This Sunday January 15, 2023, from 10:55 p.m., Arte is devoting a portrait to actor and director Johnny Depp: In the eyes of Johnny Depp. This unique documentary notably on a tragic death that occurred in his concert hall in Los Angeles, the Viper Room, in the early 90s.
After the broadcast of Donnie Brasco in the first part of the evening this Sunday January 15, 2023, Arte proposes to continue the evening around Johnny Depp with the broadcast from 10:55 p.m. of In the eyes of Johnny Deppan unpublished documentary that looks back on the career of the 59-year-old artist, between rock’n’roll and tortured beginnings, box office success (like Charlie and the chocolate factoryfor which he was inspired by unlikely personalities to play Willy Wonka) and controversies of all kinds related in particular to his trial against Amber Heardwho declined to appeal.
“The paramedics were caring for a young man“
If the documentary, also available on Arte.tvaddresses his discovery of drugs from the age of 11-12 under the influence of his mother or his love affair with Vanessa Paradis now completewhich soothed him and makes him a family man, he also looks back on an accidental and tragic death that occurred on October 31, 1993 at the Viper Room, his concert hall where the cream of cinema and music in Los Angeles meet in complete privacy, on Sunset Boulevard more precisely. That evening, Johnny Depp, who wanted to be a rock star in his Hollywood debut, performs on stage while a rising movie star overdoses at the entrance to the nightclub. “I jumped off the stage and ran for the door. The paramedics were taking care of a young man. At that time, I didn’t know it was River Phoenix“, confided the former companion of Winona Ryder, with whom he had starred in Edward Scissorhands.
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River Phoenix: an impossible mourning for his loved ones
The drama occurs in the presence of other stars of the time: Flea, a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers who also played on stage, Christina ApplegateSamantha Mathis but also Rain and Joaquin Phoenixbrother and sister of victim with a shattered fate. He will be declared dead after arriving at the hospital at the age of 23. Since his disappearance, his brother Joaquin has continued to perpetuate his memory: in 2019, he had paid tribute in a moving speecheverything like to Oscars 2020. The one who has named his son after his deceased brother confided, however, that “the media had prevented him from mourning“, a point of view also shared by Johnny Depp, as reported in the Arte documentary: “The media was not only refusing to let River rest in peace, they were also doing it to his family..”