Johnny Depp will sing Sondheim onscreen for the second time later this summer, when he reports to London to film the role of the Wolf in Rob Marshall’s Into the Woods, and he told E!Online that he’s thrilled with the opportunity. “I’m so excited to play the Big Bad Wolf [. . .] That kind of thing is sort of a dream come true.” The cast is dreamy, too: Anna Kendrick has just signed on to play Cinderella, joining an ensemble that also includes Meryl Streep as the Witch; James Corden and Emily Blunt as the Baker and the Baker’s Wife; Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal as brother-princes who woo Rapunzel and Cinderella; Daniel Huttlestone as Jack the Giant-Killer; and Tracey Ullman as Jack’s mother.

Even though Johnny’s previous Sondheim role, as the murderous barber in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, brought him a Golden Globe and a Best Actor Oscar nomination, Johnny admits he’s intimidated by the complexity of Sondheim’s music. Sondheim is “amazing,” Johnny said, “but when you’re not a crack vocalist, it’s quite complicated stuff that he writes. But I’m looking forward to it.”

Stephen Sondheim himself is on record as approving of Johnny’s Sweeney Todd. “I’ve always preferred actors who sing instead of singers who act and generally I’ve tried to cast that way with the shows in New York,” he said. “They have to be musical. They have to be able to carry a tune. They have to have a sense of rhythm.

“Legitimate voices, so to speak, can be too big for the screen,” Sondheim explained. “The screen is much more intimate, a realistic medium. In order for singing to work on the screen, it has to be acted and it has to be small.”

The Zone thanks emma and humiliatedgrape for sharing the news; you can read more about Into the Woods on the Zone’s News & Views forum. The E!Online story, including a video clip, is available HERE.

Zoners will be giving their DVRs a real workout in the next few days, as Johnny Depp has three major interviews scheduled to promote The Lone Ranger. First, Johnny will appear with director Gore Verbinski on CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood on June 30th for an interview with journalist Lee Cowan. In most markets, CBS Sunday Morning airs at 9 a.m., but in the Pacific time zone, the program may begin as early as 6:30 a.m., so do check your local listings; it would be a shame to miss this.

On Monday, July 1st, Johnny will appear on CBS This Morning for an interview with show co-host Charlie Rose (yes, the one and only Charlie Rose). CBS This Morning airs from 7:00 – 9:00 a.m.

Later that night, Monday, July 1st, Johnny will appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live, which airs on the ABC network at 11:35 p.m. His Lone Ranger co-star, Armie Hammer, will appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live the following evening, July 2nd.

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD and Theresa for breaking the news; you can read more about Johnny’s television appearances on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

What does an A-list superstar do after attending the exciting red carpet premiere of his latest film in an exotic European city like Moscow? Why, sample the local cuisine, of course! That’s exactly what Johnny Depp did after The Lone Ranger premiere on Thursday; he took Amber Heard to dinner. Amber wore an elegant claret-red floor-length gown with a halter top. A larger photo is available HERE; security chief Jerry Judge is walking behind Johnny and Amber.

The Zone thanks Evochka for sharing the photo. You can read more about Johnny’s visit to Moscow on the Zone’s News & Views forum and the Pit General Discussion forum.

Johnny Depp appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman last night, promoting The Lone Ranger — “the movie is wildly entertaining,” Dave told his audience more than once. The pair talked about fatherhood and what’s it’s like to turn 50 (“just another decade,” they agreed), as well as the rigors of shooting The Lone Ranger and Johnny’s respect for the Native American community. Johnny also confided an unusual aspect of his acting process:

JOHNNY: There’s two things that I have a problem with. One is that I never read screen direction — (Dave bursts into laughter) — which is the stuff that tells you what to do.

DAVE: Wha– how can that be possible?

JOHNNY: Well, I’d rather not know what they want me to do. (Audience laughter.) I’d rather just figure something out.

DAVE: So you just — you’re kind of just guessing at what they want?

JOHNNY: No, I’m just sort of winging it, at what I want.

DAVE: (after a moment’s thought) It’s worked so far.

Fans who missed last night’s show can find a video of the entire June 27th program currently posted on The Late Show website HERE, but viewing may be restricted for those outside the U.S.

The Zone thanks humiliatedgrape, bascan333, and Cyn for sharing video clips; you can read more about Johnny’s appearance on The Late Show on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Johnny Depp walked the red carpet for the premiere of The Lone Ranger in Moscow tonight, along with Armie Hammer, director Gore Verbinski, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Johnny wore a three-piece dark suit with a subtle gray check pattern in the weave, and a gray shirt open at the neck. Pictures from the red carpet are available HERE.

Earlier in the day, the quartet posed for photos in front of a gigantic red train engine. Pictures from that event are available HERE.

The Zone thanks Evochka and Aida for sharing the photos; you can read more about Johnny’s visit to Moscow on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

In the photo at left, Johnny Depp listens to the translation of a question put to him by the Russian press corps as he, co-star Armie Hammer, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and director Gore Verbinski held a press conference in Moscow to promote Disney’s The Lone Ranger today. This marks Johnny’s second visit to Russia — he also went to Moscow with Jerry Bruckheimer and Penelope Cruz to promote Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in 2011, and was very warmly received.

During an interview on Russian television, Johnny explained the meaning of a number of his tattoos, including a new one on his arm that features a drawing of a man with a quotation from Much Ado about Nothing (“Man is a giddy thing”) beneath it. The artwork is by Johnny’s son Jack. Sweet! Photos of Johnny greeting the press (including a close-up of the new tattoo) are available HERE.

The Zone thanks Evochka, Aida, and humiliatedgrape for sharing photos. You can read more about Johnny’s visit to Moscow on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

The Johnny Depp Zone’s 2013 Birthday Project has now concluded, and we are delighted to announce that this year’s project raised a grand total of $8,570 in support of Project Pueblo! This is the highest fundraising total any of our Birthday Projects has ever achieved, and thanks to your kindness and love for Johnny, we will be able to supply water systems and home improvements for several Navajo families!

We send our sincere thanks to all the donors who contributed to our 50th birthday gift for Johnny Depp; your generosity is truly inspiring, and it will have a lasting positive effect in the lives of others. Thanks for bringing this year’s Birthday Project to such a heartwarming conclusion.

Johnny Depp arrived at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City this afternoon, Tuesday, June 25th, to tape an episode of CBS’s The Late Show with David Letterman which will air on Thursday, June 27, 2013. Also appearing on the program that night will be comedian Adam Newman and musical guest Dawes, promoting their new album “Stories Don’t End.” Johnny, of course, will be talking about a little movie in which he plays Tonto to Armie Hammer’s Lone Ranger.

After the taping, Johnny returned to the gathered crowd and patiently greeted well-wishers and signed autographs,despite the churlish and aggressive behavior of some professional autograph-hunters who almost trampled ordinary folks who had been waiting in line for hours to see Johnny. (Videos are available on You Tube.)

Photos of Johnny arriving at the Ed Sullivan Theatre are available HERE.

The Zone thanks Chocolat and Lou Lou 63 for sharing the news and Theresa for the pictures. You can read more about Johnny’s appearance at The Late Show on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

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.

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.

Eleven-year-old Bryant Prince, who plays Danny Reid in The Lone Ranger, took his first walk down the red carpet as a professional actor yesterday and learned a key lesson: “When I heard the screaming really begin that’s when I knew that Johnny Depp was here,” he told USA Today’s Bryan Alexander. “That sound can only be for Johnny Depp.” Several thousand fans lined the red carpet at Disney’s California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California for The Lone Ranger world premiere on Saturday; they were treated to stilt walkers, jugglers and appearances by Disney’s classic characters, as well as the chance to cheer for Johnny, Armie Hammer, Ruth Wilson, William Fichtner, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski.

A gallery of photos from the premiere is available HERE. The USA Today article about the premiere is available HERE.

The Zone thanks bascan333 for sharing the photos; you can read much more about The Lone Ranger premiere on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

A beaming Johnny Depp walked down the red carpet on Hollywood Boulevard at Disney’s California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California this afternoon for the world premiere of The Lone Ranger. Thousands of fans lined the red carpet, cheering, and Johnny stopped to shake hands, sign autographs, and pose for pictures with as many well-wishers as possible. Johnny wore a dark pin-striped suit with a white shirt and bolo tie, and his customary blue glasses. For a larger version of the photo of Johnny, CLICK HERE.

The Zone thanks mytreasure for sharing the photo; you can read more about The Lone Ranger premiere on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Congratulations to Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and the cast and crew of The Lone Ranger, and best wishes for a memorable and joyous premiere.

Wearing a colorful new medallion emblazoned with the likeness of his character Tonto, Johnny Depp walked the red carpet in Lawton, Oklahoma arm-in-arm with his adoptive Comanche mother LaDonna Harris today. The occasion was a special screening of The Lone Ranger for the Comanche Nation. Photos of Johnny greeting fans are available HERE.

The Zone thanks emma and Theresa for sharing the photos; you can read more about Johnny’s visit to Lawton on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

In a candid and relaxed video interview with Extra‘s Terri Seymour, Johnny Depp addressed, among other subjects, the breakup of his 14-year relationship with Vanessa Paradis (which was officially announced one year ago). The interview took place during The Lone Ranger press junket at Bishop’s Lodge resort in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here’s a transcription of that conversation:

Q: You also have spoken recently about becoming single. Has that been a strange adjustment for you?

JOHNNY DEPP: You know, the strangest thing is just that — in terms of adjustment — is just making sure that everybody’s okay. That’s really everything. You make sure first your kids are okay, and that they understand that it’s normal; there’s no reason to get sort of weird and hate each other. I think, you spent a beautiful 14 years together, you know . . . a couple of great kids. That’s win-win.

Q: In Rolling Stone, you said you can’t see yourself acting in ten years’ time. Please tell me that’s not true! You’re not going to go into retirement, are you?

JOHNNY DEPP: (slowly) Nah . . . I don’t know about retirement. I do love the process, I really do love making characters and making movies. But . . . yeah. I mean, sometime in the next ten years, you probably just want to kind of . . . be able to look around a little more. Wander a bit, you know. Maybe experience some degree of anonymity somewhere, or —

Q: Do you think that would ever be possible?

JOHNNY DEPP: — Or fish. Or . . . I don’t know.

Q: So, you are amazing as Tonto. How much fun was it for you to play him?

JOHNNY DEPP: Oh, it was great fun. Great fun. Because there are so many different sides to the character.

The Zone thanks emma for sharing the video; you can read more about The Lone Ranger on the Zone’s News & Views forum. The full Extra video interview is available HERE.

Cheers to super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who will receive the 2,501st Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a ceremony on Monday, June 24 at 11:30 a.m. Guest speakers at the ceremony will be Johnny Depp, star of Mr. Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and the upcoming The Lone Ranger, and Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Wow!

Mr. Bruckheimer’s star will be located at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in front of El Capitan Theatre — an ideal place for a man whose films have earned six Oscars and 41 Academy Award nominations (to date). “Millions have enjoyed Jerry Bruckheimer’s films and television productions. His blockbuster movies continue to transport audiences around the world into his fascinating productions,” stated Leron Gubler, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President/CEO and emcee of the star ceremonies. “We are proud to have him be a part of our legendary Walk of Fame!”

The Zone thanks emma for sharing the news; you can read more on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Congratulations to Mr. Bruckheimer on this well-deserved honor!

For more than an hour on Wednesday, The Lone Ranger‘s top-tier talent — a six-member panel consisting of Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Gore Verbinski, Jerry Bruckheimer, William Fichtner and Ruth Wilson — answered questions from a room full of reporters assembled at the Bishop’s Lodge Resort in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Johnny didn’t flinch when asked whether his interpretation of Tonto is essentially “a red version of black face.” Johnny replied, “I expected it. I still expect it.” But he stands by his portrayal. “There’s a lot of history with Native Americans that I learned before taking on this role [. . .]. It was a role that I wanted to bring justice to.”

Regarding his work as Tonto, Johnny said, “I have done no harm and represented at the very least the Comanche nation in a proper light. There’s always going to be naysayers. Everybody’s got an opinion.”

Pictures from the Santa Fe press junket are available HERE.

The Zone thanks emma for sharing the news and emma, Evochka, Aida and summer70 for sharing photos. You can read more about The Lone Ranger press junket on the Zone’s News & Views forum and the Pit General Discussion forum.

Johnny Depp continues his commitment as an adopted son of the Comanche Nation by making a special appearance at a private screening of The Lone Ranger in Lawton, Oklahoma on Friday, June 21 — the day before the film’s world premiere in California. The screening at the Carmike Cinemas in Lawton is by-invitation-only for members of the Comanche Nation. According to lawtoninfo.com, “It appears at this time that 4 sets of bleachers will be set up on either side of a red carpet in the theater parking lot — again, for guests with advanced tickets — to catch Depp’s arrival at the theater.” The bleachers will not be open to the public; the seating is for invited guests.

Johnny has visited Lawton, Oklahoma before; Zone readers will recall that Johnny attended the Comanche Nation Fair in September 2012 with his Comanche mother, elder and activist LaDonna Harris (who adopted Johnny into the tribe in May 2012). At this time, he completed his adoption ceremony. In his new Rolling Stone interview, Johnny explains his desire to re-interpret the role of Tonto as a Comanche shaman and relates that to his commitment to the Comanche Nation. “I wanted to maybe give some hope to kids on the reservations. [. . .] They’re living without running water and seeing problems with drugs and booze. But I wanted to be able to show these kids, ‘[expletive] that! You’re still warriors, man.'”

The Zone thanks emma for breaking the news; you can read more about Johnny’s visit to Lawton on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

Johnny Depp, garbed as The Lone Ranger‘s Tonto, graces the cover of the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone (July 4); the issue features a lengthy, insightful profile of Johnny by Brian Hiatt called “Johnny Depp: An Outlaw Looks at 50 . . . Single, Sober, and Still Wondering What It’s All About.” Definitely a magazine to add to your collection! Johnny conducted the interview in his Los Angeles office a few weeks before his birthday — wearing his customary attire, which Hiatt describes as being “dressed like a hobo whom other hobos would worry about.”

Regarding his hectic schedule and the relentless public scrutiny that accompanies it, Johnny confides to Hiatt that he thinks “every day” about retirement: “I can’t say that I’d want to be doing this for another 10 years.” But that doesn’t mean the decision to leave filmmaking is “imminent,” according to Hiatt, so Deppheads can relax a bit. “I think while I’ve got the opportunity and the desire and the creative spark to do the things that I can do right now, I should do them,” Johnny states. “And then, at a certain point, just take it down to the bare minimum and concentrate on, I guess, living life. Really living life. And going somewhere where you don’t have to be on the run, or sneak in through the kitchen or the underground labyrinth of the hotel. At a certain point, when you get old enough or get a few brain cells back, you realize that, on some level, you lived a life of a fugitive.”

The Zone thanks emma for sharing the Rolling Stone interview; you can read more about it on the Zone’s News & Views forum. To see the full cover photo, CLICK HERE.

As part of the promotion for the upcoming release of Disney’s The Lone Ranger, Johnny Depp will appear as a guest on CBS’s The Late Show with David Letterman on Thursday, June 27, 2013. Also appearing on the program that night will be comedian Adam Newman and musical guest Dawes, promoting their new album “Stories Don’t End.”

New York area residents who might be planning to wait outside the Ed Sullivan Theatre in hopes of seeing Johnny should be advised that the taping will not take place on Thursday the 27th: The Late Show is taping only on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week.

The Zone thanks Chocolat for sharing the news; you can read more about Johnny’s appearance on The Late Show on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

After literally years of preparation, the Jerry Bruckheimer/Gore Verbinski update of The Lone Ranger will screen for members of the press on Monday, June 17, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Representatives of the Santa Fe city government announced that the picturesque city will host more than 300 film and broadcast journalists beginning on Monday for the official press launch for The Lone Ranger, starring Johhny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as John Reid. Receptions for the press will be held around Santa Fe on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Johnny is currently filming Wally Pfister’s Transcendence in New Mexico, so having the press junket in Santa Fe rather than Los Angeles helps him honor his commitment to both movies. Furthermore, much of The Lone Ranger was filmed in New Mexico, so the setting is appropriate.

The Zone thanks emma for breaking the news; you can read more about The Lone Ranger on the Zone’s News & Views forum.

The world premiere of The Lone Ranger is now just one week away! It will be held at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California, on June 22.