Johnny Depp on cover of July VANITY FAIR–new interview and photos! Hurray!

Calendar June 1, 2009 | Posted by Part-Time Poet

That’s Johnny Depp gracing the cover of the July issue of Vanity Fair in a brand-new portrait by famed photographer Francois Marie Banier. Inside the magazine are more great new photos by Banier and what promises to be a fascinating profile by Vanity Fair contributing editor Douglas Brinkley, a long-time friend of the late Hunter S. Thompson. Brinkley scores a coup by getting a guided tour of Johnny’s private island in the Bahamas, Little Hall’s Pond Cay . . . 45 acres of tropical paradise. Johnny tells the writer that the island “is my decompression. It’s my way of trying to return to normalcy. . . . Escapism is survival to me.”

Brinkley reveals that the six different beaches on Little Hall’s Pond Cay are “named after Depp’s partner, Vanessa Paradis, and their children, Lily Rose and Jack, as well as his mentors Hunter S. Thompson and Marlon Brando–each with a personality and cove of its own, and one patch of water deemed ‘Heath’s Place’ after the late actor Heath Ledger. There are several small residences, all solar-powered, and transportation consists of a fleet of green golf carts.”

Johnny’s love of his island home is obvious: “I don’t think I’d ever seen any place so pure and beautiful,” he tells Brinkley. “You can feel your pulse rate drop about 20 beats. It’s instant freedom. And that rare beast–simplicity–can be had. And a little morsel of anonymity. . . . Whenever I was getting frustrated about being ‘novelty boy’ and making movies, I told myself, Calm down. I can come down here and disappear. I spent the Christmas season here with Vanessa and the kids. You can feed hot dogs to the nurse sharks in the Exumas,” Johnny adds, “but it’s best to not swim when doing it.”

The Zone thanks Emma for breaking the news; you can read more about the Vanity Fair article on the Zone’s News & Views forum. The July issue of Vanity Fair will be available in New York and Los Angeles on June 3 (lucky them!) and across the U.S. on June 9. To see a larger version of the Banier cover shot, CLICK HERE. –Part-Time Poet

Category Categories: Uncategorized