Articles from October 2012



“It was the most magical experience” — Armie Hammer talks about THE LONE RANGER

While attending the Artios Awards in Beverly Hills on October 29th, Armie Hammer spoke enthusiastically about his recent experience filming The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp. Armie joked with E!Online’s Brett Malec, telling the reporter, “I braided his hair! [. . .] That was so nice. We would stay up talking till the sunrise. It was the most magical experience.”

As to media speculation that Hammer’s Lone Ranger character is actually Christian Bale’s Dark Knight Batman transported to the Old West, Hammer laughed at the comparison. “They both definitely wear a mask,” Hammer conceded, but that’s all the characters have in common. “There’s no similarity in story, but in terms of a masked hero, a vigilante, those lines you can draw.”

The Zone thanks Theresa for sharing the Armie Hammer interview; you can read more about The Lone Ranger on the Zone’s News & Views forum. The E!Online article is available HERE.

Johnny Depp attends David Furnish’s birthday party in LA–new photos!

Johnny Depp donned a three-piece suit and a colorful scarf to attend Sir Elton John’s lavish 50th birthday party for his husband David Furnish at the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Sir Elton and David have a young son, Zachary, and Sir Elton has been celebrating his partner’s big birthday with a series of parties this week. You can see several photos of Johnny arriving at the Belasco HERE. The Zone thanks Evochka and Theresa for sharing the photos; you can read more about the party on the Zone’s Pit General Discussion forum.

A new role for Johnny Depp? JD “in talks” to star in Wally Pfister’s TRANSCENDENCE

Surprise! The next film on Johnny Depp’s shooting schedule may be Transcendence, a present-day sci-fi romance to be directed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister. Alcon Entertainment announced today that Johnny is indeed “negotiating to star in Transcendence,” which they are packaging for an early 2013 shoot. The screenplay is by newcomer Jack Paglen. While Transcendence will be Pfister’s first directorial effort, his distinguished resume includes the camerawork for Memento, The Italian Job, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception, Moneyball, and The Dark Knight Rises. Many of those films were directed by Christopher Nolan; Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas are serving as executive producers of Transcendence.

Pfister has previously worked with Johnny Depp on the video for Sir Paul McCartney’s “My Valentine,” which was released last spring. Regarding Transcendence, Pfister said, “I’m thrilled and feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Johnny. He is a creative and intelligent artist whom I feel will bring great depth to the character and the overall narrative.”

The Hollywood Reporter offers some speculation on other casting: “Pfister has met with and likes Noomi Rapace (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows; Prometheus) as the film’s female lead and is considering James McAvoy and Tobey Maguire as possibilities for other male lead. Oscar winner Christoph Waltz has an offer for a supporting role.” That’s an exciting cast!

Principal photography on Transcendence is set to begin early next year, with Warner Bros. onboard as the film’s distributor.

The Zone thanks Theresa, humiliated grape, and emma for sharing news stories; you can read more about Wally Pfister’s Transcendence on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Johnny Depp to join Alice Cooper for Christmas Pudding benefit concert December 8th in Phoenix!

Johnny Depp will strap on a guitar and play for charity alongside Alice Cooper and his touring band at this year’s Christmas Pudding benefit concert in Phoenix, Arizona. The show, a fundraiser for Cooper’s Solid Rock Foundation, will take place on Saturday, Dec. 8, at Comerica Theatre in Phoenix. “Depp and Cooper’s band, which also features lead guitarist Orianthi, top a bill that also brings Don Felder of the Eagles, L.A. Guns and host John O’Hurley, this year’s host, to Phoenix for the annual Cooper variety show,” reports the Arizona Republic’s Ed Masley, who adds that “at least one other major act” should be added to the list of performers “before the week is out.”

Tickets for Christmas Pudding go on sale Monday, October 29th, at LiveNation.com, and will no doubt sell out quickly. Check Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Facebook page for more information and updates HERE.

Johnny has played guitar with Alice Cooper in the past– he joined Alice and his band at a concert at London’s legendary 100 Club on June 26, 2011, playing “School’s Out” and “I’m Eighteen.” You can see photos from that performance HERE. Cooper told the BBC, “I knew he played guitar, and I said, ‘We’re playing the 100 Club tomorrow night. Come up on stage and play with us, if you want to.’ I didn’t know he was that good of a lead player. He’s a really good lead player.” Johnny also performed with Alice Cooper and Aerosmith at the Dark Shadows afterparty last May.

The Zone thanks Theresa for breaking the news; you can read more about the Christmas Pudding benefit on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Announcing a new gallery for the Zone–THE LONE RANGER!

The Zone is happy to announce a new addition to our permanent collection of photo galleries — The Lone Ranger! True, there aren’t many official photos available yet, but Theresa kindly made some screencaps from the high-definition version of the trailer, so while you are waiting for The Lone Ranger to arrive in theaters next July, you can enjoy watching the slideshow. Return to the thrilling days of yesteryear with Tonto and the Lone Ranger by clicking on the Photo Galleries button above, choosing the By Film section, and scrolling down to Tonto’s picture. Or you could simply CLICK HERE. Have fun!

Exciting news! Johnny Depp to launch Infinitum Nihil book imprint for HarperCollins

Johnny Depp loves a good book, as our ONBC members can attest, and now he is going to help launch them into the world via his own publishing imprint with HarperCollins. Like Johnny’s film production company, his book imprint will be called Infinitum Nihil, and Johnny promises that its titles will be “authentic, outspoken, and visionary.” In January 2013, Infinitum Nihil will proudly publish folk singer Woody Guthrie’s novel, House of Earth, a story about ordinary people battling banks and corporate interests in the Texas Panhandle. Guthrie finished the novel in 1947 but never published it. An essay co-written by Johnny and historian Douglas Brinkley will introduce the novel, which is being released with the help of Guthrie’s daughter Nora and the Woody Guthrie Foundation.

Another fascinating Infinitum Nihil title, scheduled to be released in 2015, will be The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan by Douglas Brinkley. “Johnny and I thought the Dylan book was the ideal way to inaugurate the Infinitum Nihil series,” Brinkley told USA Today. “Bob [Dylan] has been very warm and forthcoming with us. His music has inspired us both deeply since we were teenagers.” Brinkley has previously written a profile of Dylan for Rolling Stone.

Johnny Depp released the following statement through HarperCollins about his new venture: “I pledge, on behalf of Infinitum Nihil, that we will do our best to deliver publications worthy of peoples’ time, of peoples’ concern, publications that might ordinarily never have breached the parapet. For this dream realized, we would like to salute HarperCollins for their faith in us and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship together.”

Congratulations, Johnny! We look forward to reading Infinitum Nihil books — we’re clearing some space on our bookshelves already.

The Zone thanks Theresa for breaking the news; you can read more on the Zone’s News & Views forum. The USA Today article is available HERE.

Patti Smith’s Los Angeles concert features Johnny Depp on guitar

Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame member, National Book Award winner, and 21st-century Renaissance woman Patti Smith took the stage at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles for a two-hour concert on Friday with a rocking band that included a couple of famous guest artists: Johnny Depp on guitar and Flea, of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, on bass. Smith’s set list mixed classics with new songs from her recently released album Banga; several audience-shot videos with surprisingly good audio are available on You Tube. Crowd reaction was euphoric; a fine review from the Los Angeles Times is available HERE. You can see photos of Johnny on stage with Patti Smith HERE.

The Zone thanks Evochka for breaking the news and sharing pictures, songbird for the review from the Los Angeles Times, and Theresa for making the screencaps that are included in our gallery. You can read more about the concert on the Zone’s News & Views forum and Pit General Discussion forum.

Ralph Steadman praises Johnny Depp: “One of the easiest people to talk to you could ever imagine”

The documentary on Ralph Steadman’s life and work, For No Good Reason, premiered at the BFI London Film Festival today, and Mr. Steadman himself spoke before the screening. Steadman reminisced about time he had spent at Hunter S. Thompson’s farm in Colorado in the 1990s; this was when he first met Johnny Depp. “He’s a lovely fellow,” Steadman said of Johnny. “He used to turn up to see Hunter as I turned up, but I would turn up to see Hunter because we were working together doing gonzo journalism. How easy to talk to I found Johnny Depp, one of the easiest people to talk to you could ever imagine. He’s so sweet and just so nice and easy going, and Hunter was always so gruff.”

Charlie Paul, the director of For No Good Reason, includes footage of Johnny and Ralph in the documentary. How did he feel approaching an A-list actor to appear in his film? “At first it was quite daunting but Johnny is such a lovely man and such a great fan of Ralph’s and he’s so relaxed over at Ralph’s house that it was very easy and very natural,” Paul told the audience. You can see a photo of Johnny and Ralph Steadman HERE.

At this time, For No Good Reason is not scheduled to be shown in the U.S., but hopefully that will change. The Zone thanks Theresa for sharing the interview and Zone member Pixie for sharing her personal experience at the screening; you can read more about For No Good Reason on the Zone’s News & Views forum..

Johnny Depp’s Infinitum Nihil joins partners to develop a TV series based on Shakespeare’s plays

Johnny Depp’s Infinitum Nihil continues to expand its horizons into television production: Deadline.com reports today that Infinitum Nihil “has partnered with leading Scandinavian producer Yellow Bird Productions, which is behind the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo films, and Emmy-winning writer-producer Tom Fontana for a scripted series based on the plays of William Shakespeare. Young writer Randall Fontana (no relation to Tom Fontana) will write the project, described as a modern take on the plays of The Bard, building on the existing characters and plots from several of his most notable plays.”

The Shakespeare series marks Infinitum Nihil’s second foray into television; Infinitum, headed by Johnny’s sister Christi Dembrowski, and Graham King’s GK TV are already developing a period drama for Lifetime about The Hollywood Reporter founder William Wilkerson. Infinitum Nihil’s feature film credits include The Rum Diary, Hugo, Dark Shadows, and the currently-in-production The Lone Ranger.

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for sharing the exciting news; you can read more about Infinitum Nihil’s Shakespeare project on the Zone’s News & Views forum. The Deadline article is available HERE.

Hi-yo, Silver! Watch THE LONE RANGER trailer here!

Armie Hammer, the Lone Ranger himself, unveiled the first trailer for the film on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on October 2nd. Beautiful vistas and breathtaking action sequences suggest an epic, exciting story with strong characters. You can watch the trailer here:

The Lone Ranger is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Oscar-winner Gore Verbinski, with cinematography by Bojan Bazelli. The film stars Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as John Reid, the Lone Ranger, with Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Frain and James Badge Dale.

The Zone thanks Theresa for sharing the trailer; you can read much more about The Lone Ranger on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

The Lone Ranger will ride into theaters on July 3, 2013.

Immerse yourself in DARK SHADOWS–Tim Burton’s film is out on Blu-ray and DVD today!

Tim Burton’s new version of Dark Shadows, starring Johnny Depp as vampire Barnabas Collins, is now available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital Download! Catch those new-release discounts by visiting your favorite retailer or ordering online today. Amazon.com’s day-of-release price is $22.99 for the Blu-ray Combo Pack and $14.96 for the single disc DVD, but this deal won’t last! 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. A full listing of the special features available on the different versions of Dark Shadows is available HERE.

Reinventing THE LONE RANGER–a sneak peek at Gore Verbinski’s epic Western!

Got swagger? New Peter Mountain photographs from the set of Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger show the Ranger and Tonto as larger-than-life heroic figures in a landscape that could have been painted by Frederic Remington: new photos are available HERE. Significantly, the characters are also presented as equals — no more “sidekick” role for the Native American character Tonto, who is now described as “a Comanche shaman.” Armie Hammer, who plays the masked Ranger, told USA Today’s Bryan Alexander, “This [story] is all about two guys who are on the same path, but who have come from two very different worlds.”

This version of The Lone Ranger, which just wrapped its seven-month shoot, is narrated by Tonto. “The challenge was to turn the story on its head and reinvent it,” explained Verbinski. “Everyone has heard about the Lone Ranger, but not from the only other who was there — Tonto.” But the central elements of the Lone Ranger mythology are still present, including the black mask, the lawman’s signature silver bullets, and the famous cry of “Hi-yo, Silver!”

“Right before the horse threw its legs up in that scene, the thought went through my head, ‘I’m really about to yell this right now,'” Hammer told USA Today. “As the horse landed, the whole crew roared. Johnny told me, ‘That was blankety-blank awesome.'”

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for sharing the USA Today story; thanks to her, my fave, and humilatedgrape for photographs. The USA Today article is available HERE. You can read much more about The Lone Ranger on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

TV ALERT–THE LONE RANGER trailer premieres on THE TONIGHT SHOW with Jay Leno tomorrow!

Set your DVR or make plans to watch The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tuesday night, October 2nd, because Armie Hammer — the Lone Ranger himself — is one of Jay’s scheduled guests. Armie will be following Carol Burnett, and he will be showing a Lone Ranger trailer. Hi-yo, Silver! The Tonight Show airs at 11:35 p.m. on NBC.

The photo above is one of the newly released stills from the film; director Gore Verbinski told USA Today that image captures the moment when “the Lone Ranger and Tonto head out on their journey together. [. . .]This is the first time they make a decision to work as a team.” To see a larger version of The Lone Ranger and Tonto in the iconic landscape of Monument Valley, CLICK HERE.

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for breaking the news and sharing the photo. You can read much more about The Lone Ranger on the Zone’s News & Views forum.