News Briefs

- As reported in my last entry, Johnny Depp was quoted as selecting The Wizard of Oz as his favorite film of all time in the book “You Gotta See This” by Cindy Pearlman: “I longed to see the movie again and again because I wanted to go to Oz,” he said. In today’s news, OregonLive provides more of Johnny’s comments about the classic film: “I didn’t have many friends,” he says, “and I thought if only I could meet a Tin Man or a Scarecrow that maybe I wouldn’t feel alone.”

- DigitalSpy reports Johnny Depp took 9th place in the UK Channel 4’s survey for their “100 Greatest Sex Symbols” show which aired Saturday.

- He fared much better in the New Woman magazine poll, though, according to EntertainmentWise.com. On their list of 100 Sexiest Men in the World, Johnny takes the #3 spot.

- The Miami Herald reports the Johnny Depp film Chocolat will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 3 at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida. It will be shown outdoors as part of the Cinema Botanica series at Fairchild and usher in the first International Chocolate Festival to be held at the Botanic Garden on Saturday, March 4.

- fdlreporter.com reports Chocolat will also be screened at 7 p.m. March 8 at the Grand Opera House in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

News Briefs

- Rumors abound that Johnny Depp has been spotted in various activities around Hampshire, England, sending the Daily Echo into a rousing game of “Where’s Johnny?” There are rumors of him dining in local restaurants, drinking in local pubs, enrolling his kids in school, and making purchases at local perfume counters, but none have been confirmed. In fact, the reader comments to this story are even more entertaining than the article itself. “Saw him and Elvis playing dominoes in the the kings arms last week,” writes one reader. “He was in a right old strop, Elvis was winning.”

- Rumors also abound that Johnny has recently purchased a house in the Lymington area, although homes in England have been rumored for several years. According to the Daily Echo, though, his publicist has officially denied this one. “There is absolutely no truth to these rumours,” she says. “Johnny is in England working on a film.”

- CalendarLive reports the VOOM Art Exhibit featuring Johnny Depp’s video portrait as Rrose Selavy will open at the Ace Gallery, 5514 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, on Saturday, Feb. 24 and run through April 21.

- IESB.com has a script review of Forevermore, a screenplay in the works for a biopic about American author Edgar Allan Poe. According to the report, Johnny Depp is reviewing the screenplay and has expressed interest in portraying Poe in the past.

- The Concord Monitor offers an article about American soldiers wounded in Iraq, which discusses honors and offers they receive upon returning home. Sgt. Bryan Anderson, one of the war’s five triple amputees, has reportedly received an offer to meet with Johnny Depp in London or Paris.

- Monsters & Critics offers a synopsis of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. WARNING: Article contains spoilers.

- Resident.com lists the upcoming Sweeney Todd film on their list of nine “must-see” films this year.

- TVShowsOnDVD.com reports Johnny Depp’s appearance on “Inside the Actor’s Studio” will be released on DVD May 1.

- Jacksonville.com reports Johnny Depp is included in a book called “You Gotta See This”. Author Cindy Pearlman, it says, contacted more than 100 celebrities to ask “What is your favorite movie of all time?” Johnny chose The Wizard of Oz: “I longed to see the movie again and again because I wanted to go to Oz.”

- And finally, The Independent has an odd little report of Johnny Depp buying a stainless steel cookware set near Somerset, England. LOL

News Briefs

- Forbes.com ranks Johnny Depp in 4th place on their list of Best Paid Hollywood Stars for 2006. He shares the spot with Tom Hanks and Adam Sandler, each earning a reported $29 million in a 12-month period.

- Telugu Portal reports respected Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan has joined the cast of Shantaram, which is scheduled to begin filming in November.

- PRNewswire reports Johnny Depp gave the best delivery of a movie line in 2006 according to a survey by Netflix. The line — “Hide the rum!”

- Cinematical.com offers a quote from POTC screenwriter Terry Rossio discussing the possibility of a fourth Pirates film. “It’s like the fourth Indiana Jones picture,” he said. “There are forces in play to make it happen, and forces in play to make it not happen. I think we will try to write a screenplay. I can’t say if we’ll be able to solve the challenge of making a good fourth film, or if our screenplay will be enough to get a film made.”

- CinemaBlend reports Johnny Depp will produce an animated film for adults called How the Dead Love based on four short stories from Charles Bukowski, the director of Bridge to Terabithia. He will also provide the voice for the main character in the film.

- AZCentral offers an article about AnnaSophia Robb, who shares her favorite Johnny Depp moment while filming Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: “One day, we were on the chocolate-river set and he brought his kids. Me and Julia (Winter), she played Veruca Salt, we were waiting on-set, and we made these bracelets out of the plastic grass that was on the ground. We went up to him because we made bracelets for his kids. We showed them to him, and he liked them and just started talking with us. . . . He was so relaxed.”

- High-Def Digest reports Sony will release Secret Window on Blu-Ray April 24.

- International Herald Tribune offers an interesting article about the real-life history of Chinese pirates in anticipation of the oriental aspects of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

News & Updates

- I’ve updated the “Written by Johnny” section on the site with the transcript of Johnny’s piece he wrote for the Christie’s auction catalogue for the sale of personal property of Marlon Brando in 2005. Special thanks to Jon Shore of Art Advisory Services in New York for the transcript!

- Mail on Sunday has a new photo of Keith Richards as Teague Sparrow from the upcoming Pirates film. Thanks to Kimberly for the tip! EDIT: Disney has asked for this image to be removed, as it was not authorized for release. At their request, I have removed it from this brief. Trish Bennett, Feb. 23, 2007

News Briefs

- MagicalMountain.net reports the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is confirmed for the Disneyland theme park on May 19, 2007. “The movie will be shown on a screen that will be constructed on Tom Sawyer Island, which has been closed for refurbishment,” the article states. “The audience will be seated on a stage currently being constructed at the Rivers of America water front.” Visit the link for more information on the event.

- AssociatedContent.com reports Disney’s quarterly profits more than doubled with the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest on DVD.

- Backstage.com offers a Q&A interview with Mira Nair, director of the upcoming film Shantaram, in which she discusses looking forward to working with Johnny Depp on the project.

- CNet.co.uk reports Disney is prepared to launch a free online Pirates of the Caribbean video game to coincide with the release of the third Pirates film this spring. The stars of the films have all granted permission for the use of their likenesses for the game, but dialogue will be provided by “voice-alikes”.

- The stage production of Edward Scissorhands will be coming to The Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington D.C. February 13-18, 2007. More information, including photos of Johnny Depp with the cast from a Los Angeles performance, can be found at edwardscissorhandstour.com.

- Straight.com reports Johnny Depp came in second in a survey of the movie star readers would most like to have sex with. (I don’t make them up, I just report them… LOL) Angelina Jolie took the #1 spot in the poll.

- Hello Magazine reports Vanessa Paradis recently made a rare appearance for a charity event in Paris.

Credits & News

I’ve been informed the photo of Johnny Depp as Rrose Selavy in yesterday’s entry was taken at the art exhibition by a lady named Dharma. So a special thanks to Dharma for giving the rest of us a glimpse of what she was able to experience in person.

Special thanks also goes out to a lady named Royce, who was also able to see the exhibition in person and provided the following description:

Yesterday I did get to see the VOOM video portrait. It was so cool. I took a pic, but the ones posted get the look across well. What you can’t see, though, is his eyes - THOSE EYES GLOWED - and if you waited, he blinks!! OMG, so hot is this slow blink.

The picture is about 2 feet high and low on the wall so I (who stands just 5 feet) could look him in the eye. Wait a little longer, and his hand moves. There are a lot of little twitches and involuntary movements. It’s kind of spooky and beautiful.

Adding to the mystique are the strange sounds - dogs barking, alarm clock buzzing and strange, disjointed phrases such as, “I couldn’t figure out their function.” There were a lot of other words and sounds as well. I don’t think it was his voice, but I thought I heard him say, “Hurry up, it’s time.”

Anyway, the longer you stood staring at the portrait, the more you heard and saw. It seemed to re-loop about every four minutes.

Click here for more information about the VOOM art exhibition.

In other news, Kimberly found a photo on Ebay of an ad for Sweeney Todd run for one day in Hollywood trade magazines. According to the ad, principal photography for the film began Monday, Feb. 5. Thanks, Kimberly!

VOOM Rose Selavy Photo

At long last, here is a sample of the video portrait of Johnny Depp as Rrose Selavy. The photo is part of the Robert Wilson VOOM! video portraits as reported last month. Thanks to Linda and Jules for the find!

News Briefs

- Macon.com reports the 2007 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards nominations have been announced. Johnny Depp is nominated for Favorite Male Movie Star; Keira Knightley is nominated for Favorite Female Movie Star; and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is nominated for Favorite Movie. Kids can cast their votes online beginning March 5, 2007. The award program will be held March 31 at the University of California, Los Angeles and air on the Nickelodeon network.

- According to Yahoo Music, Johnny Depp will be unavailable to present the outstanding achievement award to the band Oasis at the upcoming Brit Awards as previously reported, and has been replaced by former Beatle Ringo Starr.

- Ninemsn.com offers an interview with Mira Nair, the director for the upcoming film Shantaram. In it, she discusses her impression of Johnny Depp: “For all the stratospheric box-office status, he’s a humble soul,” she says. “He’s generally inquisitive about the world. He considers Shantaram his bible.”

- Various reports have circulated that the trailer for the third Pirates of the Caribbean film will NOT air during the Superbowl tomorrow as previously reported. I guess we’ll know for sure by this time tomorrow.

- The calendar for Disneyland shows the park will close early on May 19th for a “private event”, which is probably the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. More information to follow as it becomes available.