Articles from February 2010



BREAKING NEWS–Johnny Depp arrives in Venice to film THE TOURIST

One of the world’s loveliest cities got even more beautiful on Saturday (February 27) when Johnny Depp arrived in Venice to begin filming The Tourist. A romantic thriller in the Hitchcock mode, The Tourist is based on the 2005 French film Anthony Zimmer and co-stars Angelina Jolie. Oscar-winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is directing. Shooting is expected to continue in Venice for several weeks, no doubt causing paparazzi to jump for joy.

Johnny Depp joked about the media frenzy around The Tourist when he spoke to reporters during the promotion for Alice in Wonderland. “I feel I’m not getting photographed by the paparazzi enough, so I figure I’ll go and hang out in Venice with Brad and Angelina,” he quipped. Of his new co-star, Johnny said graciously, “I’d never met Angelina before but I found her to be a real treat, I mean a real doll. She’s a nice woman, serious about what she does and loves her man and loves her kids. I was very impressed.”

The Zone thanks Emma for the interview with Johnny; you can read more about The Tourist on the Zone’s News & View forum.

“Keith has been unbelievably generous with his time”–Johnny Depp talks about his Keith Richards documentary

You can always count on Ruben V. Nepales, the Los Angeles correspondent for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, to ask intriguing questions when he gets the chance to interview Johnny Depp. Many thanks to Mr. Nepales for asking Johnny to explain the genesis of his documentary on Keith Richards, Happy. “The Keith Richards documentary came about in a very strange way,” Johnny said. “Keith and I have spent a lot of time together over the years, whenever he’s off the road and I’m off a film. We would usually end up in the living room of his hotel suite or my house or his place in New York. We would talk and I get all these incredible stories that just haven’t made it out there in the world. I suggested to him that maybe we could try something like that on film and he went, ‘Yeah.’ For a number of years, he was like, ‘Yeah, we’ll see.’ Finally, bless him, he deigned to give it a shot so it’s something that we’re doing together.”

Johnny, Keith Richards, Patti Smith and other special guests were spotted filming at the Los Angeles Theater at the end of January. “Keith has been unbelievably generous with his time,” Johnny said. “We shot for about five days which I consider the first installment of the piece.” And how does he feel about directing again? Typically modest, Johnny replied, “The only reason why I’m doing it is because I wanted to capture stuff. There’s no directing really.”

What a fascinating project. We can’t wait to see this one!

Many thanks to Theresa for sharing the Nepales interview. You can read a lively discussion of it on the Zone’s News & Views forum. To read the entire interview, CLICK HERE.

Johnny Depp plays guitar on charity single for Haiti: “I Put a Spell on You”

Here’s proof that doing good for others can be great fun! Johnny Depp plays slide guitar on an all-star version of the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins 1956 classic “I Put a Spell on You,” by Shane MacGowan and Friends, recorded to benefit victims of the Haiti earthquake. The charity single is the brainchild of former Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan and his girlfriend, writer Victoria Clarke.

Joining MacGowan on vocals are Nick Cave, Primal Scream singer Bobby Gillespie, the Sex Pistols’ Glen Matlock, The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, Paloma Faith, and Eliza Doolittle. Playing guitar on the track are James Walbourne, The Clash’s Mick Jones and Johnny Depp, who recorded his parts in LA.

Cait O’Riordan plays bass, Carwyn Ellis plays Hammond organ and piano, Rob Walbourne handles the drums, and (we kid you not) Mick Jones “plays” the fire hydrant.

All proceeds from the track, being released March 8, will go to the Irish-based charity Concern Worldwide’s Haitian relief efforts. The charity has been at work in Haiti for 16 years. “I Put a Spell on You” can be preordered from the Concern website HERE. Right now it can be pre-ordered in pounds sterling and euros, with other international currencies to be added soon.

The Zone thanks Theresa, Emma, RamblinRebel, FANtasticJD, Gilbert’s Girl, AnaMaria, and Madscntst at JDRocks for sharing news on this wonderful project. Buy a download and help Haiti!

TV ALERT–Johnny Depp appears on CBS 48 HOURS MYSTERY tonight

Johnny Depp will appear on the CBS prime-time program 48 Hours Mystery on Saturday, February 27th, but it has nothing to do with his role as the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. According to a preview in Entertainment Weekly, Johnny will be speaking out in defense of the West Memphis Three, who as teenagers were found guilty of the 1993 murder of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. This is a highly controversial case which has received a lot of media attention as a possible miscarriage of justice. “Since their case was chronicled in the acclaimed 1996 documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, Damien Echols, who is on death row, and Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, who received life sentences, have drawn support from a variety of pop culture figures, including Eddie Vedder, the Dixie Chicks, Henry Rollins, Tom Waits, and Winona Ryder, who argue that they were wrongly convicted of the brutal killings largely because, in their conservative community, their goth looks and taste for heavy-metal music stoked irrational fears of satan-worshipping teens and made them easy fall guys,” says EW’s Josh Rottenberg. Johnny is among those who believe the West Memphis Three were wrongfully convicted: “There’s not a shred of evidence. I think the most courageous action that the state could now take would be to admit that they were wrong, admit they made mistakes, and correct these errors.”

The Zone thanks Chocolat for sharing the news.

Adapting Lewis Carroll: USA TODAY interviews Tim Burton and ALICE IN WONDERLAND screenwriter Linda Woolverton

Adapting Lewis Carroll’s Alice stories for the screen was a challenge, director Tim Burton told USA Today’s Susan Wloszczyna, because the “iconic characters” are stranded in a series of episodes that have no “narrative drive.” Says Burton, “Every version I’ve seen falls into the same category: A precocious girl meets a bunch of weirdos.” What tempted the director to film Carroll’s fantasy was the script by Linda Woolverton, author of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. “Her whole point was to focus and frame it, to explore what Alice is about. It didn’t need more bells and whistles. It needed grounding.”

While Woolverton is a great admirer of Lewis Carroll–“the characters are remarkable and unforgettable”–she spotted the lack of a dramatic arc in the stories: “Alice is a girl who doesn’t change. There is no real jeopardy. There is no emotion, really.” Woolverton’s version takes Alice back to Wonderland as a 19-year-old girl fleeing from an unwanted engagement. She finds the kingdom in turmoil, terrorized by the capricious and autocratic Red Queen. Says Wloszczyna, “It gave the usually passive Alice a chance to not only save the day but also to determine her own destiny. The girl-powered underpinnings were not unlike those the writer gave to Belle, the bookworm heroine of Beauty and the Beast and liberator of future Disney fairy-tale females.”

When Woolverton learned that her script would be directed by Tim Burton, she told USA Today that she did “that happy dance” — more precisely, a “futterwacken,” described as “a sort of herky-jerky jig with a few hip-hop moves that she invented for the film.” The Mad Hatter does a memorable futterwacken in Alice in Wonderland; when Sky News asked Johnny Depp about it, he replied: “Futterwacking is very dangerous and it should only be done once a month in the privacy of your own home with a doctor’s permission.”

You can read more of the USA Today feature on Alice in Wonderland on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter on the cover of the new ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY!

Entertainment Weekly celebrates the release of Alice in Wonderland by putting Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter on the cover of the March 5th issue, with the headline “Johnny Depp Goes Mad! From the Mad Hatter to Edward Scissorhands–Depp & Director Tim Burton on Their Greatest Creations.” Inside the issue is a nine-page feature by Josh Rottenberg that includes a lengthy interview with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, looking back on their seven film collaborations. A special bonus for Depp and Burton fans–this issue includes three additional cover shots from past films, and you don’t have to buy four separate copies to get all the pictures. Bravo! The four cover characters are THE MAD HATTER, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, ED WOOD, and WILLY WONKA. Here’s a section of the interview:

EW: When you did Pirates of the Caribbean, the executives at Disney famously panicked at first over how you were playing Jack Sparrow. Was there any concern this time about portraying the Mad Hatter as a sort of pale-skinned, green-eyed, orange-haired freak?

JOHNNY DEPP: When we first went in to do the camera tests, I was thinking, “They’re going to lose their minds.” But Tim fully supported it. It was a couple of solid hours in the makeup chair every day, but it really helped. You start to understand who the guy is through all that weird kind of Carrot Top Kabuki.

TIM BURTON: From Edward Scissorhands on, Johnny has always wanted to cover himself up and hide. [Laughs] I get it.

JOHNNY DEPP: I still do. Absolutely.

TIM BURTON: It’s fascinating to see Johnny work up to a character, though. In the past, we’ve done some studio read-throughs of the script and the executives will come up to me afterward, like, [in a nervous whisper] “He’s not going to do that in the movie, is he? [. . .] It’s funny, because the thing that worries people most is often the thing that makes it work.

EW: And to prove it, there are now people standing out on Hollywood Boulevard dressed as Jack Sparrow.

JOHNNY DEPP: I was driving down Hollywood Boulevard one day and stopped at a light, looked to my left, and saw Willy Wonka having a conversation with Jack Sparrow. It was so cool, man.

The Zone thanks Emma for the Entertainment Weekly article and FANtasticJD for the cover scans. You can read more on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Odeon reaches deal with Disney to screen ALICE IN WONDERLAND in its cinemas

Only a few hours before the Royal World Premiere of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland at the Odeon Leicester Square, the theater chain announced that it has reached an agreement with Disney to show the 3D film in Odeon cinemas. Earlier in the week, Odeon had declared that it would not screen Alice in the UK or Ireland to protest Disney’s plan to reduce the gap between the film’s cinema debut and DVD release to around three months rather than the usual 17 weeks. However, intense negotiations between Disney and Odeon paid off. A statement released on February 25th said, “Odeon is pleased to announce that it will now be showing Alice In Wonderland beginning March 5 in its cinemas in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria.”

Competitors Cineworld and Vue had previously struck deals with Disney and had announced their intention to screen Alice in their cinemas.

British moviegoers are the big winners here, since they will be able to see Alice in Wonderland as its creators wished it to be seen–in a cinema on a 3D screen. As Johnny Depp told the BBC at the Alice premiere, “What is most important, in all of this, is the people. The film is made for the people, and it’s not about my relationship with a corporation or Tim’s relationship with a corporation or anything else like that. It’s a film made for the people, and that’s why we’re all so happy it’s been resolved.”

The Zone thanks AnaMaria for the Odeon news release and Emma for the BBC interview; you can read much more about Alice in Wonderland on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

We have the evidence–Johnny Depp meets royalty at the ALICE IN WONDERLAND premiere

For all those who were unable to watch the green carpet premiere of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland live on the Zone, we offer a screencap of the memorable moment when Johnny Depp was greeted by His Royal Highness Prince Charles inside the Odeon Theatre. Although Johnny had told a reporter earlier in the week that he would probably be so nervous at the Royal Premiere that he would spend the evening “hiding in a broom closet,” he stood between co-stars Mia Wasikowska (Alice) and Helena Bonham Carter (the Red Queen) and, when his turn arrived, successfully exchanged several sentences with the Prince of Wales. To see a larger screencap of that moment, CLICK HERE, and to see a photo of Prince Charles shaking Johnny’s hand, CLICK HERE.

Proud mother Helena Bonham Carter pulled out her cell phone to snap pictures when, at the conclusion of the reception line, six-year-old Billy Ray Burton stepped forward to present the Duchess of Cornwall with an enormous bouquet of roses, a task the young man handled with considerable poise and grace. The royal couple did not merely make an appearance, but stayed to watch the screening of Alice in Wonderland.

The Zone thanks AnaMaria for sharing her screencap and Ustream for the live video feed. To see a photo of Johnny with his co-stars Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Mia Wasikowska, all looking fabulous, CLICK HERE; thanks to Alice Springs for the photo.

BREAKING NEWS–Johnny Depp arrives at Royal World Premiere of ALICE IN WONDERLAND in London

The photo at left shows Johnny Depp as he arrives at the Royal World Premiere of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland at the Odeon Leicester Square in London today. Johnny is wearing a tuxedo with a formal white shirt, but no tie; he wore a black overcoat while outdoors, due to the fierce cold rain that drenched Leicester Square. To see a larger version of the portrait of Johnny, CLICK HERE, and to see a full-length view of Johnny on the green (not red) carpet, CLICK HERE.

Despite the pouring rain, Johnny spent considerable time signing autographs for the fans standing at the barricades around Leicester Square. In an interview with Sky News before the premiere, he expressed his thanks to “all those people who so sweetly and bravely stayed out there in that weather” to support Alice in Wonderland. You can see Johnny signing autographs HERE. He then went inside the Odeon where the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall greeted the cast members, the film’s producers, and Disney executives. The Royal World Premiere of Alice in Wonderland is a benefit for The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts, an educational charity.

The Zone thanks Jennifer Chan at Ustream for the live link to the Alice in Wonderland premiere–we loved watching it! Many thanks to all the Zone members who shared their reactions and to AnaMaria and In-too-Depp for pictures.

Johnny Depp talks to the press about his next film, THE TOURIST

During the press conference for Alice in Wonderland on February 20th, Johnny Depp was asked a few questions about the next film on his schedule, The Tourist, in which he will star with Angelina Jolie. Due to inaccurate tabloid reports, some members of the press were under the mistaken impression that The Tourist was already underway. The film, an adaptation of the 2005 French thriller Anthony Zimmer, will be directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Shooting begins in Paris this week with Angelina; Johnny is scheduled to report later, after he finishes his promotional duties for Alice in Wonderland.

Q: Can you talk about The Tourist and what you enjoy about working with Angelina Jolie?

Johnny Depp: I haven’t done anything yet.

Q: When does that start shooting?

Johnny Depp: I think Tuesday.

Q: How do you think it’s going to go?

Johnny Depp: I think it will be swell.

Q: What was it that you liked about the project that made you want to sign on?

Johnny Depp: I liked the French film a lot. My friend played the part in that [Johnny is referring to his friend Yvan Attal, who directed Johnny in 2004’s Ils se marierent et eurent beaucoup des enfants] and I liked it and thought it might be interesting to explore this character. You never know what’s going to happen. I suspect there may be a few paparazzi in Venice.

To see a larger version of the photo of Johnny Depp at the Alice in Wonderland press conference, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks In-too-Depp for the photo, and Theresa, Joni, Serendipity, and FANtasticJD for sharing news.

Ian McShane in negotiations to join the cast of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 4: ON STRANGER TIDES

Golden Globe winner Ian McShane is in negotiations to join the cast of Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides. According to The Hollywood Reporter, McShane will play the villain of the tale, “the legendary pirate Blackbeard– whose real name was Edward Teach–who piloted the ship Queen Anne’s Revenge.” The role seems ideally suited for McShane, who won his Golden Globe (and received an Emmy nomination) for his gripping performance as the foul-mouthed brothel owner Al Swearengen in Deadwood. Last year, McShane was seen as King Silas Benjamin in the NBC series Kings.

McShane will join Johnny Depp (as Captain Jack Sparrow) and Penelope Cruz in On Stranger Tides, which is scheduled to shoot in Hawaii this summer. Rob Marshall will direct from a script by Pirates scribes Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio.

The Zone thanks Theresa for breaking the news. You can read much more about the next Pirates film on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton appear on ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT!

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton did a nearly five-minute interview with Entertainment Tonight’s Mary Hart, portions of which aired on Monday, February 22nd. (You can find the full interview on the ET website HERE.) Johnny and Tim were promoting their latest film together, Alice in Wonderland, coming to theaters March 5th. Here’s a portion of that interview:

Mary Hart: Was he [Johnny Depp] always your Mad Hatter?

Tim Burton: Yeah, well, after he lobbied for Alice, we went for the next logical character after that–

Johnny Depp: And I had to agree, it really is better than me playing Alice.

Tim Burton: From working with him for so many years, one thing I knew from the very beginning is that he goes for anything. He’s willing to try anything, and that’s very exciting. That’s what creation is all about [. . . .]

Mary Hart: The difference here is you’re acting on a green screen. So everyone was telling me [. . .] there’s nothing around. [. . .] So that does make the challenge an entirely different one for you actors.

Johnny Depp: I was in a slightly different situation with regards to that, only because, as the Mad Hatter, I took the green in as a friend, in a way. Being surrounded by all that green, which is totally surreal in the first place, but then having grown-ups walking around in green leotards with green masks on, so that they’re invisible during the filming process . . . I took it all in and I used it. Because it’s so ludicrous.

Tim Burton: It’s completely absurd. Luckily he got to use it for a character.

Johnny Depp: I liked it.

Tim Burton: The rest of us were tortured.

To see a screencap of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton with Mary Hart, CLICK HERE. The Zone thanks Theresa for sharing the video clip and AnaMaria for the screencap. You can read more about Alice in Wonderland, including many interviews from the recent press junket, on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

THE TOURIST begins filming in Paris–but no Johnny Depp yet

The photograph at left, showing Angelina Jolie at an outdoor cafe near the Palais Royale in Paris, is the first from the set of The Tourist. The Johnny Depp-Angelina Jolie thriller has just begun shooting in Paris under the direction of Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. We would love to show photos of Johnny, but he has not yet reported for work on the film. He is expected in Paris after he finishes promotional duties for Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, which has its Royal World Premiere in London on Thursday, February 25th.

Ms. Jolie’s stunning costume is by Oscar-winner Colleen Atwood. You can see a larger picture HERE. The Zone thanks Emma for breaking the news; you can read much more about The Tourist on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Johnny Depp discusses Captain Jack Sparrow’s return in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 4: ON STRANGER TIDES

Perhaps it was inevitable that during the press conference for Alice in Wonderland, Johnny Depp would be asked some questions about his next project for Disney–the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, scheduled to shoot this summer in Hawaii under the direction of Rob Marshall. Johnny confirmed that Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, who played Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner in the first three Pirates films, will not be returning for On Stranger Tides. However, Johnny expects On Stranger Tides to retain an ensemble feeling:

Q: With no more Keira Knightley or Orlando Bloom in Pirates, will there be more Jack Sparrow?

Johnny Depp: Yeah, there is no Keira or Orlando in there. I don’t know. I don’t think we’d ever throw too much Jack Sparrow in there. There will be just a little bit of everybody.

Q: You were wavering on doing another film, after Dick Cook left. Have you regained your confidence? What reassured you?

Johnny Depp: One thing that I found very reassuring was a very good conversation with Dick Cook, who is someone I admire greatly. That helped a lot. Also, knowing that we’re coming at it from a different angle, at this point. Rob Marshall has a totally new take. It’s a new story.

Q: What did Dick Cook say, after he left?

Johnny Depp: He was a perfect gentleman about the entire thing.

In other Pirates 4 news, at a press conference in Paris on Thursday, February 18th, Penelope Cruz confirmed that she is in negotiations to appear in On Stranger Tides. Ms. Cruz was in Paris to promote Nine, her latest film, for which she has received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and which was directed by Rob Marshall. “I can not say anything more about this subject, except that I am in the midst of negotiations to work on the next film by Rob Marshall,” Ms. Cruz said diplomatically. We wish her a happy conclusion to those negotiations!

The Zone thanks Theresa and Emma for breaking the news; you can read more about Pirates 4 on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Working with Tim Burton: Johnny Depp speaks to the press

At the press conference for Disney’s soon-to-be-released 3D version of Alice in Wonderland, Johnny Depp adeptly fielded several questions regarding his long-time collaboration with director Tim Burton, which now spans twenty years and seven films– Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd, and now Alice.

Q: This is now your 7th film with Tim Burton. When he came to you and told you that he wanted you to play the Mad Hatter, what was your reaction? Why did you want to play that character?

Johnny Depp: To be honest, he could have said he wanted me to play Alice, and I would have. I would have done whatever character Tim wanted. But, certainly, the fact that it was the Mad Hatter was a bonus because of the great challenge to try to find this guy and not just be a rubber ball you heave into an empty room and watch it bounce all over the place. I wanted to find that part of the character, but also a little bit more of the history and gravity to that.

Q: How has your professional and personal relationship with Tim grown?

Johnny Depp: Each time out of the gate with Tim, the initial thing for me is to come up with a character. And then, there’s a certain amount of pressure where I go, “[. . .W]ill this be the one where I disappoint him?” So, I try really hard, especially early on, to come up with something that’s very different, that he hasn’t experienced before and that we haven’t experienced together before, and that will stimulate him and inspire him to make choices based on that character. I try not to embarrass him, basically.

The Zone thanks Theresa for sharing the news; you can read more about the Alice in Wonderland press conference on the Zone’s News & Views forum. To see a larger version of the photo of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton at the Alice in Wonderland Ultimate Fan Event, CLICK HERE.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND Los Angeles fan event–new photos and interview with Johnny Depp!

The Alice in Wonderland Ultimate Fan Event on February 19th included a very brief onstage appearance by Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, and other Alice cast members (Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Sheen, Crispin Glover, and Matt Lucas); you can see a photo of the cast onstage HERE. All Johnny said onstage was “Thank you,” but during his MySpace appearance, he did respond to the following question sent in by a fan:

Q: You’ve done a lot of kind of way-out-there type of roles–

Johnny Depp: Have I?

Q: Allegedly . . . . So, tell me, what is your favorite of these characters, when you create these roles?

Johnny Depp: Oh, boy, I don’t know that there can be a favorite. It was a real pleasure to play them all, and I love them all. They’re still sort of locked up in a drawer inside me. No, to pick a favorite would be very, very difficult. But any role that you can express yourself to the degree that the people who are out there respond to it and take something away from it . . . if it puts a giggle into their day or there’s something that they take home and that they can remember and laugh about later, that means everything to me.

The Zone thanks Theresa, Emma, AnaMaria, Evochka, and Alice Springs for their contributions to our coverage of the Hollywood fan event; you can read more on the Zone’s forums. To see a larger version of the photo of Johnny Depp onstage, CLICK HERE, and to see a photo of Johnny signing autographs after the event, CLICK HERE.

Johnny Depp “very excited” about ALICE IN WONDERLAND, he tells ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT

Johnny Depp appeared briefly on Entertainment Tonight on February 19th to confirm that he would be among the Alice in Wonderland cast members greeting the crowd at Disney’s Ultimate Fan Event. Director Tim Burton introduced Anne Hathaway (the White Queen), Helena Bonham Carter (the Red Queen), Mia Wasikowska (Alice), Michael Sheen (the White Rabbit), Crispin Glover (the Knave of Hearts), Matt Lucas (Tweedledum and Tweedledee), and Johnny (the Mad Hatter) to an enthusiastic crowd. “I’m very excited to have the opportunity to present the film to [the fans],” Johnny told ET. “Those people have stood behind and supported Tim and certainly myself for a long time, so yeah, that’s very gratifying. It’s always exciting to present the film that first time out of the gate and to feel the reactions of the people around you, so that’s always exciting.”

And is Johnny excited about Alice in Wonderland’s royal world premiere, taking place on February 25th at Leicester Square in London? “I’ve never experienced a royal premiere,” Johnny confided. “They would never let me near the royals before.”

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for sharing the Entertainment Tonight interview and her screencaps of Johnny. You can see larger screencaps HERE and HERE. You can read more about Johnny’s appearance on Entertainment Tonight on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

BREAKING NEWS–Johnny Depp appears at ALICE IN WONDERLAND Ultimate Fan Event in Los Angeles–new photos!

The photo at left shows Johnny Depp as he appeared at the Alice in Wonderland Ultimate Fan Event held at the Hollywood & Highland Center’s Central Courtyard today. Johnny and director Tim Burton were interviewed backstage–the interviews were streamed on MySpace–and then came out briefly to greet the crowd, which had been entertained by musical artists featured on the “Almost Alice” CD. Johnny expressed his gratitude to the crowd, many of whom showed up in Alice-inspired costumes: “The fact that these people come to support us in this way . . . it proves that the only reason we’re still working is because of them, so we’re very, very excited.”

Asked to explain his “inspiration” for the Mad Hatter, Johnny replied: “The Hatter kind of came from . . . certainly, the information that’s there in [Lewis] Carroll’s works, which is magnificent. He sort of came from . . . for me, it was the idea of all of us, the idea of the extreme sides of our personality: the extreme sides of our rage, the extreme sides of our sadness, the extreme sides of our levity. So it was like . . . for me, I looked at the Hatter as a kind of human mood ring, if you will.”

The Zone thanks AnaMaria for sharing the live feed of the Ultimate Fan Event and Theresa for video clips and screencaps. To see a larger version of our screencap of Johnny Depp’s MySpace interview, CLICK HERE, and to see a screencap of Johnny with Tim Burton, CLICK HERE. You can read much more about the Ultimate Fan Event on the Zone’s forums.

TV ALERT–Johnny Depp scheduled to appear on Entertainment Tonight on Friday, February 19th!

Set your TIVOs and DVRs . . . the Alice in Wonderland promotion campaign is getting underway! Johnny Depp is scheduled to appear on the Friday. February 19th edition of Entertainment Tonight to talk about playing the Mad Hatter–expect “lots of surprises,” ET says. And next week is Alice in Wonderland week on Entertainment Tonight, featuring (they promise) the entire cast. We’ll be watching!

Entertainment Tonight is a syndicated entertainment news program, so it airs at different times in different markets. Check ET’s local show finder HERE to find a station and time in your area. The Zone thanks Emma and Magpie for sharing the news.

Announcing a new photo gallery for the Zone!

The Zone is happy to announce an addition to its permanent Photo Galleries! Our brand new Public Enemies gallery collects 32 photographs from Michael Mann’s film starring Johnny Depp as “the greatest bank robber in American history,” John Dillinger. You can find the new gallery by clicking on the Photo Galleries button above and selecting the “By Film” section, or you can simply click the Gallery Showcase button, where Public Enemies is currently featured. Many thanks to Bonnie, AnaMaria, dharma_bum, Hiro3, Joni, Sleepy, and Theresa for their contributions to the new gallery.