On this day in movie history - For No Good Reason (2012):

For No Good Reason

a documentary directed by Charlie Paul,

produced by Lucy Paul,

was released at the London Film Festival in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2012.
Music by Ed Harcourt, Sacha Skarbek, Slash, Jason Mraz and Thom Crawford.

Cast:

Ralph Steadman, Johnny Depp, Richard E. Grant, Terry Gilliam, Jann Wenner, Hunter S. Thompson, Hal Willner, Patrick Godfrey.

On this day in movie history – Ed Wood (1994 movie & book):

Ed Wood

directed by Tim Burton,

written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski,

based on the book Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr. by Rudolph Grey,

was released in the United States on September 28, 1994.
Music by Howard Shore.

Cast:

Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Lisa Marie, Jeffrey Jones, Max Casella, Bill Murray, George "The Animal" Steele, Juliet Landau, Ned Bellamy, Mike Starr, Stanley DeSantis, Rance Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Maurice LaMarche, G. D. Spradlin, Korla Pandit, Gregory Walcott, Conrad Brooks.

Recommended reading:

Nightmare of Ecstasy:

The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr.

By Rudolph Grey.

Filmed as Ed Wood (1994), directed by Tim Burton.

First published 1992.

Published by Feral House.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0922915245

ISBN-13: 978-0922915248

Description:

Rereleased to coincide with Ed Wood, a Tim Burton movie based on the book, this authoritative underground biography brings to life the renegade filmmaker who broke new ground in absurd supernatural horror and campy suspense. The author recalls the '50s, when the invasion of movie houses by monsters became a national youth craze.

The portrayal of a brave, eccentric and sometimes insane film director, dubbed "the worst director of all time" for his low-budget cult features. The tale is told by those who lived and worked with him - a motley collection of dead-beats and losers who lived on the fringes of Hollywood.

On this day in movie history - Public Enemies (2009):

Public Enemies

directed by Michael Mann,

written by Ronan Bennett, Ann Biderman and Michael Mann,

was released in the United States on June 19, 2009.
Based on the book Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34 by Bryan Burrough.
Music by Elliot Goldenthal.

Cast:

Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup, Stephen Dorff, Stephen Lang, Michael Bentt, Stephen Graham, Jason Clarke, David Wenham, Spencer Garrett, Christian Stolte, Giovanni Ribisi, John Ortiz, Domenick Lombardozzi, Bill Camp, Rory Cochrane, Richard Short, Carey Mulligan, John Michael Bolger, Branka Katić, Emilie de Ravin, Shawn Hatosy, Don Frye, Matt Craven, Channing Tatum, Lili Taylor, David Warshofsky, Peter Gerety, Michael Vieau, Casey Siemaszko, Adam Mucci, Leelee Sobieski, James Russo, Chandler Williams, John Hoogenakker.

On this day in movie history - Dead Man (1995 movie & book):

Dead Man

directed and written by Jim Jarmusch,

was released at the Cannes Film Festival in France on May 27, 1995.
Music by Neil Young.

Cast:

Johnny Depp, Mili Avital, Gary Farmer, Crispin Glover, Lance Henriksen, Michael Wincott, Eugene Byrd, John Hurt, Robert Mitchum, Iggy Pop, Gabriel Byrne, Jared Harris, Jimmie Ray Weeks, Mark Bringelson, John North, Peter Schrum, Mike Dawson, Billy Bob Thornton, Michelle Thrush, Gibby Haynes, Richard Boes, George Duckworth, Thomas Bettles, Alfred Molina, Daniel Chas Stacy, Todd Pfeiffer, Leonard Bowechop, Cecil Cheeka, Michael McCarty, Steve Buscemi, John C. Carlucci.

Recommended reading:

Dead Man

By Jonathan Rosenbaum.

Published by British Film Institute.

Published 2000.

ISBN-10: 0851708064

ISBN-13: 9780851708065

Description:

“The book follows the narrative and picks out some of the stand-out cameos as well as some of the choice of dialogue, music, style and violence within. Just another good choice from the BFI/Palgrave on another solid film with heavy content.” – Filmwerk.

When it was released in 1995, Dead Man puzzled many audiences and critics. Jim Jarmusch's reputation was for directing slick, hip contemporary films. And Dead Man was a black-and-white Western. As time has passed, though, the number of its admirers has grown rapidly. Indeed, Dead Man, with its dark and unconventional treatment of violence, racism and capitalism, may be Jarmusch's finest work to date.

This is Jonathan Rosenbaum's view. For him, Dead Man is both a quantum leap and a logical next step in Jarmusch's career. Starring Johnny Depp as the uprooted accountant William Blake and Gary Farmer as his enigmatic Native American companion, Nobody, and with startling cameos from Robert Mitchum, John Hurt and Iggy Pop, Dead Man is by turns shocking, comic and deeply moving. This book explores and celebrates a masterpiece of 1990s American cinema.