An Admirers' Site Dedicated to Johnny Depp and His Work
On October 30th, Johnny appeared at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City to accept the 2004 Lee Strasberg Artistic Achievement Award. Before he met some fans in New York, where as well some photos were taken. You can find all the pics under Public Appearances.
The stars were out Saturday nite in Manhattan despite the heavy clouds and ominous threats of rain. The night was about raising money for The Actors Fund , it was called That?s Entertainment and was held at the magnificent Waldorf Astoria.
The guest list was prestigious to say the least, including, Angela Lansbury, who accepted a Lifetime Acheivement Award. Bernadette Peters, Christina Ebersol and Robin Strasser among others, but the night belonged to Johnny Depp.
I had butterflies in my stomach for days before I actually set foot in the Waldorf Astoria that night. My dream to actually see Johnny in person was about to come true. I never in a million years expected to actually get to meet him, speak to him, get photos of my own or see myself with him on the internet.
There was Security everywhere. Men in suits with ear phones in their ears. Just like the secret service. You couldn?t go here, or there.
The photographers were already in “photo mode” as the honored guests were presented to them. Flashbulbs crackled, as star after star was ushered by. No one seemed to notice or mind that my husband, Dean and I were among them. Suddenly, I was being pushed aside as I heard one say to the other, “Who is that woman?” the other replied, “I don?t know man, but leave her alone, she was here first.” I stood my ground for awhile and got some great shots. The next thing I knew Security tightened up and we were asked to step out.
Standing just outside the closed doors I knew Johnny Depp was about to enter the room. A frenzy of flashbulbs began and we knew he was there. In we went again. I was not about to let this opportunity pass me by. I got a couple of shots before Security started to usher a cool, Mr. Depp, “I just kind of suck it up.”out of the room and mass confusion. “Johnny, Congratulations, you deserve it?”, I yelled , as he casually strolled by, he seemed so unfruffled on the outside, no more than three feet from me. He stopped, looked right at me and said “Thank you, very much.” I could barely catch my breath. This was the first of several minor encounters my husband and I would have with the very gracious, very patient Mr. Depp that evening.
A short while later, I noticed that Johnny was no longer at his dining table. My husband and I decided it was the perfect time for a much needed pit stop. I left Dean alone in the hallway with the autograph book for 5 minutes, I swear that?s all it was. When I came back he said. “I can?t believe it, you just missed Johnny twice, he strolled by alone with two body guards.” Dean said he was so nice, he stopped,
Hello! sorry this is late…I got home very late Sunday morning from NYC and had to work yesterday. I know how much I look forward to and appreciate those of you who share your encounter stories here. I hope I don’t disappoint anyone with mine.
Sam did an excellent job of describing the general feel of the events.
You definitely need “courage and fortitude” and a strong faith in your intuition for these things. I’m so glad we went, and stuck it out though.
OK, I’ll just start……….
We were aware that Johnnys limo was waiting on the street, so we figured that as long as that limo was waiting for him…so were we! lol!
Around 12:30- 1:00 am…the limo suddenly started up and screeched down the street, past us…and into the parking garage.
There were shouts of “Oh Sh*t” from some cars parked on the street, that had been full of Autograph hounds as they must have been caught off guard and had to scramble for their pics and cameras….that was pretty funny.
Everyone took off running for the garage…..Sam, Michael and I were separated and went in different directions once inside the garage. I kind of lost them once we were inside. It was well lit, but eerie, as I did’nt see many people. I had just gotten there myself, I guess I was one of the first in, which was lucky because I never would have stood a chance if it were just a few seconds later.
I saw the limo…they hotel staff were busy throwing luggage into it. I walked up to it, but Johnny was not inside. More people had arrived inside the garage by now, and everyone was milling about, looking for Johnny.
Then I heard someone yell “He’s coming out of the door”…I looked to my immediate right…and there was the door!
It was up on a concrete landing 3 or so feet off the floor, with a railing around the landing. I still have no recollection of how I did it, but somehow I got up onto that landing “quick like a bunny”.
Before I knew it, there I was, right in front of the door.
It was a big, heavy revolving door….I saw an older man coming through, then looked into the following compartment…AND THERE WAS JOHNNY!!!! lol!!!
Oh man!! He looked striking! His skin was very pale, no facial hair at all… his lips were red…and he was wearing all black, including a Black Fedora.
I got my beloved Dead Man book ready, turned to the page I would ask him to sign. I thought this was going to be one of those “special, personal Johnny moments”.
Johnny looked out, stepped out of the door…and all Hell broke lose.
I was still right in front of him….but suddenly,
to recap, our seats were in the balcony section, above the main floor (my friend was very pissed, since one of the organizers had indicated to her that our seats had been moved downstairs (long story)). In any case, as luck would have it, our table was directly above Johnny’s – we could see his every move in that room the entire evening – we could see what he was drinking, talking to Tracey & Christie, the whole 9 yards. In the beginning of the evening, the presented the first 2 awards – the 2nd being the award to Angela Landsbury, then there was a break as they were serving dinner. We saw Johnny getting up from his table, and my friend went tearassing downstairs (didn’t even wait for me to get the picture for my daughter to bring for an autograph!), and I followed rather quickly behind. We made our way through the light crowd on the dancefloor, to discover Johnny congratulating Angela – I was a little afraid that she was going to interrupt their conversation, which obviously would not have been a good thing – we were both just caught up in the excitement that he was actually that accessible! After his conversation with Angela, he had a short conversation with Bernadette Peters – and then the moment was ours. She presented Johnny with a letter, requesting that he please read it, which he said he would, thanked her and said “Bless you!”. I then told Johnny what huge fans my 6 year old daughter & I were, that my daughter adored Jack Sparrow. He said thank you very much and shook my hand with both of his. At that point Johnny left the room with the security contingent and was gone for about a 1/2 hour. eated at our table were two little girls, age 9 & 10, who were very big Johnny fans, and their seats were closer to the balcony.. They told me when Johnny re-entered the ballroom, so I took them both downstairs with their programs and an extra sharpie pen that I had with me – by this time Johnny was mobbed by people wanting their picture taken with him and autographs, and such. I called to him 2 or 3 times to get his attention, you have to understand, as I am sure you do, he was trying to accomdate everyone’s request – and by now Johnny was so surrounded, he could barely move – probably similar to your situation outside. The security personnel stepped in and was telling folks (myself included) to move back, and give him some room, that he could not even sit down. I indicated that I would move as soon as the girls got his autograph — Toni, he took the time to talk to them, to listen to them & get their names – so they got their autograph. We went back upstairs to watch the rest of the program, I am sure you read my account of his speech (Angie just posted something from the Into Depp site (I think),
Hi fans,
I?m back from outside the waldorf? and so, so tired but I?m going to try to post.
It was a long day of waiting, w/fellow zoner paperrose and her husband but Johnny finally emerged. MYSELF, I?ll just start? only got glimpses of him. Only flashes. Close flashes? flashes that wow, flashes that stop the heart but flashes. HOWEVER, papperose has a GREAT story to tell. But I will let her tell it. It was a precious moment in a sea of chaos. Perfect? and hers and SO deserved.
The crush of autograph hounds ? descending on Johnny was like nothing I?d ever seen. Even a couple of the autograph hounds, themselves, were commenting, saying they?d never seen anything that ?vicious? (with him)? and that?s saying something. And by vicious? they meant the force of the siege. To clarify, people were NOT nasty with him?they were, however, hungry and devouring? and relentless. And, to me, this is always frightening.
But Johnny? Johnny was this calm force at the center of it all. I?ve been lucky enough to see him before? and this is what I remember so clearly? his calm, grace, fluid movement? somehow moving w/such control as the world around him breaks open, clanging and crushing, disorienting. The juxtaposition of his energy, to that of the crowd, is? startling. It startled me again.
Tonight, it was a crush right onto him?. a moving mass of bodies, pounding closer and tighter as he tried to move through the them. Photos thrust in his face, over and over, more photos, more thrusts? but when I did see him he was smiling? and present? and graceful?acknowledging people… moving through with an otherworldly calm. He heard voices (fan’s voices) calling out to him in the crowd (hello paperrose!!!) and fought his way to find that voice’s keeper. So incredible.
I was on the fringes of it all (I don?t have that pushy New Yorker thing down pat!) but the stories I heard from inside the sea? are incredible. Papperose?s husband was right in there too? w/an Iggy Pop shirt on? and in the madness had Johnny sign his shirt. In the center of this crowd? Johnny leaned in and went ?Niiiiiiiiice? wrote ?Iggy? over Iggy?s picture with an X at the end and signed his name underneath it. How present is that?? It?s unbelievable how Johnny moves through these crowds, how he sees the ?people? and not the mass. His has an extraordinary humanity? an empathy so acute, so genuine that for him, a mob (of people he knew were autograph hounds) were people? and treated like people. Deserving or not.
By the time this all occurred, I think it was near 1 in the morning. I?d met two incredibly sweet women (a long time fan and her friend)? and they too got right in there with Johnny? had wonderful, fleeting moments with him.
I snapped off a few photos but I?ve no idea how they came out.
Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet are ‘Finding Neverland’!:
[Hollywood News]: London, Oct 18 : Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet walked down the red carpet for the UK premiere of their forthcoming flick, ‘Finding Neverland’.
The movie tells the tale of Peter Pan author JM Barrie, played by Depp, and the ‘Titanic’ beauty plays Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, a mother whose young sons inspired Barrie to write the unforgettable classic.
The proceeds from the London premiere, held in Leicester Square, would go for the benefit of the ‘Great Ormond Street Hospital’, which treats sick children.
Meanwhile, Depp has confessed that it was difficult for him to get the Scottish accent required for the role.
“Musically, rhythmically, I initially couldn’t quite get a hold of it. Luckily, I found this dialect coach who helped me out a great deal,” the BBC quoted Depp as saying.
Kate, who was clad in a shimmering floor-length turquoise Ben de Lisi dress at the premiere, said that motherhood helped her play the part of Sylvia to her best potential.
“I don’t think I could have played Sylvia if I wasn’t a mother. There is something about the physicality of being a parent that you don’t know about until you become one,” the stunning actress added. (ANI)
Kate Winslet says Johnny Depp interrupted filming on their latest movie – by secretly using a fart machine.
The sexy actress, who stars with Johnny in new movie ‘Finding Neverland’, revealed the 41-year-old actor disrupted the shoot by playing practical jokes during intense takes.
She told Britain’s The Sun newspaper : “There was one scene when we were having dinner together. It was a difficult scene and that’s when Johnny did one of the most triumphant things I have ever seen an actor do – he had a fart machine under the table.”
But 29-year-old Kate, who is married to director Sam Mendes, claims the cast had no idea the stunt was a joke – and thought someone had really broken wind.
Stunning Kate admitted both she and her four child-co-stars struggled to ignore the trick because no-one knew what to say.
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** The Johnny Depp article continues now **
She confessed: “The first take was priceless. The boys didn’t want to speak, to say, ‘Somebody’s farted.’ But then it happened again and we were bursting with laughter.”
But Kate admits Johnny’s fart machine actually helped make the shoot a success.
She added: “That was the thing that made the scene work. That was totally down to Johnny.”
It’s not the first time Johnny has been caught using the realistic machine on the set of his films.
Three years ago, Penelope Cruz claimed the heartthrob star sabotaged her scenes on the set of their film ‘Blow’ with his comic prank.
And Johnny, who has two children with French beauty Vanessa Paradis, has revealed he has used the machine in a string of other confined spaces. He said: “That kind of thing is particularly fun on an airplane and it’s quite fun in an elevator too.”
Source
Johnny just arrived on the red carpet at the Premiere for the movie Finding Neverland in London. You can find some first pics in the forums, more will come tomorrow.
So I did manage to speak to JOhnny at the after party. I snuck up to him
when the security wasn’t around & Vanessa was standing next to him. Said
hi, how brilliant I thought he was in the film, mentioned pinewood & asked
if he rememebred me lol. It went really quickly & I don’t have a pic with/autograph
(we were told we weren’t allowed & that if we tried it’d get embarrasing).
But I got the eye contact and got to touch his lovely hand again. Having
Vanessa looking at me as well as Johnny was very odd lol.
The security was way over-the-top. Much worse than when I’ve been inside
other things like this. And you were really lucky if you got to speak to
him. It had to be either just before everyone took their seats, like me,
or afterwards if you were lucky enought to catch him before getting in the
car to leave (Jo & Lisa). Janine also managed to meet him before he left
during the meal 🙂
Here are a few pics I took. They’re not the greatest but it’s something.
Oh and of course Johnny was very, very good in the film 🙂 But I hate to
say it – I don’t think he’ll win the Oscar. Kate’s character has to show
more range & I think they’ll give it to her & not him.
Spoke to Johnny Vegas too lolol. Asked him if he remembered us from IOM
outside the studios when we had the banner for Johnny Depp (he had joked
at the time that it was for him).
Got autographs from Kate though, and the director, and a funny one from
Johnny Vegas.
Of course I did lots of high-pitched screaming as Johnny walked on stage
before film (so did lots of others lol).
I got up Sunday morning and headed off to work. I’d lied to my boss to get out of work early told them I had a family occasion to attend. They bought it and I left work at 1:00pm. I immediately shot off to London being as how I live about 1/2 hour away.
I arrived in Leicester Square to see there were already hundreds of people waiting outside the Odeon. My friend and I found a decent spot outside Garfunkels and waited for 4 hours. Finally at around 6:45 an Audi with blacked out windows pulled up next to the red carpet. Three people got out of the car, and a couple of them made their way down the red carpet. There was a long pause and the back door opened. Out stepped Johnny Depp in a black suit, grey waistcoat, white shirt and a red tie. Everyone in the crowd screamed.
He casually made his way around the hundreds people signing and having photos taken. Finally he got to me, I was shaken and terrified. My friend spoke for me: “This girl is your biggest fan and has been for years, believe me I know all about you because of her.”
Johnny replied, “Really?” and looked at me.
My Friend said, “Yes, she spent ages writing you this letter.”
She handed him my letter, and he said “Really? For me? That’s great, thank you so much, I’ll read it.”
Then she asked him to sign my Edward Scissorhands DVD and he did. Then he leant over and kissed me on the cheek and I kissed him. It’d been raining earlier and I was drenched and cold. He grabbed my hands and held them tight. “God, you’re freezing!” he said.
Then he asked my name, and I replied “Lauren”. He said, “Hey, Lauren.” Then I told him I had something for him. He said, “oh yeah?” Then I reached into my pocket and pulled out 3 badges I got free with my Little Britain DVD. I said, “I heard you like Little Britain.” He replied, “Oh, yeah,” so I handed him the badges. He looked down at them, then looked up at me and said, “Are you sure?” I said yes, and he said, “Thank you very much,” and put them in his pocket. Then he said, “Take care, Lauren” and smiled. He went to the next person and then carried on.
My friend said I really made my mark on him, and it appeared that he spent longer with me that night than anyone else at the “Finding Neverland” premiere, because not long after he spoke to me he was in the cinema.
I have nothing but kind things to say about him, and I hope that maybe I will see him again at a similar event. When my photos are developed, I will scan them and post them.