cooper at Movie Blog

About the original version of the script…

— In the original version of the script, there was a separate story that included Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper) having a gay lover who dies in Vietnam.

— Another version of the script involved Ricky and Jane being arrested and convicted for the murder of Lester. The main evidence is the video Ricky made of Jane offering him $3,000 to kill her father, which we, the viewers, find out was a joke immediately after Ricki turns off the camera, one second too late for the defense. It also involves Mrs. Fitts finding her husband’s bloody clothes, and hiding them immediately after.

— In the script, Lester was supposed to go ahead and have sex with Angela, but it was decided that it would be better to have him stop just short of doing so - in spite of the filmmakers’ concerns that they might be making the change out of uneasiness with having the main character actually go that far.

And at last …

— According to his Oscar speech, Alan Ball was sitting at the World Trade Center plaza when he saw a paper bag floating in the wind and was inspired by it to write the film.

— Wes Bentley was the first actor to read for the part of Ricky, and was asked to do the scene where he describes his reaction to the plastic bag; the casting director felt that although she had read that scene numerous times, his reading was the first time she felt she understood the meaning of it.

<:3 )~~~~~~
Yours sincerely,
AlexSandra

—- According to http://imdb.com/

So, I would like to tell you about one of the most interesting, unusual and beautiful films I have ever seen…

American Beauty (1999)

Producing country (s): USA

Genre: drama

Type: full-length film, 122 min.

Premiere: 09/08, 1999

Director: Sam Mendes

Cast: Kevin Spacey (Lester Burnham), Annette Bening (Carolyn Burnham), Thora Birch (Jane Burnham), Wes Bentley (Ricky Fitts), Mena Suvari (Angela Hayes), Chris Cooper (Col. Frank Fitts, USMC), Peter Gallagher (Buddy Kane)

My rank: ********** (10)

Plot: Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughters friends. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane is developing a happy friendship with a shy boy-next-door named Ricky who lives with a homophobic father.

<:3 )~~~~~~
Yours sincerely,
AlexSandra

—- According to http://imdb.com/

There are a lot of sites, devoted to Johnny Depp, where you can find a lot of facts about him. The most interesting if them I collected for you. In my previous post you can see some facts about his tattoos and other things, and today I would like to continue…

 
Films…
- He wanted some of his teeth to be gold-capped for “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003) but knew that the directors would never agree, so he went out and got lots more than he wanted capped, pretending that he wanted all his teeth capped to negotiate with the directors. He then showed the directors, and they decided to make him give up a few, so he got some taken off.

- Shot all of his scenes in 9 days for “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” (2003), but after his filming was done he didn’t want to leave. So he suggested to Robert Rodriguez that he play a small part, the priest that Antonio Banderas talks to in the church, and use his Marlon Brando impression.

- Has been in six films in which the title contains the name of the character he plays:
1. “Edward Scissorhands” (1990),
2. “Cry-Baby” (1990),
3. “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (1993),
4. “Ed Wood” (1994),
5. “Don Juan DeMarco” (1995),
6. “Donnie Brasco” (1997).

- Based the character of Captain Jack Sparrow on rock legend Keith Richards.

- Has portrayed a real-life character in seven films:
1. Edward D. Wood Jr. (”Ed Wood” (1994)),
2. Lt. Victor/Pon Pon (”Before Night Falls” (2000)),
3. Hunter S. Thompson (”Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (1998),
4. Insp. Fred Abberline (”From Hell” (2001)),
5. Joseph Pistone/Donnie Brasco (”Donnie Brasco” (1997)),
6. George Jung (”Blow” (2001))
7. J.M. Barrie (”Finding Neverland” (2004)).

Acknowledgement…
- Received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 19 November 1999. Tim Burton and Martin Landau were guest speakers.

- Ranked #4 in TV Guide’s list of TV’s 25 Greatest Teen Idols (23 January 2005 issue).

- He was voted the 47th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.

- In 2004, Renée Zellweger accepted the Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role” on his behalf, because he wasn’t present at the awards ceremony

- Is the only actor to be nominated for the Oscar in the Lead Actor category in a Disney film (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003))

- Although unable to attend, he was awarded the Gary Cooper Spirit of Montana Award at the 2005 HatcH audiovisual festival in Bozeman, Montana. HatcH honored Depp for his outstanding career and his role as a mentor and inspiration to young and aspiring artists.

- Was voted the Second Greatest Actor (behind Marlon Brando) in British Channel Channel 4’s Greatest Actor Poll.

- His performance as Edward Scissorhands in Edward Scissorhands (1990) is ranked #22 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

- His performance as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) is ranked #79 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

- Ranked #18 on Premiere’s 2006 “Power 50″ list. Had ranked #23 in 2005.

Passion…
- Is a huge fan of Jack the Ripper.

- A movie buff (with a somewhat encyclopedic knowledge of older films), he admits he watches few movies any more, other than the children’s films that his “kiddies” prefer. He also enjoys most of them.

- Loves watching animated films with his daughter such as Shrek (2001) and Finding Nemo (2003).

- Great admirer of Marlon Brando.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…
- When he was cast as Willy Wonka, many newspapers published headings about “Depp’s Willy” and “Deppy’s Willy is a Bit Wonkier.”

- As a child, he was allergic to chocolate.

- Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2006 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was suggested in the Worst Actor category for his performance in the film “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005), however, he failed to receive a nomination.

<:3  )~~~~~~
Yours sincerely,
AlexSandra

All the information was written according to the following sources, where you can read about Johnny Depp in more details:  Read the rest of this entry »