On December 3, 2007, Johnny Depp attended the world premiere of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET--called "something close to a masterpiece" by the rarely-impressed New York Times--in which he portrays the title character. Honoring SWEENEY TODD's roots as a Tony-winning Broadway musical, the premiere of Tim Burton's film was held at the Ziegfeld Theatre in Manhattan.
Since the weather was bitterly cold, with a blizzard threatening, tents of clear plastic were set up around the red carpet to try to keep the celebrities warm as photographers snapped their pictures. Meanwhile, across the street from the Ziegfeld, loyal Deppheads waited for hours behind barricades hoping for a chance to see Johnny . . . and he did not disappoint them. One Zoner who attended the premiere wrote, "As we stood out in the cold, all the other [celebrities'] cars went directly to the red carpet, but Johnny's car came right to us. He got out on our side of the street first." And despite the cold, Johnny stayed to sign autographs and exchange greetings.
Many thanks to Sleepy, Bonnie, AnaMaria, Carasun, Silvia, and Theresa for their help and for sharing pictures, and to Chachacheenie for her account of the premiere. The gallery also includes a few pictures from two other promotional events that occurred in New York City: The night before the premiere, composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim hosted a special screening of SWEENEY TODD for the Broadway community, with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp as his guests; Johnny and Tim were also interviewed by Al Roker for THE TODAY SHOW. If nothing else, pictures from these events reveal what a chameleon Johnny Depp is--note how completely his look can change from one day to the next!
--Part-Time Poet
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