Johnny Depp
- Actor
Press clippings Page 3
Life's Too Short: Me, Johnny Depp and Ricky Gervais
Of all my career achievements, I am most proud of Life's Too Short.
Warwick Davis, BBC Blogs, 10th November 2011Anticipating the flak Life's Too Short might provoke and opting to get his revenge in first, Ricky Gervais last week announced that he embraced the haters. After last night's first episode, it's not the haters Gervais need worry about. It's the thoroughly indifferent. The problem with this new series is not that it's offensive; it's that it's just not very funny. It took over eight minutes to raise the first smile - Warwick Davis falling out of the 4x4 - and the only real laugh came near the end when Liam Neeson tried to pitch a stand-up routine about Aids.
It all just seemed too familiar; partly because any element of surprise had long since gone thanks to the endless preview trailers and the PR campaign to reassure everyone that the show was basically politically correct, but mainly because it felt like the show you'd have written yourself if you were trying to write like Gervais. Push the boundaries of taste. Tick. Blur the real and the imagined. Tick. Rope in a few celebs. Tick. Take the money and run. Tick.
For those fortunate enough to miss all the hype - there must be one or two of you, I guess - Life's Too Short is a mockumentary about a dwarf actor whose career and marriage has hit the skids and is hoping to revive both by making a reality show of his life. In theory, this is as good a starting point for a comedy as any other. Failure, anger, hubris and self-delusion are key building blocks of much humour and there's plenty of potential for all four. Only it's seldom realised.
It's not so much Warwick Davis as the dwarf who is the problem, but Gervais and, to a lesser extent, his sidekick, Stephen Merchant. There's only so long you can go on writing and performing the same type of characters without boring your audience and the pair have passed the point of no return. We've seen Gervais humiliating Merchant in Extras, we've seen them both humiliating Karl Pilkington in An Idiot Abroad. And the joke has worn thin by the time they play Warwick Davis's agents and bully him.
Increasingly, also, Gervais' own ego is getting in the way. There used to be a tension when real celebs started showing up in Extras because there was a lingering sense that they didn't quite know what they had let themselves in for and that the joke might be some way on them. That ambivalence is now long gone.
Gervais' own desperation for fame is now utterly transparent. Having seen him crave Johnny Depp's approval on The Graham Norton Show last week, it's become impossible to believe in his indifference to celebrity. Which rather kills the gag. And while you can't not be happy for Gervais that he's achieved the recognition his genius deserved, it's a bit of a shame for the rest of us that it seems to have - temporarily, I hope - nobbled his talent.
John Crace, The Guardian, 10th November 2011Ricky Gervais and Johnny Depp make up on Graham Norton
Johnny Depp and Ricky Gervais have appeared together on The Graham Norton Show as the latter promotes his new sitcom, Life's Too Short, proving that the pair bear no grudges towards each other.
Rachel Tarley, Metro, 5th November 2011You suspect Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and BBC2 are getting their defence in first with this "making of" doc, screened before the start on Thursday of their new comedy series, Life's Too Short, starring dwarf actor Warwick Davis.
Gervais insists they aren't making fun of small people, though the Davis character has "a small man complex". Celebrity guests doing Extras-type cameos - Johnny Depp, Liam Neeson and Helena Bonham Carter - tell us why they wanted to take part.
Alison Graham, Radio Times, 5th November 2011The reliably entertaining series becomes a must-see tonight as Hollywood sweetheart Carey Mulligan, comedians Ed Byrne and Ricky Gervais plonk themselves on Graham Norton's sofa.
Although between professional motormouths Ricky and Graham, we're not sure how much of a look in Carey and Ed are going to get. If they manage to utter more than a single sentence each, it will be to plug Carey's new movie, Shame, and... er, we're not sure why Ed Byrne is there.
It's certainly not to just make up the numbers, because there's another guest I forgot to mention - a certain Mr Johnny Depp (I know - major squeal alert!). Captain Jack Sparrow is there to look all dreamy. And yummy. And delicious. And... Sorry, I got a bit carried away there.
The Hollywood heartthrob is in town to talk about his new movie, The Rum Diary.
Music is from Snow Patrol.
Jane Simon, The Mirror, 4th November 2011Now this sounds like a corking line-up for the Norton sofa: Johnny Depp, Ricky Gervais and stand-up comedian Ed Byrne. With music by Snow Patrol! The always courteous and charming Depp is in town to talk about his new film, The Rum Diary, based on a novel by gonzo novelist Hunter S Thompson about a freelance journalist having problems working on a local paper in 1950s Puerto Rico.
Gervais, meanwhile, who is currently in all kinds of trouble for being offensive and bad-mannered on Twitter (an unedifying spectacle) will doubtless be talking about his new BBC2 series, Life's Too Short, about a company of dwarves for hire. Snow Patrol sing their new single, This Isn't Everything You Are.
Alison Graham, Radio Times, 4th November 2011The chat show has become much devalued in recent times, but Norton is doing his best to rehabilitate the form with his lively and watchable show (toned down from his earlier days). Tonight he has an impressively A-list line up: Johnny Depp talking about his new film The Rum Diary; Oscar-nominated actress Carey Mulligan; Ricky Gervais chatting about Life's Too Short, his new dwarf-based comedy (yes, really); and comedian Ed Byrne. Snow Patrol provide the music.
The Telegraph, 3rd November 2011Ricky Gervais interview
Ricky Gervais reckons Johnny Depp's appearance in his new series Life's Too Short is the "most bizarre and amazing cameo we've ever had".
Rick Fulton, Daily Record, 5th October 2011Ross Lee confusion over man talking to his girlfriend
Furious comic Ross Lee told a fella he spotted chatting to his girlfriend to "f*** off" - not realising it was Hollywood actor Johnny Depp.
The Sun, 18th July 2011Johnny Depp to star in Ricky Gervais's Life's Too Short
Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp is to star in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's new sitcom Life's Too Short.
Jen Blackburn, The Sun, 24th March 2011