WHO'S HOTTER: River Phoenix or Johnny Depp?

A sad fact: River Phoenix overdosed at a club owned by Johnny Depp. If Johnny hadn't owned that club, would River still be alive? That's debatable. But I thought it was enough of a cosmic connection to warrant pitting these two against each other this week (sorry for the morbidity of this post).

Which of these two über-cool, smoking-hot, shades-wearing sex symbol icons does it for you? In order to help you forget the tragic spectacle of River's overdose (in case you just read the story in that link), I'm providing a whole extra post of photos for each man. Enjoy.

Soooooo... JOHNNY or RIVER? Vote and discuss here in the comments.

And the hotter is...

(over a week passes)

River Phoenix. Johnny made it close, but in the end, River still emerged victorious. I do love Depp, but I'm glad he lost to the great martyred body of water whose spirit rose from the ashes in the form of his brother Leaf... or something. Seriously, though, I love River Phoenix. This contest got me back into a big River phase, during which I actually bought My Own Private Idaho and a book called In Search of River Phoenix: The Truth Behind The Myth, by William Richert. I actually feel bad exploiting River's image for personal enjoyment, since he was known to be averse to the "cult of the image". But it's only because I love him deeply, and because his image always communicated so much. Just look at his eyes.

I direct fellow fans to the very interesting sites Rio's Attic and The River Phoenix Pages. I'll also report back on how good the book is. There really is a "myth" of River Phoenix that transcends both himself and his celebrity. Not since his fellow fallen star James Dean has an actor been made into something so much more after being taken so early. RIP, River Phoenix. You'll always be dearly missed.