Jerry Bruckheimer receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame–Johnny Depp’s speech honors his “dear friend and trusted comrade”

The fan shouting “Attaboy, Jerry!” captured the can-do spirit of Jerry Bruckheimer as the intrepid producer received a long-overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. Mr. Bruckheimer was lauded on his special day by the Chairman of the Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger, and the actor who sailed Mr. Bruckheimer’s Black Pearl into cinematic history, Johnny Depp. Here’s what Johnny had to say:

“Hi. (unfolding a piece of paper) So I’m going to read this thing because if I spoke it . . . (a woman interrupts, shouting ‘I love you,’ and Johnny replies, ‘Thank you. I love you, too.’) because I can’t speak in public. But let’s forget that for now. I can read in public.

“These days, the word ‘legend’ gets bandied around all too easily . . . but not here, and not today. My path was fortunate — very fortunate — enough to collide with this man some years ago, and certainly since my collaboration with Jerry, my life has never been the same. And probably won’t be, for a while, anyway. My path was . . . I thought it was a kind of quiet little path. Jerry snatched me up, and Jerry’s path is like eight superhighways stacked up to the sky, hurtling in every direction, toward that infinite horizon. He’s — well, he’s bigger than life. He’s Jerry Bruckheimer.

“Over the years of working together, Jerry’s become a dear friend, certainly, and a trusted comrade in battle. There are few people I would rather have in my corner than this man right here . . . and he’s been in my corner. There have been times in the past when I worked with Jerry where he had my back, every single time, when there were people pointing things at my back that wanted to hurt me — at least fire me. And Jerry saved me from that, as did Gore Verbinski.

“But without Jerry, there would be no Pirates, there would be no Captain Jack, there would be no revived Lone Ranger, there would be no reinvigorated Tonto. So I have a lot to thank him for. The man’s a legend to me. He’s a legend to us all — hence this congregation to celebrate him for his long-deserved star on the Walk of Fame. I, for one, could not be more honored to be here, and I’m humbled to be here. Few moments have really been merited more than this one, so let’s all celebrate the legend that is Jerry Bruckheimer.”

Johnny finished with a salute to Pirates, intoning “Where is the bloody rum? Why is the rum gone?” in his Captain Jack Sparrow voice, much to the crowd’s delight.

Photos from the ceremony are available HERE — and yes, that is Tom Cruise (who starred in Mr. Bruckheimer’s Top Gun) in a couple of the pictures.

The Zone thanks emma for sharing video of the ceremony, and bascan333 for sharing pictures. You can read more about the Walk of Fame ceremony on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Congratulations to Jerry Bruckheimer for receiving a star on the Walk of Fame. We hope it delights you the way your films have delighted us.

New interview with Johnny Depp: “Being adopted into the Comanche Nation . . . was one of the most incredible things that’s ever happened to me”

The photo at left shows Johnny Depp walking the red carpet for The Lone Ranger premiere in Lawton, Oklahoma on June 21 arm-in-arm with LaDonna Harris, his Comanche mother. In a recent video interview with Jake Hamilton of Jake’s Takes, Johnny addressed what it meant to him to be adopted into the Comanche Nation last year. “I know it was very important for you to get the approval and the blessing of the Native American community,” the interviewer said. “[. . .] I was wondering, of all the blessings you’ve gotten in your career, which one was most important for you to actually go and seek, and get?”

Johnny replied, “I’ve got to say, you know, the things that have happened to me in my life . . . how lucky I’ve been to become friends with the likes of Hunter S. Thompson, Marlon Brando, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney — heroes who’ve been great mentors and great examples. When I was invited to be adopted into the Comanche Nation by LaDonna Harris, who’s a wonderful woman and she’s my Comanche mother — that was, aside from having kids, that was one of the most incredible things that has ever happened to me.”

Johnny’s trip to Lawton on Friday was his second in the last nine months; Rolling Stone describes his previous visit, for the Comanche Nation fair in September 2012: “A couple of months after his adoption, Depp made an unpublicized appearance at the Comanche Nation fair in Oklahoma, riding in a parade, plunging into crowds of children, visiting an old burial ground, where he wept. They gave him moccasins, and the otter-skin headdress of a tribal leader; he gave them one of his paintings. At the end of the day, Depp told Harris that he had never felt so accepted anywhere in his life.”

Pictures from The Lone Ranger premiere in Lawton are available HERE.

The Zone thanks emma for sharing the pictures, the Rolling Stone article, and the Jake’s Takes interview. More pictures from the event are available at JustJared. The full Jake’s Takes interview from The Lone Ranger press junket, including conversations with Johnny and Armie Hammer, is available HERE. You can read more about Johnny’s visit to Lawton on the Zone’s News & Views forum.