Weekly magazines in the U.S. could not resist running photos of Johnny Depp being slimed during his appearance at the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards last Saturday in Los Angeles. Joni reports that PEOPLE, US, LIFE & STYLE, STAR, and IN TOUCH all feature photos of Johnny in their new issues. IN TOUCH is the best value: it contains five pictures, the most of any magazine. All of the shots show “slime and confetti,” joni says, but they are “good sized pics and Johnny is adorable.”

US Weekly has one big picture of green-slimed Johnny. LIFE & STYLE has a picture of slimed Johnny, and a small head shot of Johnny before the slime hit. STAR has two pictures: one with green goo, and one nice shot of Johnny pre-slime. PEOPLE has three pictures: one of Johnny before the sliming and two of him drenched in green. The PEOPLE pictures are not in the front of the magazine where the celebrity candids of the week appear; they run with a larger story on the Kid’s Choice Awards on pages 154-55.

Unfortunately, none of the magazines features a shot of Johnny greeting fans after his post-slime shower. Too bad–the photos of freshly-scrubbed Johnny in his cowboy hat are beautiful. The Zone thanks joni for sharing the information about the magazines and saving us all many minutes at the supermarket checkout stand.

New batches of pictures from the filming of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST have been pouring into the Zone, thanks to bonnie, emma, and Dark Angel. Most of the pictures show Johnny Depp in full Captain Jack Sparrow regalia, but a few–like the photo to the left–show Johnny during his down-time, in a white shirt, camoflauge pants, and a purple bandanna. For a look at Captain Jack, click HERE, and to see Johnny out of costume, click HERE.

There are dozens of photos on the Zone’s Recent Pics forum for you to enjoy. We can’t possibly say “Thank you” enough to emma and bonnie and Dark Angel for their contributions and the happiness they have brought to the Zone. Emma has also posted a story from The Sun on the POTC filming on the News & Views forum. It has a good picture of Captain Jack, one of the harbor setting, and several of Keira Knightley doing sword training. A warning, though–the article does contain mild plot spoilers. You can read it HERE.

Deppheads who have been eagerly awaiting pictures of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST owe emma a huge thank-you this morning. She has posted more than a dozen candid shots of Johnny, reborn as Captain Jack, smiling and sauntering down a waterfront pier. Fans who are trying to avoid spoilers can view these pictures safely–nothing is given away about the plot except for the fact that Jack is near water, which can hardly be a surprise for a man in his profession! You can find the new pictures on our Recent Pics forum. Thanks so very much, emma! We are undone.

Congratulations to Johnny Depp! This month, the British Film Institute honors his body of work with a two-week-long film festival to be held at the prestigious National Film Theatre in London. Nine films will be screened during the retrospective, which begins on April 14th and ends on April 30th. The films chosen to represent Johnny’s twenty years of outstanding movie performances include EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE, ED WOOD, DEAD MAN, DONNIE BRASCO, FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, BEFORE NIGHT FALLS, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, and FINDING NEVERLAND.

“Depp has [. . .] mapped out one of the most idiosyncratic resumes on moviedom’s A-list, channelling his charisma into audaciously stylised performances for [Tim] Burton, Jim Jarmusch and Terry Gilliam, exploiting or camouflaging his preposterous beauty as the part requires, and amassing a repertoire of accents to rival Meryl Streep’s,” writes the NFT’s Jessica Winter. “Now that he has a mega-grossing franchise under his belt (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN), there’s no one currently on the Hollywood radar to match Depp’s combination of star power with adventurous taste, cockeyed integrity and flair for the without-a-net performance.”

Those UK Zoners lucky enough to live in London or commuting distance can check out the NFT screening schedule HERE, and can book tickets online HERE. Ticket prices are 8.20 pounds per movie, but there are discounts for NFT members, students, and seniors, as well as other concessions available.

The Zone thanks Edda, one of our London members, for posting the good news on the News & Views forum. We hope many UK Zoners are able to take advantage of the opportunity to see Johnny’s finest films on the big screen in a theatre designed to show them at their best.

The London weekly entertainment magazine TimeOut features Johnny Depp on its cover this week, in conjunction with the Johnny Depp film festival scheduled at London’s prestigious National Film Theatre from April 14th through April 30th. The article is entitled “Johnny, Remember Me: Depp Celebrates 20 Years of Maverick Movie Making.” While there is no new interview with Johnny, Edda reports that the retrospective article contains some nice pictures. If you would like to purchase a copy of issue 1807 of TimeOut for your Depp collection, single copies are available at the TimeOut website HERE, and they ship worldwide. The Zone thanks Edda for posting the story and the link on the News & Views forum.

Variety reports today that Graham King, one of the producers of SHANTARAM, has just signed a two-year first-look deal at Warner Bros. Pictures. Under the arrangement, says Variety, “King’s Initial Entertainment Group will shift its deals with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way and with [Johnny Depp's] Infinitum Nihil to Warners.” Warners has been actively involved in the production of SHANTARAM from the beginning–Warner Bros. signed the $2 million check to purchase the rights to Gregory David Roberts’ novel last October, on the strength of Johnny’s interest in the project. The Zone thanks emma for breaking this story and posting it on the News & Views forum.

Warners production president Jeff Robinov sounds delighted to get “the first look” at the movies King is producing in the next two years. “Graham’s passion for making movies, his great taste in material and his outstanding relationships with filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and actors like Johnny and Leo is a tremendous asset to us,” Robinov told Variety. The article confirms that Graham King’s next projects will be Martin Scorsese’s THE DEPARTED (King produced Scorsese’s last two films, THE AVIATOR and GANGS OF NEW YORK, both with Leonardo DiCaprio)and the Johnny Depp vehicle SHANTARAM with Plan B and Depp’s Infinitum Nihil. SHANTARAM is a drama about an escaped convict who tries to disappear in Bombay. Gregory David Roberts is currently adapting the screenplay from his own novel.

If you would like to know more about SHANTARAM, stop by ONBC this month, as the book club prepares to read Gregory Roberts’ novel. Liz and DeppintheHeartofTexas have lots of interesting background information to share which will enhance your appreciation of Roberts’ fascinating tale. You can jump into the discussion anytime!

Warner Bros. has released a second official CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY poster; this one shows a closeup of Johnny Depp’s face, including one of Willy Wonka’s famous purple eyes (the other is obscured by Wonka’s tophat). Ranged above Willy Wonka are inset photos of the five children who win Golden Ticket tours of the chocolate factory. The Zone thanks emma for breaking the story, and ScrunchyApril for locating a large version of the poster at comingsoon.net. To see it, click HERE. The Zone also thanks emma for posting a four-page article on CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY from The Mail’s Night & Day section (published on April 3rd). You can read the story on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

A new 30-second television commercial for Tim Burton’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY debuted during the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards on Saturday night. The spot begins with Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka saying, “Let’s boogie!” and shows glimpses of Augustus Gloop falling into the chocolate river; Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) getting into the boat; the notorious squirrel room with its live, trained squirrels (no CGI effects here); and, in another demonstration of the new voice Johnny adopted for the Wonka character, the chocolatier telling Charlie’s grandfather (Jim Broadbent), “You’re a little weird.” Takes one to know one, Mr. Wonka!

If you missed the new commercial during the Kid’s Choice Awards, you can view it on the moviebox trailer page–just scroll to the bottom of the CATCF listings, where it says “30 Second Spot.” You can view the commercial and other CATCF trailers HERE. The Zone thanks Juno for posting the link!

Just when you thought the 2005 awards season was over, Johnny Depp surprises his fans yet again–this time with an appearance as the “Mystery Guest” at the conclusion of the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards! Host Ben Stiller introduced Johnny as “in my opinion, the coolest actor in Hollywood”–but he still managed to see that Johnny left the stage drenched in that Nickelodeon specialty, gooey green slime! Johnny was a good sport about his sliming and took particular relish in giving high-fives to as many children in the audience as he could reach. Here is a shot of Johnny as he looked tonight, April 2nd, BEFORE and DURING and AFTER his sliming . . . .

For those who missed the Kid’s Choice Awards–and the new trailer for CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY that aired during the broadcast–the show re-airs on the Nickelodeon cable channel on Sunday, April 3rd at 4 pm EDT/PDT, on Tuesday, April 5th, at 5 pm EDT/PDT, and again on Saturday, April 9th, at 6 pm EDT/PDT. The Zone thanks JD101, who posted the story on the News & Views forum, and Adrian, who started a thread on the Pit about the new CATCF trailer. We also thank tracy, treen, and Jacks_Effects for adding play-by-play commentary for those away from their TV sets. As Zone member his neverland wrote, “Who knew he could look so sexy in green slime?” Well . . . we certainly know it now! For proof, check out the pictures Susanne and AnaMaria have posted on the Recent Pics forum. Our thanks to them . . . .

The Zone is happy to announce that we have just added a brand new SLEEPY HOLLOW gallery to our BY FILM section, featuring 28 images of Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, and including some behind-the-scenes shots of Johnny at work with director Tim Burton. SLEEPY HOLLOW is a particular favorite of Zone members, and the photographs are stunning. Thanks to sleepy for sharing her incomparable photo collection with all of us!

To view the SLEEPY HOLLOW gallery, click on the GALLERIES button on the home page and select BY FILM, then click on the thumbnail of Ichabod in his goggles. Enjoy!