Film: [The Traitor]
Director: Mike Neville
Starring: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Release date: 28.2.1997
Reason to commemorate: The 20th anniversary of the film's release
In 1995, Johnny Depp began to doubt his vision of taking the script after suffering the defeats of two films, "Fatal Moment" and "Sacred Obsession" (Midway Birth).
At this time, his agent handed over a script called "Loyal Traitor".
▲ Depp will play FBI undercover Jule Piston in the film, playing a rival role with the old drama bone Al Pacino (pictured as a still of [Loyal Traitor])
Initially, the owner of Columbia took a fancy to Tom Cruise. At that time, liangtang was very popular, and in 1996, he won double recognition for acting skills and box office with "Mr. Sweetheart" and "Mission Impossible".
But when Atang received Kubrick's invitation, he went with Nicole Kidman to "open his eyes". Subsequently, the producers approached John Travolta, but the latter's offer of up to 7 million broke the partnership.
▲ Some people think that Depp has always appeared weak, sensitive, and overly handsome in his previous works, and is not the material for playing fbi at all (pictured is Depp's appearance in [Ed Wood])
The only time Depp played undercover was in the TV series "Dragon Tiger Junior Team", and he also became a youth idol because of this drama.
He was chosen to play the FBI veteran driver not because he was paid only 4 million, but because director Mike Newell took a deep and confused look at him.
▲ In the film, Depp's eyes project a person's extremely contradictory inner world, and his kind of good and evil qualities are also not possessed by the cool sunshine Ah Tang (the picture shows Depp's appearance in [Loyal Traitor])
This is Depp's second biographical role after [Ed Wood]. This time the prototype was still alive, so a few months before filming began, Depp found the prototype, Jules Pistons.
Through the exchange, Depp completely changed his previous view of the FBI: "I thought the FBI was a power machine, they were like John Wayne, they were fake and serious, and I wouldn't even look at it. But then I found out that they were enthusiastic and also living people. ”
Although Pitstone was in his 50s at the time, he was still fit. Depp compared his biceps and exclaimed, "Oh my God! I had to work out. ”
▲ Depp also participated in shooting training with former FBI personnel, and finally presented a strong and strong image on the screen, which took him a lot of effort (pictured is a still of [loyal traitor])
During filming, Depp struggled to extricate himself. Once out to dinner with Al Pacino, Pacino couldn't help but say to him, "You'd better talk more, it will be nerve-inducing to go on like this." ”
▲ In the same magnitude as the "godfather" Al Pacino, Depp bluntly said that he was very nervous (pictured as the [loyal traitor] set photo)
Depp's appearance did not bear any resemblance to the prototype, but when Piston closed his eyes and listened to him on the spot, he nodded repeatedly.
Only because he captured the characteristics of Pierce's speech: with an interesting rhythm, and a Penn accent.
▲ Depp recorded Piston's conversation in order to restore it realistically, of course, not hidden in boots as in the film, but spent a long time imitating the way the Buddha-figure spoke (pictured is the [Loyal Traitor] set photo)
The film was shot in Brooklyn, New York, which was once a gathering place for gangsters. In order to prepare for the role, Depp even went to the gang's social places and drank with them.
It also gave him a deeper understanding of the underworld: Whether it's a good person or a bad person, it's human, but there's a survival game here, and you have to change yourself. ”
▲ The film was released in February 1997, and eventually grossed $125 million worldwide, becoming Depp's first film to exceed 100 million yuan at the box office (pictured is the still of [Loyal Traitor])
However, the brilliance of Al Pacino's acting skills completely overshadowed Depp and won the Boston Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor. It can only be said that the golden age belonging to "Captain Jack" has not yet arrived.