Comments on: The Secret of Johnny Depp’s Success

By: Nickolay Lamm

Nickolay Lamm — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:39:36 +0000

I love this post. I can also understand where he’s coming from. I believe that a lot of people do crazy or what we deem “creative” things just for attention. If you look at the work of artists we admire the most, I’m sure none of them were thinking of fame while they were doing their work.

By: Dale E. Taylor

Dale E. Taylor — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:05:01 +0000

A good, insightful article into the murky world of coming ‘right’ out of left field.
As a broadcast veteran in both the executional & creative roles of content generation and programming,
the reality behind the ‘box’ is pretty straight forward. Be it Blink or serendipity, it is a simple as what motivates one – the hunt or the meal.
Relative to my personal/professional experiences to date, I have found it more fun to make a decision on programming acquisitions or commissioning series based on intrinsic motivation. Sense of the common viewer is half and the other half is common sense. No need to become an obsessive, compulsive, suspicious techno-cratic micro-manager when it comes to garnering great tv ratings.
Just buy right, schedule well, counter counter programming trends and promote with creative flair!
Thanks for the post article Mark….albeit my remark/s are a tad late if calendar means anything!?
I think Mr. Depp had it figured out a long time ago. A love-hate with the craft is a balanced approach to the business at hand. Don’t take it too seriously – leave that to the brand managers & marketing types who need to rationalize and verifiy where they’ve been rather than scout the exciting next step

By: Kari

Kari — Wed, 25 May 2011 14:40:08 +0000

I love Johnny Depp–but only because he is a truly fabulous actor. He’s very good at diving into his role and BECOMING that person whereas other actors remain the same character actors regardless of what role they play. With Mr. Depp, you identify who he is in the beginning of the film and then he changes to become that role–with others, you always identify them as Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise, Agent Smith…

I’m not sure that being completely detached from the end product is necessarily that great of an idea and I sincerely would doubt that he’s never watched ANY of his movies.

You can’t NOT have an eye to the finished work because, even if you don’t have any idea of where you’re going, you have to, at least, pay attention to the direction you’re going in.

Mr. Depp has the advantage of having his roles already created for him as well as the situation to not have to focus on what the end result will look like. The direction is (generally) already decided. It’s for him to be the character he was cast to be. In the end, he’s repeating lines created by someone else–and convincing us that they are solely his. That’s utterly brilliant if done correctly. He also has a multitude of people around him who are determined to make the end result a movie worth seeing.

I’m writing a book. I can solely focus on the sheer creativity–the actual writing–of the book until the first draft is finished. After that, I have to take on the roles of director and the post-production crew to work that first draft into something that I am pleased with, that I am proud of.

I think, for us sole creators, we have to pay attention to it all, but at different times. Write the book with the door shut–edit the book with the door wide open.

By: Mark McGuinness

Mark McGuinness — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:58:22 +0000

I think only Mr Depp could answer that! But to judge from the interview, he realises that it could be a distraction and does his best to ignore it. I’m sure he takes it into account before deciding whether to do the project!

By: sarah

sarah — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:20:34 +0000

can someone answer my question “When johnny depp is working on a creative project, does he find the potential rewarding motivating or a distracting?

By: This Isn't Me: Selflessness and Creativity | The Emotion Machine

This Isn't Me: Selflessness and Creativity | The Emotion Machine — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:12:36 +0000

[...] an article about Johnny Depp over at Lateral Action (an amazing site for advice on creativity). The article mentioned how Johnny Depp once claimed he never watches any of his movies. In it he quotes Depp as [...]

By: Mark Powers

Mark Powers — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:49:30 +0000

As a professional musician, I can somewhat relate to Depp. I really enjoy the process of recording, moreso than hearing myself on the final record. Although I have listened to several of the projects after completion, it’s primarily to critique myself so that I can make adjustments in the future. And there are several more recordings of mine out there that I’ve never heard since walking out of the studio.

Great post, Mark!

By: Glen Graham

Glen Graham — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:45:14 +0000

I have to try this out because I often find my self living to long in the celebration and losing precious time that could be better spent on other projects.

By: LAZINESS REDEFINED – how to tell if you’re lazy! |

LAZINESS REDEFINED – how to tell if you’re lazy! | — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 06:41:14 +0000

[...] forgotten is how success is actually measured. If we have ever asked ourselves this question; “how is success measured?” Then, maybe the meaning of laziness wouldn’t have been this confusing to the world in [...]

By: Daligotee

Daligotee — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:31:44 +0000

This is true, the only thing is that Mr. Depp always wanted to be a musician, not an actor. He got into acting to pay the bills. Isn’t this business? His passion lies in music. That’s where the true creativity remains