Oh my, Johnny would make a
fine looking rock star,
but can he sing?
Actually, Johnny's career began with his dreams of becoming a rock star. His garage band eventually started playing clubs in South Florida while he was still under age and had to sneak in and out of the back door to perform. The band began to take off, supporting such punk/new wave era greats as Talking Heads, B-52's and Iggy Pop.
Johnny dropped out of high school at 16 to concentrate on music and in search of the big time . . . the band relocated to Los Angeles where a different destiny awaited one of the most gorgeous men on earth and one of our generation's most talented actors.
Check out his rock star moves in Tom Petty's music video
"Into The Great Wide Open"
Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 American romantic comedy fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. The film shows the story of an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands. Edward is taken in by a suburban family and falls in love with their teenage daughter Kim. Supporting roles are portrayed by Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker, Alan Arkin and Vincent Price.
At the time of his casting, Depp was wanting to break out of the teen idol status which his performance in 21 Jump Street had afforded him. When he was sent the script he immediately found personal and emotional connections with the story.
In the casting of Edward, Fox was persistent in wanting Tom Cruise to play the part (who was displeased at the unhappy ending), although Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, William Hurt and Robert Downey, Jr. expressed an interest and were considered. However, Tim Burton's first choice was Michael Jackson.
The role of "The Inventor" was specifically written for Vincent Price. The Inventor, Edward's "father" created him and taught him how to speak, read and be socially polite. He died due to his great age before he could give Edward a complete set of hands.
Edward is an unfinished creation of his inventor/father who dies before he can complete the job. He is removed from his lonely existence in a hilltop mansion by Avon lady Peg Boggs and eventually lives with her family in a pastel-colored version of suburbia.
The film was shot in the Tampa Bay area of Florida . . . various locations, the mansion scenes were shot outside of Dade City . . . the locations partly chosen because of Florida's frequent blue skies. Local filming lasted three months before moving to Fox Studios in California for the interior mansion scenes.
He becomes the source of fantasy, gossip, resentment, adoration and lust for the neighbors, whom he wins over with his outlandish haircuts and elaborate sculptures. Burton explained that his depiction of suburbia is "not a bad place. It's a weird place. I tried to walk the fine line of making it funny and strange without it being judgmental. It's a place where there's a lot of integrity."
Kim leaves her jock boyfriend to be with Edward, an event that many have postulated as Burton's revenge against jocks he encountered as a teenager. Jim is subsequently killed, a scene that shocked a number of observers who felt the whole tone of the film had been radically altered. Burton referred to this scene as a "high school fantasy".
There was obvious chemistry between Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder . . . they were "the engaged hot couple" back in those days, helping to draw a younger audience. The movie was considered a box office success.
About Johnny's transformation into Edward . . . it took 1 hour and 45 minutes to go from gorgeous to creepy.
