On The Agenda: Peter Hook's back with another club, and bum bags are in again. Lord help us all...
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The ability to create memorable oddball characters for even the most unwieldy of blockbusters separates Johnny Depp from the more generic leading men of his generation – and that alone should be reason enough to check out a BFI series dedicated to the star's most memorable work. Throw in the surreal quality of the films on show, from the downright odd Ed Wood and the bloody Sweeney Todd to the magical Edward Scissorhands and the forthcoming Alice in Wonderland, and missing out would be more catastrophic than the dialogue from Pirates of the Caribbean. From Monday, bfi.org.uk
Adam Jacques
Books
As James Patterson publishes yet another novel, Fang (part of the teen-fiction series Maximum Ride), on Thursday, profiles of the prolific author struggle to keep up. A recent New York Times feature pointed out that Patterson, along with his team of co-writers, published nine original hardbacks in 2009. Last autumn's Guinness Book of Records named him the author with the most NYT bestsellers, at 45... but the paper added that this has since risen to 51. Better make that 52 come Friday.
Katy Guest
Art
It is usually the works hung on the walls that attract visitors to a gallery, rather than the walls themselves. But Manchester's Whitworth Art Gallery is about to change all that, by asking 30 artists to decorate its walls, using wallpaper as a meaningful mode of expression. Damien Hirst, David Shrigley (Industrial Estate) and Abigail Lane are among those featured at the Walls Are Talking exhibition, tackling themes from sexuality to warfare. whitworth.manchester.ac.uk
AJ
Kids
It's Jackanory on steroids, as storytelling troupe the Crick Crack Club bring ancient myths to life at London's Unicorn Theatre. Norwegian storyteller Heidi Dahlsveen promises high-octane tales of Vikings, Xanthe Gresham brings tales of Olympus from Greece, while Irish artist Clare Muirean Murphy will tackle fairies and one-eyed monsters (but sadly not pots of gold). From Tuesday, unicorntheatre.com
AJ
Music
While there might be something ominous about the man who wrote a book entitled How Not to Run a Club opening a club, it's hard not to get excited about Peter Hook's latest venture. When the former Factory Records head office became available late last year, Hook (thankfully) teamed up with "established club operators" to turn the three-story building into FAC251, a new haven for Manchester's music lovers and club-goers. Things kick off on Friday with Hook and friends playing New Order and Joy Division classics. If all goes to plan, that is. factorymanchester.com
Simmy Richman
Fashion
Freshly resurrected this season from the inner circle of hell: the bum bag: on the catwalks at Louis Vuitton, over the counter at American Apparel, and now king of weird Walter van Beirendonck has presented his own take on the style during Paris Menswear Week. Known for clashing colours, hyper-cool new fabrics and bold add-ons (he once attached a black leather dildo to the front of some bondage trousers, oo-er), Van Beirendonck has linked up with bag brand Chris&Tibor to make fanny-packs that spell out words, your initials, you name it... Or simply play it safe with one of the plane-shaped rucksacks instead. waltervanbeirendonck.com
Harriet Walker
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