Michael Jackson And Johnny Depp…A Cosmic Connection?
This falls under the heading of things that just plain make you wonder. But when a comparison just keeps cropping up over and over again (and you start to realize you’re not the only person who has noticed it) you really do have to ponder if you just might be onto something. I’ll just say that when I heard about Michael’s kids seeing Alice in Wonderland this past weekend, I couldn’t help but wonder if they didn’t see a little bit of Daddy in The Mad Hatter, as well.
Or let me just put it to you the way my boyfriend put it to me: Somewhere, somehow, Michael Jackson and Johnny Depp crossed on an astral plane.
Recently, I started thinking about this. I wondered…it has to be something more than just that they bore a slight physical resemblance to each other when they both donned their goofy hats. It’s something in their overall personae-that same sort of Chaplin-esque vibe; the pathos; the quirkiness and eccentricities. For starters, I don’t find it a bit odd that shortly after Michael’s death, when some fans were discussing who might be the best actor to ever play him in a biopic, the name Johnny Depp came up more than once. In fact, too many times to count.
Well, okay, let’s just put aside for a minute the argument of political correctness. Obviously, Johnny Depp is a white man. Michael was a black man with vitiligo, which made him look white, but…well, you get the idea. The fact is, Michael belongs by right to the African-American community. He’s a black American. But if you put aside race for a moment…really, could there be any actor better qualified to capture Michael’s eccentric and childlike charm?
At least according to this article, Johnny Depp and Jamie Foxx have been the top Hollywood contenders to play Michael SHOULD a biopic ever come to pass. However, Depp (at least so far) has been very reluctant to consider it, for the reasons he gives here:
http://www.ifc.com/blogs/indie-ear/2009/07/the-king-of-pop-johnny-depp-hu.php
The fact is, not only do they seem to have a cosmic connection, but I would go so far as to say that Johnny Depp just may owe his success to Michael Jackson. Why? Well, remember a little movie called Edward Scissorhands? The movie that proved to be Johnny Depp’s breakthrough as well as his initial introduction to Tim Burton? (And for the record, it has largely been Depp’s connection to Tim Burton that has been responsible for, I’d say, 95% of his success in film).
Well, here’s a little-known fact. Tim Burton originally wanted Michael for the role of Edward! And Michael reportedly was very excited about the project. This Wikipedia entry tells a little bit about Michael’s proposed involvement with Edward Scissorhands:
Michael Jackson was actually Burton’s first choice for the role of Edward, but in some way it did not happen. Why it didn’t happen remains a mystery, since Jackson himself allegedly was interested in the part.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Scissorhands
Actually, as I recall reading elsewhere, it may have been due to the simple fact that Michael was still on his Bad tour at the time. In some ways, it’s a shame it did not pan out. Michael would have been perfect as the whimsical, childlike and misunderstood Edward, who is forced to retreat from a world that views him as a freak. (And if you still just “don’t see it”, well, look at some of those old stills from Edward Scissorhands, and then look at Michael in his Bad costume!).
The Role of Edward Scissorhands Went to Johnny Depp...But Michael Was Tim Burton's Original Choice
Apparently, Michael’s love affair with Edward didn’t end when he lost out on the role, since he later purchased the scissorhand props that Johnny Depp wore, and displayed them at Neverland for years. The hands, along with several other items Michael owned, were sold at auction last year:
http://www.artfagcity.com/2009/02/23/many-crowns-of-michael-jackson-to-be-auctioned-this-april/
Edward Scissorhands, of course, turned out to be just the break that Johnny Depp needed to kickstart his career in motion pictures. Before that, his main claim to fame had been as a teen heartthrob in the TV series 21 Jumpstreet. But here’s another thought to ponder. Did Johnny Depp base his interpretation and performance of the character on Michael Jackson?
Michael Owned Edward's Scissorhands
There has been a lot of speculation about that through the years. In fact, it’s been pointed out by many observant fans and critics alike that many of Depp’s most well-known performances seem to bear more than an uncanny comparison to The King of Pop. Certainly his Willy Wonka in 2005′s Charlie and The Chocolate Factory had a lot of tongues wagging and pundits wondering. Although Depp has continued to staunchly deny having based the character on Michael, there are still enough similarities to make you wonder. For example, the whole concept of the magical but lonely chocolate factory, this wonderland that Wonka has created that in turn has made him a prisoner, did seem oddly symbolic of Michael’s Neverland. In the movie, Willy Wonka proposes a worldwide contest to give five children the opportunity for a golden ticket to get inside the chocolate factory. It seems he is doing the kids a favor. But as it turns out, Willy Wonka is just a very lonely man who is estranged from his own family and looking for friends (other than Oompa-loompas). The storyline with the estranged father was also eerily similar to Michael’s relationship with Joseph.
However much one could argue that this was all just part of the script or the original story, it may be just as revealing to look at how Depp interprets the character. He has said that he based the character on the childrens’ TV show hosts he remembered. This is probably true, BUT…
Michael As "The Maestro" in Ghosts...Did This Very Tim Burton-Like Character Influence Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka?
Take a good look at Michael Jackson’s Maestro character from Ghosts. Although The Meastro is certainly a bit more likeable than Depp’s Willy Wonka, he still has that same sort of creepy/funny/sarcastic vibe. The first time I really noticed the similarity was the scene where the parents start to get scared and nervous and are saying they should really go. It’s that moment when The Maestro snaps his fingers and goes, “Helloooo? Are we having fun yet?” (There’s also a wonderful Kathy Bates ala’ Misery touch to that scene as well).
I don’t think it was any accident that Ghosts bore a more than passing resemblance to a Tim Burton production. Michael was a fan of Tim Burton, and I’m willing to bet that Johnny Depp, at some point, not only watched Ghosts but was taking some very careful notes.
Compare:
Michael in this clip from Ghosts (By the way, that is also Michael playing The Mayor…in a toupee, a fat suit and a ton of makeup!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXdPQMxU6-U
And this clip of Johnny from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBig2JKkGTc&feature=related
Unfortunately, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory had the misfortune of bad timing. It came out in July of 2005-a mere month after Michael’s circus of a trial which had ended in a verdict of “Not Guilty” on 14 counts. However, thanks to the media’s brainwashing, most people still thought he was guilty. So it was not surprising that critics and the public alike immediately jumped on the “creepier” aspects of Willy Wonka’s likeness to Michael, rather than the charming, magical or whimsical elements. In fact, though this is mere speculation on my part, I’ve often wondered if this wasn’t why Depp downplayed the comparison. Given the political climate at the time in regards to all things MJ, it does make you wonder. I also have a very vivid memory of Roger Ebert saying that the character Willy Wonka bears “a resemblance to a certain creepy pop star”-a remark I’ve never quite forgiven, despite his glowing review of This Is It).
But this isn’t the only evidence to show that Michael and Johnny had a cosmic connection through the years. In Benny and Joon, Depp played a dyslexic character named Sam who, like Edward Scissorhands, seemed to share the same sort of pathos and comic vulnerability as Michael. This was not entirely accidental, since Michael was a long-time admirer of Charlie Chaplin and other silent film stars. As I wrote a few days ago, Michael developed his Billie Jean personae in part based on Chaplin’s Little Tramp character. In Benny and Joon, Johnny Depp’s character Sam is a lonely, eccentric young man who imitates the silent film stars he idolizes-Chaplin, Buster Keaton, etc. I think this is largely why I see so much of Michael in Sam-in this case, not because Depp was copying Michael directly, but because of the shared influence of Chaplin and Keaton.
For example, watch this famous scene from Benny and Joon in which Sam uses his hat to create illusion and magic, a routine copied from Charlie Chaplin (the scene begins at 2:49):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4zAS_el9lA
Now watch Michael doing a very similar (if albeit, shortened) routine here in Billie Jean (starts at 7:50):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w105XxxaRMQ
In 2004, Johnny Depp’s portrayal of the 17th Earl of Rochester, John Wilmot, also drew comparisons to Michael, though as with Willy Wonka, not in the most favorable sense (critics compared the scene where the syphillis-stricken Wilmot, wearing a bandage over his decaying nose, stands to address the court in King Charles’ favor). I have to say, though, that I see a deeper connection. In that scene, what so many were missing, is the crucial connection-that Wilmot, though a sick and dying man, finds within himself the strength to stand up for what he believes in. This film, ironically, came out the year before Michael’s trial, yet the parallels are amazing.
Perhaps, however, the crowning achievement of this weirdly “cosmic connection” came about when Johnny Depp portayed J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, in the 2004 film Finding Neverland. It seems tragically fitting somehow that Johnny Depp should have won the role of the man who probably played one of the biggest roles in shaping Michael’s life. Not that I have ever bought wholeheartedly into the whole Peter Pan thing with Michael-I think that was largely an exaggerated myth-but for sure, it was a myth that played a big role in his life. (After all, he named his own home Neverland).
It also seemed a sad way to bring things full circle that year. In 1989, Michael Jackson, a world-renowned superstar was Tim Burton’s first choice for Edward Scissorhands, while Johnny Depp was merely a fledgling actor struggling to get a break. In 2004, Depp earned an Academy Award nomination for portraying J.M. Barrie-while meanwhile, the man who had built a career as the living embodiment of Barrie’s greatest creation, was facing indictment for molestation charges.
After his acquittal, Michael chose to leave the US for awhile to live abroad. He rightly felt in many ways that the US judicial system had failed him, but even moreso, the US media. Johnny Depp, likewise has spent the last few years living mostly abroad, and just as with Michael, has for the most part turned his back on the press. “All they do is twist your words,” he said, echoing almost exactly the same sentiment Michael had expressed years before.
So in all those years of having similar influences, of vying for the same roles, interacting in many of the same circles, knowing many of the same people, and no doubt studying each other and finding common ground in each others’ work, what did these two really think of each other?
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any quotes from Michael regarding Johnny Depp, so insofar as in his own words, I couldn’t tell you. But I do know that Johnny had this to say about Michael:
“Well, obviously hearing about the sad passing of Michael Jackson, for anyone – for all of us – it’s very, very tragic. Some children lost a father; some parents lost a child; some brothers and sisters lost a sibling; so that’s obviously very sad. I had great respect for what he’s done, his work over the years. He’s a real genius.”-Johnny Depp.
http://news.fan-sites.org/2009/07/05/a-real-genius-johnny-depp-eulogizes-michael-jackson/
In looking at the connection between Michael Jackson and Johnny Depp, however, I think one fact above all cannot be underestimated. While they may have had similarities insofar as their quirky childlike charm and pathos, these were all the qualities that Michael possessed naturally, whereas with Depp, one always gets the feeling that it’s a very clever and carefully calculated act. Could it be possible that, just as Michael (whether consciously or not) took on the personae of Chaplin and others, that Depp likewise took on the personae of Michael Jackson in the creation of many of his roles? I really don’t think it’s that far-fetched, when you consider that Depp, one of Hollywood’s greatest method actors of recent years, has admitted the debt he owes to Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and other pop culture figures whom his performances have mimicked.
However, he just may owe his greatest debt to Michael Jackson, the man who not only paved the way for Depp’s stardom when he had to pass on Edward Scissorhands, but who also without doubt continued by providing inspiration for some of his most memorable and beloved characters.
Source:
http://allforloveblog.com/?cat=7