More proof that Nature and movie moguls abhor vacuums: Box Office Mojo reports that Disney has moved up the release dates of Thor and Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides in response to scuttlebutt that Spider-Man 4 will not be ready for a May 2011 release due to ongoing script problems. Thor gets the date that Spidey has abandoned: May 6, 2011. Of much deeper significance to Johnny Depp fans: Pirates 4 is now assigned to the weekend previously occupied by Thor. Look for On Stranger Tides on May 20, 2011!

This is the first official release date assigned to Pirates 4; previously, the only information given by Disney was “Summer 2011.” This gives Jerry Bruckheimer, Rob Marshall, and the production staff a relatively short window of time (as blockbusters go) to get Captain Jack Sparrow’s fourth voyage underway.

Residents of Baton Rouge, Louisiana had their hopes lifted–briefly–at news that Disney was considering filming portions of Pirates 4 at the Baton Rouge River Center, with shooting to begin in May and last through the summer. Alas for the Gulf Coast, Disney has elected to film those scenes in London instead. Chris Stelly, director of film and television with Louisiana Film and Television, said Disney leaders notified him on January 7th of their decision.

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD, Sleepy, and Emma for the Pirates 4 news. You can read much more on the Zone’s News & Views forum. –Part-Time Poet

The photo at left shows Johnny Depp smiling as he stands at the microphone in the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles tonight, acknowledging a standing ovation and accepting honors at the 2010 People’s Choice Awards. Johnny won in the category of “Favorite Movie Actor” for his role as John Dillinger in Public Enemies, but that wasn’t all the night had in store for us. Presenter Sacha Baron Cohen, who appeared with Johnny in Sweeney Todd, announced another honor: Johnny Depp had earned the most votes in the “People’s Choice Awards” over the past 10 years, which earned him the honor of being named “Favorite Actor of the Decade.” Wow! Congratulations, Johnny!

Sacha Baron Cohen introduced Johnny as “the greatest character actor of his generation, and the most popular movie star in the world.”

Johnny replied, “I’m going to have to thank Sacha Baron Cohen–the great Sacha Baron Cohen–for not totally decimating me here tonight. Thank you, Sacha.

“I’m deeply humbled by this great honor, which comes from you, the people, which means everything to me, and to us all,” Johnny continued. “Because the only reason any of us are up here is because of you. So thank you for that. It has been an amazing decade, an incredible ride, and I sincerely thank you all for bestowing upon me all your great treasures. Thank you, thank you so much. Good night.”

The People’s Choice Awards nominees and winners are determined by popular vote; more than 60 million votes were tallied this year.

To see a larger version of the photo of Johnny on stage, CLICK HERE, and to see a photo of Johnny holding the People’s Choice Award aloft, CLICK HERE. Thanks to FANtasticJD for the photos; you can see more at JustJared HERE.

Many thanks to all the Zone members who were watching streaming video and updating the News forum during the event. Thank you for capturing the excitement! –Part-Time Poet

The idyllic village of Drvengrad (“Timber Town”) in Mokra Gora, Serbia, is home to the Kustendorf International Film Festival, founded and organized by visionary director Emir Kusturica (Arizona Dream). This year’s festival runs from January 13-19 and will screen 28 films from 18 different countries. Johnny Depp will be honored with a special retrospective–called “The Retrospective of Greatness,” which must surely make him blush–that includes screenings of what the Kustendorf press release calls “three of his most remarkable movies.” Arizona Dream screens on Thursday, January 14th, and is followed by a workshop with Emir Kusturica and Johnny Depp; Edward Scissorhands screens on Saturday, January 16th; and Donnie Brasco screens on closing day, Tuesday, January 19th.

As part of the festival’s opening ceremony on January 13th, Johnny Depp will be presented with an award and a life-sized bust of Johnny (reportedly in character as Captain Jack Sparrow) will be unveiled in Drvengrad. Explains Kusturica, “Johnny Depp is my great friend. [. . .] As a welcome and gratitude for all his merits in the world of film, we will reveal his bust in Drvengrad.” The friends will be working together again when Johnny plays Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa in Kusturica’s upcoming The Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and The Woman With Six Fingers. Co-starring Salma Hayek, The Seven Friends of Pancho Villa is due to film in early 2011.

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD, dharma_bum, AnaMaria and Emma for news on the Kustendorf Film Festival and The Seven Friends of Pancho Villa. You can read more on the Zone’s News & Views forum. –Part-Time Poet

Happy New Year! The Johnny Depp Zone is celebrating the arrival of 2010 with an addition to our permanent photo galleries. We like to begin the new year with a collection of the previous year’s Pictures of the Week. During 2009, we were very fortunate to have many beautiful new photos of Johnny Depp from the Public Enemies promotion and the filming of The Rum Diary, as well as new photoshoots and many public appearances, including the Golden Globes, Comic Con, the Scream Awards, and the Museum of Modern Art gala tribute to Tim Burton. You can view the new Pictures of the Week 2009 gallery by clicking on the Gallery Showcase button above. Many thanks to all who contributed pictures to this gallery! –Part-Time Poet

Congratulations to Sandra Bullock and Johnny Depp, who were named top box office stars of 2009 by U. S. movie theater owners, according to the yearly survey by Quigley Publishing Company. The annual list of top money making stars is based on a poll of hundreds of theater executives. Sandra Bullock ranked first on the strength of her starring roles in the romantic comedy The Proposal and the recently-released drama The Blind Side. Johnny Depp ranked second on the basis of his performance in Public Enemies. Completing the top ten were Matt Damon, George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf and Denzel Washington.

Quigley has been compiling its list of top box office attractions since 1932, and says its list does not rank stars simply on box office receipts, but on drawing power–what theater owners say about who attracts audiences on their star power alone.

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

What a wonderful way to begin the new year . . . with a snippet of an interview with Johnny Depp about his upcoming role in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland! The Disney Channel ran a brief preview of Alice during its New Year’s Eve programming, and while it mainly featured scenes from the trailer, it did include the following question for JD and his reply:

Q: What is it about the story that appealed to you?

JOHNNY DEPP: Well, it’s a teenage Alice and she’s fallen down the rabbit hole yet again. I have the honor of playing the Mad Hatter. It is a gift for an actor and I consider myself very, very lucky to have been able to play the role. The relationship between Alice and the Hatter is as if they complete one another, like a brother and sister do, you know. He’s very protective of her, and she’s very protective of him. And it was really fun.

The Zone thanks Theresa for the interview transcript; you can see a video clip of the Disney Channel segment on the Zone’s News and Views forum. Thanks also to dramaqueen for the screencap of the Mad Hatter.

Alice in Wonderland arrives in movie theaters in North America on March 5, 2010–only about two months away, now. Happy New Year! –Part-Time Poet