Will that rascal Johnny Depp behave at the Golden Globes?

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Rumor has it that Johnny Depp will attend the Golden Globes on Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, which is surprising since he can be quite reclusive. He has a spotty record of attendance with his eight past nominations, but now he’s making a special point to attend because he’s got two bids in one year and in one category. He is competing against himself for best comedy/musical actor: ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘The Tourist.’

The vast majority of award pundits polled by Gold Derby believe that Depp will win for his wondrously wacky role as the Mad Hatter in ‘Alice,’ but he faces tough competition from Paul Giamatti (‘Barney’s Version’) and Kevin Spacey (‘Casino Jack’). He really has no chance to win at all for ‘The Tourist,’ which bombed at the box office and was trashed by film critics.

But the big cliffhanger is: What will Depp do if he loses for both? He doesn’t take defeat well.

Back in 2004 at the Globes ceremony honoring films made in 2003, Depp caused quite a ruckus when he lost for ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.’ The movie was such a massive hit that he seemed like a shoo-in to win, but when the champ turned out to be Bill Murray (‘Lost in Translation’), the fourth Globe defeat of Depp’s career was more than he could take. He stormed out of the ceremony in a huff.

Afterward, Depp’s PR rep claimed that report wasn’t true – that Depp merely got up from his table after he lost and left briefly to smoke a cigarette, but I was sitting just a short distance away and witnessed the whole thing. There’s a smokers’ balcony immediately off the International Ballroom that’s well known to everyone. Depp didn’t head toward that door. He rushed toward the main door, exited and did not return.

Ah, well, what makes his departure all the more tragic is that Depp went on to lose three more times. When he finally triumphed for ‘Sweeney Todd’ in 2008 (for the 2007 film year), he couldn’t be present to accept his Golden Globe because the ceremony was canceled due to a writers’ strike.

-- Tom O’Neil