Johnny Depp

Here’s a random smattering of news about Johnny that’s surfaced lately!

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Oopsy, Oshkosh!

In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, a business group had to pay a hefty fee of $12,000 due to an add they produced using a photograph of Johnny Depp without the permission of Universal Studios. The photo was taken while Depp was filming Public Enemies, though they forgot to ask the studio for permission to use Depp’s image in an ad in Experimental Aircraft Association guides.

The Downtown Oshkosh Business Improvement District then reimbursed the newspaper and buyers guide the $12k because they had to reprint. That’s an expensive oops!

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Johnny was awarded the Russian George Milies Award for the fourth time in a row - this time for Simply the Best (for life). His bandmate accepted the award fr him, and gave it to him at the Sheila Witkin Concert.

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Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, the dastardly duo, have been declared and verified by Guinness that they are the most lucrative movie partnership in history!

I know, tell us something we DON’T know! Next they’re gonna declare Johnny Sexy. Because, you know, we might not be sure about it until it’s official and all…

Anyway, their five films together have netted $570.6 million in earnings world wide, which earned them the record and the Guinness mention.

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Speaking of Depp/Burton, filming has started at the Antony house for the upcoming Alice in Wonderland, but alas, Johnny fans have been disappointed. Though it’s still said that Johnny will be in the film, he won’t be fliming at Antony, in Plymouth, or anywhere in the UK. Disney still hasn’t confirmed he’s even IN the film!

But hey, with them being the best Movie Making Duo Ever, is there really any doubt? The only question is if he’s real, or Memorex CGI. Either way, he won’t be in the UK.

Today I have something extremely special for you! While parusing ye olde internets yesterday, I found a paranormal board that had a disturbing prediction for Depp. Normally I ignore such things, personally, but this time, I thought I’d contact the residential Astrology Expert here at 451 Press, Beth @ Astrology Explored, and see if she could find anything to support or dispel the prediction. She came through for us immediately, and shows some interesting insight to our beloved boy.

Thanks so much, Beth! You’re a shining star in my book!

From Paranormal Forums: I been having a few visions and dreams about this for about 2 weeks now, in each vision its the same.
Around Late Oct or Early Nov. There may be an auto accident, which johnny depp is in the other car, the truck that hits him is a white SUV with silver trim and details on it, Johnny wasn’t injuried too bad, but his leg was and at the hospital when the doctors tell him about his test results, he finds out that he has some type of lukemia type cancer which in my vision effects his head, (perhaps his reason to think properly?) btu in all this mecial news effects his carrer, which he then gives up on, staying home to be with his family. Now in my visions, the things i sence r usually not as bad as they appear to me to be, but the outcome is usually always the same. So i guess to say that by the end of this yr I predict Johnny Depp will make an announcement stating he not working no more due to this medical problem xxx
Hope the Fans dont hurt me rofl

With all due respect to the Poster and her visions and dreams, this is one prediction I am happy to say is not going to bear out. This is why.

First, lets look at the prediction of a car accident. With accidents we look for significant contacts between the personal planets, Sun (the self), Moon (the emotion) and Mercury (travel) in afflicted energetic connection with Uranus, the planet of the unexpected, and Mars, the planet of action. Afflictions are the conjunctions, where planets sit together by sign and degree in the heavens, oppositions, where as the name says, they are opposite each other and squares, which are ninety degrees away from each other.

During the time period suggested no aspects of this nature form until November 10, where Mars traveling in the heavens, which we call a transit, opposes, Depp’s birth chart Mercury and his Sun squares Uranus. This makes traveling iffy. While its is possible that Depp is involved in a minor accident, the suggestion, because of the harmonious energetic connection for transiting Mars to transiting Uranus, is that stress from overwork may lead to a temporary hospitalization. Possibly this is for a minor throat illness, due to his Mercury and Venus in Taurus, which rules the neck, throat and shoulders. There is no suggestion that anything involving a leg is involved. We’ll talk more about the nervous stress in Depp’s life in a moment, because there is some interesting things happening in his chart, but let’s dispel the big “C” prediction.

One Vedic astrologer posits that cancer is predicted through associations with Saturn and the Moon. But transiting Saturn is moving out a conjunction to his Pluto, the planet of transformations which is in friendly energetic his Moon in Capricorn. If cancer was going to happen it would have happened long before this time.

Johnny Depp’s chart as a whole is a man with many challenges, but none too challenging that can’t be managed with a little work. His moon in Capricorn is a driving force, giving stability to his socially oriented Gemini Sun. While at times he doesn’t understand why his sober and serious inner life is at odds with the charming outer personality, he’s probably come to understand it as some kind of game he is playing to “get over” on people. Capricorn moon people often feel the need to prove themselves, and often feel they don’t try hard enough or work hard enough or are worth enough. He doesn’t understand why people adore him. He’s just as glad they do, because he doesn’t want to try to explain himself. Cap moons push themselves. And hasn’t Depp pushed himself these past few years, hardly giving himself a break between movies?

The biggest problem Depp has is a craving for recognition and approval, marked by Chiron, here in his sunrise chart in the tenth house of career. Chiron is where we hurt, often emotionally, sometimes physically, with a wound that is difficult to heal. After all the acclaim he has received he still feels that he is not recognized enough for his achievements. This Chiron opposes his birth chart Uranus, Mars and Pluto, which drives him to seek his identity through transformation processes. Up to this point that transformational process has been through acting, where he can take on the personality of another. This is how he handled the often trying set of transits in the early and middle forties, but these are past him now. All this work though has not been without a toll, as he beginning to “feel his age” which is nothing more than the stress overload of these heady past few years. Geminis are the perpetual teenager, though, so it is somewhat of a shock to Depp to recognize that younger actors are coming up behind him, nipping at his heels. Meanwhile the wheelers and dealers of Hollywood keep coming up with projects for him because he is money-maker. They’ll keep pushing projects at him until they are done milking everything out of him that they can.

If I was Depp’s astrologer, I would advise him to slow down the pace of movie making and choose his projects with a more discerning eye. He is going to be brilliant in whatever he chooses to do, so it is them that need him. He needs to cut himself some slack and give his body time to distress and recoup. And lastly, I would advise him to learn how to appreciate his own self without depending on the kudos of others. This, after all, is the mission his soul is here to accomplish.

With all the news about the release of Sweeney Todd, I haven’t talked much about Johnny’s other upcoming projects. Shantaram is set to begin filming in January. It will be directed by acclaimed Indian director, Mira Nair, whose recent films include The Namesake and Vanity Fair. The screenplay was written by Eric Roth, whose other screenplay credits include The Good Shepherd, Ali, and Forrest Gump, among many other popular films. The only two cast members confirmed have been Johnny and Indian actor, Amitabh Bachchan. I’ll give you other Shantaram news as it becomes available. In the meantime, here’s a synopsis of the book, as it appears on Amazon:

Crime and punishment, passion and loyalty, betrayal and redemption are only a few of the ingredients in Shantaram, a massive, over-the-top, mostly autobiographical novel. Shantaram is the name given Mr. Lindsay, or Linbaba, the larger-than-life hero. It means “man of God’s peace,” which is what the Indian people know of Lin. What they do not know is that prior to his arrival in Bombay he escaped from an Australian prison where he had begun serving a 19-year sentence. He served two years and leaped over the wall. He was imprisoned for a string of armed robberies peformed to support his heroin addiction, which started when his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his daughter. All of that is enough for several lifetimes, but for Greg Roberts, that’s only the beginning.

He arrives in Bombay with little money, an assumed name, false papers, an untellable past, and no plans for the future. Fortunately, he meets Prabaker right away, a sweet, smiling man who is a street guide. He takes to Lin immediately, eventually introducing him to his home village, where they end up living for six months. When they return to Bombay, they take up residence in a sprawling illegal slum of 25,000 people and Linbaba becomes the resident “doctor.” With a prison knowledge of first aid and whatever medicines he can cadge from doing trades with the local Mafia, he sets up a practice and is regarded as heaven-sent by these poor people who have nothing but illness, rat bites, dysentery, and anemia. He also meets Karla, an enigmatic Swiss-American woman, with whom he falls in love. Theirs is a complicated relationship, and Karla’s connections are murky from the outset.

For more movie news, visit Movie Review Report.

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Johnny has bought a new house for himself, Vanessa, Lily-Rose, and Jack! According to reports, Johnny has bought a $2.6 million, 150-year-old Somerset mansion in Britain’s West Country. Apparently, he fell in love with it as soon as he saw it.

Reports are that he, Vanessa, and the kids are waiting for $5 million dollars worth of renovations to be done before moving in. There’s also talk that he is planning to install a helicopter pad and swimming pool!

“He’s made regular trips overseeing the work,” a source told British newspaper The Sun.
Johnny already owns homes in France and the United States, as well as his island in the Bahamas.

Looks like there’s not much chance of the family being homeless anytime soon! Those old British mansions are lovely. I wonder if they’ll release any photos of the renovations. Seeing how he and Vanessa decorate the place would be wonderful!

And, speaking of home decorating, if you’re into it, visit Household Tips

Johnny Depp, Depp, Vanessa Paradis, Britain, Depp buys house

EW.com(Entertainment Weekly) is giving us a real treat-an interview with Johnny all about Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street! Johnny talks all about the making of the movie, working with Tim Burton again, his impressions of Stephen Sondheim, and a few other things as well! Here’s a brief excerpt from the interview. Be sure you go to the above link to read the entire interview. It’s fantastic!

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ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This Sweeney dude — he is messed up! You are going to freak out a lot of pre-pubescent girls with this character.
JOHNNY DEPP: Ah, finally! It’s a radical left turn, that’s for sure. The difficulty and the challenge [was] taking a character like that and attempting to make people feel for him, at the same time that he’s slashing people up. Not easy. But I certainly hope it came across that way.

Musical lovers and Stephen Sondheim fanatics know Sweeney Todd really well. What about the general public?
Somebody sent me this thing from online. Somebody said, after they saw the trailer, ”I don’t understand why in the middle of that trailer Depp broke into a song.” Like, ”Whoa — What is he doing?”

Singers say Sondheim’s melodies can be incredibly tough. Why?
It’s real obtuse stuff. When you start to take those pieces apart, melody line by melody line, it’s a lot of half-steps, which is not real easy to do. Kind of go G to A-flat to A to B-flat. It’s super, ultra complicated, these notes that shouldn’t work together at times. But he made them so.

Did Sondheim have any good advice for you?
He said to me early on, it was much more about the acting work than the singing. He felt the singing was secondary to hitting the notes emotionally. I didn’t believe him. [Laughs] I think he was probably saying that to make me feel better about what I was about to attempt.

And what did that feel like?
Frightening. Really frightening! When Tim asked if I’d be into it, he said, ”Do you think you can sing?” And I said, ”Honestly, I don’t know.” I’m not tone deaf, so I knew I could stay in key to some degree. But I didn’t know if I could sustain a note, or belt one out.

You were in a number of rock and roll bands before you became an actor. Didn’t you do any singing in those?
Virtually none. Just backup.

And yet Sondheim approved you without an audition.
Sondheim, bless him, had barely heard me talk. So when he said, ”He’ll be fine,” it was a real shock.

What did Tim Burton say to you after he finally heard your singing voice?
He couldn’t have been sweeter about it. He was really supportive, and said he really liked it. It was the reaction I was praying for.
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See Cinema Hype for more news on the latest movies.

Johnny Depp, Depp, Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Tim Burton, Stephen Sondheim, Helena Bonham Carter

There are several Johnny stories floating around these days, so I thought I’d take a break from Sweeney Todd stuff, tantalizing as it is, to talk about just Johnny. There’s a story going around that Johnny is househunting in England. Apparently, he’s been looking around Fressingfield, near the Suffolk/Norfolk county boundary.

A property expert in the area, Nigel Steele, said “I have sold several houses to musicians, pop stars, actors and other very well-known people. They come here because it is one of the most unspoilt parts of the country. This is one of the least densely populated areas and they can go for long walks in beautiful countryside without being bothered.

So it wouldn’t be inconceivable for Johnny to be househunting in the area. The really surprising part of this story is that Johnny was turned away from a pub in the area, for not having a reservation!

Seems that, while he was scouting for a home in the area, Johnny went into the popular Fox and Goose Inn. But he didn’t have a reservation, and all the tables in the 18th-century inn were already taken.

Of course, I’m no pub, club, or restaurant owner, but I can’t imagine turning away Johnny Depp! Other celebrities, sure-but Johnny! I wouldn’t throw anyone out, but I’d certainly pull in another table, and put it anywhere I could!

In some older Johnny news (which, again, I’ve neglected in favor of Sweeney Todd), seems actress Eva Mendes regrets not prolonging her kissing scene with Johnny in “Once Upon a Time in Mexico.” In the 2003 Robert Rodriguez film, Mendes, as Ajedrez, has a kissing scene with Johnny’s Agent Sands.

Mendes, 33, says she has regretted, ever since, not prolonging the kiss with Johnny, who was one of her childhood idols. She says, “All of my screen kisses were the best, though I regret not kissing Johnny for longer… It was the first time I had worked with an actor who I had a crush on as a little girl.”

So, how many of you out there could see yourself in her shoes? With a chance to kiss Johnny, and regretting not prolonging it? I’m not sure I could be in her place, because I think they might have had to pry me away, I’d have prolonged it so long!

For more news on great actors see Tom Cruise Watch and Brad Pitt Watch.

Some lucky fans have finally gotten to see a sneak peek of Sweeney Todd! Here’s an excerpt from a review by Steve Biodrowsky over at Cinefantastique.

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Got a sneak peak at SWEENEY TODD on Tuesday, and it is absolutely fantastic - one of the best things Tim Burton has ever directed! The movie is pretty much your dream of what it would be, when you first heard that Burton and Johnny Depp would be turning the Stephen Sondheim musical into a movie: it’s a dark, brooding horror-musical-comedy that hits all the right notes.

Depp casts aside the over-the-top antics of Jack Sparrow for a much more self-contained performance as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, in which the emotions (primarily a lust for revenge) ooze up to the surface in controlled bursts; without ever blunting the character’s razor-sharp edge, the actor demands that we sympathize and root for Sweeney as he slashes his way through half the throats in London. Alan Rickman is wonderful as the hypocritical Judge Turpin, whose machinations drove Sweeney to madness. Sacha Baron Cohen shines in a small role - you don’t have to be a Borat fan to enjoy his work here. A special mention must go out for Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford, Turpin’s right-hand man - a perfectly wrought performance of a slimy character who mistakenly believes himself to be slick and smart. Hopefully, the Oscar academy will not overlook him next year even though his role is not of the showy, melodramatic kind that usually draws attention.

If there is a flaw in the movie, it is that the cinematic storytelling occasionally short circuits the musical nature of the source material. The acting performances, through close-up camera angles and cutting, convey the point of some scenes long before the songs wrap up, as when Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower) first lays eyes on and falls in love with Sweeney’s daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener), who is kept a virtual prisoner in Turpin’s mansion. Judging from the reaction and comments after the screening, fans of the musical will be pleased that the film is faithful to Sondheim, but SWEENEY TODD might have been even better if it had jettisoned more of the stage version, which on a few occasions feels like dead weight slowing the movie down.

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I don’t know about you, but it’s nice to finally have my impressions of the movie confirmed by someone who has actually seen it! I can hardly wait for December! I’ll share more reviews as I find them.

More movie news at Movie Review Report

Johnny Depp, Depp, Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Tim Burton, Alan Rickman, Sacha Baron Cohan, Timothy Spall, Cinefantastique

There’s a lot of great sites on Johnny Depp around the web. Today, I want to point you in the direction of some of those sites, and tell you about just a few of the things they have to offer.

Johnny Depp Web-They have a great page called fan central, where they list members from all around the world! You can make friends with other Johnny fans from 155 different countries. They choose a “Fan of the Month” each month and also offer fan art.

Depp Impact is one of the Johnny sites which has been around the longest. It has tons to offer-including photo galleries of every one of Johnny’s movies (as well as other photos), a great news section with all the up-to-the-minute Johnny news, and a great schedule of Johnny appearances on TV. It also does some charity work and, at the moment, is helping collect donations to save families’ homes from foreclosure. Check out this site!

Deep Into Depp has a great live chat room, a TV schedule, good article archives, and lots more on Johnny. But this site is worth looking at just for the artwork and writing by Johnny that it features.

Johnny Depp Links is just what it sounds like-a huge page of nothing but links to sites featuring Johnny! There’s links to movie sites, chat rooms, fan pages, forums, clubs-just about anything you could want to look at concerning Johnny. If you’re looking for something in particular about Johnny, try this first.

Depptation and Depprived are two of the many forums dedicated to Johnny. You can discuss his movie roles, various characters, share fan art and fanfiction with others and, essentially talk about anything Johnny-related.

These are just a few of the MANY great sites on Johnny Depp that are out there. Try some of them out, and share your obsession!

For other celeb news, go to
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Johnny Depp, Depp, Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp websites, Johnny Depp forums

Finally!!! Here’s our first look at Johnny as Sweeney Todd (other than still photos and movie posters)! It’s the 2:29 trailer of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and it was worth the wait!

The first seconds of the trailer show us Benjaming Barker (the man who became Sweeney Todd), happy with his wife and daughter, then immediately cut to a courtroom scene, where Judge Turpin (played by the always wonderful Alan Rickman) is solemnly and evilly pronouncing, “May the Lord have mercy on your soul.”

From there we are treated to scenes of Benjamin Barker’s transformation to Sweeney Todd, with scenes featuring Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen. Along with our first few seconds of Johnny singing! It’s not enough to gauge his entire performance, but he sounds as though, vocally, he’s handling it well. Of course, I would expect no less of him. Johnny’s the type of actor who would not take on a role if he didn’t think he was up to the challenge.

There’s some interesting background to Johnny and Helena’s roles. Seems composer Stephen Sondheim retained veto power over casting the lead roles. Both Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter had to personally audition for Sondheim, and he almost rejected Johnny, considering his vocals “too rock oriented.” Now, that would have been a shame!

As far as acting, well-do we really even need to bring that up? Johnny’s always stellar in that arena. He embodies a character to perfection, and makes it look so easy. I can always actually forget that I’m watching Johnny Depp! Once again, I can’t wait for this movie!

Johnny Depp, Depp, Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sweeney Todd trailer

GQ has named the “50 Most Stylish Men Of The Last 50 Years” and, not surprisingly, Johnny is among them. Here’s GQ’s take on Johnny’s style:

After almost a quarter century in front of the camera, Johnny Depp has shown us everything but himself. Not an easy task when you’ve got those cheekbones, that tousled hair, and an unmitigated youthfulness, which Depp has worked hard to cloak by playing reclusive savants and rock ’n’ roll pirates. But we keep searching, trying to nail down his hobo chic—a style that derives from a life spent kicking around the dusty South and the French countryside. “I don’t think he’s remotely interested in fashion. He’s a complete instigator of fashion,” says Penny Rose, the costume designer who collaborated with the actor to create Pirates of the Caribbean’s randy Jack Sparrow. “His look is always eye-stopping, clever, and completely individual.” Or, like the last two drags on one of his hand-rolled cigarettes, raw and unapologetically gratifying.

What more is there to say about Johnny’s style, except what I’ve already said here before: He makes any piece of clothing he puts on look great!

Johnny Depp, Depp, GQ, Gentleman’s Quarterly

Johnny was recently named one of the coolest celebrities in a survey of 15-24 year olds in the Persian Gulf region. The survey, carried out in August by Dubai-based youth marketing agency Out of Bounds. asked 500 males and females to name the coolest and least-cool celebrities. Coming out on top were Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and George Clooney.

In fourth place was Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. Among the least cool celebrities, Britney Spears took top ‘honors,’ followed by runner-up, Victoria Beckham.

These people know cool!

Johnny Depp, Depp, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Britney Spears, Victoria Beckham, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Gorgeous as usual is the best way I can describe Johnny’s appearance at the Venice Film Festival yesterday! Johnny was there to present collaborator and friend, Tim Burton, with the career Golden Lion award, and they both looked fabulous, as did Tim’s girlfriend, Helena Bonham Carter.

Johnny wore a white tuxedo, with cream shoes, and Tim was in a black suit, while pregnant Helena wore a beautiful off-the-shoulder gown. Johnny was his usual outgoing self, signing autographs, chatting with fans, and posing for photographers outside for more than ten minutes, before going in to present Tim with the award.

Tim was very appreciative of his award, saying, “I am charmed by this award, which will serve as an inspiration for me forever.” He also joked that it was better than an Oscar, saying the award looked better than “a bald, naked man.”

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Both Johnny Depp and his Pirates co-star Keira Knightley will be attending the Venice Film Festival, which began yesterday, along with other A-list celebs like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Jude Law. Keira’s film, Atonement, was chosen to open this year’s festival.

Great news! The episode of Inside The Actor’s Studio starring Johnny Depp is set to be released on November 20th! Originally, the episode was scheduled to be released in May of this year. Then, release was moved to September, and then it was taken off the schedule completely. Hopefully, all merry-go-round of scheduling is all resolved, and we’ll be watching Johnny on November 20th. There are some great moments with Johnny in this episode, so be sure to get it!

Also, according to the website TV Shows On DVD, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is scheduled for an early December release. I haven’t heard an exact date on it yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do.

Add the release of Sweeney Todd to all this, and it looks like it’ll be a great holiday season for Johnny Depp fans!

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Johnny Depp’s Pirates of the Caribbean stuntman has sued Walt Disney Co. and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, according to the LA Times. Stuntman Tony Angelotti is suing over an accident that occurred while he was rehearsing a stunt for Pirates of the Caribbean: Deadman’s Chest in July, 2005. The stunt was a “human yo-yo” stunt, in which Captain Jack Sparrow was supposed to fall and roll.

Angelotti was attached by a harness to a crane with a cord wrapped around his waist, the suit states. He was then released from a height of 30 to 40 feet and was to perform five “roll-out turns.”

But by the time he reached the end of the cord, the suit alleges, the tension of the cord was such that it caused the stuntman to immediately “jackknife.” He fractured his pelvis, suffered injuries to his bladder, femoral artery, knees and legs, and suffered internal bleeding. Angelotti’s suit alleges that unsafe equipment was used in the stunt.

However the lawsuit turns out, we wish Tony Angelotti the best, and hope that he remains in good health.

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