I got to Pinewood at about 5pm. There were 2 ladies and a young boy who’d been there since lunchtime. I just happened to walk down towards the security office, normally I’d wait at the end of the road, off the property as that’s what I’d been told to do previously. Luckily I decided to go and say hi to the security guys or I’d have missed out possibly. Anyway, Jo and Lisa got there after work and we waited in the absolute freezing cold.
Just around 8pm we saw Johnny’s car approach and we waved to it and it slowed down and stopped. Jerry, Johnny’s security guy got out first and then Johnny got out. I couldn’t believe I was finally going to meet him like this after so many disappointments. We’d been given teas and coffees by the security guards only minutes before he came out and we were all holding them. Jo and Lisa went to put theirs down but I waited so I was actually in the front when he came towards us. I was conscious though that the other people had been waiting longer than us that night so I said they should go first. Lisa just looked at me and gave me the biggest hug.
They chatted to Johnny for a while and I heard him say he had to grow his beard for POTC2 and that it takes him about 3 months to grow – aaah sweet. While we were waiting a bunch of very pretty girls turned up out of nowhere. Turns out they were extras from another film being made there. One of them didn’t have a jacket and Johnny took one look at her and said “you must be freezing” and gave him her jacket to wear. I thought that was the loveliest thing for him to do.
After they’d finished Jo and Lisa sort of pushed me forward and said “your turn”. I went up to him and said hi and he gave me a lovely hug and a kiss on the cheek and I kissed him. I said to him “I met you at the premiere and gave you the Sleepy Hollow book” and he said something like “yes, I love that book, I’ve got it in my trailer actually. How did you find something like that? I’d never be able to find something that great”. I told him I’d had great fun finding it and then I said “oh the joys of eBay” and he laughed at that.
I asked him about when The Libertine was going to be out and he said he thought it would be January. I asked him if he’d heard any of the reviews about the viewings in Toronto and he said no he hadn’t so I told him that it was really well received and that his performance had been described as his best yet. He seemed really pleased by that. He said it was a “hefty” film but that he’d enjoyed filming it.
I had really cold hands as I was getting my stuff ready for him to sign and I told him and he took my hands in his to feel them. The first item I had for him to sign was my Libertine play. He said it’s a great play (this was right after we talked about the play). He signed it on the cover but it’s all smudged now. His security guard asked to see it and asked me where I’d gotten it and I told him I thought it was Amazon. Oh yeah, when he was going to sign it he said “it’s Janine isn’t it? And then he checked how to spell my name”, I couldn’t believe he’d remembered!
Then I gave Johnny my copy of his P cd and he looked at it and said “wow, that’s really rare”. He asked what I wanted him to sign, just his name or something personal so I said whatever he wanted. He signed “Janine with respoect and thanks Johnny”
then asked me if I wanted his friend Bill, who is also in the group, to sign too as he was in the other car (which I hadn’t even noticed at that point). I said of course and his make-up guy took it for him to sign. Bill wrote “Janine I wish I had one of these Bill”.
I also had my copy of the POTC Lost Disc and I asked Johnny if he’d seen it and he looked amazed and said he’d not heard anything about it and asked what was on it. I told him it had the Becoming Jack stuff on it and he seemed really interested. He signed “Janine – Where did you find this? All good Johnny” on it.
Then I brought out my Vanity Fair magazine and opened it to the picture of him slouched in the chair. I told him it was my favourite picture and was about to tell him what I thought it looked like when Jo and Lisa both said at the same time “you can’t say that” and he laughed. I decided to pick my words carefully so I told him it looked like he was post coital and he laughed at that and said it was a bit like that. He said it was taken at about 2am and chatted to his make- up guy about it. He sort of mimed flopping into the chair and limp. He took the magazine and I didn’t see what he’d written until after
he’d left but he wrote “Janine – not post coital but almost. Love Johnny” – how amazing is that? I asked him if he was going home and he said yes and I said I didn’t know how he managed to be away from his kids so much and he sort of shrugged. I told him I’d planned to bring my 3 year old daughter with me but it was just too cold.
Now, my mind’s all a bit blurred at this point but I think after that we posed for a picture that Lisa took. Then I thanked him and he gave me another kiss and a hug and I kissed his cheek. I remember going “mmmm” as I kissed and hugged him, he was so lovely. I have to say that I didn’t notice what he smelled like at the time. I did notice his gorgeous soft skin though. I also loved what he was wearing, his famous ripped jeans, a blue t-shirt and leather jacket, plus scarves and a really lovely black cap. I actually went out and bought myself one similar today. No glasses which was great, you
could really look into his eyes.
After me Jo and Lisa went up to him. Jo gave him her story and told him the background to her writing it. Both Lisa and I said loudly “it’s really good” and he smiled. Then he signed their pictures from the previous meeting and I took a picture of them both with him, I hope it came out ok.
I can’t remember if it was before or after Jo and Lisa but the other girls that were there had some things signed with him and the girl with his jacket gave it to him back and he kept saying “are you sure you’re alright?” to her. Soooo sweet. Then the 4 security guards on duty there asked him if they could get a group picture and he said yes. They’re all from South Africa and were all friends there so they wanted something special and were really pleased.
Then Johnny said goodbye to us and asked if we were going to go back into the warm and we told him we were off to the pub, and he got back into the car and I remembered that I had one of my Mrs Depp t-shirts that I’d wanted to give him for Vanessa and I’d forgotten so I called out to Jerry and gave it to him and told him to give it to Johnny for Vanessa. I have no idea what he’ll think of it but I thought it’d be funny for her to have one too. Hopefully he’ll take it in the spirit it was given and not be freaked out by it. After that he rolled down his window and waved goodbye to us and we jumped about going “I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it” for a while. Then we went off to the
pub and drank a toast to him.
