Articles from June 2009



BREAKING NEWS–Johnny Depp arrives at the London premiere of PUBLIC ENEMIES!

Here’s Johnny! A steamy day in London got even hotter when Johnny Depp arrived at the Empire cinema in Leicester Square for the European premiere of Michael Mann’s Public Enemies, and a large and delighted crowd was there to greet him. Johnny wore a dark pin-striped suit and dark shirt to the premiere, and tortoise-shell glasses with light blue lenses. To see a larger version of the photo at left, CLICK HERE, and to see a photo of Johnny on the red carpet in Leicester Square, CLICK HERE.

Many Zoners from the UK and the Netherlands attended the premiere; watch for their eyewitness accounts of the day on the Zone’s Porch forum. Thanks to all the Zoners who have been keeping us updated with reports and pictures from London!–Part-Time Poet

PIRATES 4 and DARK SHADOWS with Tim Burton are on Johnny Depp's "to do" list, he tells MTV

MTV Movies editor Josh Horowitz took the last moments of his interview time with Johnny Depp (at the Chicago press junket for Public Enemies) to try to nail down which of Johnny’s many rumored projects are actually going to happen. The enterprising Mr. Horowitz passed Johnny an index card with the names of six potential films–Pirates of the Caribbean 4; Sin City 3; Dark Shadows; Rex Mundi; The Lone Ranger; The Man Who Killed Don Quixote–and asked him to circle the ones that were “actually going to happen.” Johnny obligingly took out a Sharpie and wrote Yes! beside two of the entries: Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and Dark Shadows. To see a photo of the actual index card shown in the video, CLICK HERE.

Here’s a transcript of their conversation; notice Johnny’s casual confirmation that Tim Burton will be directing Dark Shadows.

MTV: There are by my count six very intriguing projects coming up for you. Can you tell me which ones of these are actually going to happen? You can even circle them, if you want. And which one are you excited about?

JOHNNY DEPP: Let’s see . . . Pirates 4 (he nods “yes”) . . . . Sin City 3, I haven’t heard about. Dark Shadows is going to happen next year, and Pirates 4.

MTV: (interrupting) With Tim Burton?

JOHNNY DEPP: Yeah. With Tim. Rex Mundi, we’re still working on it–

MTV: You’re a fan of the property, though?

JOHNNY DEPP: Oh, yeah. It’s great. I think it could be great. And The Lone Ranger, we’re coming up on.

MTV: Have you found your Lone Ranger yet?

JOHNNY DEPP: (with a grin) We haven’t found a Lone Ranger yet, but I know Tonto pretty well.

The Zone thanks Theresa and Mrs Pink for MTV video clips, and AnaMaria for the screencap from the interview. To see a larger version of the screencap, CLICK HERE. To see the video on the MTV website, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet

Johnny Depp dines with Patti Smith and friends in New York City on Saturday–new photo

The picture at left shows Johnny Depp, with bodyguard Jerry Judge behind him, emerging from Da Silvano restaurant in New York City on Saturday night, June 27th. According to the New York Post, Johnny’s dinner companions were Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith and four (unnamed) friends. The Italian restaurant must have wonderful cuisine–Johnny also had dinner there after his appearance with David Letterman on The Late Show on Thursday night. To see a larger version of the photo, CLICK HERE.

Johnny is scheduled to be in London on Monday, June 29th, for the premiere of Public Enemies at the Empire on Leicester Square. But a widely-circulating internet story that claims he was in Glastonbury on Friday, playing guitar in a cafe (yeah–right), are 100% tabloid fiction–he was still in New York at the time. The Zone thanks Emma and Evochka for the update. –Part-Time Poet

"An outlaw outlook"–Rachel Abramowitz profiles Johnny Depp for the Los Angeles Times

Sunday’s Los Angeles Times carries a well-written, substantial profile of Johnny Depp written by Rachel Abramowitz, who interviewed JD in Beverly Hills before the LA premiere of Public Enemies. Noting that his role as John Dillinger “fits perfectly into Depp’s personal canon of larger-than-life rebels and outsiders,” Abramowitz documents JD’s “connection to Dillinger, the bold-yet-humble bank robber” who earned the affection of the public while flummoxing law enforcement. “The title of the film is Public Enemies, but I don’t see John Dillinger as an enemy of the public,” Johnny explains. But Dillinger would not be able to elude the authorities successfully today; modern technology would doom him to a quick arrest.

“Today, if there was a Robin Hood-type guy out there–we are in an age where we sell our privacy to television,” says Johnny. “Everyone out there has a camera, and a cellphone, and a BlackBerry, and in less then 10 seconds it’s on the Internet. So he [Dillinger] would have been sold out just like that today” . . . and according to Abramowitz, he snaps his fingers.

You can read all of Abramowitz’s profile on the LA Times website HERE ; the Zone thanks Emma for sharing it with us, and also for sharing the new photo shoot by Mark Boster, available HERE. Zoners are discussing the Abramowitz article on the News & Views forum, and the new photos on the Pit. To see a larger version of the photo above, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet

Johnny Depp on being a celebrity: "You don't ever get used to that sort of thing"

“So is this is what it’s like to be Johnny Depp: unable to venture out in public without instantly drawing a near-fanatical crowd?” wonders reporter John Hiscock in a revealing article in the UK’s Daily Telegraph. He describes Johnny’s entrance at the Chicago after-party for Public Enemies, a by-invitation-only gathering of Chicago’s elite, where Johnny was mobbed: “By the time he reaches the bottom step the crowd has swelled to a heaving mass, everyone trying to get near him, touch him, take his picture and plead for autographs.”

“It was really weird, wasn’t it?” Johnny agreed, in a conversation with Hiscock on the day after the party. “Oh man, you don’t ever get used to that kind of thing. You just don’t. That’s why I hardly ever leave my house. I don’t go anywhere. I understand what it’s about and I appreciate it on a very profound level but there’s only so much of that sort of thing a human being can deal with.” Added Johnny, “If the choice is between being constantly gawked at and sitting in a chair in a dark room, I prefer the dark room.”

His tropical island offers a welcome respite from being on constant display. Johnny told Hiscock that he discovered his island in the Exumas by serendipity: “Like everything else in my life, it wasn’t planned, it just kind of happened,” Johnny explained. “After I had done the first Pirates movie and Secret Window, I went on vacation to escape with my kiddies and my girl and someone said that there was an island down the road for sale. I said,’Oh well, let’s go see it.’ I looked at it, I walked on it and I was done.

“It had to be. So I immediately called my business manager and said ‘Please,’ and that was it,” Johnny told Hiscock. “It came at the perfect moment for me. The island can be perceived as a luxury and it certainly is, but it provides me with simplicity and somewhere I can go where no one is looking at me or pointing a camera or a finger at me. I can just be.”

The Zone thanks Emma for sharing the Daily Telegraph article; you can read more on the News & Views forum or CLICK HERE. It’s a fine interview that deserves to be read in its entirety.

To see a larger version of the photo of JD signing autographs at the Los Angeles Public Enemies premiere, CLICK HERE, and to see him signing for the crowd outside the David Letterman show in New York, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet

Johnny Depp charms in appearance on THE LATE SHOW with David Letterman

David Letterman introduced Johnny Depp as “a fascinating man on and off the screen, and one of the coolest guys on the planet,” and in a relaxed and wide-ranging conversation with Letterman, Johnny proved those claims true on Thursday night. They discussed Johnny’s family, his work habits, his life in France and on his island in the Bahamas, the Vajoliroja (which Johnny calls “a boat”), Johnny’s favorite movie actors (“Bogart, first and foremost”), and–the reason for the visit–John Dillinger and Public Enemies.

Johnny told Letterman that his children, ten-year-old Lily Rose and seven-year-old Jack, are “out of the tiny drunk phase” and have “entered the age of technology now; texting and Playstation.” As Letterman nodded sympathetically, commenting about the way children grow steadily more independent, Johnny added, “I also see little boys starting to line up to date my daughter . . . and I fear for them.”

Letterman praised Public Enemies–“It’s a great story”–and had difficulty believing he had seen the movie, but its star had not. Had Johnny been too busy to see the film?

“In a way, once my job is done on the film, it’s really none of my business,”Johnny responded. Does that mean he “deliberately” avoids looking at the finished product? “Oh yeah,” Johnny told Letterman. “I stay as far away as I possibly can. If I can, I try to stay in as profound a state of ignorance as possible.”

Quipped Letterman, “Well, you’ve come to the right place.” To see this exchange, CLICK HERE and select the clip of Johnny Depp. To see a larger version of our screencap of Johnny on Letterman’s stage, CLICK HERE, and to see a different shot, CLICK HERE.

The Zone thanks Theresa for the screencap and Carasun for the video link; you can read much more about Johnny’s appearance on Letterman on the News & Views forum and the Pit. Don’t miss the in-person accounts from Zoners who waited outside the theater to get Johnny’s autograph! You’ll find those on the Porch forum, and we thank our Zoners for sharing their experiences. –Part-Time Poet

"Sit down when shots are fired"–Johnny Depp describes filming PUBLIC ENEMIES at Stateville prison

One sequence of Public Enemies was filmed at the Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet, Illinois, a maximum-security prison built in 1925 (and thus authentic to Dillinger’s era) and still in use. In an interview with Trailer Addict at the Chicago press junket, Johnny Depp describes what it was like to film inside a functioning maximum-security prison:

Q: Can you tell about the experience going through the prison? That must have been very . . . surreal.

JOHNNY DEPP: Stateville was wild. Yeah. Stateville was wild, because it’s an active prison, and we were shooting there. Funnily enough, it was a place that my stepfather had spent some of his time [. . .] he’d done a few years in Stateville.

And then they took us to go and look at the maximum security section. All these guys are in there, hundreds and hundreds of guys in lockdown, and . . . uh . . . they’re looking out their bars, out their doors at me, and they’re screaming, “Hey, Captain Jack! Come get me!” [laughing] “Come and help me escape!”

Q: Is it creepy, being in that environment? What do you feel when you are there?

JOHNNY DEPP: It’s pretty intense. There’s a sign . . . I’ll never forget it. The sign that I saw [. . .] on the cafeteria wall, said, “Please sit down when shots are fired.” Not if shots are fired; when shots are fired. And that’s the image I’ll probably take with me to my grave.

To watch the full (and very entertaining) Trailer Addict interview with Johnny Depp, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for finding and sharing the video, and AnaMaria for making our screencap. To see a larger version of our screencap of Johnny being interviewed, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet

BREAKING NEWS–Johnny Depp arrives to tape THE LATE SHOW with David Letterman

The photo at left shows Johnny Depp walking down the street in Manhattan as he prepares to enter the Ed Sullivan Theater to tape tonight’s installment of THE LATE SHOW with David Letterman. So be sure to catch Johnny with Dave tonight! Johnny is wearing jeans, a striped shirt, a brown vest, and his signature blue glasses. To see a larger picture of JD arriving at the Ed Sullivan Theater, CLICK HERE. As expected, a very large crowd has gathered on the street outside the theater, waiting for Johnny to come out and sign autographs after the taping. To get a look at the crowd, and the lovely Megan Fox of Transformers (she is Letterman’s other guest tonight, lucky girl), CLICK HERE.

The Zone thanks ~SB, In-too-Depp and Theresa for updates and pictures–for a shot of Johnny waving to the crowd, CLICK HERE. You can read more about Johnny’s appearance with Letterman on the Zone’s News & Views forum.–Part-Time Poet

What about The Riddler? MTV interviews Johnny Depp and Christian Bale

With Johnny Depp and Christian Bale playing the leads in Michael Mann’s Public Enemies, MTV Movies editor Josh Horowitz couldn’t resist using some of his interview time with each actor to fish for information about a possible third Batman film. He reminded Johnny Depp of last summer’s fanboy push to have JD play The Riddler in installment #3 . . . bear in mind, however, that there is no script for a third film, and it is by no means certain that The Riddler would even appear in it. This is pure speculation.

MTV: [With] you and Christian in this one [Public Enemies] . . . obviously the Batman franchise . . . you were rumored as a potential fan favorite to play The Riddler. What do you think?

JOHHNY DEPP: That’s what I heard. I did hear that [about being the fan favorite]. Um . . . it seems like it would be all right. I always liked The Riddler. I always liked Frank Gorshin [who played The Riddler in the 1960s TV series]. Frank Gorshin was brilliant. I always thought he was a great actor. So . . . um . . . if the opportunity came, I’d definitely juggle it.

But the current Batman, Christian Bale, refused to be drawn into any speculation and kept emphasizing that there is no guarantee there will even be a third film in the series.

MTV: Do you have a horse in the race, though, in terms of if-and-when another Batman film is made, what villain you would like to see? [. . .] Is there somebody . . . a character you’d like?

CHRISTIAN BALE: [interrupting] I truly don’t know that we’re ever going to see another Batman movie.

MTV: Does that sadden you? That it might not happen, if Chris [director Christopher Nolan] doesn’t feel like doing it?

CHRISTIAN BALE: You know, I wouldn’t see Chris as being as whimsical as that. It would be purely that he would need to find a story that was good enough. And, if he can’t find that, then it wouldn’t happen.

MTV: There’s been talk recently–and again, this might be just something that’s conjured up on the web [like casting Johnny Depp as The Riddler], that Chris may not do the third one and may hand off to another director. Is there any conceivable way you would do a third film with a different director?

CHRISTIAN BALE: I don’t even want to think about it. Listen–I don’t even know if there will be a third.

I guess Deppheads should not hold their breath waiting for The Riddler to appear on JD’s schedule. You can hear interviews with both Johnny Depp and Christian Bale on MTV’s Rough Cut: Public Enemies. For Johnny’s video clip about The Riddler, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks Theresa for sharing the clip.

To see a larger version of the photo of Johnny Depp at the press junket in Chicago, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet

BREAKING NEWS–Johnny Depp arrives at the premiere of PUBLIC ENEMIES in Los Angeles

Johnny Depp wore a blue shirt to match his signature blue sunglasses as he arrived on a very sunny red carpet outside Mann’s Village Theater in Los Angeles for the studio premiere of Michael Mann’s gangster epic Public Enemies, in which JD plays another JD: John Dillinger. Johnny was also wearing a well-tailored 3-piece suit. To see a larger picture of Johnny being interviewed by a reporter, CLICK HERE, and to see a different photo of Johnny on the red carpet accompanied by dapper security chief Jerry Judge, CLICK HERE. The Zone grapevine reports that Johnny signed autographs for half the crowd before he was hustled inside the theater, but he has promised to return to sign some more. Sweet!

Thanks to FANtasticJD and the Los Angeles Film Festival for the photos of Johnny, and to all the Zoners who have posted updates from the red carpet, especially ~SB. You can read much more about the Los Angeles premiere on the Zone’s News & Views forum. –Part-Time Poet

Preparations underway for PUBLIC ENEMIES premiere in Los Angeles tonight!

Thanks to Trista for sending us this picture of the marquee at Mann’s Village Theater as it is being transformed for the premiere of Michael Mann’s Public Enemies tonight. The Village Theater is located at 961 Broxton Avenue, in Westwood Village; the cross street on the street sign is Weyburn, and the Los Angeles Film Festival has posted the following announcement on their Facebook page: “Come scream for Johnny Depp and fill the bleachers for the premiere on 6/23. Fans can line up to catch a glimpse of Depp from 4:30 PM on Le Conte Ave in Westwood!” Public Enemies is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. tonight–expect star arrivals an hour or so before the screening starts. Best of luck to all the Zoners headed to Westwood! We are there with you in spirit. –Part-Time Poet

Australia's TODAY show interviews Johnny Depp about Heath Ledger

At the Public Enemies press junket held at Chicago’s Union Station, Australian reporter Peter Stefanovic used some of his five minutes with Johnny Depp to inquire about JD’s connection with the late Heath Ledger, a native Australian. Stefanovic’s interview aired on the Down Under version of the Today show on July 22nd. The reporter asked why Johnny Depp agreed to step into Heath Ledger’s role in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which was left unfinished at the time of Ledger’s death; JD, along with Jude Law and Colin Farrell, completed Ledger’s role.

JOHNNY DEPP: It would have been a horror to think that Heath’s last work, which was great, would go unseen. And so, what I told Terry Gilliam was, “If there’s a way to do this respectfully, and you can finish your film, I’m more than happy to help.”

I wanted to, certainly, first get the blessing of Heath’s family, to make sure they were okay with it–and they were great with it, and so I feel honored to have been able to be a small part of that. For Heath.

PETER STEFANOVIC: And you named a part of the island you own after him? [Douglas Brinkley’s recent Vanity Fair article mentions that Johnny named a favorite cove on his island “Heath’s Place.”] Can you tell me about the connection you feel towards him? Because it’s obviously very strong.

JOHNNY DEPP: We knew each other, and we’d hung out a bit, and there was a mutual respect there. And he was “the guy,” as far as I was concerned, in terms of the actors coming up the ranks; he was the one to keep your eye on. He was the dangerous one, you know, and I liked him for that.

PETER STEFANOVIC: And finally . . . Pirates 4. Yea or nay?

JOHNNY DEPP: Yea. Yea . . . if they get a good script, yea.

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD and Theresa for the Stefanovic interview, and AnaMaria for the screencap from the video clip. To watch the interview, which is highly recommended, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet

"ALICE IN WONDERLAND gets Burton-ized"–USA TODAY offers a first look

USA Today gives the front page of their “Life” section to an article on Tim Burton’s upcoming 3D version of Alice in Wonderland, including some wonderful concept art and photos of cast members in costume and makeup. Called “What a weird Wonderland Burton made: Director injects signature surrealism into familiar fairy tale characters,” the article by Susan Wloszcyna begins, “You might have gone down the rabbit hole before. But never with a guide quite as attuned to the fantastic as Tim Burton.” Or, as producer Richard Zanuck puts it, Alice in Wonderland “has been Burton-ized.”

According to Wloszcyna, Alice’s tale has been tweaked “with a blast of girl power, courtesy of writer Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast). Alice, 17, attends a party at a Victorian estate only to find she is about to be proposed to in front of hundreds of snooty society types. Off she runs, following a white rabbit into a hole and ending up in Wonderland, a place she visited 10 years before yet doesn’t remember.”

Welcoming her back is the Mad Hatter, a character Zanuck describes as “off his rocker” (he’s not called the Mad Hatter for nothing) and Wloszcyna considers “a part tailor-made for Johnny Depp.” To see a larger version of JD as the Mad Hatter, CLICK HERE. “He is so much fun and so nutty, I can’t imagine anyone else doing it,” Zanuck says.

To see JD’s fellow cast members Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen–a character whose look is obviously modeled on England’s Queen Elizabeth I–CLICK HERE, and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, CLICK HERE. For Mia Wasikowska as the almost-grown-up Alice, CLICK HERE. To read the entire USA Today story and see some marvelous photos of Burton’s sets, CLICK HERE.

The Zone thanks Theresa for posting the article on Alice in Wonderland, and Theresa and FANtasticJD for sharing photos. You can read much more about Alice in Wonderland on the Zone’s News & Views forum. Tim Burton’s Alice comes to theaters on March 5, 2010.–Part-Time Poet

"The only reason I'm here is because of them"–Johnny Depp talks to ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT about his fans

Kevin Frazier of Entertainment Tonight interviewed Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard in Chicago on June 18th; the stars, all interviewed separately, sport their stylish red-carpet attire. To see a video of the full segment, which runs 5:19 and randomly intercuts questions-and-answers from all three actors, CLICK HERE. Here are a couple of highlights from Frazier’s interview with Johnny Depp:

Kevin Frazier: You made [John Dillinger] a really lovable character. What is it about playing John Dillinger that got under your skin?

Johnny Depp: I got a sneaking suspicion that he was probably a very lovable character. I mean, his choice of occupation was, you know . . . [with a smile] . . . potentially questionable [. . . but] he was a man of the people.

Kevin Frazier: You are very good at acknowledging your fans. And that’s one of the things people constantly talk about . . . you will sign every autograph.

Johnny Depp: The only reason I’m here is because of them. The only reason that I still get jobs is because of those people out there who are hanging out in the street, waiting to get something signed, or [to] say “Hi” and shake your hand and all that . . . . So if they want me to say “Hi,” I’m more than happy to go and say “Hi,” and I’ll do it for as long as they want me to do it. They’re keeping me alive, they’re keeping my kiddies fed, and so they’re the boss, as far as I’m concerned.

The Zone thanks tocnavforjd for sharing the video, and AnaMaria for the screencap of Johnny. To see more screencaps, CLICK HERE, and to see another Entertainment Tonight feature on Public Enemies, this one focusing on the relationship between John Dillinger and Billie Frechette, CLICK HERE. Thanks to Theresa and Laudepp126x for the second video clip. –Part-Time Poet

TV ALERT–PUBLIC ENEMIES feature on CBS SUNDAY MORNING June 21st

The excellent newsmagazine CBS Sunday Morning will feature a segment on John Dillinger and Public Enemies on Sunday’s broadcast (June 21st), including interviews with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. Here’s what their website is promising us: “Wanted! John Dillinger. During the depths of the Great Depression, the Midwest had an unlikely hero: bank robber John Dillinger. In 1934, Dillinger was almost as famous as FDR . . . handsome, charming, with an easy smile and a knack for PR.

“Seventy-five years later, John Dillinger is coming back, larger than life, played by Johnny Depp in the summer movie blockbuster Public Enemies. This Sunday Morning CBS Correspondent Dean Reynolds will take up the trail of the real John Dillinger, helped by some Dillinger experts, along with the new film’s stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.” Sounds great!

Check your local CBS affiliate website for air time in your area, since it varies by location; for example, in New York City, CBS Sunday Morning airs at the civilized hour of 9:00-10:30 a.m., but Los Angeles residents have to get up early to catch the show, which airs from 7:00-8:30 a.m. in the Pacific time zone. The Zone thanks Emma and FANtasticJD for the CBS news.

In other TV news, keep a sharp eye on the remote and prepare for a week of channel-switching and TiVoing, as Public Enemies news and promotion can be expected on all of the entertainment news programs this week. Entertainment Tonight will be continuing their Public Enemies week-of-features on Monday, and E!’s Daily 10 will air an interview with Johnny Depp on their Monday broadcast (June 22nd); they have promised to ask him for an update on Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Expect features on the Los Angeles premiere of Public Enemies on the Wednesday entertainment broadcasts (the Los Angeles premiere is Tuesday evening, June 23rd). And don’t forget, Johnny Depp is scheduled to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman on Thursday night, June 25th!–Part-Time Poet

WGN entertainment reporter praises Johnny Depp's "dedication to his fans"

WGN’s entertainment reporter, Dean Richards, offered a four-minute news story on the Chicago screening of Public Enemies and its glamorous red carpet, but what made the strongest impression on the journalist was the amount of time Johnny Depp spent, not with the media promoting his work, but with the hundreds of fans who came to see him. “For over an hour, Johnny signed autographs and took pictures with fans,” Richards said. “Some of the fans waited since 4 a.m. Other cast members here tonight just waved from a distance,” Richards added.

“It’s very sweet that they’ve come out here tonight to support us like this,” Johnny told Richards. “They pay the bills . . . they’re the boss.” His graciousness made an impression on the veteran reporter, who closed his on-air segment with these words: “I’ll tell you what was the most impressive thing here tonight: Johnny Depp’s dedication to his fans. I’ve never seen a major star spend the kind of time he spent with his fans . . . for a full city block, signing autographs and taking pictures with everybody. It really was quite remarkable.” Thanks for noticing, Mr. Richards . . . that’s why there’s only one Johnny Depp!

To see a video clip of Dean Richards’s report on WGN, CLICK HERE, and to see a picture of Johnny Depp signing autographs in Chicago, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks RamblinRebel for the WGN clip. You can read much more about the events in Chicago on the Zone’s News & Views forum and the Pit. –Part-Time Poet

Johnny Depp wows Chicago at PUBLIC ENEMIES screening

Johnny Depp’s appearance on the red carpet for Public Enemies made the front page of Chicago newspapers this morning, and the Windy City’s entertainment reporters were universally impressed, not just with JD’s dashing appearance, but with his gracious acknowledgment of the hundreds of fans who packed the streets around the AMC River East Theater. Johnny spent more than an hour signing autographs and taking pictures with delighted well-wishers. “I adore Chicago. I love it here,” he told a reporter from the local CBS affiliate–and judging by the screams of the crowd, Chicago feels the same way about Johnny Depp.

Johnny told Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times that he found John Dillinger a fascinating character and could identify with a lot of his traits . . . ”except, of course, all the criminal stuff,” Johnny clarified. “First and foremost, he possessed a very strong loyalty, not only to his friends and family, but to his woman. He was a deeply loyal guy. Very rare for a man in his line of work.”

And like Dillinger, Johnny enjoyed watching the Chicago Cubs in their home park: ”I got to go to Wrigley Field a lot when we weren’t filming last summer. Went as much as I could, just like Dillinger,” Johnny told the Sun-Times. ”I’d like to set the record straight, in case anyone’s wondering: John Dillinger was a big Cubs fan.”

The Zone thanks Emma for the Chicago interviews and newspaper photos. To see JD on the cover of Red Eye, CLICK HERE, and to see him on the cover of the Chicago Sun Times, CLICK HERE. You can read much more about the events in Chicago on the Zone’s News & Views forum and the Pit. –Part-Time Poet

BREAKING NEWS–Johnny Depp arrives on the red carpet in Chicago!

Here it is . . . our first glimpse of Johnny Depp on a red carpet to promote his new film, Public Enemies. Although official sources don’t call tonight’s event in Chicago a “premiere”–it’s a special screening with “a red carpet event,” according to one Chicago newspaper–it is always thrilling to see Johnny Depp. We don’t care if it’s called Sunday school or a temperance rally, as long as JD is there . . . .

Ever the chameleon, Johnny’s appearance has changed in the week since we last saw him, celebrating his birthday in Puerto Rico as The Rum Diary finished shooting. The Paul Kemp sunglasses are gone, replaced by JD’s more familiar blue lenses, and Johnny is sporting facial hair rather than a clean-shaven jaw. To see a larger version of the photo of Johnny Depp on the red carpet, CLICK HERE,, and to see a different photo of JD being interviewed by a television reporter, CLICK HERE. To see a photo of Michael Mann and Marion Cotillard on the red carpet, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks Jeral20 and Donnamatrix for sharing photos.–Part-Time Poet

John Dillinger was "a charismatic outlaw hero"–an interview with Michael Mann, director of PUBLIC ENEMIES

As his newest film Public Enemies is about to be shown to critics for the first time, director Michael Mann gave an in-depth interview to Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times. “Even though we got together to talk about Public Enemies, his new film that stars Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, our conversation ranged far afield,” Goldstein notes, “since Mann often sounds more like a Marxist history professor than a filmmaker [. . . ]. “

Goldstein does persuade Mann to explain Dillinger’s appeal: “He was a charismatic outlaw hero who spoke to people in the depth of the Depression. He assaulted the institution that made their lives miserable–the bank–and he outsmarted the institution–the government–that couldn’t fix the problems brought about by the Depression.”

Mann shares a favorite anecdote about Dillinger’s daring escape from the “supposedly impregnable” jail in Crown Point, Indiana: “[H]e didn’t just take a car, he takes the sheriff’s new car, a V-8 Ford,” Mann says, “and then he wrote a letter to Henry Ford, telling him that whenever he stole a car, he wanted to steal a Ford.”

The Zone thanks Theresa for sharing the interview with Michael Mann; you can read the full article, which goes into detail about Mann’s filmmaking process and philosophy, on the Zone’s Porch forum, or HERE. –Part-Time Poet

It's PUBLIC ENEMIES week on ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT–here's a new video clip from ET!

Entertainment Tonight is celebrating the release of Michael Mann’s Public Enemies with a whole week of special features. Tonight’s two-minute segment (airdate June 17th) featured images from the Public Enemies long trailer intercut with brief interviews with stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale and director Michael Mann. “There was this larger-than-life, mythic quality” about Dillinger, says Johnny Depp. “There was a sort of Robin Hood in John Dillinger . . . and he used that” to enhance his connection with the public. “He was not dumb,” Johnny stresses.

Christian Bale describes the relationship between his character, the FBI agent Melvin Purvis, and Public Enemy Number #1 John Dillinger as straightforward “cops and robbers. And that was what was so entertaining about that era,” Bale volunteers. “What people could get away with.”

To see the full video clip from Entertainment Tonight on You Tube, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks laudepp126x for posting the clip on You Tube, and FANtasticJD and Theresa for sharing it on the Zone.

Be sure to watch Entertainment Tonight tomorrow (June 18th), when their Public Enemies segment will focus on the love story between John Dillinger and Billie Frechette, played by Marion Cotillard. –Part-Time Poet