Outrageous quotes of the day

1) How well do you think Josh Brolin got along with Russell Crowe when they were making "American Gangster" together? I'm guessing, on a 1-to-10 scale, about a 2. Brolin was in rare form at last night's New York Film Critics Circle Awards dinner, especially after he won best supporting actor for his role in "Milk." After Sean Penn introduced him, Brolin accepted his award, saying to the crowd: "Quite an actor, Sean Penn. And not an ... like Russell Crowe." After the titters subsided, he said it again: "Like Russell Crowe." (Penn used a casual swear word to describe Crowe, but because of our strict no-bad-language standards at the Times, I'm not allowed to reprint it in the blog, so you'll have to go the above link to see which word he used.)

2) Nobody shoots from the hip quite like Clint Eastwood, who clearly doesn't believe in politically correct behavior of any kind. I only wish he would do a satire about L.A. private schools, which would offer ample opportunities to make fun of our generation of overly protected kids and overly entitled parents. Interviewed in the current issue of Esquire, the always-blunt Eastwood had this to say: "We live in a pussy generation now, where everybody's become used to saying, 'Well, how do we handle it psychologically?' [When I was young] you just punched the bully back and duked it out. Even if the guy was older and could push you around, at least you were respected for fighting back and you'd be left alone from then on."

3) It's apparently no secret that Johnny Depp didn't get along with the famously perfectionist Michael Mann during the filming of "Public Enemies," the John Dillinger gangster movie that's due out this summer. Personally, I can't wait to see the film -- Mann doing 1930s Chicago tough guys sounds like a match made in heaven. Interviewed in this week's Entertainment Weekly, Depp only alludes to his issues with the Mann work process, which he slyly describes as "the details of the details of the details. They should invent a word to describe it, because it's not just details, it teeters on microscopic obsession with every molecule of the moment."

Asked about his favorite scene to shoot in the film, Depp replies: "Let's just say, how often do you get to stand on the running board of an old 1932 Buick blasting a 50-round clip from a Thompson submachine gun? When do you get to do that without getting into trouble for it? And with Michael, you get to do it again and again and again."

Photo: Josh Brolin in "Milk."  Credit: Phil Bray / Focus Features

Comments

[Carol]

You guys have taken Johnny's comments and twisted them to make news and missed out parts of the article.

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[Sandra Kellstrom]

I don't think Depp's comments are outrageous. I've worked with the type of person he describes and I only wish I could recount the experience with as much restraint as he displays. Bless him. LOL

[Billie B]

Just because Mr. Depp had a couple comments about the way Mr. Mann works, does not mean he didn't get along with him. No wonder actors do not want to be interviewed whatever they say is made into something not intended.

[Diane]

I take issue with your comment that it's "no secret" that Johnny Depp didn't get along with director Michael Mann on the set of Public Enemies. The quote from Johnny that you published isn't the full quote. If you would have published the last lines of Johnny's quote, it turns around your theory of Johnny not liking Michael Mann. Here is the full quote:

"[Mann is about] the details of the details of the details [laughs]. They should invent a word to describe it because it's not just details, it teeters on microscopic obsession with ever molecule of every moment. Which is admirable, you know? You got to salute that.'

In addition to this, Michael Mann has given absolutely glowing quotes to the media about Johnny, his dedication and his performance.

It's no secret in the industry that Michael Mann is a perfectionist and a director who requires many takes to get what he wants. Actors who agree to work with Mann are fully aware of this in advance.

Here's a quote from Universal Chairman Marc Schmuger as it appeared in the L.A. Times:

Shmuger admits that it was a tough shoot, but that comes with the territory in Mann Land. "When Sam Fuller said that 'Film is a battleground, love, hate, violence, action, death--in a word, emotion,' he must've been thinking about Michael Mann," Shmuger says. "With every movie, he goes into battle. I'm sure you've heard all the legendary stories about the fallout and casualties. But that's the only way Michael knows how to make movies. And we're willing to take the bet that out of that commitment and passion will come a great movie."

For you to assume and publish a comment that Johnny Depp didn't get along with Michael Mann because of Johnny's comment that Mann likes to do "take after take after take" is foolish and inflamatory.

[Big Sam]

Message from middle America: We all hate Hollywood. Its actors and directors who instead of using their talent on the screen, instead become the political sounding board for the over-weight perpetual TV, Cable TV, Made for TV movies, and movies that go straight to DVD. Who endowed them with the wisdom of the ages in the political arena? Just act. Go home afterward and read Variety and test your celebrity IQ by watching Jeopardy with your own little toy buzzer.

[DLH]

Someone there really needs to not only get your facts straight, but proofread your story before it's published. Besides putting words in Johnny Depp's mouth by saying that he didn't get along with Michael Mann, you've got an error in your story about Josh Brolin and Sean Penn.

You wrote:
After Sean Penn introduced him, Brolin accepted his award, saying to the crowd: "Quite an actor, Sean Penn. And not an ... like Russell Crowe." After the titters subsided, he said it again: "Like Russell Crowe." (Penn used a casual swear word to describe Crowe, but because of our strict no-bad-language standards at the Times, I'm not allowed to reprint it in the blog, so you'll have to go the above link to see which word he used.)

First you say that it was Josh Brolin who made the comment about Russell Crowe, but then in the next sentence, you say it was Sean Penn who used the mild swear word to describe Crowe. Get it correct! Josh Brolin was the one who made the comment that took a swipe at Crowe when asked what it was like to work with Sean Penn.

[Fike4]

Your article is very misleading regarding Depp's comments. Are you all now part of the tabloid crowd? You all should be ashamed.

[Spoons]

The LA Times, you've just lost a few hundred credibility points. Well, with me anyway.

You've missed quoted Depp and manipulated his words into the exact opposite of how he meant them.

Wankers.

[Carol Elaine Miller]

You are doing to Johnny Depp what the news media did to John Lennon and the so-called infamous The Beatles are better than Jesus Christ remark. John never said any such thing and if people had read the article in it's entirety they would have known exactly what he said. Now, here you are doing the same thing to Johnny Depp whom I consider one of our best actor's ever and from all I have ever heard or read , not only gets along well with those he works with but they always have the nicest things to say about him. So , if you don't mind I'll just overlook and disregard your commentary.