Articles from November 2009



Johnny Depp receives Best Actor nomination for 2009 Satellite Awards! Congratulations!

Congratulations to Johnny Depp, who has received a 2009 Satellite Awards nomination as Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama for his role as John Dillinger in Public Enemies. The Satellite Awards, now in their 14th year, are given by the International Press Academy to honor outstanding achievements in motion pictures, television, and new media; winners will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday, December 20, 2009, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City, California.

In addition to Johnny, nominees for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama include Hugh Dancy in Adam, Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker, Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, Michael Sheen in The Damned United, and Colin Firth in A Single Man–a field of six nominees. Public Enemies also received nominations for Elliot Goldenthal’s music, Dante Spinotti’s cinematography, and for its art direction and production design by Nathan Crowley, Patrick Lumb, and William Ladd Skinner.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus received Satellite nominations for art direction and production design; costume design; visual effects; and best original song–Terry Gilliam’s “We Are the Children of the World.”

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for breaking the news; you can read more about the Satellite Awards on the Zone’s News & Views forum. For a full list of 2009 Satellite Awards nominees in all categories, CLICK HERE.

Congratulations to Johnny Depp and all the nominees! –Part-Time Poet

Johnny Depp tops Forbes's first-ever "Real 'A' List"

Johnny Depp’s “combination of acting chops and mass appeal puts him at the top of Hollywood’s Real A List, our first list of actors who have been nominated for Oscars and who have also made good money at the box office,” says Forbes writer Dorothy Pomerantz. She explains, “There are prestige actors who win tons of awards and then there are blockbuster actors who guarantee boffo box office around the world. The stars who can succeed in both worlds are the most coveted actors in Hollywood.”

According to Forbes, no actor should be more coveted than Johnny Depp: over the past five years, Johnny has received three Best Actor Oscar nominations, and his films have earned $3 billion since 2004. (This total does not include the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, which was released in 2003). What an impressive achievement!

Rounding out the top five on Forbes’s Real “A” List: Brad Pitt, the late Heath Ledger, Will Smith, and all-time Oscar nomination champion Meryl Streep.

The Zone thanks Theresa for breaking the news; you can read more about the “Real ‘A’ List” on the Zone’s News & Views forum. –Part-Time Poet

"I'm very excited to work with Johnny Depp," director Rob Marshall tells MTV

The long-rumored deal that would bring director Rob Marshall to Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides seems all but a certainty now, as Marshall, currently doing press interviews for his soon-to-be-released film Nine, has confirmed to several sources that Pirates 4 will be his next project. “[The deal is] very close to happening, actually,” Marshall told Josh Horowitz of MTV. “I’m very excited … excited to work with Johnny.”

Marshall, who has directed the Oscar-winning Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha, will take the helm from departing director Gore Verbinski. “I think it’s good when you’re doing a series of films, like Harry Potter,” Marshall said. “It’s nice to bring in a fresh approach.” Asked about the likelihood of Johnny Depp returning as Captain Jack Sparrow (which Johnny says depends on an acceptable script), Marshall sounded optimistic. “You know what, [he’s in] as far as I know. [. . .] Johnny is a great guy and we’ve been looking to work together for awhile, so it’s going to be nice to be able to do that, hopefully.”

Marshall told Harry Haun of Playbill that he “pounced” on the opportunity to direct Pirates 4 because “I’ve always wanted to do an all-stops-out adventure film like this because I loved them so much as a kid.” But Marshall promises he won’t bring “more plot and characters” to the fourth installment. “The two previous Pirates movies were criticized for being densely complicated,” Haun observed. Marshall’s response? “If I don’t understand it, I can’t direct it.”

Given Marshall’s background in musicals and Johnny’s experience playing Sweeney Todd, MTV wondered “if Depp will get to break into song [. . .] A Jack Sparrow song-and-dance number could be an amazing thing indeed.” Marshall replied, “I’m sure we’ll do something. There’ll be a little something in there . . . from us.” The director added, “The great thing is that I love Johnny. He’s incredible, as an actor and as a person too. So I know it’ll be a great experience.”

The Zone thanks Theresa and FANtasticJD for the news about Rob Marshall; you can read more about Pirates 4 on the Zone’s News and Views forum. To read the MTV interview with Rob Marshall, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet

"I’m very excited to work with Johnny Depp," director Rob Marshall tells MTV

The long-rumored deal that would bring director Rob Marshall to Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides seems all but a certainty now, as Marshall, currently doing press interviews for his soon-to-be-released film Nine, has confirmed to several sources that Pirates 4 will be his next project. “[The deal is] very close to happening, actually,” Marshall told Josh Horowitz of MTV. “I’m very excited … excited to work with Johnny.”

Marshall, who has directed the Oscar-winning Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha, will take the helm from departing director Gore Verbinski. “I think it’s good when you’re doing a series of films, like Harry Potter,” Marshall said. “It’s nice to bring in a fresh approach.” Asked about the likelihood of Johnny Depp returning as Captain Jack Sparrow (which Johnny says depends on an acceptable script), Marshall sounded optimistic. “You know what, [he’s in] as far as I know. [. . .] Johnny is a great guy and we’ve been looking to work together for awhile, so it’s going to be nice to be able to do that, hopefully.”

Marshall told Harry Haun of Playbill that he “pounced” on the opportunity to direct Pirates 4 because “I’ve always wanted to do an all-stops-out adventure film like this because I loved them so much as a kid.” But Marshall promises he won’t bring “more plot and characters” to the fourth installment. “The two previous Pirates movies were criticized for being densely complicated,” Haun observed. Marshall’s response? “If I don’t understand it, I can’t direct it.”

Given Marshall’s background in musicals and Johnny’s experience playing Sweeney Todd, MTV wondered “if Depp will get to break into song [. . .] A Jack Sparrow song-and-dance number could be an amazing thing indeed.” Marshall replied, “I’m sure we’ll do something. There’ll be a little something in there . . . from us.” The director added, “The great thing is that I love Johnny. He’s incredible, as an actor and as a person too. So I know it’ll be a great experience.”

The Zone thanks Theresa and FANtasticJD for the news about Rob Marshall; you can read more about Pirates 4 on the Zone’s News and Views forum. To read the MTV interview with Rob Marshall, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet

"I'd love to do it, but –" Johnny Depp's latest comments on PIRATES 4

MTV News asked Johnny Depp about the status of Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides during Johnny’s recent trip to New York. According to MTV’s Eric Ditzian, Johnny “hasn’t seen a script. He’s unsure of what the story line will be. And while he’s keen to step into the boots of pirate Jack Sparrow once again, he stopped well short of making a 100 percent commitment to return.”

Instead, Johnny gave a cautious response when asked if he could “assure the public” that he would be back as Captain Jack Sparrow. “The thing is, I’d love to do it,” Johnny said . . . but then he added several stipulations: “If there’s a script and a story that is outside of what we’ve done before and it’s worthy of the audience’s attention, I would definitely do it.” Sounds like the script is the key to this puzzle!

The Zone thanks Gilbert’s Girl for sharing the MTV article; you can read more about Pirates 4 on the Zone’s News and Views forum. –Part-Time Poet

"He's a complete genius"–Johnny Depp talks about Tim Burton

“I feel incredibly lucky to have been given these various gigs by Tim over the years, ” Johnny Depp told reporters as he walked the red carpet at the gala tribute to Tim Burton at New York’s Museum of Modern Art on November 17th, “and to be chosen by him to interpret a story and a character. I mean, he’s a complete genius.”

Johnny, who has appeared in Burton’s films Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd, and the forthcoming Alice in Wonderland, praised his friend’s integrity as an artist: “He’s uniquely Tim. He’s pure, he’s a true, honest-to-goodness artist,” Johnny said. “An auteur, [an] obviously amazing filmmaker [. . .]. He’s just Tim and he doesn’t sway in any other direction. He does what he feels is right, and there’s no compromise whatsoever.”

The gala, which raised funds for the Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Film, celebrated the Tim Burton exhibition which will be open to the public from November 22, 2009 through April 26, 2010. “It’s mind-blowing that he’s here,[. . .] being celebrated at the Museum of Modern Art,” said Helena Bonham Carter, “and he’s not even dead yet.” The director agreed, calling the exhibit “surreal.”

“It’s an amazing honor, and it’s a bit scary,” Tim Burton told reporters. “It was all just kind of private stuff, so it’s kind of opening up the closets in a way. But they’ve done it very beautifully, so I’m quite excited about it. I feel [. . .] in safe hands.”

The Zone thanks Emma for sharing several wire service stories about the Tim Burton tribute; you can read more about the event on the Zone’s News & Views forum, including eyewitness accounts from Zone members who attended the gala. To see a larger version of the photo of Johnny, CLICK HERE, and to see a photo of Johnny with Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter and Danny DeVito, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet

Johnny Depp named People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" for 2009!

Congratulations to Johnny Depp, who is featured on the cover of People Magazine as their Sexiest Man Alive for 2009! This is the second time JD has won the honor; his first award was in 2003, the year Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl hit theaters. “Bringing the fun with him wherever he goes–whether it’s onscreen in fizzy roles like Captain Jack Sparrow [. . .] or at home with his family on their private Bahamian island–[. . .] Johnny Depp [. . .] reigns as Hollywood’s most irresistible iconoclast,” notes People. The magazine adds that JD “has joined an elite club of two-time Sexiest Man Alive title-holders. Only Brad Pitt and George Clooney have matched the feat.”

The Zone thanks SqueakyDoor for breaking the news and Tracy and Alice Springs for photographs. To see a larger version of the People cover, CLICK HERE, and to see a different photo of Johnny from the People photoshoot, CLICK HERE. You can read a lively discussion of the Sexiest Man Alive honor on the Zone’s News and Views forum. Naturally the Zone’s members heartily concur with People’s decision. Cheers! –Part-Time Poet

BREAKING NEWS–Johnny Depp attends Museum of Modern Art Tribute to Tim Burton

The photo at left shows Johnny Depp at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City tonight for their Film Benefit: A Tribute to Tim Burton, a fundraiser co-hosted by Johnny and Helena Bonham Carter. The co-hosts and the honoree all wore black for the occasion: Johnny is wearing a black shirt open at the collar, a black three-piece suit (with a black-and-white bandana in his back pocket), and blue-tinted glasses, and Helena is wearing an embellished tea-length strapless black gown and black boots. To see a photo of the trio, CLICK HERE, and to see a larger version of the portrait of Johnny, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks all our members who have shared photos.

The Museum of Modern Art is hosting a major exhibition of Tim Burton’s work from November 22, 2009 through April 26, 2010. Congratulations to Tim! –Part-Time Poet

Congratulations to Johnny Depp–25 Years on the Silver Screen!

Twenty-five years ago today, on November 16, 1984, Wes Craven’s horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street opened in movie theaters across the United States, introducing one of cinema’s most memorable villains, Robert Englund’s Freddie Krueger, and–oh yes–launching the career of the most versatile actor of his generation, Johnny Depp. Johnny made his movie debut in the role of Glen Lantz, the boyfriend of the film’s heroine Nancy (played by Heather Langenkamp) . . . and his performances have kept us glued to the screen ever since. Many thanks to Wes Craven for his innovative film (which spawned numerous sequels) and his wise casting choice, and congratulations to Johnny for twenty-five years of unforgettable performances. Well done! We can’t wait to see what’s next. –Part-Time Poet

Happy 10th Anniversary to Johnny Depp's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Ten years ago, on November 16, 1999, Johnny Depp received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (At 7018 Hollywood Boulevard, in case you’d like to stop by.) Director Tim Burton, who was present for the occasion, joked, “He deserves it–he’s a great actor–and now we can just walk all over him.” A grinning Johnny Depp replied, “[T]hat’s been happening for years.” But he also spoke of how meaningful the occasion was: “It’s certainly a great honor to be awarded a star on Hollywood Boulevard [. . .]. It’s a beautiful old Hollywood tradition. And I’m really thankful that it’s still alive, and I’m honored to be a part of that.”

Martin Landau, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing Bela Lugosi opposite Johnny’s Ed Wood, praised his co-star as “one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life” and as “the best young actor I’ve ever worked with . . . . Half of that Oscar belongs to Johnny.” Landau added, prophetically, “You’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of his work—there’s a lot more to come.” How right he was! Congratulations and happy anniversary, Johnny!

For a walk down Memory Lane, visit the Zone’s Hollywood Walk of Fame photo gallery, currently featured in our Gallery Showcase, or HERE. –Part-Time Poet

Happy 10th Anniversary to Johnny Depp’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Ten years ago, on November 16, 1999, Johnny Depp received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (At 7018 Hollywood Boulevard, in case you’d like to stop by.) Director Tim Burton, who was present for the occasion, joked, “He deserves it–he’s a great actor–and now we can just walk all over him.” A grinning Johnny Depp replied, “[T]hat’s been happening for years.” But he also spoke of how meaningful the occasion was: “It’s certainly a great honor to be awarded a star on Hollywood Boulevard [. . .]. It’s a beautiful old Hollywood tradition. And I’m really thankful that it’s still alive, and I’m honored to be a part of that.”

Martin Landau, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing Bela Lugosi opposite Johnny’s Ed Wood, praised his co-star as “one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life” and as “the best young actor I’ve ever worked with . . . . Half of that Oscar belongs to Johnny.” Landau added, prophetically, “You’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of his work—there’s a lot more to come.” How right he was! Congratulations and happy anniversary, Johnny!

For a walk down Memory Lane, visit the Zone’s Hollywood Walk of Fame photo gallery, currently featured in our Gallery Showcase, or HERE. –Part-Time Poet

Johnny Depp to co-host gala for Tim Burton at Museum of Modern Art on November 17th

Johnny Depp will be in New York City on Tuesday, November 17th to co-host a tribute to director Tim Burton at the Museum of Modern Art. According to the MoMA press release, “The three-time Oscar nominee, who has starred in seven of Burton’s films including [. . .] the upcoming Alice In Wonderland, will chair the star-studded ceremony with Tim’s long-term partner, Helena Bonham-Carter.” The gala dinner is a fundraiser for the museum (ticket prices $2,500 and up), which will host an exhibition of Tim Burton’s work from November 22, 2009 through April 26, 2010.

According to MoMA, the exhibit will celebrate Tim Burton’s visual imagination and will include “700 rarely or never-seen-before drawings, paintings, storyboards, moving-image works, puppets, maquettes, costumes, and cinematic ephemera.” New York Magazine is offering a sneak peak of the MoMA Tim Burton Retrospective on their website; you can see the 33-image slideshow HERE.

The Zone thanks Gilbert’s Girl and RumLover for the news; you can read more about the Museum of Modern Art’s tribute to Tim Burton on the Zone’s News & Views forum. –Part-Time Poet

Disney chief Bob Iger says PIRATES 4 will film "in the spring"

Here’s some news about Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides that comes from the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, Robert A. Iger himself. In the question-and-answer section of Disney’s 4th quarter Earnings Call transcript, published on November 12th, Benjamin Swinburne of Morgan Stanley asks Mr. Iger, “[W]hat is the timing of Pirates 4?

Mr. Iger replies, “First of all, on Pirates 4, we are close to naming a director. Johnny Depp is very much on board and we expect to be commencing shooting with Pirates 4 sometime in the Spring, and so that is all good news.” Agreed!

The Zone thanks our intrepid reporter Emma for finding and sharing the Earnings Call transcript. –Part-Time Poet

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 4 to film in Puerto Rico?

According to the Puerto Rican newspaper El Vocero, executives from the Film Corporation of Puerto Rico recently met with a senior Disney executive to discuss the possibility of using Puerto Rican locations to film Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides. “It would be an honor to have this production in Puerto Rico because it is very large and would create many jobs,” said Mariella Perez Serrano, the executive director of the Film Corporation of Puerto Rico. If the deal materializes, notes El Vocero, it would also bring Johnny Depp back to the island; JD filmed The Rum Diary in Puerto Rico last spring and received a very warm reception.

The Zone thanks Emma for sharing the news; you can read more about Pirates of the Caribbean 4 on the Zone’s News and Views forum. –Part-Time Poet

BREAKING NEWS–Johnny Depp nominated for a People's Choice Award

Congratulations to Johnny Depp, who is one of the five nominees for Favorite Movie Actor in the 2010 People’s Choice Awards! The other nominees are Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman, Robert Pattinson, and Ryan Reynolds. To vote for Johnny, CLICK HERE. Favorite Movie Actor is the first category on the ballot. You can vote as often as you like, and it is not necessary to vote in every category to have your vote count.

The Zone thanks AnaMaria for breaking the news. The People’s Choice Awards will take place in Los Angeles on January 6, 2010 and will be broadcast by CBS. –Part-Time Poet

BREAKING NEWS–Johnny Depp attends gallery opening in Santa Monica

Showing support for his friends, Johnny Depp attended the gallery opening featuring artists Kellisimone Waits and Tiffany Trenda at the Frank Pictures Gallery in Santa Monica, California on Sunday, November 8th. Kellisimone Waits is the daughter of musician Tom Waits, a longtime Depp favorite. To see a photo of Johnny with Tom Waits at the gallery on Sunday, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks Endora for breaking the news and FANtasticJD and Life.com for the photo. Congratulations and best wishes to Ms. Waits and Ms. Trenda! –Part-Time Poet

Johnny Depp performs on 2nd "Rogue's Gallery" album

During the production of Dead Man’s Chest, Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski decided to celebrate pirate culture by gathering artists together to record a collection of traditional pirate ballads and sea chanteys. The result was a compilation double album called Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys released in 2006 and produced by Hal Willner. Lou Reed, Nick Cave, Sting, Bono, Lucinda Williams and Loudon Wainwright III, among others, contributed tracks to Rogue’s Gallery, but Johnny Depp did not . . . an omission that will be corrected, says producer Willner, when the second volume of Rogue’s Gallery is released next year. Speaking by phone to the Sydney Sunday Telegraph, Willner said that Johnny was on board for the next CD: “He knows what we are up to and he’s on the second volume which is going to be released next year.”

The Zone thanks RumLover for sharing the Rogue’s Gallery news; you can read more on the Pit forum. –Part-Time Poet

Johnny Depp performs on 2nd "Rogue’s Gallery" album

During the production of Dead Man’s Chest, Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski decided to celebrate pirate culture by gathering artists together to record a collection of traditional pirate ballads and sea chanteys. The result was a compilation double album called Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys released in 2006 and produced by Hal Willner. Lou Reed, Nick Cave, Sting, Bono, Lucinda Williams and Loudon Wainwright III, among others, contributed tracks to Rogue’s Gallery, but Johnny Depp did not . . . an omission that will be corrected, says producer Willner, when the second volume of Rogue’s Gallery is released next year. Speaking by phone to the Sydney Sunday Telegraph, Willner said that Johnny was on board for the next CD: “He knows what we are up to and he’s on the second volume which is going to be released next year.”

The Zone thanks RumLover for sharing the Rogue’s Gallery news; you can read more on the Pit forum. –Part-Time Poet

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer talks about PIRATES 4 and THE LONE RANGER

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, busily promoting his next film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, was kind enough to also answer a few questions about his upcoming Disney projects with Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Lone Ranger, for Heather Newgen of ComingSoon.net.

Q: There’s a worry about Johnny Depp’s commitment to Pirates 4. Are you going to be able to make him comfortable with the new people at Disney?

Jerry Bruckheimer: I think that he was very close with Dick [Cook]. We loved him and part of our success is attributed to Dick which is fantastic, but things change. We’ve been through a ton of management here at Disney and have had many bosses through the years that I’ve been here. Somehow you adjust and the gentleman they brought in [Rich Ross] is very smart. As an executive he’s had an enormous amount of success. He’s been a very good partner to us, but that doesn’t mean we won’t work with Dick somewhere else down the line. Who knows. We’ll just have to see what happens.

Q: What’s your take on making The Lone Ranger current for today’s audience?

Jerry Bruckheimer: Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio worked on that with a couple of other writers and Johnny [Depp], so they’ll create something that has a kind of true to the western [feeling], but also other elements like we did with Pirates so it won’t be just a straight ahead western.

Q: We know Johnny Depp wants to play Tonto. Do you have any thoughts as to who the Ranger would be?

Jerry Bruckheimer: Not yet. We’re still creating a pretty wide net and figuring it out. It comes down to who is available when we want to make it. We have a wish list.

Mr. Bruckheimer also exchanged a few words about Pirates 4 in a separate interview with Steve “Frosty” Weintraub of Collider.com. “He told me they’ve gotten the script, the management change will not affect the production, and he believes they’ll be filming next year,” Weintraub reports.

The Zone thanks Emma for sharing both interviews; you can read more on the Zone’s Porch forum. –Part-Time Poet

Latest casting rumor–Johnny Depp to film THE TOURIST with Angelina Jolie?

The Hollywood trades are buzzing with rumors that Johnny Depp’s next film role will be opposite Angelina Jolie in The Tourist, a thriller due to start production in February. The Tourist will be financed and distributed by Graham King’s GK Films under his new agreement with Sony Pictures Entertainment; since King is frequently involved in JD’s film projects (most recently, The Rum Diary and Rango), this lends credibility to the rumors.

According to Variety, Johnny would play the title role, “an American tourist drawn into a web of intrigue and danger by a female Interpol agent (Jolie) as she attempts to locate a criminal who was once her lover.” The film is a remake of the French thriller Anthony Zimmer (2005); Julian Fellowes drafted the screenplay, “with rewrites by Christopher McQuarrie and Jeffrey Nachmanoff.”

The Tourist has been through multiple personnel changes at the highest levels–Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron were originally set for the leading roles, then were replaced by Avatar’s Sam Worthington and Angelina Jolie. Now Worthington and director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck have moved on (due to “creative differences”), which leaves The Tourist searching for a leading man and a director. “Already, directors are circling the plum gig,” says Variety, “including Alfonso Cuaron.” Cuaron directed Children of Men (2006).

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for breaking the news; you can read more about The Tourist on the Zone’s News & Views forum. To read the Variety article, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet