Over the past few years, fully 1/3 of all Vanity Fair covers have featured an Oscar-nominated actor or actress. Halfway through 2009, that ratio is holding true, with Cate Blanchett in February, and Johnny Depp in July.
VF teases us with a few nuggets from the Douglas Brinkley article:
With no handlers or publicists in sight, Brinkley, Depp, and three of the actor’s best friends set off from the Bahamas on Depp’s yacht to a 45-acre tropical paradise called Little Hall’s Pond Cay. Here are some choice nuggets from Brinkley’s travelogue:
About the yacht
• Depp’s yacht is a 156-foot, steam-powered boat called Vajoliroja, an amalgam of the names of his partner (singer/actress Vanessa Paradis), himself, and their children, Lily Rose and Jack. There are pirate-themed touches throughout, and the ship flies the Jolly Roger alongside its official Marshall Islands flag.
About the island
• Depp named one of the six beaches on his island Gonzo, for Hunter S. Thompson (others are named Paradis, Lily Rose, Jack, and Brando, after his partner, kids, and other great mentor). Gonzo Beach features glass tables with Thompson’s face etched in the center.
What they did for fun
• Watched lots of YouTube videos and Hollywood movies old and new, including Tropic Thunder. (“That’s the best I’ve ever seen Cruise,” Depp says of his fellow actor’s portrayal of a foul-mouthed studio boss.)
More photos from Vanity Fair’s Johnny Depp gallery, after the cut.
The Rebel. Photographed by Herb Ritts, April 1995.
The Director. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, February 1997.