Articles from August 2012



2012 Birthday Project update–water systems purchased with Zone donations delivered to Navajo families!

Wonderful news! This year’s Johnny Depp Zone Birthday Project raised $7,750 for Project Pueblo to help the charity provide water systems for families in the Navajo Nation in Arizona. Project Pueblo has been working with Forgotten People, a grassroots, community-based Navajo nonprofit organization, to help Navajo families living in the area known as the former Bennett Freeze, a 2 million acre region within the Navajo Indian reservation of 8000+ families where only 25% have adequate shelter and only 10% have running water. Now Project Pueblo and Forgotten People have delivered the water systems to their new owners, and they have been kind enough to share news and photos with us!

The Zone received the following message from Forgotten People: “Dear Johnny Depp Zoners, Thank you each and everyone of you and Johnny Depp for all your great work and compassion for water haulers in the Navajo Nation, AZ! We are the Forgotten People working with Project Pueblo to install safe drinking water systems. Please check out all the photos on Facebook. The supplies are coming in and we are getting them prepped to go onsite for Project Pueblo’s arrival on 9/9. You are all awesome! Wishing you many Blessings and our appreciation, Forgotten People.”

You can see photos of the systems being delivered on the Forgotten People Facebook page HERE. Photos of the seven recipients of Zone water systems are HERE — what a joy to see their beautiful faces and to know that they will now have running water in their homes.

Zoners are thrilled to see the Birthday Project donations being put to work in the Navajo Nation; you can follow all the exciting developments HERE. Many thanks to Sean Wycliffe and mangodroplet of Project Pueblo and to Forgotten People for sharing the news with us!

Project Pueblo’s work is ongoing — there are many more families who need help. You can contribute to Project Pueblo HERE.

THE LONE RANGER completes its location shooting in New Mexico

Is that Johnny Depp as Tonto waving goodbye to New Mexico? Not literally, but it could have been — this photo comes from location work with trains in New Mexico’s Cimarron Canyon State Park, some of the final footage shot there for Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger . (To see a larger version of the photo, CLICK HERE.) Super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed that production has wrapped in New Mexico and that filming is “almost done.” Here’s the latest message from Mr. Bruckheimer’s blog:

“Almost done with filming of The Lone Ranger. 125 days of shooting seemed to fly by. We dealt with winds up to 70 mph, rain, snow, and even wildfires but nothing has stopped us from filming this incredible movie.

“The cast has been absolutely amazing and we could not have asked for a better crew. Everyone has been extremely dedicated in making this film a major success. We have a few more filming days back in California and then post-production goes into high gear. Before we know it, it will be July 3rd, 2013 and we can’t wait to share this incredible film with everyone.”

And we can’t wait to see it, Mr. Bruckheimer!

The Zone thanks RumLover for sharing the Bruckheimer blog post and Bon Bon for the photo of Johnny. You can read much more about The Lone Ranger on the Zone’s News & Views forum; visit Jerry Bruckheimer’s blog to see beautiful spoiler-free photos of the locations.

Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski play guitar at New Mexico wrap party for THE LONE RANGER

As location filming winds down for The Lone Ranger, director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp, who plays Tonto in the film, jam on guitars at the New Mexico wrap party on August 25th. Both men began their careers as guitarists before turning to film:

The Zone thanks Pixie for sharing the video. Congratulations to the cast and crew of The Lone Ranger for their dedication and determination in overcoming all obstacles to bring this story to the screen. Well done!

BREAKING NEWS–Johnny Depp to appear at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival!

Happy news for Depp watchers — Johnny Depp will appear at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival in support of Amy Berg’s stunning documentary about the West Memphis Three, West of Memphis. West of Memphis will screen on Saturday, September 8 at 2:30 p.m. at the Ryerson Theatre as part of the Mavericks section of the festival; the screening will be followed by a live discussion of the case featuring the filmmakers and passionate supporters of the West Memphis Three. “There to help the filmmakers launch the film and participate in the press conference and Q&A will be Johnny Depp and Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines,” writes Mike Fleming of Deadline.com. “Both have been longtime supporters of a retrial for [Damien] Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr, who were convicted of triple homicide even though there was not a shred of physical evidence.”

The official press release from the Toronto Film Festival notes that Damien Echols and his wife Lorri Davis are among the producers of West of Memphis, along with Ken Kamins, Amy Berg, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and his wife Fran Walsh. Echols and Davis “met in 1996, while he was in prison and she was drawn to his case as a supporter. In this Mavericks event, we present West of Memphis followed by a live conversation with key people involved with both the case and the film, including Berg, Echols, Davis, and Johnny Depp, as well as Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks. Their determination is a case study in the power of hope.”

The Zone thanks Emma, Theresa, and FANtasticJD for breaking the news; you can read more about Johnny’s appearance at the Toronto Film Festival on the Zone’s News & Views forum. The press release is available HERE and the Mike Fleming article HERE.

Announcing 5 new additions to the Zone’s Interview Archive!

The Zone is happy to announce several new additions to the Zone’s Interview Archive!

The earliest of these articles, Barry Koltnow’s interview for the Orange County Register, “Johnny Depp now finds himself a Hollywood heavyweight,” comes from the Secret Window promotion in March 2004.

Anwar Brett of BBCOnline interviewed Johnny during the promotion for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005.

Jake Coyle of the Associated Press captured the hilarity of the Johnny Depp — Tim Burton traveling roadshow to promote Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in his December 2007 article, “Depp, Burton together again on Sweeney.”

The final two articles are from this year’s promotion for Dark Shadows: Reuben V. Nepales’s wide-ranging interview with Johnny for the Philippine National Inquirer, and Scott Bowles’s joint interview with Johnny and Tim for USA Today.

You can find all of these wonderful interviews HERE. Many thanks to Theresa and Emma for donating articles, and to Theresa for preparing the interviews for the Archive.

“Real trains and horses and gunslingers”–William Fitchner talks about filming THE LONE RANGER

In a recent interview with Buffalo TV station WBBZ, actor William Fitchner, who plays the villain Butch Cavendish in The Lone Ranger, spoke enthusiastically about the film. “It’s larger than some countries,” Fitchner said. “It’s really big! And it’s exciting, because Gore Verbinski, who’s directing the film, he set out to make the best Western ever made. He’s not shy about that — he really wants to. And I think he is. It’s live action,” Fitchner continued. “It’s not a big special-effects film at all. There’s real trains and horses and gunslingers . . . . I actually can twirl a gun and flip it out of my holster pretty cool right now,” he added with obvious pride.

Fitchner’s verdict on the film so far: “It’s great! Johnny Depp plays Tonto and Armie Hammer plays the Lone Ranger. I play the lead villain, Butch Cavendish.” The only downside to Fitchner’s role is “the two and a half hours of makeup every day — prosthetic makeup with a bent nose and everything, which is fun but, you know, taxing. But it’s great! It’s great!”

William Fichtner’s gunslinging comes to a theater near you on July 3, 2013, when The Lone Ranger opens in wide release. The Zone thanks Emma for sharing the interview; you can read more about The Lone Ranger on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Help wanted–THE LONE RANGER looking for extras in Taos, New Mexico area

If you’re currently residing in New Mexico and have acting ambitions, why not try to add The Lone Ranger to your resume? Extras Casting Director Elizabeth Gabel is “looking for talent” for the filming which is scheduled to begin on Monday, August 20th, in the Angel Fire/Taos area. “We don’t have a certain date, but it’s in that time-frame,” Ms. Gabel told the press. She is looking for men, women and children between about 9 and 70 years old to appear as extras. “I’ll probably need between 20 and 25 (extras),” she said.

If you’re in New Mexico and would like to appear as an extra in The Lone Ranger, send a recent photo, with no hats or sunglasses, along with your sizes to Gabel at elizabeth@egcasting.com. Ms. Gabel needs to know, for costuming reasons, the height and weight of everyone interested in being an extra. Men are asked to include their neck, sleeve, waist, hat and shoe sizes, and women should provide their bra, waist, hips and shoe sizes. Good luck!

The Zone thanks Emma for sharing the news; you can read more about The Lone Ranger on the Zone’s News and Views forum.

Hi-yo, Silver! THE LONE RANGER prepares to film in New Mexico

Set-building for the Jerry Bruckheimer/Gore Verbinski update of The Lone Ranger, starring Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the Ranger, is currently underway in New Mexico, and the production will be filming in the state’s spectacularly beautiful high country until the end of August. Public access to Cimarron Canyon State Park will be restricted from August 20 through August 30 to accommodate location shooting there. Cimarron Canyon State Park is approximately three miles east of Eagle Nest, New Mexico.

The Zone thanks Emma for the location update; you can read more about The Lone Ranger on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Johnny Depp joins Aerosmith onstage at the Hollywood Bowl! New photos!

More of Johnny Depp’s rock dreams came true last night in Los Angeles, as he joined Aerosmith onstage at the Hollywood Bowl to play guitar on the band’s final encore, “Train Kept A-Rollin’.” The legendary rockers did the storied venue proud, with a set that included their classics, great covers, and new material from their upcoming album Music From Another Dimension, scheduled for release on November 6. Reviews have been ecstatic. Calling Johnny’s appearance “a Hollywood ending to a rollicking night of rock ‘n’ roll,” the Hollywood Reporter’s Erik Pedersen commented, “This band ain’t dead — not by a longshot. With [Steven] Tyler (apparently) fully committed” — Tyler recently announced his retirement from the American Idol judges’ panel — “Aerosmith should be able to continue to cement its legacy as one of rock’s true greats. It did this night.”

The Hollywood Reporter review is available HERE and also includes a video clip of Johnny’s performance.

After the concert, Johnny attended the afterparty at the Pink Taco and cheerfully signed autographs for waiting fans. To see a larger version of the photo above, CLICK HERE; other photos of Johnny post-concert are available HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The Zone thanks Aida of johnnydepp.ru for sharing the photos, and Emma and FantasticJD for news. You can read more about Johnny’s appearance with Aerosmith at the Hollywood Bowl on the Zone’s News & Views forum and Pit General Discussion forum.

DARK SHADOWS comes to DVD and Blu-ray on October 2nd!

Mark your calendars — Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, starring Johnny Depp as vampire Barnabas Collins, will be available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital Download on October 2 from Warner Home Entertainment Group. The update of the 1960s cult TV classic describes what happens when Barnabas emerges from two centuries in a coffin to find that the Collins family business is near ruin, his family is in desperate straits, and his nemesis, the witch Angelique, still holds a grudge. The lively cast also features Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Bella Heathcote, Chloë Grace Moretz, Johnny Lee Miller, Gully McGrath and Jackie Earle Haley.

Dark Shadows will be available on Blu-ray Combo Pack for $35.99 and on single disc DVD for $28.99; pre-order prices on Amazon are $24.99 for Blu-ray and $17.99 for DVD. The Blu-ray Combo Pack features a hi-definition and standard definition copy of the film and UltraViolet; and the single disc DVD features a standard definition copy of the film and UltraViolet. UltraViolet allows consumers to download and instantly stream the standard definition theatrical version of the film to a wide range of devices including computers and compatible tablets, smartphones, game consoles, Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players.

The Zone thanks Theresa for sharing the news; you can read more about the Dark Shadows Blu-ray and DVD release on the Zone’s News & Views forum.