Johnny Depp will join the ranks of Hollywood’s greatest stars by placing his footprints and handprint in the cement of the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The ceremony will take place on Friday, September 16th, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Note that the time is slightly earlier than the first publicity releases stated; Deppheads who want to see the ceremony live should plan on getting there very early! Deppheads who–alas–cannot get to Hollywood to celebrate with Johnny can watch the ceremony via webcam from the Chinese Theatre forecourt here on the Zone. The Zone thanks emma for breaking the story, and Gypsylee for contacting the staff of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to confirm the event and the time. You can read all the details on our News & Views forum. Congratulations to Johnny on this great honor!

Johnny Depp thrilled a crowd of well-wishers, including several members of the Zone, when he arrived at the Toronto Film Festival screening of Tim Burton’s CORPSE BRIDE last night. Johnny wore a gray suit, black shirt, and his signature two-toned shoes (in black-and-white this time). To see a photo of Johnny as he stepped onto the red carpet at Elgin Theatre, click HERE, and for a larger version of the photo at the left, click HERE. Many thanks to bonnie for both photos–she has posted many more great pictures from Toronto on our Recent Pics forum. Thanks also to AnaMaria, JD101, and DarkAngel for posting pictures from last night’s premiere and afterparty.

Special Zone thanks also to dukie,laura(tco), and Intodadepps for their first-person accounts of the premiere; you can read about their adventures, and those of their friends and fellow Deppheads, on the Porch. We can safely say it was a truly inspirational evening!

Wearing a blue shirt and jeans, a relaxed Johnny Depp appeared at the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto this morning, September 10th, for a press conference in support of Tim Burton’s CORPSE BRIDE, which has its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival tonight. Johnny was joined on the panel by Tim, Helena Bonham-Carter (who voices the Corpse Bride), composer Danny Elfman, and Mike Johnson, the film’s co-director. Depp biographer Christopher Heard, who attended the press conference, was the latest in a string of long-time Depp watchers to remark about the change in Johnny’s demeanor, now that he’s a happy man. In an article for The Gate, Heard writes:

“[A]s an observation made by someone who has spent a bit of time on and off with Johnny Depp since 1998, I can say that I have never seen him so relaxed at a press event (something he absolutely loathes participating in). I have been with Mr. Depp in formal interview setting, on movie sets, having coffee, and at press conferences (most of it for the book I did on Depp and his films called DEPP). I have found that he is an introverted person off-camera (unless you start talking about books, he loves talking about books) but today, with actor Helena Bonham Carter on one flank and Mike Johnson on his other flank (with Tim Burton and Danny Elfman also on the panel) Depp looked calm and relaxed [. . .].”

Heard continues, “Depp joked with Helena Bonham Carter and was tripped into near hysterical laughter every time his friend Tim Burton cracked a joke. Depp was clearly uncomfortable by some of the questions (especially the one about his participation in the rather eccentric send-off he planned and carried out for his friend, the late Hunter S. Thompson) and clearly bemused and bewildered by others (one woman asked him if his children were afraid of him!) but through it all he remained respectful and jovial.” The Zone thanks emma for posting Heard’s article on the News & Views forum; you can read the full story HERE.

If you would like to see the 45-minute press conference in its entirety, video links have been posted on the News & Views forum by Charly and Silvia. Many thanks to them for their work!

Fantastic photos from the press conference are pouring into the Zone–we thank Dark Angel, Gilbert’s Girl, AnaMaria, a-pirate’s-life-for-me, and DeepinDepp for posting photos on the Recent Pics board. A special bouquet of lilies and roses for bonnie, who is doing her usual fabulous job presenting very large, high resolution pictures on Recent Pics. For a larger version of our photo at the left, click HERE, and for a picture of Johnny with Helena Bonham Carter, click HERE.

Italian newspapers reported today that Johnny Depp will NOT be attending this year’s Venice film festival, even though Tim Burton’s CORPSE BRIDE will premiere there this evening, September 7th. Johnny has just completed a whirlwind trip to Japan during which he attended the Japanese premiere of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. Entertainment news reports do strongly suggest that Johnny will attend this year’s Toronto Film Festival to promote CORPSE BRIDE. Look for a press day on September 9th, followed by the screening of CORPSE BRIDE at The Elgin Winter Theatre (across from the Eaton Centre) at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 10th. The celebrity news program EXTRA (not coincidentally owned by Warner Bros., distributor of CORPSE BRIDE) is already advertising that they will have footage of Johnny in Toronto on their show next week. We hope their sources are accurate!

The Zone thanks emma, Donna B., and lizbet for posting information about the film festivals. We have our fingers crossed for Johnny’s many Canadian fans, that their patience will be rewarded.

Wearing a familiar brown jacket, gray slacks and gray hat, Johnny Depp arrived at the Japanese premiere of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY today and sent a huge crowd of fans into ecstasy. Reacting to his jubilant reception in Tokyo, Johnny told the Japanese press, “I will try to get back more often than every 10 years.” His only previous visit to Japan was in 1995 to promote DEAD MAN. The Zone thanks emma for the news reports, and AnaMaria, bonnie and Dark Angel for the photographs on our Recent Pics forum. To see a larger version of the picture at left, click HERE; to see a charming photo of Johnny greeting a young Japanese fan, click HERE. Thanks to AnaMaria for both photos!

Johnny Depp greeted the Japanese press corps today to promote his latest film, Tim Burton’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. He looked charming in ripped jeans with a flannel shirt knotted around his waist, a chocolate brown striped polo shirt, his favorite brown jacket, a taupe fedora, and tortoise-shell glasses. Director Tim Burton also joined the chocolate theme, eschewing his customary black for a chocolate brown shirt and slacks–for visual evidence, click HERE.

This is Johnny’s second visit to Japan; the first was ten years ago, to promote DEAD MAN. Excitement among Japanese fans is at a fever pitch–more than 2,000 Deppheads greeted Johnny at Narita Airport yesterday, although he arrived by private jet and the time of his arrival was not announced in the media. Johnny “seemed taken by surprise by the size of the crowd,” notes the wire service report. Johnny and Tim will attend the Japanese premiere of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY on Monday, September 5th. No doubt another huge throng of fans will turn out to see them walk the red carpet.

The Zone thanks emma for posting the wire service story; you can read the full report on our News & Views forum. We thank bonnie and Ana Maria for the press conference photographs; you can see a larger version of our thumbnail HERE. To view other new pictures from the press conference, visit the Zone’s Recent Pics forum.

An enormous and very excited crowd of Japanese fans greeted Johnny Depp as he arrived in Tokyo today; fans were celebrating his return to Japan after a ten-year absence. Johnny and Tim Burton will have a press conference tomorrow to promote CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, and will walk the red carpet for the Japanese premiere of CATCF on September 5th. The photo at left shows Johnny entering the airport concourse and waving to fans; to see a larger version, click HERE. The Zone thanks Gilbert’s Girl for breaking the news of Johnny’s arrival, emma for the photo of Johnny, and deppink for this amazing shot of the airport CROWD. We expect plenty of news stories and new photos to arrive this weekend–check the News & Views forum and Recent Pics regularly for updates.

On September 3rd, Tim Burton’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, passed the $200 million mark in North American ticket sales, making it the most commercially successful Burton-Depp film ever. The previous Burton-Depp box office champ, 1999’s SLEEPY HOLLOW, grossed slightly over $100 million domestically. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is currently the fourth highest-grossing film of 2005, behind STAR WARS EPISODE 3: REVENGE OF THE SITH; WAR OF THE WORLDS; and BATMAN BEGINS.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is also doing very well in overseas markets, where ticket sales now total $141 million, bringing the film’s total gross to more than $342 million so far. The Zone thanks sandstorm and emma for the box office news. Congratulations to Johnny, Tim, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, and the entire cast and crew of CATCF on their outstanding achievement!