News Briefs

- ComingSoon.net reports the DVD for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest sold nearly 5 million copies Tuesday on its first day of release in North America, according to Bob Chapek, president of Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment.

- Buffalo Reflex includes Johnny Depp in an article about highly successful high-school dropouts (although they don’t recommend that course for the average person… LOL)

- The Waco Tribune-Herald reports Johnny Depp has donated an autographed item for a charity auction to benefit the McLennan County Peace Officers Memorial Fund in Waco, Texas. The silent auction, to be held Sat., Dec. 9 at a fundraiser dinner, includes items from celebrities who have portrayed police officers on film. In addition to his stint on 21 Jump Street, Johnny portrayed undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone in the film Donnie Brasco.

- ComingSoon.net reports Alan Rickman (Harry Potter’s Professor Snape) has joined the Sweeney Todd cast in the role of Judge Turpin.

- Dose.ca reports on rumors that child star Dominic Scott Kay will appear in the third Pirates of the Caribbean film, but says reports that he will portray a young Jack Sparrow have not been confirmed.

- Filmz.ru, a Russian web site, has released two new photos from POTC: At Worlds End. You can find the photos here and here.

- MercuryNews.com offers an article about Geoffrey Rush in which he briefly discusses the third Pirates of the Caribbean film:

“Over the last two weeks, just completing the filming, you have little bits of the jigsaw (puzzle) left,” Rush says. “You think what surprises can I bring to the character? The sort of stuff that I think emerges in (Pirates) three is not just more of the same. Everything comes to an absolute climax. Many climaxes!”

- /Film offers a similar report from the writers of the Pirates films, promising an epic grand finale in the third installment.

- The Australian reports the AFI Awards will be televised tonight (Dec. 7) on the Nine Network. The show is expected to air a video message from Johnny Depp to Pirates co-star Geoffrey Rush.

- And finally in the Cute Zone, we have Will Smith’s interview with ComingSoon.net where he references Johnny in a discussion of the differences between his own two children:

ComingSoon.net: Your son’s been in just one movie, and he’s already refusing to do press?

Will Smith: (laugh) We did “Oprah” the other day, and my son Jaden and my daughter Willow were both on the show. Willow was on the show because she wasn’t about to let Jaden be on “Oprah” and she wasn’t. I kind of looked at them and Jaden is so unaffected. He wants to act and play video games, so the whole idea of press, he is completely unaffected by it. I was watching the two of them and I said, “I got Johnny Depp and Paris Hilton.” (laughs)