New Wallpaper

I'll get busy with news updates tomorrow, but for now... Enjoy!

Disney Christmas Parade

Johnny Depp will make an appearance during the annual Christmas parade broadcast from Disneyland and Walt Disney World on Dec. 25. His segment of the broadcast was taped in advance.

The 2-hour parade will air Christmas morning beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern on ABC-TV.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Vanessa Paradis!

Wishing you a wonderful birthday with health and happiness always.

Golden Globe Nomination

Johnny Depp received a nomination this morning for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest). Congratulations, Johnny!

The 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be telecast live Jan. 15, 2007 on NBC.

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)

Screencaps for 'Dead Man's Chest'

I finished the screencaps for Dead Man’s Chest this morning. You can find all 35 pages of them here:

http://www.deppimpact.com/potc2/dmc_caps/dmc_caps.html

I’ll be doing the special features caps later today. My clicking hand is numb at the moment, so I need to get some circulation back before I continue. LOL

Quick poll — I know y’all aren’t waiting to get the DVD for Christmas and rushed out to get it the day it came out. The question is, were you one of the die-hards out at midnight to get your copy, or did you have willpower and wait?

Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride

The title of the Starz Entertainment original documentary “Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film” gives the impression the film will explore how Thompson’s work was adapted for the big screen.

In reality, the 80-minute documentary, produced and directed by Tom Thurman, spends very little time doing that and instead focuses on the life, career and death of the legendary Gonzo journalist through the eyes and recollections of his Hollywood friends.

I admit to knowing very little about Hunter Thompson except what I’ve learned through his association with Johnny Depp. His public persona was one that I doubt I would have given a second thought otherwise - an outlandish figure, seemingly fueled by drugs and alcohol, crown prince of a counter-culture that had no real relevance to me. But perhaps the way to understand and appreciate a person you’ll never have the opportunity to meet yourself is through the people closest to him, and that is something this film does provide.

“Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride” is a walk through Thompson’s life and career, a mixture of still images and video footage interspersed with interviews of his widow, Anita Thompson, along with Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Bill Murray, John Cusack, Benicio Del Toro, Tom Wolfe, George McGovern, William F. Buckley, Gary Busey, the late Ed Bradley and more.

Through them, you begin to see the person behind the image, a human being take shape from the caracature of perception - still an outlandish one, by any measure, but one who earned the respect and admiration of a solid and diverse group of friends.

The film also explores Thompson’s death in February of 2005, the highly-publicized suicide followed by the cannon-blast send-off he had planned for nearly 30 years. According to Johnny Depp, one of the first thoughts in his mind upon hearing the news of Thompson’s suicide was that he had to build a cannon - and he did. Rare footage of the event, however brief, does appear in this documentary.

Gary Busey’s segments are, frankly, rather tedious. Nick Nolte’s gravel-voiced narration borders on annoying, though it’s thankfully sparse enough to overlook the irritation. But hearing Johnny speak with genuine affection about a person he loves, and hearing the honest, heartfelt laughter as he recalls personal experiences… these things alone make it worth the price of the ticket.

“Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride” premieres Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 10 p.m. on Starz. TV Now lists subsequent showings on Starz Cinema 5 as follows:

Dec. 13: 1:15 a.m.; 12:05 p.m.; and 8:20 p.m.
Dec. 17: 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 21: 4:45 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Dec. 25: 11:15 a.m.
Dec. 30: 9:00 a.m.

News Briefs

- Johnny Depp has donated a personalized bowling ball to the Care for California Kids Ebay Charity Auction which runs Dec. 4 - 14. The ball and bag are autographed by Johnny with his signature, the words, “A Ball for Bowling”, and his self-portrait. The auction goes live at 4 p.m. Pacific time today.

- News.com.au reports a rumor that Johnny Depp has taped a special message for Pirates co-star Geoffrey Rush to be shown at the AFI Awards ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 6.

- And in the “sounds like a load of crap” department, FemaleFirst reports Johnny is scaring Vanessa and the kids practicing razor-play for his upcoming role as Sweeney Todd.

- Whitehaven News reports the HMS Bounty, the ship used as The Black Pearl in the Pirates movies, will visit Cumbria in the UK next August.

- The Insider Online is currently taking votes for Favorite Star of 2006, including Johnny Depp as one of its nominees.

- According to PR Inside, Tim Burton has denied reports of Sacha Baron Cohen being confirmed for a role in Sweeney Todd to the movie magazine Empire, and that his casting is still in discussions. “I don’t know that got out there,” said Burton. “The internet is a very strange place.”

- Reuters reports the POTC: Dead Man’s Chest DVD broke sales records upon its release in the UK, selling nearly 1.5 million copies within the first week and making it the fastest selling DVD of all time. The film is released tomorrow (Dec. 5) in the U.S.

- Artisan Galleries in the UK will publish an exclusive limited edition print for sale of the original Keith Richards pirate portrait which reportedly inspired Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. The original portrait by award-winning artist Paul Karslake was commissioned for Keith’s 40th birthday. More information can be found at the gallery or by contacting Anthony@artisangallery.co.uk.