Styles & Scenes

Leo gets Stoned, Kirsten and Orlando get Frenched

Maybe you can’t judge a book by its cover.

But you can judge a film by its premiere party star power.

Tuesday’s night party in New York for Martin Scorcese’s  “The Departed” drew a Hollywood icon (Lauren Bacall), a music legend (Billy Joel) and  two Rolling Stones (Mick and Ronnie).  Listen for some classic Stones tunes in Scorcese's return to his "Mean Streets" beginnings. Along with the cast, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson, this party was a pretty big bill to top.

But writer/director Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” party – sponsored by Chanel - at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood came in a close second.

The reigning queens of the night were definitely Sofia - in a Chanel Spring '07 pleated chiffon dress - and her movie muse, Kirsten Dunst, in a Christian LaCroix halter gown.

Penelope Cruz came glued to her “Volver” director Pedro Almodovar. Geoffrey Rush caught up with Angelica Huston, who later chilled on the patio with her husband and Jason Schwartzman. Will Ferrell was there and so was Courtney Love, who is starting to do a Thanksgiving Day Parade float imitation again (shock!).

I think I saw Samantha Mathis (where the heck has she been anyway?) in the crowd. Mike White and Robin Tunney seemed to be in good spirits.

One of the first to arrive was Maria Bello, followed by LA’s ultimate cool trio Donovan Leitch, Kristy Hume and Ione Sky and famed fashion photog Ellen Von Unwerth.

Also in the party: Mischa Barton, Drew Barrymore, Milla Jovovich, The Strokes, and Bow Wow Wow.

Dunst kept close to her patio table for most of the night, closely guarded by her PPP (Protective Personal Publicist) Steven Huvane.

No sign of a hot date for the "Marie" star. But guess who arrived late and snunk in under the radar? Her rumored on-again/off-again beau, Orlando Bloom.

Perhaps now that Bloom’s ex-girlfriend Kate Bosworth has dieted down to bare bones, his eyes are back on the slightly meatier Dunst, who at least has a BMI that might permit her to model in Madrid.

Much like  “Marie Antoinette,” the most impressive aspects of the party were not the actors but the astonishing set, costumes and props.

The Chateau was transformed into a tiny Versailles with a ballroom, crystal chandeliers, Louis XIV chairs, period rugs, huge gilded mirrors and  bouquets of pink roses/ gardenias.

Perrier Jouet was flowing and a decadent dessert banquet was piled with white chocolate boxes containing tiny berries, pastel-colored French macaroons, meringue, tarts, pink and lavender cupcakes and petite cotton candy.

The only thing missing was a few white powdered wigs, which, come it think of it, would have looked better on Bloom than that wierd flat hat.

This isn’t the first time the Chateau – which was actually inspired by a Loire Valley chateau -  has been cleared out and transformed.

“I remember we cleared the lobby out for our very first party,” recalled Marmont’s owner Andre Balazs. "It was for Sofia's 17th birthday party."

How tres, tres appropriate.

By the way, the mystery of where those pink Converse shoes came from has been solved.

Seems Io Bottoms, who plays a lady-in-waiting in "Marie," bought the pink Chucky's in Paris for Kirsten to wear during rehearsals and down time on the set.

"They cost about 80 Euros," she explained, "They were a gift for Kirsten."

Then Sofia's bro, Roman Coppola, slid the funky modern shoes into that shot of Marie Antoinette's fancy French period footwear.

So now you know.

Photo Credits: Mick, Leo and Ron get satisfaction at the New York premiere of "The Departed."
Jamie McCarthy/WireImage.

Photo Credits: Long live the Queens! Kirsten and Sofia party hearty at the Chateau Marmont.
Eric Charbonneau/WireImage
Photo Credits: Penelope Cruz, a buzzed about Oscar possibility, makes the scene at the Marie Antoinette party at the Chateau.
Eric Charbonneau/WireImage
Photo Credits: Better than her 17th birthday party? You betcha. Sofia's table awaits her at the Marie post party.
Eric Charbonneau/WireImage

Who had the better bash? Scarlett or Ben?

There was a real Hollywood flashback this week with the premieres of “The Black Dahlia” and “Hollywoodland,” both held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills.

Both period movies deal with unsolved Hollywood deaths, the brutal murder of a wanna-be actress named Elizabeth Short and the strange suicide of TV’s “Superman” star George Reeves.

But there was no comparison between the films’ after-parties.

The rumblings at the low-key “Dahlia” post party in the main lobby of AMPAS ranged from polite congrats to Scarlett Johansson- wearing a Chanel frock and a Streisand do-  and her on-and-off-screen beau Josh Hartnett to one woman loudly announcing “I want that two hours of my life back!” and getting quite a few “Me too” responses. Director Brian DePalma didn’t bother to stay for the bash. And Hilary Swank, who was one of the film’s hilarious highlights, was also a no-show.

But the “Hollywoodland” bash at the historic Beverly Hills Hotel was a far more upbeat, lavish and star-studded affair. The party was poolside with lots of bouquets on tables inside cabanas, white coated waitiers, cigarette girls, a brightly lit “Hollywoodland sign,” displays of Chopard jewelry (including Reeves' watch seen in the film) and half a dozen vintage cars deposited stars in front of the hotel.

Not only were all the film's stars in attendance - Bob Hoskins, Adrien Brody, Robin Tunney, Diane Lane and others - but Ben Affleck, who plays Reeves, brought his wife Jennifer Garner, his brother Casey, his pal Matt Damon with his wife, Luciana Barroso.

It was nice to see the best buds -  who burst on the Hollywood scene in ‘97 with “Good Will Hunting,” grabbed a Best Screenplay Oscar and made headlines by dating two hot actresses Gywneth Paltrow and Winona Ryder -  now look like mature, happily married family men. What a difference almost a decade makes.

It was clearly Ben’s big night. The actor was affable, charming and relaxed, the way he was pre-J-Lo, just hanging with his friends and family, chatting with well-wishers and even talking to reporters about the role that some partygoers were dubbing his “comeback.”

“It’s a great role and that was obvious to me from the start," Affleck admitted. “George is an icon, but a tragic figure, a kind guy and a sad guy. He represents one thing to the nostalgic consciousness of the American TV watching audience. And now they get a chance to see his perspective on the show and it's quite different from what you’d expect.”

But he was also relieved that he’d managed to dump the pounds he packed on to play Reeves. “At least I’ve finally lost all that weight. It would have been so embarrassing to show up at the premiere, five months after the film was shot and still be carrying all that around.”

Producer James Schamus could not be more pleased with Ben’s performance, which some insiders say could nab him a Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.

“Getting Ben was the luckiest thing that has happened to us in a long time,” said Shamus. “This guy is a gem. And not only is he a fine actor who is also a movie star but he’s one of the most intelligent and the kindest guys in this business.”

“We’d heard that Ben was interested in the role and we just kept coming back to his name,” explained director Allen Coulter. “He was so right physically. He also has an aura about him and he’s very charming. There were a lot of names on the table but when I met Ben for breakfast, it was Game Over. I met him that morning and had lunch with Diane (Lane) and I called Focus and said,"They're who I want. There’s no point looking any further.”

The "Hollywoodland" premiere party, sponsored by Chopard and Volkswagon, also drew almost every Hollywood Old Timer who was still mobile: Mickey Rooney,  Eva Marie Saint, Jerry Mathers (“Leave it to Beaver”), Cyd Charisse, George Takei (“Star Trek”) Lesley Ann Warren, Loni Anderson, Peter Graves, Robert Culp, (“I Spy”) and Ann Rutherford as well as Ed Harris, Amy Madigan and comedian Kathy Griffin.

Even Jack Larson, the actor who played Jimmy Olsen with Reeves in the original “Superman” TV series was on hand.

And the old folks haven't lost their sense of humor. They roared when Shamus introduced the film that night by saying, "This is a film that I think celebrates our Hollywood heritage and values; debauchery, greed, paranoia, substance abuse and adultery, all the things that make us special.”

But the highlight of Coulter's night was hearing how much Larson/Jimmy Olsen loved the movie. The men discussed the Mannix mansion and the Reeves home. Coulter explained that the Reeves house was not the real one, but a similar house whose owners let the filmmakers reconfigure it to match the Reeves layout. Larson, who had been to George’s house many times, was impressed by the accuracy of houses, the acting, writing and what he called “the compassionate portrayal of George.”

“That’s a nice thing,” said Coulter, quietly, after Larson left.  “That means a lot. I mean, he was there. He knew George.”

Photo Credits: The "Hollywoodland" bash at the Beverly Hills Hotel was the hot party this week.
WireImage/Eric Charbonneau
Photo Credits: A stunning Scarlett Johansson, with another grizzled old-timer director at low-key "Black Dahlia" premiere.
WireImage/Jeffrey Mayer
Photo Credits: The Matt and Ben Show is back on! Hey, how about an Oscar race this year?
WireImage/Eric Charbonneau
Photo Credits: No more famous couple carpet antics. Ben Affleck sticks close to his nice-and-normal wife Jennifer Garner outside the AMPAS  Thursday night
WireImage/Eric Charbonneau
Photo Credits: "Hollywoodland" hotties Diane Lane, Adrien Brody and Ben Affleck. Will they nab a trio of nominations?
WireImage/Eric Charbonneau

How to look red carpet hot! Or not....

Poor Kathy Griffin.

Her garish clown-face at the recent Emmy Awards was a major makeup disaster that could so easily have been avoided.

If only she - and, let's be honest, a few other Emmy attendees with overdone, poorly blended makeup - had gone to the L’Oreal flagship boutique in the Beverly Center.

All they had to do was step into the store’s custom-built “immersive light environment,” aka the Light Pod, a cubicle-sized white room with mirrors and switches.

Inside, with just the flip of a flip of a switch, the actresses could have checked out their makeup in various lights, from a soft candlelit dinner to a dimly-lit club all the way to the retina-searing revelations of the red carpet.

Inside the Light Pod, any woman can instantly see how essential blending and correct color selection is for walking the red carpet. Just press the 'Red Carpet' button and prepare yourself for a shock. Every flaw, every wrinkle, every red spot (past, present and future) is visible with the flood of flash. Slightly crooked lip liner, smudged eyeshadow, harsh blush?  Your face looks like a billboard of makeup blunders.

There's no charge to use the room and check out your face. The most commonlyused settings are 'Daylight', 'Overcast' and 'Open Window.' The L’Oreal girls will even give you a how-to tour.  But if you want a makeup artist to do your makeup inside the Light Pod at a particular setting, it costs $30 and takes about an hour. Best to call ahead 310-360-6555 to sked.

But here’s the really cool part.

Say you’re meeting friends at a hip Hollywood nightspot and you really wanna look hot, like ‘Dude-I-so-gotta-get-her-number’ hot.

The L’Oreal makeup artists can flip a switch from their "Hotspots" lights such as Lucque’s, Spider Club, Koi, The Belmont, Concord, A.O.C, The Bel Age, Eye Candy or Geisha House. Then they'll make you up accordingly.

Doing a double or triple-header? You can make sure which nitespots you're guaranteed to look good in and steer clear of the rest. “No, I don’t wanna meet you at Koi. And don’t ask me why.”

Since hotspots go in and out of style faster than hemlines go up and down, new clubs are being added. And sadly, some will be deleted, depending on whether Lindsay and Nicole are still showing up.  “We’re updating all the time,” explains L’Oreal’s Erin Doolan. “We’re going to get Mood, Joseph’s Café, and I think Teddy’s.”

How does L’Oreal duplicate the light levels at these happening spots?

“They go there and use some kind of light measuring machine, and capture the light levels and then put it into a computer,” says Doolan. “Some really smart people do it.”

Let’s just hope some really smart actresses – like Tyra Banks, who stopped by L’Oreal’s Light Pod a few weeks before the Emmys – will use the Light Pod during the next Awards Season.

Photo Credits: Perhaps better lighting would have helped Kathy Griffin's harsh Emmy face.
WireImage/Jeff Mayer
Photo Credits: Clearly, Tyra Banks found the perfect light for her winning Emmy look.
WireImage/Steve Granitz

"Boynton Beach" babes offer Mel sage advice

Folks were talking about more than the dilemma of dating at age 60 at the AARP-sponsored premiere of “Boynton Beach Club” Tuesday evening.

Some stars - who've been around the Hollywood round-about a few times - weighed in on Mel Gibson’s recent DUI and his well-publicized anti-Semitic tirade.

Sally Kellerman sounded circumspect on the whole Mel mess. “We all have our prejudices that we must quietly work on. Even those who don’t think they have any. And we must also work at not being prejudiced towards those who are. I went to the Museum of Tolerance  and there are two doors you must walk through. One is for those who have no prejudice. The other door is for those with prejudice. Of course, the door for those without is locked.”

She’s also mindful of the Oscar-winning actor/director/producer's background.

“I know that Mel grew up in a home with a father who said there was no holocaust. That’s just tragic. I do not condone or respect what he said. I feel sorry for him. To view the world like that is a big loss for him. My upbringing was that God loves all of us, not just Jews or Christians.”

Dyan Cannon had no thoughts on Gibson’s predicament. “I’m not clear about what he said or who he said it to. So I will just wish him well and hope that it all goes well for him. I’ve learned never to pass judgment. There’s a great saying, 'Unless you’ve walked a mile in my shoes, don’t judge me.'"

But Brenda Vaccaro had advice. “He should go to rehab. It's so sad. And the less we comment on it, the better. I feel bad for him. Anyone who is an alcoholic has terrible problems. I don’t know because I don’t drink. So it's hard for us who don’t have a problem to tell someone who drinks what to do.”

“If you want to age well, one thing you should not do is drink and then drive,” counseled premiere guest Lee Majors. “I wish I could reach out to him and do something about it. But it’s hardly a death bell. People have come back from much worse. I sympathize with Mel and I hope he can bounce back from this. And people forget. Johnny Depp and Charlie Sheen, they all had a few rough times. But we don’t remember it in a month.”

Maybe. But trashing a New York hotel room, as Depp was rumored to have done a few years ago when dating Kate Moss, isn’t quite the same. If he did do it, he wasn’t endangering anyone, unless you count a couple of lamps and a chair. And he didn’t go off and blame "the Jews" for “causing all the wars in the world.”

So here’s my opinion, for what it’s worth. You’ve recanted and apologized enough, Mel. Maybe one too may times. Now shut up and go to rehab. Take the cotton out of your ears. Put it in your mouth. In time, people may want to listen to what you have to say again.

Photo Credits: "Boynton Beach Club" stars Len Cariou, Dyan Cannon, Brenda Vaccaro and Sally Kellerman are no spring chickens. But they look pretty plucking good. And these gals have some advice for Mad Max.
WireImage/Jesse Grant

It's a wrap for Kate Hudson

Everyone was buzzing about Kate Hudson's fabulously slinky gown at the Hollywood premiere of her new comedy, "You, Me and Dupree," also starring Matt Dillon and Owen Wilson.

Was it Versace? Dior? Chanel? Prada? Dolce & Gabbana?

Wrongo. Guess again.

EHHHHNNNN! Sorry, time's up.

Kate's shimmering silver gown with a deep plunging neckline was designed by Diane Von Furstenberg, long known as the creator of the original '70s wrap dress. Diane and her wrap are back and in hot demand with young Hollywood, who shop for new wraps at her boutique on Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood. 

How did this elegant beauty handle the testosterone-filled jokes and antics on the set? Don't let the fab designer dress fool you.

"Kate was amazing. She fit right in," said Anthony Russo, who directed the romantic comedy with his brother Joe. "That was one of the first things she told us, "Don't worry about me. I grew up in a big family with three brothers."

Nuff said.

Photo Credits: Kate Hudson wows the cheeering crowds at the "You, Me and Dupree" Hollywood premiere in a DVF wrap gown.
WireImage/Lester Cohen

Jon Voight hasn't seen Shiloh

At Monday night’s "You, Me and Dupree” premiere, Jon Voight told a People reporter that he still hadn’t seen his six-week-old granddaughter, Shiloh. But he had seen the magazine photos.

Ouch.

But at least he seemed to have it more under control than he did at the June 24th “Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest” premiere. On the Disneyland press line, an Australian journalist ambushed Voight and asked what everyone was wondering but dared not ask, “Have you seen your granddaughter yet?”

“No, no, I haven’t seen her.. yet,”  Voight replied softly, stammering, his eyes slowly filling with tears. ”But I hope to soon and I’d really rather not talk about that if you don’t mind.”

But the reporter pressed on, asking Voight if he’d sent a baby gift and if so, what was it. “No, I haven’t sent a gift. And can we please change the subject?,” Voight asked, helplessly caught on camera as the embarrassing personal inquisition continued.

Next the reporter asked Voight how he felt about his daughter Angelina’s relationship with Brad Pitt and their new baby.

“I’m very proud of Angie and all the good work she's doing and I’d really rather not talk about it anymore,” Voight said as he moved away.

Voight was trying to be professional and polite but it was obvious he was upset abut not seeing his grandchild and the ongoing rift between the actor and his daughter, rumored to be over his infidelities while married to Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand.

On the carpet at the “Dupree” premiere, Voight was smart and escaped more personal probes by breaking off a press chat and grabbing one of the film's stars, Owen Wilson, to give him a big bear hug. “I love this guy! I’m a huge Owen Wilson fan!,” Voight said about his "Anaconda" and "Zoolander" co-star. “I go to all his premieres!”

“Yeah, you’re right,” a baffled Wilson replied, in mid-hug. “You really do come to all my premieres. Thanks, man.”

But enough about Shiloh. More importantly, I had to know if any of the "Dupree" stars had seen Baby Suri, the still MIA spawn of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. No one, including Seth Rogan, had.

"Who? Baby Suri? No, no I haven't. Have you?" 

But Rogan admitted  he was bummed by the recent bizarre Emmy nominations. "I'm really upset that my favorite show "Lost" didn't get more. I'm fanatical about that show to a maniacal degree and it deserved more."

All those in favor, say Aye!' And if anyone out there has seen Suri, please let me know, stat.

Photo Credits: Jon Voight is one sad lonely grandfather. Bet he was thrilled to see that Shiloh has his once-puffy lips. Okay, Angelina's got them in spades but they're from his genes.
WireImage/Steve Granitz

Keira's not starving. No, seriously.

At the London premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” Keira Knightley told reporters thats she’s not, we repeat, not, not, absolutely not anorexic.

She told People that she knows she’s not suffering from the common eating disorder because her grandmother and great-grandmother suffered from it.
Um, o-kay, but can't this eating disorder thing run in the family?

The fact that Knightley’s skimpy backless gold Gucci gown showed off her bony ribs, sharp shoulder blades, bird-thin arms, protruding sternum and spine did absolutely nothing to feed all those preposterously silly, silly rumors. How does this viscious gossip spread, anyway?

Hey, at least the London press got to actually speak to her about something. Not to mention getting actual sound bites from her “Pirates” co-stars Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom.

Fat chance the hundreds of press who waited for 5 ½ hours at the Disneyland “Pirates” premiere had to get her to talk about anything.

But thumbs up for that new disheveled short bob, Keira. It makes your absolutely not anorexic hollow cheekbones look way full and healthy.

Photo Credits: Keira Knightley is not suffering from anorexia. She’s just incredibly, incredibly skinny. And anorexia runs in her family. Now leave the poor girl alone, people! 
WireImage/Ferdaus Shamim

Love, Love, Love. Love is all you need

Two of the Fab Four - Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr - and the widows and children of John Lennon and George Harrison got a little help from their friends at the opening night of the Beatles “Love” Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas.

An estimated 5,000 people came to Friday's star-studded shows and the seemingly endless after-party that started after the 7:30 show and didn't slow down until hours after the 10:30 show ended. Guests enjoyed two back-to-back psychedelic multi-media performances featuring footage of the mop tops, astonishing acrobatics, exuberant dancers and 130 digitally enhanced and remixed Beatles songs and conversations, staged in the Mirage’s new circular theatre. The theatre cost about $130 million, seats just over 2,000, and includes huge 100 ft screens and over 4,000 speakers – including several in every seat back – that make you feel as if John, Paul, George and Ringo are singing within you and without you.

Paul and Ringo posed for photos but didn't pause to talk to press on the red carpet Friday night. Hey, they're Beatles. They don't do press lines. But the invited guests sure did.

"It’s an historic night,” proclaimed Eric Idle of Monty Python fame, a close friend of the late Harrison and Lennon and the other surviving Beatles. “And I’m so old, I feel historic too.” He joked that he came to “check out the competition. We’re opening "SpamAlot" here next March, just up the street.”

Will he ask his Beatles pals to come to his premiere? “Good point, very good point! But I’ll probably just get The Ruttles.”

Blondie’s Deborah Harry wore a tres Vegas sparkly bright orange mini-dress. Also walking the carpet were Beatles fans Virginia Madsen, Billy Crystal, supermodel Lauren Hutton, Helen Mirren, Megan Mullally, Gina Gershon, Stone Temple Pilots’ Scott Weiland, designer Roberto Cavalli, Beach Boy Brian Wilson, SNL’s Kevin Nealon, Jason Patric, “Seinfeld”'s balding Kramer (say it isn’t so!) Michael Richards, and Vegas headliners Wayne Brady, Cris Angel, Carrot Top and Robert Goulet. Or it might have been a Goulet impersonator. Very hard to tell in this town.

Even Siegfried and - miraculously - Roy, who still looks dazed and smiles a little lopsided after that nasty white tiger bite, came to show their support for the act that will take their place at the Mirage for the next decade.

Rod Argent, Sheila E. and Edgar Winter - members of Ringo’s (fyi: pals privately call him Richard) All Starr Band playing in concert the next night at the Mandalay Bay - couldn’t contain their enthusiasm.

“Ringo is super-excited about it! We all are!" raved Winter. “Mixing the Beatles music with a Cirque performance? It just doesn’t get any better than this!” 

Argent was also jazzed. “I just spoke to Andrew Lloyd Weber who saw a preview last week and he said it’s fantastic!”

Even a stone-faced Steven (Little Stevie, wearing his E Street Band trademark headscarf) Van Zandt, who had just (literally fifteen minutes earlier) signed the contract for four more final season episodes of “The Sopranos”, sounded upbeat.

“The Beatles set the standard for pop music and the Cirque set the standard for live performances in Vegas," said Van Zandt. "Hopefully, this will keep Beatle music alive and turn more people on to their songs.”

It definitely was an historic night: this was the first time the extended Beatles clan has ever appeared together in public. But it was also a very emotional night. It had been Harrison’s last wish that the Beatles would work jointly on the project he and Cirque creator Guy Laliberte conceived in 1997, four years before Harrison’s death.

“This project is one of emotion,” Laliberte said on the red carpet. “It was George’s dream to have all the Beatles work together creatively one more time. When he passed on, it became important to everyone to make it happen.”

Even the Beatles widows got into the act....

Photo Credits: Sir Paul McCartney, Olivia Harrison, Yoko Ono, Barbara Bach and Richard Starkey flash the peace sign and share the love at  the Beatles Love Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas.
WireImage: Kevin Mazur

Too many fans, too little time

Disney Studio's publicity department had a very full Monday morning, fielding questions about Saturday’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” PR nightmare at Disneyland.

Disney's head of publicity Dennis Rice was busy making amends to disenchanted print, internet, radio and TV press who’d waited for five hours on the premiere red carpet and never got to interview the film's main star, Johnny Depp.

“I had a big fallout with the press and I’m prepared to deal with it today,” Rice confirmed.

What Disney was simply not prepared for was the overwhelming number of fans who bought tickets to the park to see their favorite stars arrive for Saturday's premiere.

“We knew Johnny Depp had a huge fan base but we were simply not prepared for the number of fans who showed up,” Rice admitted. "And for Johnny, it’s all about the fans."
According to Disneyland sources, five thousand fans camped out Friday night outside the park in order to get in at 6:30 a.m. to stake out spots on the carpet so they could see – and possible shake hands with - the “Pirates” star.

“Unlike some stars, Johnny Depp is very appreciative of and loyal to his fans and he always makes time for them at his public appearances,” says a Depp source. “They all know this and that's why they show up in droves. He started signing autographs for fans in the front of the park around 6:45 and spent two hours doing it. He didn’t even do his first interview with ET until 8:45.” 

Unfortunately, his two hours of devotion to his fans up front left scant time for the countless others lining the carpet further inside the park. Or the patiently waiting reporters further down the line who were not told until after 9 p.m. that Depp would not have time to talk.

But the tremendous turn-out is proof that Depp’s popularity with fans of all ages and both genders has now hit superstar status. And he didn’t even have to jump on Oprah’s couch to get up there.

And it turns out that Depp had an even fuller plate on Saturday than most people knew. He arrived at the park at noon with his family to do press photos on the updated Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Then, according to inside sources, he spent several hours more on a “personal obligation” that Disney has refused to confirm or comment on in order to respect the actor’s privacy.

But a Hollywood Bytes investigation has uncovered that Depp’s time-consuming “obligation” was actually an unpublicized lengthy lunch/meeting with several children with life-threatening illnesses whose dream was to meet the actor. Depp's publicist Robin Baum's office confirmed the  report. Depp has worked with the Make-A-Wish Foundation since his days on the late 80's TV series "21 Jump Street."

Well, this totally defuses any annoyance about Depp's subsequent truncated time on the red carpet. Choosing to make seriously ill kids happy over inane pointless press interviews? Hard to argue with that.

Photo Credits: Nice guy Johnny Depp arrives a little late to the Pirates premiere. But when you find out why, you'll understand why so many people love this guy.
WireImage/Eric Charbonneau

"Pirates" premiere is a wild carpet ride

The most popular ride at Disneyland Saturday was the red carpet for the world premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”

And the longest. The red carpet was over 1,000 ft. long, rolling down Main Street, snaking by Fantasyland and ending at Adventureland. But for hundreds of international TV, radio, internet and print reporters and thousands of fans who'd come to see “Pirates” stars Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, the carpet ride became pretty disappointing by the end of the night.

Fans staked out coveted spots along the carpet when the park opened at 6:30 a.m. The press arrived at 3 p.m. to prepare for celebrity arrivals from 5-6. But by 6:30, only a few non-famous guests came wandering in.

Since the premiere invite stressed ‘pirate garb,' there were more eye patches, head bandanas, gold earrings, skull 'n crossbones, puffy shirts, and pirate hats - not to mention dark sooty Jack Sparrow eyeliner - than you could shake a saber at.

Early on, the throng of fans – most wearing Disney's pirate mouse ears (gold hoop earring in one ear) – were hopeful and enthusiastic, shouting, screaming, holding up banners and photos of Depp and Bloom and ‘We Love You Johnny!’ posters. They were only too happy to jump and scream to create B-roll color for the camera crews and applaud the professional Disneyland pirates who were singing, playing accordions, juggling balls and knives and walking on stilts up and down the carpet.

There was a pre-party with grog and grub at the Blue Bayou and Café Orleans for  the premiere guests. They could also ride the new Pirates ride that features characters from the film (Jack Sparrow, his nemesis Captain Barbossa and the squid-faced Davy Jones) and then fill three huge red, yellow and green bleachers to view the film scheduled to be shown on an outdoor screen at around 9 p.m.

But by 7:30, the fans out on the carpet were getting hungry and hoarse, children began whimpering and even the seasoned press was turning surly.

“We’ve been standing here 5 hours and we’ve not seen a single lead actor from the film,” groused a KTLA reporter. “This is insane. Why would they make us stand out here this long?” Even a befuddled German reporter asked, “Is this normal?”

“Is Johnny here?” reporters pestered the nervous Disney publicists. “Where’s Keira?” "Has anyone seen Orlando?” "Will they talk to us?”

“They’re here,” one publicist promised. “Johnny’s doing the new Pirates of the Caribbean ride and they’re taking photographs. But he’ll be here. Just be patient.”

So reporters relaxed and chatted up non-Pirate people to kill time. “Entourage” star Kevin Dillon told press that his fans scream “Drama!” and “Viking Quest!” wherever he goes. Director James Cameron, who has a cameo on “Entourage,” plugged his new film “Avatar,” a sci-fi flick set on another planet that will be released next year in 3-D HD.  But he admitted he’d probably do better with a real “Aquaman” since it’s gotten built-in buzz from the show.

Jon Voight stammered when a reporter asked if he’d seen his new grandchild. The answer was “No” but he’s, um, “very proud of Angie and all the work she's doing.” And he hasn’t sent a baby gift. And he’d really rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.

Holly Robinson Peete was very popular with press because she actually knows Depp from his “21 Jump Street Days.”  “Who would you like to have a pirate adventure with?” queried a TV reporter. “Well, not Johnny. He’s a friend. Unlike every other woman in the world, I just don’t feel that way about him,” Robinson-Peete explained.

Marilyn Manson – dressed not like a pirate but like Marilyn Manson – was also a hot interview once word spread on the line that he actually knows Depp, who may star in a movie he’s making about Lewis Carroll.  “I’m just here to see Johnny. He’s my friend. He’s a real pirate. I’ve got absinthe in my boots and I’m a pirate, too.”

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed autographs, talked to a few TV reporters and tried to ignore the smattering of loud “boos” from the crowd. Inexplicably, his wife Maria Shriver wore a Dolce & Gabbana T-shirt emblazoned with Michelangelo’s David wearing a sequin fig leaf.

Finally, around 8 p.m., a few actors who actually appear in “Pirates” made their way down the press line. Bill Nighy, who plays the octo-pussed Davy Jones, said it was  surreal having to play piano with his face tentacles. Vanessa Branch, who plays the wench Giselle, revealed how much fun she had slapping Depp in all three films.

All three? ...

Photo Credit: Keira Knightley faces what Disney called the longest red carpet in the world.
WireImage/Lester Cohen

Photo Credit:
Johnny Depp signs autographs for fans at the Disneyland premiere of "Pirates."
WireImage/Lester Cohen

Photo Credit: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver walk the  "Pirates" plank.
Wire/Image/Gregg DeGuire