The Monday editions of entertainment news programs were filled with stories about the premiere of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD, EXTRA!, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, and E! NEWS LIVE all featured shots of Johnny Depp walking across the chocolate carpet to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre; most programs also showed footage of Johnny signing autographs for the eager crowd of Deppheads behind barricades across the street from the theater. ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT and EXTRA! both erroneously reported that Johnny arrived “solo;” apparently the reporters didn’t notice the discreet Vanessa Paradis gliding into the theater while Johnny greeted his fans.

ACCESS HOLLYWOOD presented Johnny with a gigantic Wonka candy bar; Johnny eyed it rather dubiously and quipped, “If I ate all this, I’d have to run all the way to Guam!” He later told a reporter from EXTRA! that he has been avoiding chocolate lately. “It’s not my favorite,” he explained, sounding more like Roux than Willy Wonka.

Johnny also denied the recent report that he had written to Nicole Kidman to say he wanted to work with her. “No,” he told EXTRA! “I’d like to work with her, but I never wrote a letter. But it’s a cool rumor.”

EXTRA asked director Tim Burton whether his version of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY was modeled on Michael Jackson and Neverland Ranch. Burton scoffed at the comparison, which he clearly sees as ludicrous. “There’s a very simple distinction,” he told EXTRA! “Michael loves children. Willy Wonka hates kids. That’s about as different as you can get.”

The Zone thanks emma for posting the EXTRA! story; you can read the transcript and download a video HERE. Thanks also to Reemi for posting the ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT video HERE. Thanks to artistatheart, jdfan, and DeepinDepp for other premiere news. The premiere photo comes from bonnie–thank you so much! To see a larger version, click HERE. There are dozens of premiere pictures of Johnny on the Zone’s Recent Pics board, and many news stories and reviews on the News & Views forum.