Chicagoist: The Killing of Johnny Depp’s John Dillinger

Spook

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:32:59 -0600

Looks like a war in here, but until I can read the above comments, let me say this! I the book All the Kings Men! I still have my copy from undergrad! But Penn did a good job in the movie, especially the speeches!

irishman1

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:44:11 -0600

CassNJ...you said, "Your argument was that films about historic events are dumb". Nope. That was not my argument. Keep up. Historical events depicted on film do have dumbing down aspects to them...that is different than what you said. Once again, keep up. My comments are light years away from "trolling". Once again, keep up. P.S. What meeting do you learn the secret handshake to the Johnny Depp fanclub? :-) ZING!

CassNJ

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:34:25 -0600

Zing? More like thud! So it's ok for you to call Depp a hypocrite but off-topic for me to defend him? Your argument was that films about historic events are dumb, and because Depp criticized America for being a "dumb puppy", he must be a hypocrite for contributing to its sad state. Since your argument depends on film being an inherently dumb medium, I was refuting that. Also I refuted your assertion that Depp considers Americans dumb. He has repeatedly said he loves America. He and his children have citizenship here, his family is here, and many of his closest friends are here. But since you think anybody who is a fan of Johnny Depp must be a silly little fangirl who gets her talking points handed to her because she isn't capable of thinking on her own, maybe I should just squeeeeeeeee and talk about how hot he is. Then you can continue feeling intellectually and morally superior to his fans. Or you can crawl back into your troll-hole, your choice.

irishman1

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:31:05 -0600

Rob Christopher...sad statement my friend. Read the book. CassNJ...I'll be the first to admit when a thread has gone off course. This was never about movies vs. books. It was about how much of a hypocrite Johnny Depp is. Nice "sound-bite" comment, though. Do they teach you that in the first class of "How to Kiss Johnny Depp's Ass"? Or does that happen in the second class? When do you get your rose colored glasses? Are yours prescription? ZING! :-)

CassNJ

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:39:55 -0600

I am an avid reader (or was until my eyes got bad) but the reason I brought up those particular titles was that they were great books AND great movies. The world would be a poorer place without any of them. Not that every film adaptation was equally great, but there are plenty of them. I think I get your reasoning about why you think Depp's a hypocrite, but you are being disengenuous. Depp was obviously not dissing the American people. He was dissing our gov't's policies, particularly its foreign policy. Of course you probably only know the soundbite and never bothered to read the context. That's part of what is really contributing to the dumbing down of our culture. We have all the tools at our disposal to educate ourselves and expand our minds, but if if we're lazy, we just hear the soundbites and the youtube clips and believe the things that fit our pre-existing worldview.

Rob Christopher

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:36:17 -0600

Arguably it's been the film of "All The President's Men" that's had the greater impact though, not the book.

eroz

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:33:18 -0600

If you are an example of how people turn out when they read a lot, irishman1, I'm giving up books all together.

irishman1

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:18:27 -0600

CassNJ...I am not bagging on his politics. Not at all. He has a right to his opinion. Remember, my post was about Depp making a movie about a historical subject. I like most of his movies, but he should stay away from historical subjects. Look, this is easy math. Watching movies about historical events, instead of reading about them, dumbs people down. No question. Depp thinks America is too "dumb". By him making a film about a historical subject dumbs down America. He is contributing to dumbing down America by making a film based on a historical event that you can read about in books. Do you really not see the hypocrisy here? Like I said, this is easy math...I'm not splitting the atom here. I would recommend someone READ To Kill a Mockigbird rather than watch the movie. I would recommend someone READ "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". I would recommend someone READ about John Dillinger. All the Presidents Men was a GREAT book. Are you really doing this? Are you really saying historical movies are more important than historical books? P.S. I've read quite a bit on Dillinger, so really I have no need to see the movie. So, how long have you been a book hater? Do you burn books often? :-)

CassNJ

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:37:35 -0600

Irishman1, you were the one attacking his politics, so don't try to take the high road on that. As for contributing to the "dumbing down of America", if you think that historic events should not be filmed, well, I guess you would have to condemn some of the greatest movies of all time. Say, Lawrence of Arabia, All The President's Men, Apollo 13, just for starters. For that matter, they shouldn't film famous books or plays either, since it would be better if people read or attended theaters (unless that form of entertainment is too dumb for you too). So there goes To Kill A Mockingbird, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, etc. The thing is, film is a medium, and it can be used for any purpose. It can be dumb or enlightening, thought-provoking or mindless. You're automatically judging this movie to have no inherent value. Possibly, if you actually wait to see the movie when it comes out, you will find your opinion validated. You must not be familiar with many of Depp's movies. Most of them were movies that scarcely anyone saw, that he felt had artistic merit or interested him in some way. In 20 years, he's made only a handful of movies that were financially successful, and it's bizarre to trivialize his whole body of work based on those movies. I fail to see any logic in your post that supports you calling him a hypocrite. Mind explaining that?

irishman1

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:50:39 -0600

Those are some pretty sweet pictures with the old time feel. Very cool. CassNJ...you missed the entire point. Left wing and right wing has nothing to do with what I wrote...maybe to you, but not me. To just sum this up as 'right wing' and 'left wing' is way too "ABC after school special" . Let's get in from recess and stay on task here. I criticize our government as much as the next person who follows current events and politics. Of course I will agree with you that our public schools need help (like Depp would even send his kid to a public school in America, so I don't really get your point on that one). But lets remember the point...you can read about Dillinger in thousands...I mean thousands of books. By making a movie about something historical like this, Depp is actually "dumbing down America". He is actually contributing to the aspects of America he hates...aspects he hates to the point he goes public with his opinion on the subject. I agree that he comes off as a "wonderful, gentle, considerate man"...but you don't see the hypocrisy in Depp being apart of this movie? You have to be blind not to see it. Good guys can be hypocrites. He seems like a good guy. And he comes off like a hypocrite. Stick to fantasy scissors types of movies, Johnny. Better yet, when is the 21 Jump Street reunion?

CassNJ

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:11:56 -0600

To Irishman1: You don't know much about Johnny Depp other than what right-wingers tell you, I guess. He lives in the US half the time, though he loves his French girfriend of 10 years and her country too. Now that France has a US-friendly gov't not even the right-wingers bash them anymore, so get with the times. Second, he has a right to criticize his gov't. If you are of the belief that anyone who criticizes it is a traitor, then all I can say is that I'm glad our constitution protects our right to believe we can and should speak up when it's gone offcourse. And third, as a father, if he thinks American schools are inferior or more dangerous than European schools, then the facts are on his side. Our schools are a disgrace, our children are falling behind, and I would love you to point to another country where children bring their guns to school and shoot other children. I agree with Johnny Depp 100% when he says he LOVES America, but he worries about what's happening here. Your screed is falling on deaf ears. He is by all accounts a wonderful, gentle, considerate man as well as being talented and beautiful. You should try to find a more deserving target for your rants.

Spook

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:25:33 -0600

Back when that yupped out bar called Continental on Chicago Ave was the Pizza Lounge aka "Packaged Goods",a "old music" band played there every Friday night called Bakelite 78. They have a great song called "Dillinger Sang" based on John Dillinger. Check out their myspace or webpage. They should have done the sound track! Man I miss that place and it was mastiff friendly!

Berklie

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:18:31 -0600

The set looked fantastic... and I wanted to share my photos, too (which include some night time, on-set shots taken nightly between 2:00 and 6:00 AM): Public Enemies Come Home Take it easy, B

JuliaPorter

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:18:21 -0600

irishman, I'm not pretending to be a fan of Johnny Depp, who I think is a pretentious git, but it was Lincoln Avenue! With big rusty metal signs studded with light bulbs! And they changed all the storefronts! And laid down fake bricks and streetcar tracks, and there were Olde-Timey cars everywhere! It was really cool, and the movie is about a really interesting piece of Chicago history. Again, I really don't like Johnny Depp anyore than the average post-adolescent, but I also don't think he sups on kittens, so I don't worry so much about seeing his movies.

irishman1

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:53:00 -0600

You know, there are a lot of great books out there about John Dillinger. Seeing a movie seems to dumb it down a bit. With Johnny Depp involved, does anyone else see the irony with this whole situation? First of all, we all know that Depp hates America to the point he will not raise his children here. From the New York Post: "I'm truly frightened of America in terms of raising my daughter here. I don't believe that is an option at all." No problem, except that he makes movies in America, he makes money here and the "money" is good enough for his daughter. He is also quoted as saying in a German Magazine, "America is dumb, it's like a dumb puppy that has big teeth that can bite and hurt you, aggressive." With that, he is making a historical movie about a subject that you can get thousands of books on. So, isn't Depp contributing to the dumbing down of not only Americans...but anyone who chooses to see this movie instead of reading about it. Depp is actually contributing to the aspect of our society he despises...and he does this on the way to his bank.

inadepptrance

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:21:26 -0600

[i]I absolutely can't wait for this movie to come out! And how sweet of Johnny Depp to spend all the time with the fans after filming and during breaks! WOW.. Amazing. I love the fact that Michael Mann is filming on locations instead of all on a set somewhere. This movie is going to be great! Thanks for the great coverage of all the filming. K. Drury Woodbine, Maryland http://www.inadepptrance.com[/i]

sprk

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:48:35 -0600

JuliaPorter said pretty much exactly what I was going to say. It was at least as much a pain to have the filming there was it was neat to have the filming there. I'm not sure how a Michael Mann movie about John Dillinger can go wrong. So count me in when it comes out.

JuliaPorter

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:32:34 -0600

Even though the filming on Lincoln Ave made my daily commute even more of a nightmare than it already is, I have to admit, the transformation was REALLY cool. I'm excited to see the movie.