Great news for the many passionate Johnny Depp fans in Japan: Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom are scheduled to visit Japan for the premiere of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST. Their arrival date is July 9th, and the actors will do a press conference and attend the movie’s premiere in Tokyo on July 10th. Stories in the Japanese press report, perhaps optimistically, that Johnny will give a speech at the premiere; knowing his shyness near a podium, we bet the speech will be brief . . . but the pictures will be gorgeous. Thanks very much to our Japanese Zoners Charlotte Depp and GAO for sharing the news.

In a recent interview with MovieWeb, British actor Bill Nighy, who plays Davey Jones in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST, had nothing but praise for the upcoming film and its star, Johnny Depp. Asked how he felt about being asked to join the cast, Nighy replied, “Well, I was thrilled because just like everyone else in the world, I loved the first movie and I was very pleased to join. It’s slightly daunting to be one of the new guys [. . .]. But I was made extremely welcome by Johnny, Orlando (Bloom), Keira (Knightley), and Gore (Verbinski), and Jerry (Bruckheimer), and everybody. Once I got over the initial confusion of wearing my strange computer pajamas, I was very pleased.”

Of the man who plays Captain Jack Sparrow, Nighy says, “Johnny’s a brilliant man, and a wonderful man, as well as an exemplary co-worker. When I first arrived, we worked out a few scenes together; there were some small accidents and he’s extremely inventive, he never stops working. He’s fabulous to work with.”

The full interview with Bill Nighy is available HERE, but be ye warned–there are spoilers. To read a safe and spoiler-free version of the Nighy interview, check the Zone’s News & Views forum; thanks very much to DeepinDepp for posting the news and preparing the spoiler-free transcript . . . .

And what is Nighy’s verdict on DEAD MAN’S CHEST? “If you’re like me and loved the first movie, just go ahead [. . .]. It’s got everything you loved about the first one and everything you require; it’s romantic, it’s adventurous, and it’s profoundly funny.” DEAD MAN’S CHEST sails into multiplexes in North America one month from today, on July 7th.

The Zone’s Movie Nights forum will be hot and hopping all summer long as DeepinDepp and OldLady host SUMMER ON THE STREET, a casual discussion of the first season’s episodes of 21 JUMP STREET. Johnny Depp shot to stardom for his portrayal of undercover cop Tommy Hanson; whether you remember watching the show on Fox or are discovering 21 JUMP STREET for the first time via its DVD release, we think you’ll enjoy Summer on the Street. Our summer season kicks off on Friday, June 9th–Johnny Depp’s birthday–with a discussion of the two-part pilot episode, and will continue each week with a new episode in the order in which they were filmed, which is not the order in which the episodes aired. This will allow us to chart Johnny Depp’s growth as an actor during JUMP STREET’s first year. Thanks very much to DeepinDepp and OldLady for bringing us Summer on the Street. One warning, though–repeated viewing of Officer Tom Hanson may make you feel like a teenager again.

Ever since THE LIBERTINE was released in the UK with virtually no extras on the disc, North American fans have worried that our version of THE LIBERTINE will be a similar bare-bones version. That would be particularly frustrating since a documentary shot during the filming, “Capturing THE LIBERTINE,” has been in preparation since the spring of 2004! Now word comes from the Brownlee Brothers, who made “Capturing THE LIBERTINE,” that their work will indeed be included on the region 1 DVD which releases on July 4, 2006. You can read all about it on the Brownlee Brothers blog HERE. The region 1 DVD comes via The Weinstein Company, while the region 2 release belongs to Odyssey Entertainment; these are separate companies, and therefore the DVD packaging varies. Thanks very much to DeepinDepp for posting the news.

The photo at the left shows a beaming Johnny Depp as he and gallery owner Trigg Ison launched the first American exhibition of the art of gravleur on Thursday, June 1st; to see a larger version of our photo, click HERE. Gravleur’s works will be shown at Trigg Ison Fine Art at 511 North Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles (that’s in West Hollywood) from June 2 through June 20. Johnny wore a short-sleeved white shirt, jeans, tortoise-shell glasses and a favorite taupe hat to the launch party; he was accompanied by Vanessa Paradis, who wore a chic black print sundress. To see a photo of Johnny and Vanessa, click HERE. A huge bouquet of lilies and roses to AnaMaria for sending the Zone this lovely series of brand-new photos! Members can see the full set on the Zone’s Recent Pics board–watch for Johnny’s friend Marilyn Manson among the invited guests!