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Our fansite celebrates the life and achievements of Johnny Depp. Here you can track up-to-the-minute news on Johnny's current
projects, browse Sleepy's breathtaking photo galleries, trade opinions with witty, friendly Depp fans from around the world on our forums, discuss his favorite books with our book club, or read vintage interviews--or JD's own writing--in the JDZ Archives. Look into the JohnnyDepp-Zone...we predict you'll never want to leave.
BREAKING NEWS--Casting begins for THE RUM DIARY, starring Johnny Depp
Happy news--the feature film of The Rum Diary, starring Johnny Depp,has now begun casting; according to Heather Langone of BlogStage, Denise Chamian is the casting director. Hopefully we will hear some announcements soon. Bruce Robinson will be directing The Rum Diary and has adapted the screenplay from the novel by Hunter S. Thompson. Johnny Depp's Infinitum Nihil and Graham King's GK Films will produce. The Rum Diary is scheduled to begin production in March.
The Zone thanks Emma for sharing the news; you can read more on the News & Views forum. --Part-Time Poet
January 06, 2009
Oprah Noodlemantra's Book Club begins discussion of THE GLASS BOOKS OF THE DREAM EATERS today!
Please join Liz and DeppintheHeartofTexas, the moderators of Oprah Noodlemantra's Book Club, for ONBC's discussion of Gordon Dahlquist's The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters beginning today! Amazon describes Dahlquist's novel, a fantastic mystery/adventure set in Victorian London, as "a tale that combines swashbuckling adventure, a big dose of science fiction and burgeoning romance," while the Dallas Morning News calls it "sweeping, highly original and absorbing." Johnny Depp's production company, Infinitum-Nihil, purchased the rights to The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters and is developing it into a film with Warner Bros. Jayson Rothwell has been hired to write the screenplay. Given the extraordinarily imaginative subject matter--some reviewers classify Glass Books as science fiction, others as mystery--this is sure to be a very lively discussion. Stop by the ONBC forum to get acquainted with The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, and start 2009 with a touch of magic and romance. --Part-Time Poet
January 05, 2009
Johnny Depp (as John Dillinger) on the cover of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY!
Entertainment Weekly devotes the cover of their January 9, 2009 issue--the one that features "The New Year's Must-See Movies"--to a photo of Johnny Depp in his role as John Dillinger in Michael Mann's upcoming Public Enemies, due to arrive in North American theaters on July 1, 2009. To see a larger version of the cover, CLICK HERE. EW reporter Chris Nashawaty also conducts a brief interview with Johnny Depp in this issue. Here are a few highlights:
EW: How did this movie come about?
JD: It came at the time of the writers' strike. A wave of fear gripped the industry. And out of nowhere this script arrived with a note: "Michael Mann would like to talk to you about playing Dillinger."
EW: What was your reaction to hearing that?
JD: Well, certainly intrigued. Intrigued by both Dillinger and Michael Mann. It's always interesting to get in the ring with a director and explore their process and see what does it for him.
EW: And what does it for him?
JD: The details of the details of the details. [Laughs] They should invent a word to describe it, because it's not just details, it teeters on microscopic obsession with every molecule of the moment. Which is admirable, you know? You got to salute that.
The Zone salutes Emma for providing the interview and Theresa for the EW cover. You can read much more on the Zone's News & Views forum. --Part-Time Poet
January 03, 2009
"I think he was a real-life Robin Hood"--Johnny Depp talks to ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY about John Dillinger
Michael Mann's Public Enemies leads the pack of "12 Big Movies Coming in 2009" featured in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly (cover date January 9, 2009). EW talked to Johnny Depp, who plays daring Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger, about his approach to the role. ''Dillinger was one of those guys, like Charlie Chaplin and Evel Knievel, that I was fascinated with at a young age,'' JD told the magazine. He explained that his grandfather "ran moonshine" in Kentucky during Prohibition. ''And because of my grandfather, the character was pretty easy for me to connect to. In a way, this movie was a salute to him.''
EW thinks that Public Enemies should resonate with audiences who have just lived through the worst year for the U.S. economy since 1931. "[T]he film's themes couldn't be more timely," notes EW. "Dillinger was sticking up banks at a time when people weren't exactly rooting for the banks. As a result, he became something larger than life--a rock star with a tommy gun." And what does Johnny Depp think of the character he plays? ''Some people might disagree, but I think he was a real-life Robin Hood,'' JD said. "I mean, the guy wasn't completely altruistic, but he went out of his way not to kill anybody. He definitely gave a lot of that money away. I love the guy.''
The Zone thanks RumLover for sharing the link to EW's online gallery; you can read more of their story on Public Enemies HERE. For a spirited discussion of the Entertainment Weekly story, see the Zone's News & Views forum, and to see a larger version of the Peter Mountain photo at left, CLICK HERE. --Part-Time Poet
January 01, 2009
Announcing a new photo gallery for the Zone: the first Sheila Witkin Memorial Reunion Concert!
The Zone is celebrating the arrival of 2009 by adding a new photo gallery to the Deppartment, our collection of Johnny Depp photos that are not related to his movie roles. Our newest addition features a selection of photos from the 2007 Sheila Witkin Memorial Reunion Concert, when Johnny Depp reunited with his bandmates from The Kids to play a live two-hour set at Club Cinema in Pompano Beach, Florida. The date was January 28, 2007, shortly before JD reported to Pinewood Studios for the filming of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Many thanks to all the generous Zoners who shared their photos and descriptions of this event. To see the new gallery, click on the Gallery Showcase button next to the Picture of the Week.--Part-Time Poet
Johnny Depp featured on ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT on December 31st!
Entertainment Tonight rang out the old year in style by giving a brief glimpse of Johnny Depp on their December 31st program--not the man himself, but Johnny as he appears in the upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly (dated January 9, 2009). "What will be the must-see films of 2009?" inquired ET host Mary Hart. "Entertainment Weekly has your guide. Start with Johnny Depp as the legendary gangster John Dillinger in Public Enemies. Johnny holds a tommygun on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, on sale Friday." That should boost our circulation as well as the magazine's, judging by this photo of Johnny's Dillinger; to see a larger version, CLICK HERE. Many thanks to RumLover for the screencap and a clip of the ET program; you can find that on our News & Views forum. --Part-Time Poet
December 31, 2008
DVD Alert--GYPSY CARAVAN: WHEN THE ROAD BENDS features an 11-minute interview with Johnny Depp
Ah, DVD extras--no wonder we love 'em! Zone member b.p. olive discovered an 11-minute gem of an interview with Johnny Depp among the extra features on the DVD Gypsy Caravan: When the Road Bends. "An audience favorite at film festivals worldwide, Gypsy Caravan is a dazzling display of the musical world of the Roma, juxtaposed to the real world they live in," notes Amazon.com. "Five bands from four countries unite for the World Music Institutes Gypsy Caravan 6-week concert tour across North America with the musicians astounding every audience they meet." One of the featured bands is Taraf de Haidouks from Romania, familiar to Depp devotees from Sally Potter's The Man Who Cried, in which they played Cesar's Romani family.
"[T]he Taraf used to come into my trailer--I mean ALL of them," JD recalls in the interview. "You know, there was like 18 of us [. . .] crammed into this little trailer with all the instruments, you know, and the small cymbalom and the stand up bass and the violins and the whole, you know . . the whole nine yards. And we'd sit in there, 'cause we were shooting nights, and kind of pass around, you know, a bottle of wine. And, just . . they'd play for hours and hours."
And the music? "You hear joy, in the purest and most honest sense possible," explains JD. "[. . .S]orrow, suffering, you hear everything in their music. And that's what was always astounding for me. You know, when I first met them and they played literally for me, I mean just in front of me . . . I just never experienced anything like that rush of uh . . . purity, honesty, um . . intensity, beauty, um . . everything."
If you would like to read more of Johnny Depp's interview, you can find b.p. olive's transcription on the Zone's Pit forum. We thank her very much for bringing the interview to our attention and for her hard work in transcribing it--well done! Thanks also to FANtasticJD for her screencap of Johnny during the interview; to see a larger version, CLICK HERE. If you would like to own Gypsy Caravan: When the Road Bends, it is available from Amazon HERE. --Part-Time Poet
December 29, 2008
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS gets a U.S. release date
Terry Gilliam's latest film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, is tentatively scheduled to be released in the U.S. on September 24, 2009. Described as a fantastical morality tale, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus features Heath Ledger's final film performance; after Ledger's death last January, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law stepped in to complete Ledger's role. Gilliam's film is currently in post-production. The Zone thanks Emma for the update; you can read more about The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus on the Zone's News & Views forum. --Part-Time Poet
December 27, 2008
ALICE IN WONDERLAND gets U.S. and U.K. release dates
Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, starring Mia Wasikowska as Alice and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, will be released to theaters in the U.S. and Canada on March 5, 2010. Yes, that's right--we will have more than a year to wait. Prospective viewers in the UK will need to add another month to that wait, as their release date is April 2, 2010. Although the live action photography is complete, many months of post production will be required for the CG work and the animation, not to mention the 3D effects. As producer Richard D. Zanuck explains, "It's the first picture that will combine motion capture with live actors and animation, all in the same frame. It will be quite amazing."
The Zone thanks Emma for the news; you can catch up with the latest on Alice in Wonderland in the "All Things Alice" thread on the Zone's News & Views forum. --Part-Time Poet
December 24, 2008
Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis perform on Glenn Tilbrook's new album, "Pandemonium Ensues"
We may have to wait a while to see a new Johnny Depp film on screen in 2009, but we'll have music coming our way on February 16th, when Glenn Tilbrook & The Fluffers' new album, called "Pandemonium Ensues," is released. Johnny Depp plays guitar on the track called "Too Close To The Sun," and Vanessa Paradis sings on the track "Interest and Love." The new album is Tilbrook's first release since "Transatlantic Ping Pong," which appeared in 2004, and he sounds proud of his effort: "I can honestly say it's the best thing I've ever done," Tilbrook told the press in a November interview.
The Zone thanks Emma for the news; you can read more on the News & Views forum. While we're waiting for the album to drop, Tilbrook has one-minute samples of some of the new songs available on his website HERE.
December 20, 2008
"I have a love/hate relationship with Los Angeles"--first-time novelist Daniel Depp talks about LOSER'S TOWN and his famous sibling
Daniel Depp sat down with journalist Graeme Neill to talk about his first novel, Loser's Town, and how that Hollywood detective thriller came into existence. The book was finished at his younger brother's home in France, and with his blessing. Neill writes, "Depp explains that he gave his brother an early version of the novel, saying to him 'regardless of what everybody says, it's not about you,'" and that Johnny Depp's reaction when Loser's Town was accepted for publication was "ecstatic." Loser's Town, described by Neill as "a funny and readable tour through the sleazy underbelly of Hollywood," is no blatant roman a clef; Daniel Depp "play[s] down assumptions that the book would be full of easily recognisable caricatures of Hollywood stars and moguls." The elder Depp tells Neill, "It would have been a great opportunity to pay back some people but that wasn't on the agenda. Maybe it should have been."
The plot of Loser's Town features David Spandau, a stuntman turned private investigator, who takes the case of Bobby Dye, a rising star who is having problems with an ambitious gangster named Richie Stella. This is Philip Marlowe territory updated for the 21st century, and Depp's inside knowledge of the City of Angels gives the novel authority to match its panache. "I have a love/hate relationship with Los Angeles," Daniel Depp says. "It's like Oz [. . . ]. Everybody is completely made up. Little Betsy Smith from Iowa gets a publicist and becomes Paris Hilton."
Depp will undertake a nationwide book tour when Simon & Schuster publishes Loser's Town in March 2009; advance reviews have been glowing. "I don't think this is grand literature," Daniel Depp says modestly, "but I wanted to write something entertaining. I love the genre. A lot of the best social criticism comes out of the mystery and thriller genre."
The Zone thanks Emma for bringing us the interview with Daniel Depp; we hope it is the first of many. You can read the full interview on the Porch forum, or HERE. ONBC has already scheduled Loser's Town as a book club selection for the spring--be sure to stop by the Zone and join what is sure to be a memorable discussion. --Part-Time Poet
December 18, 2008
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS not finished yet, says director Terry Gilliam
Director Terry Gilliam was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the Dubai International Film Festival this week. In an interview with David Light of City Times, Gilliam explained that his current project, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, is still in post-production: "Basically the movie is finished apart from about 600 special effects shots which are not quite finished," Gilliam explained. "We're in the final stages of development. Some of the effects have to be reshot because of Heath's passing."
Heath Ledger died during the filming of Doctor Parnassus last January; Gilliam later completed the shoot with the remainder of Ledger's role divided among Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law. Gilliam says that the yet-to-be-completed special effects shots are necessary because of changes made to the script after Ledger's death. "It was also partly due to the schedules of Johnny, Colin and Jude," Gilliam says, "because they were all involved in other projects and we had to shoot very fast and not as controlled as I would like to be just to get them done." Adds Gilliam, "We literally had Johnny for a day and a half and I had a lot of work to do. Trying to work the transitions out from Heath's character to the others took longer in some instances so everything just started growing."
The three actors who completed Ledger's role "essentially worked for free," notes City Times, "as they donated all the earnings they made to Heath's daughter" Matilda. Gilliam praises their generosity: "Johnny was the first guy I called and he said, 'I'm there when you need me,'" reports Gilliam. "It was the same with Jude and Colin. They all knew Heath well and they all loved him and told me that whatever was necessary they would do."
Actor Christopher Plummer, who plays Dr. Parnassus, recently told TCM that the film is not yet completed because Terry Gilliam is "waiting for all sorts of insurance problems to be cleared because of Heath Ledger's death. And although Heath Ledger was replaced by three actors as you know--Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell--which is terrific replacing, my god. There are still some monetary problems over insurance. Otherwise, it's almost ready to be released." We hope Terry Gilliam gets his check from the insurance company soon, so The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus can come to theaters.
You can read the full City Times interview with Terry Gilliam on the Zone's News & Views forum, or HERE. The Zone thanks Emma for the Gilliam interview, and FANtasticJD for the Christopher Plummer interview.--Part-Time Poet
December 14, 2008
Johnny Depp ranks #1 on IMDb's STARmeter for 2008!
Johnny Depp ranks #1 on IMDb.com's STARmeter for 2008--the 5th year in a row that he has been the most-searched celebrity on their website. As IMDb.com explains, "The STARmeter ranks celebrities’ weekly popularity based on the actual search behavior of the more than 57 million industry professionals and film enthusiasts who use IMDb.com each month." This year's top 10 from IMDb: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Shia LaBeouf , Megan Fox, Kristen Stewart, Will Smith, and Gerard Butler. The Zone thanks AnaMaria for sharing the news; you can read more about the STARmeter rankings on the Pit. --Part-Time Poet
December 10, 2008
"I am such a huge fan"--Anne Hathaway talks about Johnny Depp and ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Anne Hathaway may play a queen in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (she is the White Queen to Helena Bonham Carter's Red Queen), but she felt anything but majestic when she was shooting scenes with co-star Johnny Depp, who plays the Mad Hatter. "I have a couple scenes with Johnny Depp," Hathaway told Brian Jacks of mtv.com. "I wish I could be so cool about it and say, like, 'Oh yeah, it's just Johnny.' But I am such a huge fan, I felt really embarrassed. He would catch me staring at him," she confessed, "and I would have to look up, but we were shooting on green screens so there was nothing to look at. I'd be like, 'Oh, look, a bit more green wall. Did you notice that? No? Good.' "
As for her character, Hathaway describes the White Queen this way: "A friend of mine just gave me a magnet that was a bunny rabbit holding a knife . [. . .] It said 'Cute but psycho, it evensout.' And that's kind of my character as the White Queen."
The Zone thanks Theresa for sharing the Anne Hathaway interview; you can read more on the News & Views forum on the "All Things Alice (in Wonderland)" thread. --Part-Time Poet
December 09, 2008
"I'm sure it will be visual genius again"--Alan Rickman talks about Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Alan Rickman, who plays the Caterpillar in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, graciously answered a few questions about his newest role at a press conference promoting the just-released Nobel Son, in which Rickman stars. When a reporter asked how the actor could "get into" playing a caterpillar, Rickman drolly replied, "Well, fortunately it's animated." Duh. Taking pity on the hapless scribe, Rickman added, "It's my face on an animated caterpillar. So, it's a mixture. The movie is a mixture of live action, animation, and stop motion, so it's very complicated and I don't think all three have been put together ever before. [. . .] So I'll be with a live action Alice. I will be a construct."
Pressed for more details about the unique look of Burton's Alice, in which Johnny Depp plays the Mad Hatter, Rickman demurred. "I don't know what it looks like," he said. "I've only done the first stage of it, which is them recording me saying these lines, quite badly." Somehow we doubt that. "Then somewhere down the line, they'll have animated it, and I'll redo it," Rickman explained. "I'm a voice, but I have been filmed, because it's my face which will be on the end of something that will be the caterpillar."
Most of what Rickman has seen so far of Alice has been green screen, but he has been impressed by his co-stars' costumes. "[T]he costumes, one or two I saw, are incredible," Rickman confided. "I'm sure it'll be visual genius again."
The Zone thanks Emma for the Alan Rickman interviews; you can read them in their entirety on the News & Views forum, on page 19 of the "All Things Alice (in Wonderland)" thread. --Part-Time Poet
December 07, 2008
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Happy news--the feature film of The Rum Diary, starring Johnny Depp, has now begun casting; according to Heather Langone of BlogStage, Denise Chamian is the casting director. Hopefully we will hear some announcements soon. Bruce Robinson will be directing The Rum Diary and has adapted the screenplay from the novel by Hunter S. Thompson. Johnny Depp's Infinitum Nihil and Graham King's GK Films will produce. The Rum Diary is scheduled to begin production in March. 
Please join Liz and DeppintheHeartofTexas, the moderators of Oprah Noodlemantra's Book Club, for ONBC's discussion of Gordon Dahlquist's The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters beginning today! Amazon describes Dahlquist's novel, a fantastic mystery/adventure set in Victorian London, as "a tale that combines swashbuckling adventure, a big dose of science fiction and burgeoning romance," while the Dallas Morning News calls it "sweeping, highly original and absorbing." Johnny Depp's production company, Infinitum-Nihil, purchased the rights to The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters and is developing it into a film with Warner Bros. Jayson Rothwell has been hired to write the screenplay. Given the extraordinarily imaginative subject matter--some reviewers classify Glass Books as science fiction, others as mystery--this is sure to be a very lively discussion. Stop by the ONBC forum to get acquainted with The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, and start 2009 with a touch of magic and romance. --Part-Time Poet
Entertainment Weekly devotes the cover of their January 9, 2009 issue--the one that features "The New Year's Must-See Movies"--to a photo of Johnny Depp in his role as John Dillinger in Michael Mann's upcoming Public Enemies, due to arrive in North American theaters on July 1, 2009. To see a larger version of the cover, 
Michael Mann's Public Enemies leads the pack of "12 Big Movies Coming in 2009" featured in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly (cover date January 9, 2009). EW talked to Johnny Depp, who plays daring Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger, about his approach to the role. ''Dillinger was one of those guys, like Charlie Chaplin and Evel Knievel, that I was fascinated with at a young age,'' JD told the magazine. He explained that his grandfather "ran moonshine" in Kentucky during Prohibition. ''And because of my grandfather, the character was pretty easy for me to connect to. In a way, this movie was a salute to him.''
The Zone is celebrating the arrival of 2009 by adding a new photo gallery to the Deppartment, our collection of Johnny Depp photos that are not related to his movie roles. Our newest addition features a selection of photos from the 2007 Sheila Witkin Memorial Reunion Concert, when Johnny Depp reunited with his bandmates from The Kids to play a live two-hour set at Club Cinema in Pompano Beach, Florida. The date was January 28, 2007, shortly before JD reported to Pinewood Studios for the filming of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. 
Entertainment Tonight rang out the old year in style by giving a brief glimpse of Johnny Depp on their December 31st program--not the man himself, but Johnny as he appears in the upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly (dated January 9, 2009). "What will be the must-see films of 2009?" inquired ET host Mary Hart. "Entertainment Weekly has your guide. Start with Johnny Depp as the legendary gangster John Dillinger in Public Enemies. Johnny holds a tommygun on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, on sale Friday." That should boost our circulation as well as the magazine's, judging by this photo of Johnny's Dillinger; to see a larger version, 
Ah, DVD extras--no wonder we love 'em! Zone member b.p. olive discovered an 11-minute gem of an interview with Johnny Depp among the extra features on the DVD Gypsy Caravan: When the Road Bends. "An audience favorite at film festivals worldwide, Gypsy Caravan is a dazzling display of the musical world of the Roma, juxtaposed to the real world they live in," notes Amazon.com. "Five bands from four countries unite for the World Music Institutes Gypsy Caravan 6-week concert tour across North America with the musicians astounding every audience they meet." One of the featured bands is Taraf de Haidouks from Romania, familiar to Depp devotees from Sally Potter's The Man Who Cried, in which they played Cesar's Romani family.
Terry Gilliam's latest film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, is tentatively scheduled to be released in the U.S. on September 24, 2009. Described as a fantastical morality tale, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus features Heath Ledger's final film performance; after Ledger's death last January, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law stepped in to complete Ledger's role. Gilliam's film is currently in post-production. The Zone thanks Emma for the update; you can read more about The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus on the Zone's News & Views forum. --Part-Time Poet
Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, starring Mia Wasikowska as Alice and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, will be released to theaters in the U.S. and Canada on March 5, 2010. Yes, that's right--we will have more than a year to wait. Prospective viewers in the UK will need to add another month to that wait, as their release date is April 2, 2010. Although the live action photography is complete, many months of post production will be required for the CG work and the animation, not to mention the 3D effects. As producer Richard D. Zanuck explains, "It's the first picture that will combine motion capture with live actors and animation, all in the same frame. It will be quite amazing." 
We may have to wait a while to see a new Johnny Depp film on screen in 2009, but we'll have music coming our way on February 16th, when Glenn Tilbrook & The Fluffers' new album, called "Pandemonium Ensues," is released. Johnny Depp plays guitar on the track called "Too Close To The Sun," and Vanessa Paradis sings on the track "Interest and Love." The new album is Tilbrook's first release since "Transatlantic Ping Pong," which appeared in 2004, and he sounds proud of his effort: "I can honestly say it's the best thing I've ever done," Tilbrook told the press in a November interview.
Daniel Depp sat down with journalist Graeme Neill to talk about his first novel, Loser's Town, and how that Hollywood detective thriller came into existence. The book was finished at his younger brother's home in France, and with his blessing. Neill writes, "Depp explains that he gave his brother an early version of the novel, saying to him 'regardless of what everybody says, it's not about you,'" and that Johnny Depp's reaction when Loser's Town was accepted for publication was "ecstatic." Loser's Town, described by Neill as "a funny and readable tour through the sleazy underbelly of Hollywood," is no blatant roman a clef; Daniel Depp "play[s] down assumptions that the book would be full of easily recognisable caricatures of Hollywood stars and moguls." The elder Depp tells Neill, "It would have been a great opportunity to pay back some people but that wasn't on the agenda. Maybe it should have been."
Director Terry Gilliam was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the Dubai International Film Festival this week. In an interview with David Light of City Times, Gilliam explained that his current project, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, is still in post-production: "Basically the movie is finished apart from about 600 special effects shots which are not quite finished," Gilliam explained. "We're in the final stages of development. Some of the effects have to be reshot because of Heath's passing." 
Johnny Depp ranks #1 on IMDb.com's STARmeter for 2008--the 5th year in a row that he has been the most-searched celebrity on their website. As IMDb.com explains, "The STARmeter ranks celebrities’ weekly popularity based on the actual search behavior of the more than 57 million industry professionals and film enthusiasts who use IMDb.com each month." This year's top 10 from IMDb: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Shia LaBeouf , Megan Fox, Kristen Stewart, Will Smith, and Gerard Butler. The Zone thanks AnaMaria for sharing the news; you can read more about the STARmeter rankings on the Pit. --Part-Time Poet
Anne Hathaway may play a queen in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (she is the White Queen to Helena Bonham Carter's Red Queen), but she felt anything but majestic when she was shooting scenes with co-star Johnny Depp, who plays the Mad Hatter. "I have a couple scenes with Johnny Depp," Hathaway told Brian Jacks of mtv.com. "I wish I could be so cool about it and say, like, 'Oh yeah, it's just Johnny.' But I am such a huge fan, I felt really embarrassed. He would catch me staring at him," she confessed, "and I would have to look up, but we were shooting on green screens so there was nothing to look at. I'd be like, 'Oh, look, a bit more green wall. Did you notice that? No? Good.' "
Alan Rickman, who plays the Caterpillar in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, graciously answered a few questions about his newest role at a press conference promoting the just-released Nobel Son, in which Rickman stars. When a reporter asked how the actor could "get into" playing a caterpillar, Rickman drolly replied, "Well, fortunately it's animated." Duh. Taking pity on the hapless scribe, Rickman added, "It's my face on an animated caterpillar. So, it's a mixture. The movie is a mixture of live action, animation, and stop motion, so it's very complicated and I don't think all three have been put together ever before. [. . .] So I'll be with a live action Alice. I will be a construct."