PUBLIC ENEMIES wraps filming in the Midwest; new Johnny Depp photos from Lockport, Illinois < <

Friday, June 27 marked the final day of filming for Michael Mann's gangster epic PUBLIC ENEMIES in the Midwest, as the filmmakers rolled into Lockport, Illinois to shoot a few scenes. The photo at left shows Johnny Depp, in costume as John Dillinger, during the Lockport filming; to see a larger version, CLICK HERE. Lockport fans began gathering at a cordoned-off area on 11th Street early in the morning, watching the costumed extras going through their paces and the vintage cars circling up and down a four-block stretch of State Street. According to local reporter Annie Alleman, Johnny Depp arrived around 1:30 p.m. "He got out of a navy blue Ford Expedition at 11th and State streets. When he heard the screams from the crowd, he smiled and waved politely but continued walking north on State Street"--off to work. Later, around ten in the evening, Johnny returned with Jerry Judge to do a meet-and-greet with a large crowd in Lockport. He shook hands and exchanged pleasantries for the last time with the dedicated fans in the Midwest who have followed PUBLIC ENEMIES since its first day of shooting, March 17th; then he stood on the running board of his SUV and waved goodbye as it slowly pulled away. To see a YouTube video of that last meet-and-greet, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks Gilbert's Girl for the Lockport article, Silent for the video, and Theresa for the photos. There are many videos on YouTube for the last meet-and-greets in St. Anne and Lockport, shot by fans: it's well worth a trip to look at them. We thank all the You Tube posters who have so generously shared their videos with those of us unable to get to Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin this spring. You have brought the meet-and-greets home to us in a way that lets all of us feel that we were there. Thanks so much! And thank you to the incomparable Johnny Depp for his patience and generosity during the shooting of PUBLIC ENEMIES. Surely no actor has ever been so kind to so many for so long. We will never forget it. --Part-Time Poet / / June 28, 2008

Johnny Depp films PUBLIC ENEMIES and greets fans in St. Anne, Illinois--new pictures < <

A crowd gathered early in the parking lot of the high school in St. Anne, Illinois on Thursday, a parking lot that had been transformed into base camp for Michael Mann's film PUBLIC ENEMIES. As word spread that Johnny Depp might be filming a scene at an abandoned farmhouse east of the town, the crowds grew larger. And larger. "This doesn't happen here," explained resident Terry Weber. "We are everyday people, hard-working people, and to have somebody here of that stature? It's just awesome!" The crowd got to see Johnny leave for the shoot, but it was after dark--almost 10:30 p.m.--when he finally finished work, shed his Dillinger wardrobe, came out to greet a group that easily exceeded the total population of St. Anne. "That's got to be the whole town," Patrick Rios told a local reporter, assessing the crowd. "That's all of St. Anne." Wearing his orange Gonzo t-shirt and a familiar striped knit hat, Johnny walked down the long line of fans, shaking all the hands he could reach and smiling as fans raised their cameras and cell phones to take his picture. Johnny was accompanied by ever-present security chief Jerry Judge, the security team from PUBLIC ENEMIES, and deputies from the local Kankakee County Sheriff's Department. Shift commander Lt. Bill Callahan, who led the way for Johnny as he greeted fans, told local press that "the actor was a gentleman the entire time, paying special attention to children and going out of his way to 'personally thank each and every law enforcement officer and the Village of St. Anne.'" How gracious. To see a larger version of our photo at left, CLICK HERE, and to see a different photo of Johnny and Jerry greeting the crowd at St. Anne, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks Emma for the pictures and for posting several articles about the St. Anne filming. --Part-Time Poet / / June 27, 2008

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET to be released on Blu-Ray in Region 1 < <

Tim Burton's Golden Globe-winning SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET has been available on Blu-ray overseas since its original release on DVD; now consumers in Region 1 will have the same privilege. SWEENEY TODD will be released on Blu-ray in North America on October 21, 2008, ten days before Halloween, with a list price of $39.99. If you can recall the days when HD DVD was still a viable format, you may recall that SWEENEY TODD was scheduled to arrive on HD DVD on April 1st in the U.S. and Canada. However, when HD DVDs went the way of the Betamax, Paramount cancelled the HD release and left buyers with only the standard DVD option. That gap will be remedied in October with the Blu-ray release. Online retailer DVDEmpire.com is already taking pre-orders for the SWEENEY TODD Blu-ray, and Amazon.com should do the same soon. Thanks to FANtastic JD for the news; you can read more on the Zone's News & Views forum. --Part-Time Poet / / June 25, 2008

SWEENEY TODD wins Best Horror Film at the 2008 Saturn Awards < <

Congratulations to director Tim Burton and the cast and crew of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET; Burton's stylish and harrowing film of the Stephen Sondheim musical won Best Horror Film at the 34th annual Saturn Awards. The Saturn Awards are bestowed by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror for outstanding work in those genres in film and television. Johnny Depp was nominated as Best Actor for his role as Sweeney, but Will Smith claimed the award for I AM LEGEND. Best Actress went to Amy Adams for the fantasy ENCHANTED, supporting honors to Javier Bardem for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and Marcia Gay Harden for THE MIST, and Best Younger Actor to two-time Depp co-star Freddie Highmore for AUGUST RUSH. Colleen Atwood captured the Saturn Award for Best Costume for SWEENEY TODD, and Best Make-up was awarded to Ve Neill and Martin Samuel for PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END. Congratulations to all! The Zone thanks FANtasticJD and Gilbert's Girl for breaking the Saturn Awards news; you can read more about it on the News & Views forum. For a complete list of this year's Saturn Awards winners, CLICK HERE. --Part-Time Poet / / June 24, 2008

Announcing a new photo gallery for the Zone--POTC: AT WORLD'S END! < <

The Zone is happy to announce that we've added a new gallery to our BY FILM section . . . PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END! The 56 images in the gallery are a mix of publicity photos, magazine scans, and screencaps, showing the many moods of Captain Jack Sparrow in the final film of the POTC trilogy. We thank all the Zoners who generously shared their scans and screencaps, especially Sleepy, Bonnie, AnaMaria, Emma, Shadow, Carasun, sjc, Hiro3, and Theresa. To see the new gallery, click on the PHOTO GALLERIES button above, select BY FILM, and scroll down to PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END. Enjoy! --Part-Time Poet / / June 23, 2008

Wow! The Zone's 2008 Birthday Project tops $7,400! < <

The Johnny Depp Zone is delighted to announce that our 2008 Birthday Project for the Child Life Fund of American Family Children's Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin raised a grand total of $7,402.63! That makes this year's Birthday Project by far the most successful in the Zone's history. Donations flowed in from all over the world, even though this was a very tough year financially for many of our contributors. The 2008 Birthday Project is now completed, and the proceeds are en route to American Family Children's Hospital. Thank you so much to everyone who donated to the Zone's birthday gift for Johnny Depp--you have made this charity fundraiser successful beyond our wildest dreams. Cheers to all of you, and happy birthday, Johnny Depp! --Part-Time Poet / / June 22, 2008

Entertainment Weekly features Johnny Depp (as Edward Scissorhands) on their 1000th issue cover < <

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY is celebrating their 1,000th issue (how time flies) with a salute to the best they've seen on their watch; the double-issue (dated June 27) features numerous lists ranking the top 100 movies, television shows, albums, books, fashion influences, technical innovations, video games and stage plays and musicals. Among the icons featured on their cover is Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands; Tim Burton's gothic fable ranks #15 on EW's list of "the new classics: the 100 best films from 1983 to 2008." Other Depp films listed among the "new classics" are Mike Newell's DONNIE BRASCO (#67) and Tim Burton's ED WOOD (#93). You'll also find Johnny's performance as Ed Wood on EW's list of the "Biggest Oscar Snubs Ever." While readers will find plenty to quibble with in EW's rankings, the lists are genuinely entertaining and will bring many favorites to mind. The Zone thanks Theresa for breaking the news and Shadow and Inthezone for additional details. You can read more on the Zone's News & Views forum. --Part-Time Poet / / June 20, 2008

Johnny Depp nominated for 2008 Teen Choice Award for SWEENEY TODD < <

Johnny Depp's towering performance as Sweeney Todd in Tim Burton's SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET has earned him a 2008 Teen Choice Award nomination as Choice Movie Villain. Other nominees in the category include Cate Blanchett for INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, Jeff Bridges for IRON MAN, Samuel L. Jackson for JUMPER, and Susan Sarandon for ENCHANTED--a very impressive group! Johnny's Sweeney, however, is the only protagonist among them. The 2008 Teen Choice Awards, with Miley Cyrus hosting, will air on Fox on Monday, August 4, 2008, at 8 p.m. Eastern. To vote in the Teen Choice Awards, sign in and VOTE HERE; votes may be cast daily. The Zone thanks RumLover and Gilbert's Girl for the news; you can read more about the Teen Choice Awards in the Pit. Congratulations to Johnny on his nomination! --Part-Time Poet / / June 18, 2008

PUBLIC ENEMIES goes behind bars, films at the Stateville Correctional Center < <

Michael Mann's film PUBLIC ENEMIES, starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, shot scenes at the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Illinois on Monday, amid tight security. "Obviously, we're here to film some scenes that take place in a prison," PUBLIC ENEMIES publicist David Fulton told reporters. Michael Mann is familiar with the location, having previously filmed part of his critically acclaimed 1980 film THIEF at Stateville. Some filming is also expected to occur at the closed Joliet Correctional Facility, on Collins Street in Joliet. Fans hoping for meet-and-greets or glimpses of Johnny Depp are not likely to achieve them at the prison locations, however, due to the high level of security. Zoner Lucky 13 reported that at Stateville on Monday, "[S]ecurity is tighter than tight. A large sign out front states "NO VISITS TODAY" and [there are] police cars blocking the entrance. I could see all the equipment trucks beyond that point [. . . .] Seems impossible to get anywhere close. The Illinois State Police Headquarters are right next door." That will keep a crowd in line! Our photo shows Johnny Depp descending from a plane in Los Angeles on Saturday, as he returned home to spend Father's Day with his family. To see a larger version of the photo, click here. Thanks to Bonnie for the photo, Lucky13 for the eyewitness report, and VermontFudge and Emma for news reports on the prison filming. You can read more about PUBLIC ENEMIES behind bars on the Zone's News & Views forum. --Part-Time Poet / / June 17, 2008

New pictures--Johnny Depp greets fans in Milwaukee after shooting PUBLIC ENEMIES < <

That's Johnny Depp greeting some lucky fans in Milwaukee on June 12, after filming scenes for PUBLIC ENEMIES in the penthouse of an Art Deco apartment building on North Prospect Avenue. Johnny emerged about 6:30 a.m., after a full night of filming, to exchange greetings and pose for pictures with a cluster of about 30 fans who had waited all night in the rain to see him. He repeated the kindness on the next night's shoot, arriving around 5:45 a.m. to meet with approximately 100 well-wishers who had waited outside the building all night, once again in the rain. "We were never sure if Johnny would come out, because the weather was so awful," reports Zoner Lifted_Veil_87, who was one of the lucky and determined Wisconsites who braved the storm for a chance to meet Johnny. You can read her account of the meet-and-greet on the Zone's Porch forum. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that during a break during the filming at the Historical Society, Johnny "signed a pair of plaques for the Milwaukee Press Club." The club displays famous signatures on its walls--part of its tradition. Watch for Johnny's signature to adorn the wall at the Newsroom Pub, 137 East Wells Street, later this summer. The Newsroom Pub had better hire an armed guard to watch those plaques . . . . To see a larger version of our photo, click here. Thanks to Sandy at the Journal Sentinel online for the photo, and Lifted_Veil_87, Inspired, Gilbert's Girl and Emma for reports from the Milwaukee filming. You can read more details about the Milwaukee shoot on the Zone's News & Views forum. --Part-Time Poet / / June 13, 2008

Johnny Depp #6 on the Forbes "Celebrity 100" Rankings < <

For the second year in a row, Johnny Depp ranks #6 on the Forbes "Celebrity 100" . . . that's the magazine's "list of the world's most powerful--and best-paid--celebrities." According to Forbes, Oprah Winfrey remains the most powerful celebrity, followed by (in order) Tiger Woods, Angelina Jolie, Beyonce Knowles, David Beckham, Johnny Depp, Jay-Z, The Police, J. K. Rowling, and Brad Pitt. "He became an unlikely mainstream star with his boozy turn as Captain Jack Sparrow in the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN series," notes Forbes of JD. "Last year he found time to star in his pal Tim Burton's movie version of SWEENEY TODD, which grossed $154 million. He earned his third Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street." The Forbes list is mainly a measure of how much a star earns and how often his/her name and face appear in the media; it does not attempt to assess artistic merit. Here's Forbes's explanation of how they compile their rankings: "To generate the list, Forbes estimates celebrity earnings, then factors in media metrics like Google hits, press mentions as compiled by Factiva, TV/radio mentions from Lexis/Nexis and the number of times an A-lister appears on the cover of more than 50 consumer magazines." The Zone thanks Squeaky Door and FANtasticJD for the news; you can read more about the Forbes Celebrity 100 on the News & Views forum. --Part-Time Poet / / June 12, 2008

PUBLIC ENEMIES filming shifts to Milwaukee < <

Michael Mann's gangster film PUBLIC ENEMIES, starring Johnny Depp as Public Enemy #1 John Dillinger, returned to Wisconsin on Tuesday to shoot at the Milwaukee County Historical Society. Fans gathered in the street around the beautiful vintage building, hoping for a glimpse of Johnny, and they were not disappointed. "He looked fantastic," Terra Scott told a local reporter, after Johnny walked by and waved to the crowd. "It's so exciting. My heart's beating so fast." The restoration of the building has gotten a huge boost from the filming, as PUBLIC ENEMIES is rumored to have spent $150,000 on renovations. In the film, the Historical Society will double for a bank that Dillinger robbed. The Zone thanks Gilbert's Girl and Emma for news stories on the Milwaukee filming; you can read more on the News & Views forum. Thanks to Carasun for the photo of Johnny leaving the Historical Society; to see a larger version, click here. Filming is expected to continue in Milwaukee through Thursday. --Part-Time Poet / / June 11, 2008

New photo--Johnny Depp spends his birthday in Chicago, shooting PUBLIC ENEMIES < <

Chicago's Clark Street played host to the PUBLIC ENEMIES cast and crew yesterday (Monday, June 9), and well-wishers called out "Happy Birthday" to Johnny Depp between takes as he filmed a car chase scene. To see a larger version of our photo of JD in costume as John Dillinger, leaning against a vintage car, click here. Celeb TV.com reports, "On set in downtown Chicago, the still-boyish actor--who plays bank robber John Dillinger in the gangster flick--sweetly smiled and waved to a few dozen teenage and twentysomething fans, who hooted out greetings like, 'You're so hot!' and 'We love you!'" During a brief rain delay, "instead of running for cover, Depp grabbed an umbrella and chatted with fans." It was Johnny's birthday, but the fans got the present . . . . The Zone thanks Bonnie for the photo and Emma for the CelebTV.com story. You can read more details on the News & Views forum, in the thread called "PUBLIC ENEMIES in Chicago." PUBLIC ENEMIES is now headed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where shooting is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, June 10th, at the Milwaukee County Historical Society. --Part-Time Poet / / June 10, 2008

Happy Birthday, Johnny Depp! < <

It's June 9th, Johnny Depp's birthday, so the members of the Johnny Depp Zone send all best wishes and love to the man himself--we hope the coming year will bring an abundance of joy and good health to Johnny and his loved ones, and plenty of career satisfaction as well. (And, please God, no SAG strike.) Johnny's birthday is a holiday on the Zone; we celebrate all that Johnny has brought to us through his work and his personal inspiration. Those who wish to salute Johnny in a tangible way are welcome to contribute to the 2008 Birthday Project in Johnny's honor; today is the final day we are accepting donations for American Family Children's Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. You can read more about the 2008 Birthday Project here. We thank Johnny Depp for having given us so many reasons to celebrate over the past twenty-odd years. The past year has been especially marvelous, with the triumph of SWEENEY TODD and the excitement of PUBLIC ENEMIES. May the year to come be full of delights, and may the joy Johnny has brought to our lives return to him in a constant wave of blessing. --Part-Time Poet / / June 09, 2008