Marion Cotillard is set to join Johnny Depp and Christain Bale in Michael Mann’s Depression-era crime drama ‘Public Enemies.’According to Variety, Cotillard will not only join Depp and Bale, but Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff and Jason Clarke as well, reports Variety.Cotillard will play Billie Frechette, the devoted lover of the country’s most wanted gangster, John Dillinger (Depp).Tatum will star as outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd, Ribisi will play the role of Alvin Karpis, Dorff is in negotiations to play Homer Van Meter, and Clarke will play John ‘Red’ Hamilton.All of them represented Dillinger’s gang that knocked off banks all over the Midwest during the Depression-era.Bale will star as Melvin Purvis, a man who was asked by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover to lead a manhunt to capture the elusive Dillinger.Ronan Bennett, Ann Biderman and Mann wrote the shooting script.Mann and Kevin Misher will produce, while Jane Rosenthal is the executive producer.Universal Pictures’ ‘Public Enemies’ will be filmed on location in Chicago starting March 10th, 2008. [Source]

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street marks director Tim Burton’s sixth collaboration with actor Johnny Depp, but it is the first time either has ever attempted a complete musical. The film tells the tale of a barber-turned-serial killer who seeks revenge on a judge who wrongfully imprisoned him.Charlie and the Chocolate Factory may have shown that Burton and Depp can take on twisted song and dance routines, but it is fair to say The Sound of Music would not fit comfortably into their vision of the world. But Sweeney Todd, based on Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 musical, is suitably nightmarish for the dark duo. “Oh we’re the Astaire and Rogers of the modern age,” jokes Burton, whose previous films with Depp include Sleepy Hollow and Edward Scissorhands. “We were just talking about doing Cats,” quips Depp. The dark world of Sweeney Todd is the stuff of urban legend. His thirst for revenge compels him to murder people with a particularly close shave and dispose of the bodies in meat pies. This means that young fans used to seeing Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean will have to wait to see him in his latest role.

Johnny Depp has received the call up to replace Heath Ledger in what was to be his latest film role. Brokeback Mountain star Heath was six weeks away from finishing the fantasy flick, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and now director Terry Gilliam wants his friend Depp to step in for the remaining scenes.A studio source said: ‘There is a point in the film when Heath falls through a magic mirror. He could change into another character after that and that is where Johnny would come in.’ ‘It’s a weird, fantasy, time-travel movie so Heath’s character could easily change appearance. It would be a poignant moment.’ ‘Johnny’s not working at the moment so everyone is praying he will do it.’ [Source]

Christian Bale and Johnny Depp are set to star in the film. Depp will be playing the famous gangster. If a recent script review in the Latino Review is accurate then the film will have plenty of room for other Hollywood heavy hitters. The industry rag is describing the movie as being similar in cast size to LA Confidential, Zodiac, or The Departed. [Source]

Johnny Depp is tired of living life in the fast lane.The Golden Globe-winning actor, who was famed for his wild partying in the mid 90s, has given up driving fast cars and now lives “calmly” in France with partner Vanessa Paradis and their two children.Johnny said: “I’ve have always liked speed – now I like comfort. We all go through stages of wanting fast cars and bikes. I was no different. Who wouldn’t want a Maserati? But I also wanted to ride in style, or with a bit of history. To get there and to enjoy the journey.”I have learnt to grow up and still enjoy myself. I spent a lot of years living on the edge – everyone knows that. So it is good that I now live calmly and happily.”The 44-year-old star, who spent his childhood moving around with his mother, also revealed he now finally feels settled.Johnny said: “I have never felt more rooted anywhere. I have never been in one place, like this, where I do feel completely at home. Los Angeles was my home from the early 80s to the late 90s but it still felt so transient compared to this.” [Source]