There once lived a man named Edward Scissorhands whose hands were cold, but whose heart was warm. You see, Edward Scissorhands wasn't a real man - he was a creation. And his life forever changed the town where he lived.
Edward Scissorhands was creadted by an inventor who lived in a mansion high above town. The inventor gave Edward a heart, a brain, even a covering of skin. He was given everything he needed to lead a full life, except for one thing: the inventor's untimely death left Edward with sharp shears of metal where his fingers should've been.
Thus for Edward Scissorhands, every act became potentially lethal. An inch became a self-inflicted gash, an enthusiastic gesture became a stab, and putting on clothes became an exercise in destruction.
But all was well, because Edward lived alone in the mansion far above the town, where he could hurt no one and no one can hurt him. Still, as he gazed out over the town every night from his lonely, echoing abode, he felt a tug of yearning. something was missing.
Until the day the Avon lady came calling.
So goes the story of director Tim Burton's new film, Edward Scissorhands, a very modern-day romance with a very gothic kind of hero, not exactly the kind of guy you'd take to the prom. Well, maybe, even with the shears for fingers, but only if he were less weird looking. say more human.
But as Edward Scissorhands is written, the only actor you can imagine playing him is well, nobody - not even after a terrible road accident.
Johnny Depp? The sexy, pouty absolute- dream of TV's 21 Jump Street? Nah, with his dark, gorgeous good looks, he'd be better suited for James Dean types. Think so? Think again. Look at the weird looking picture on this page and, believe it or not, you're looking at Johnny Depp as Tim Burton's surreal hero.
Of course, it's only perfectly natural for you to ask why this handsome man would go through gruelling hours of make up to make himself look strange, and thus risk alienating his legion adoring fans? The reason is not as deep as you think; infact, it's rather simple: Depp is an actor not a pin-up poster hunk. His gorgeousness is the result of the happy collision of the primal forces of nature at the time of his conception, something which he could do nothing about, and which he would gladly live down if necessary.
Like on Edward Scissorhands. He was intrigued by the possibilities of playing - almost unrecognizable - a gentle creation whose lethal - looking hands are at odds with his innocent heart. "I thought the script was one of the best things I'd ever read," says Depp, "so of course, I jumped at the opportunity to play Edward."
Depp worked for two months prior to filming with mockups of Edward's scisorhands so he could become adept at moving them. "At first it was pretty strage working with the hands, but I got to where it felt pretty natural," he says. "It was important to me that I found, like Edward does in the movie, not only the dangerous aspects of the hands. but also the stuff he could on the more positive site, like the topiaries and the haircuts, which were his art."
On the more subtle side if his characterization, Depp says, "Because Edward is not human, and not a robot, I didn't think that he would talk a lot. He would cut through everything and have the mot honest, pure answer with all the clarity in the world." Dutifully, Depp studied the silent films of Charlie Chaplin to observe the expressive acting style and body movements he and director Burton envisioned for Edward.
On the hot Florida set of Edward Scissorhands, Depp earned the admiration of the cast and crew for his lack of vanity, and for his patient and professional demeanor, which must have been taxed by his head - to - toe leather costume, the 12 - inch scissorhands appendages and the daily two - hour make up precess.
This is not the first time the young actor displayed a deep commitment to his craft. In director John Waters 1989 satire Cry- Baby, Depp gladly spoofed his 21 Jump Street teen heartthrob image. It is not that he distastes all the fawning that comes with the business, but he bristles at being brushed aside as nothing more than a pretty, pouty face. His work in Edward Scissorhands, which went on to become a resounding critical and commercial success upon its release in the US late last year, should silence - even if only momentarily, because digs of the sort never really let up - Depp's critics.
What else is there left to say about Edward Scissorhands that hasn't been said in film critic Francis Villacorta's review some weeks ago? That it's heart warming, funky, and absolutely astounding in its vision. This is the most personal of Tim Burton's films to date, which grew from the director's chidhood fascination with fairy tales. "I was always intrigued by the images and ideas of them, but I never related specifically to them, " says Burton. "The idea with this is to take the themes and the ideas of those and just contemporize them a bit more, and hopefully make the link between real life and fairy tale a bit closer.
Now about Johnny Depp - he was born in Owensboro, Kentucky and moved to Miramar, Florida, at the age of six, arrived in Los Angeles in 1983 intent on becoming a rock musician. His transition fro rocker to actor came at the urging of a friend, who introduced Depp to his talent agent.
Two days after his first audition, Depp was cast as Glen in A Nightmare On Elm Street. His other film credits include the role of Lerner in the Academy Award Winning Best Picture, Platoon, as well as Slow Burn, followed by four seasons as Officer Tom Hanson in the Fox Television series of 21 Jump Street. Depp has just signed a multi-picture development deal to produce and star in films for Twentieth Century Fox. He currently resides in New York.
