The longish black hair. The pale skin. The ornate suit
jacket. The adult male speaking voice that sounds like
a lil' girl.

That is fabled candymaker Willy Wonka as embodied by
Johnny Depp in director Tim Burton's new take on the
children's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

One problem: the casual viewer is going to see Michael
Jackson.

And, according to Depp, who openly copped to stealing
riffs from rocker Keith Richards for his turn as
Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The
Curse of the Black Pearl, it is absolutely not what
the actor had in mind when he was conjuring the
eccentric first brought to the big screen by Gene
Wilder in 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate
Factory. Children-show hosts like Captain Kangaroo and
Mr. Rogers, these are the innocuous sorts who inspired
Depp's Wonka, he has said.

"Everyone is entitled to think what they want," Depp
said last week in a news conference in Nassau,
Bahamas, "even while being violently wrong."

Two of the most famous props in US film history --
light sabers belonging to Luke Skywalker and Darth
Vader of "Star Wars" fame -- will go under the hammer
in late July auction.

Dozens of objects from George Lucas' celebrated sci-fi
saga will go the highest bidders at the July 29
auction in Beverly Hills organized by Profiles in
History, which specializes in the sale of film props.

The Jedi knight's light saber, owned by "Star Wars"
producer Gary Kurtz, is estimated to sell for between
60,000 and 80,000 dollars.

The light saber used by the evil Darth Vader character
in "The Empire Strikes Back" is estimated to go for
40,000 to 60,000 dollars.

The light sabers, of course, worked only on screen
with the help of special effects. Luke's weapon, shown
on Profiles in History's website, is a silvery tube
with a black handle.

The 75 objects up for bid include Skywalker's orange
"X-Wing" pilot jumpsuit, estimated to go for 60,000 to
80,000 dollars. Actor Mark Hamill wore the suit for
flight scenes in "Stars Wars" and "The Empire Strikes
Back."

A Stormtrooper "blaster" weapon used in "Star Wars" is
expected to sell for between 25,000 and 30,000
dollars, while a latex mask used for the green Yoda
character may go for 8,000 to 10,000 dollars.