http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2007/12/...sma_screen.htmlJohnny Depp on the plasma screen
Wednesday, December 5th 2007, 4:00 AM Johnny Depp splatters the screen with fountains of blood in his new movie, "Sweeney Todd." But the man who plays the "Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is a little more squeamish when it comes to his own bleeding.
"I like to keep my blood inside me, thank you," he told us Monday at the musical's premiere.
Shots give him the willies.
"Nobody likes to be poked and prodded in any way," the inspired actor admitted. "Whether it's in a doctor's office or in jail."
Has he ever lost a lot of blood?
"Yes," he deadpanned. "But I found it!"
A few minutes earlier, on the blood-red carpet leading into the Ziegfeld Theater, his old friend Keith Richards snuck up on him.
"Keith!" said Depp, who seemed happy to see his pirate dad, though the Rolling Stone's waxen complexion may have given him a fright.
Later, after they'd exchanged hugs, we asked Richards if he'd seen the Broadway version of Stephen Sondheim's ghoulish musical.
"Nah," said Richards, who was in high spirits. "But I knew the original Sweeney Todd. He gave a hell of a shave!"
We figured Keith would have some thoughts on blood, what with him once having had all of his transfused in an effort to kick heroin, according to reports. Was the rocker, who had that nasty fall out of a palm tree last year, bothered by the sight of blood?
"I'm not scared by my own blood," he explained. "It's other people's blood that bothers me."
The special-effects pros on "Sweeney Todd" used hundreds of gallons of fake gore during the film's production.
"The blood on the set is kind of orange," said Edward Sanders, who plays Tobias Ragg. "You'd see people on the sides of the set pumping it into tubes going into everyone's necks. So I had quite a laugh when they filmed those scenes."
Alan Rickman, who plays the evil Judge Turpin, said the only thing funnier was maybe when "I've cut myself when I'm all alone. It's so hard when you're trying to get the Band-Aid on your bleeding finger with only one hand. It's quite the comedy scene, really."
Director Tim Burton, the mastermind of the crimson tide, confessed, "I always look away when they [draw blood at the doctor's]. The blood we used in the movie is very theatrical. That's one of the reasons it still feels like a play to me. The realistic edge is off."
Jayne Wisener, who plays Sweeney's daughter Johanna, found the stage blood "a bit redder than ketchup. Did I try it? No, I didn't try it! Do you think I should've licked it off Johnny's face?"
Judging by that dreamy smile on her face, it was a taste sensation she'd still like to have.
rushmolloy@nydailynews.com
With Sean Evans and Shallon Lester. Edited by Lance D. Debler