad boys, even if they’re psychopaths. Immature idiot.
He looks terrible. Wow.
Why are two of his teeth red???
They’re capped in gold and reflecting something, maybe the carpet. His teeth are a mess, it’s why he almost never smiles. I’m convinced he wears flippers in movies b/c of it.
Depp’s publicist is going to strangle him some day soon…and no court would convict her. 😉
While I’m sure Whitey Bulger loved and was kind to someone at some point in his life, the bottom line is that he is a cold blooded killer. Johnny Depp continues to be completely tone deaf.He REALLY needs to put more thought into how he phrases things. I’m only waiting for Amber Heard to chime in on some interview parroting what he said now.
He really needs to deal with the booze bloat.
And he was proud to be a cold blooded killer.
The United States vs Whitey Bulger was a great movie that focused on the victim’s family.
I hate when celebs do crap like this. Denzel Washington praised and glorified Frank Lucas when he played him in “American Gangster” as well. Frank Lucas was a murderer and drug smuggler, whose heroin was so lethal that it killed more (mostly) black Americans than any other drug dealer’s. There is no way to measure how many lives Frank ruined both directly and indirectly, but Denzel went on a campaign praising him, calling him a wonderful guy and a genius.
As far as Johnny Try-Hard here, I wouldn’t be shocked in the least if this was just yet another desperate attempt on his part to seem cool and edgy.
I think they almost have to find something they admire in the character, or it kills them to play them. Look what happened to Heath Ledger after the Joker. Not that Depp and Ledger are anywhere on the same planet as far as acting ability goes (or went). 🙁
@Crumpet: that’s a really interesting point of view.
@DM and American Gangster: IMO Frank Lucas was totally portrayed in a glorified way. Was there any outrage when the film was released?
Johnny got fat, and what’s that reddish thing on his tooth in that one pic?
The red thing on his tooth looks like nail polish, I was trying to figure it out myself.
I’m looking at AH and asking myself if she is truly in love with JD or pretending to be. She is looking so happy and Johnny is looking stoned and completely out of it in some photos. She must really love him to sleep with a boose and tobacco homeless looking man.
The red thing on his tooth is actually a red jewel. There was a recent photo that showed three jewels, starting with the red one, and the next two going back are blue and clear. I was watching Dead Man’s Chest last night and in that movie he had three gold teeth in those spots, so I’m thinking for the new Pirates movie he replaced the gold with jewels.
His looks have really gone downhill fast since getting together with Amber. I just googled some pics and was pretty surprised.
Selective kindness its not of a kindness trait , selective kindness to me is an indication of an immoral justifications if one holds. It could leads to killing ,wars, dispute , recasim and so on.
Well, I don’t think anyone is wondering why Johnny’s not doing the press junket for this movie.
Also, Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, and Duff Mckagan have all been sober for a long time, after battling really serious substance issues. I can imagine that Johnny’s drinking may be an issue if they keep playing music together long term.
kindness in the heart needs a special ingredient – a heart.
call him a complex monster, call him an interesting monster.
but hes a monster.
imo sounds like depp is full of himself.
Exactly. I’ve heard all kinds of things tossed out to “balance” sociopathic brutality — intelligence, wit, cleverness, specific talents. I don’t know why people do this. NOTHING can balance out cruelty and utter disregard for human life. There is no other hand.
And seriously, there are SO many non-sociopaths in the world who are intelligent, witty, clever, and talented. This trend of romanticizing evil, heartless people makes me ill.
I’m an atheist, so I don’t believe in prayers. It’s my right not to believe in prayers and there’s nothing wrong with politely telling people I don’t believe in that when they ask me to pray. However, sometimes I’m attending funerals where people ask me to join a prayer circle and, well , I think it’d be pretty douchey to tell someone who just lost a loved one their God and their heaven is a lie. So I just suck it up and hold hands with them with my eyes closed.
I think this is a similar case. Of course Depp, as a good actor, wanted to play Bluger as a three-dimensional character instead of pure evil (which would be stale and boring to watch). There’s no disputing there was more to the man that all his evil deeds. But saying he’s “kind hearted”? I’m not even disputing wether he truly had a kind heart or not – but describing a known assasin like that, when his victim’s families are still alive for them to hear the comments… it’s just a douchey move. He could’ve just said he wanted to see past the murderer and play a layered, complex individual; and I’m sure he wouldn’t have caused such offense.
To find his humanity is the way Johnny construct his characters (and to make a man with scissors for hands, believable, by the way). But in the movie he’s a MONSTER and he’s terrifying.
About the new story from the National Enquirer, is ridiculous too. Alice Cooper did plenty of interviews telling how this version of the “Hollywood Vampires” is alcohol-free and even yesterday, a new interview for an overseas media he said this about Johnny:
“The weird thing was nobody drank. Johnny doesn’t drink, Joe doesn’t drink and I don’t drink. We realised everyone had been sober, the guys in the band, everyone working on the Vampires,” he says.
“Johnny had almost died and Joe and I came close and here we were honouring our dead drunk friends while Johnny is drinking non-alcoholic beer and smoking e-cigarettes and I’m having diet Coke.”
http://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/alice-cooper-and-johnny-depp-resurrect-their-dead-drunk-friends-on-hollywood-vampires-record/story-fnhiy8bj-1227532976454
But I guess, the tabloids wouldn’t sell magazines if they said Johnny doesn’t drink. And whatever happened to him by the end of the past year, seems to be over
He wasn’t smoking an e-ciggy in Cannes, that looked more like a joint, to be honest. ))
How long ago was the album recorded, though? Alice was talking about the recording of the album.
Johnny could have relapsed since then, and sure looks and acts like it.
Am I the only one wondering who in the hell would want Amber Heard’s autograph?
No, I was wondering too. 😄
That was my first thought when I saw that picture.
Love that Amber was signing autographs at Johnny’s gig! Shameless hussy! : )
And I am wondering if Depp would think differently about Bulger if Whitey had the freedom to vent his anger on Johnny in the same manner in which he dispatched his other victims. Geez. All about perspective, I guess.
Such a fun gossip couple.
Johnny Depp is at the acting level where he can go with whatever process he requires to portray someone, as long as it is legal and doesn’t hurt other people. If people don’t want that person portrayed by an actor they are welcome to watch documentaries and see the real thing. Acting is a very deep transformation for someone like Depp. Many great actors talked about needing to feel the humanity in the most evil people in order to be able to transform into them. Because nobody is filled with self-hate only, nobody thinks he is despicable and awful only.
Depp is no great thinker and even less of a great speaker. As I commented before, and you didn’t let my comment through, for some reason. He is not very bright. But he doesn’t need to be, he – just as he is- is very very good at his profession. He tried to share his transformational process, he didn’t rehearse his words.
> Depp is no great thinker and even less of a great speaker. As I commented before, and you didn’t let my comment through, for some reason. He is not very bright. But he doesn’t need to be,
Exactly ! He is not a Congressmen, he is not making laws. He is an entertainer. And people fell in love with him because he is a great entertainer, nothing more.
Unfortunately some of the people making laws in Congress don’t seem to be very bright these days either… : (
Kind hearted people don’t murder, most ‘bad’ people aren’t even capable of going that far. To do so repeatedly, without care, without a seconds remorse, is pschyopathic and evil.
Depp has never developed any intelligence or common sense, he’s spent his whole life trying to be ‘different’ and present himself as an ‘outlaw’ type and now he’s just a washed up has been who has the emotional maturity of a messed up thirteen year old with even less of interest to say. Dumbest man in Hollywood, he’s an embarrassment.
Back again to the same idea – since when do we hold actors and other celebrities to the same standard as we do politicians?
They are not trained politicians, they are not role models, they don’t hold public office. They are just people, and regular people say things that can be taken wrong, or even hold embarrassing views.
It is gotten so bad , many actors can’t say anything without being coached, without everything they say being written by professionals. They have become like politicians who have staff writing their speeches and vetting every word.
People tend to be very selective about who they care about, whose lives matter to them and whose lives don’t. The ones whose lives are directly at risk understandably feel very differently. Think of all the non-psychopaths in any population who support government actions that kill innocent unarmed people of all ages on a grand scale. Like personal killers, the supporters have all sorts of excuses for their behavior that make sense to them and let them sleep comfortably at night. But if you’re the one burying your child or spouse or parent or sibling after a bomb dropped on your house or an epidemic resulted from deliberate destruction of clean water supplies or an occupying soldier decided to shoot first and ask questions later as someone was just coming home after work – those excuses seem rather feeble. You clearly see the evil of such actions, and the sin behind the support of it. The supporters give medals while the victims grieve.
I agree. People see themselves as good guys, but even if they don’t actively support the murder and destruction their army brings to others, their allowing it to go and not demanding it to end, makes them just as immoral.
As an actor I would think he’d have to find the humanity in the person he’s playing, the good, the humor, etc. to avoid playing it like a mustache-twirling villain. OTOH Johnny also collected painting by John Wayne Gacy if I remember correctly.
“I think that people have their humanity,” Depp said. “There’s a kind heart in there,” Depp said of Bulger.” This sickens me, truly. Maybe it’s just me, but I have a difficult time believing in a person’s humanity when they don’t recognize and respect the humanity of others. If someone harms, destroys or kills another person (which, in turn, destroys their family) for personal gain/profit, then yeah, no. You lost me. But I’m not An Artiste, so.
That’s how I feel about American imperialism.
I’ve just figured out why Johnny looks so embarrassed in all his recent red carpets: He’s had a string of massive flops from all the way back, discounting Pirates.
I don’t have a problem with this Depp’s comments. I prefer complex characters over caricatures. Truth over propaganda.
The wording is thoughtless, but the “good heart” comment needs to be put in full context. He’s talking about the complexity of human beings and of what we’re capable. To some extent, I agree with him that few people are pure evil. That’s part of what makes people like Bulger so scary. It’s not that they’re cruel – it’s that they’re capable of such evil and still emulate sincerely so many basic human sentiments.
I have always loved Johnny Depp, but he’s been in a bad spiral since breaking up with Vanessa. I think he should take some time out, stop making movies for a year or two, and come back after he pulls himself together. I think there is still a lot of greatness in him as an actor but he needs to take some time out away from the spotlight. He’s got to figure out who he is now…He’s still stuck on his young, hip persona and it just doesn’t work anymore.. He doesn’t know how to be a more mature person. Once he figures that out I think he will again be a force to be reckoned with. (I hope, anyway.)
JD hasn’t outgrown the adolescent phase where you think outlaws are cool and misunderstood.
Alcoholism ruins your brain and JD is proof of that.