A female US academic who claims she was assaulted by Johnny Depp’s security guards while he was present can sue the US star for punitive damages, a judge ruled Monday.

Robin Eckert, a medical professor at University of California (UC) Irvine, claims Johnny and his guards became aggressive with her at a concert in Los Angeles last December. The academic had bought tickets for the VIP area at the show by Iggy and the Stooges. During a break between acts she left the area, and the confrontation occurred when she tried to return. At one point she was dragged across the floor, Eckert claims.

“This case arises from a highly painful and embarrassing attack, which occurred without cause or justification on my part,” she said in a statement to court.

“Depp witnessed the attack, however, despite being his security guards’ direct manager, did nothing to stop the attack,” she added.

Johnny’s lawyer Andrew Brettler denied that the star was actively involved.

“They can’t prove anything except that he stood there passively,” he said, adding that only two of four security guards involved in the incident were protecting Johnny.

Eckert, a 53-year-old mother of two, is suing the star and three security firms: Premier Group International, Damian Executive Production Inc. and Staff Pro Inc. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson rejected a motion by Depp and the security firms to limit Eckert’s legal action to seeking compensation, but not punitive damages.

“I think the allegations here are sufficient; whether they can be proved or not or whether they are exaggerated is a different matter,” he said.

Johnny Depp could be adding yet another project to his already full plate. Alcon Entertainment says Johnny’s in negotations to star in “Transcendence” for first-time feature film director Wally Pfister. Pfister’s an Oscar-winning cinematographer who shot The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Moneyball, and The Italian Job, among other huge films.

Jack Paglen wrote the screenplay, with filming expected to begin early next year. Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas are producing the project which is set up for distribution by Warner Bros Pictures.

According to THR, the film is supposed about a “man who creates a computer that develops a malevolent awareness.”

Alcon Entertainment’s co-founders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove announced Depp’s potential involvement in the film: “Johnny Depp is one of the most charismatic, talented actors imaginable and we are delighted he is with us on this project.”

Pfister added, “I’m thrilled, and feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Johnny. He is a creative and intelligent artist whom I feel will bring great depth to the character and the overall narrative.”

I uploaded 795 HQ screen captures of Johnny in his role as Barnabas Collins in his latest movie “Dark Shadows. Feel free to check them out!

The actor’s imprint will be a division of HarperCollins and will bear the same weighty-sounding name as his production company, “Infinitum Nihil,” which means “Nothing is forever.” Already slated for Depp’s imprint is The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan by journalist Douglas Brinkley, to be released in 2015. Brinkley and Johnny are already co-editing House of Earth, a long-forgotten novel written by the late folk musician Woody Guthrie, which is scheduled for some time next year.

If Johnny’s choice in roles is any indication, his taste in books as an imprint head will probably run eclectic and at times prove way too cool for the average reader.

“I pledge, on behalf of Infinitum Nihil, that we will do our best to deliver publications worthy of people’s time, of people’s concern, publications that might ordinarily never have breached the parapet,” said Depp in a statement. “For this dream realized, we would like to salute HarperCollins for their faith in us and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship together.”

Other public figures who lead their own imprints include Chelsea Handler, Rachael Ray, Anthony Bourdain, and Glenn Beck.

What kind of books do you hope to see from Depp?

I’m glad to be sharing something with you that is totally different from the things we actually post on JDW. It has got nothing to do with any updates, rumors etc. but with excellent and brilliant fanart.

On Wednesday I received an e-mail by the very talented, award winning freelance director/editor Jamie Munton. He has always been interested and fascinated with movies and started to make his own films in his early teens. Today he’s 23 years old and just graduated from a Bachelor in Film to work as a film editor in London. (Congratulations!)

This message contained a video that is called “Finding Johnny Depp“. It’s a short movie which developed when Jamie and his friends found out about a rumor that Johnny was living near their university campus in Cornwall. After some accurate research, they set off to see whether the rumors were true. Tthey walked from one location to another to gather more information… Thus “Finding Johnny Depp” was born!

This absolutely awesome film won the Delabole Slate Audience Award at the Cornwall Film Festival in 2010. I’m sure many fans will enjoy this movie, that’s why I decided to share it with you. So, take the time to watch this presentation! By the way, make sure to check out Jamie’s other works on his website. Thanks to Jamie for contacting me.

The unquenchable bloodlust of social media has sadly struck again, and rumors ran rampant this week that the 49-year-old “Lone Ranger” star had died in a freak drowning accident on set.

Unfortunately, unlike the usual cliff-falling, freak-accidental celeb death hoaxes, this rumor wasn’t exactly pulled from thin air. Last month, one of his crew members working on the Disney film died of an apparent heart attack while working inside a large water tank on the movie’s Los Angeles set. His death was initially reported as a drowning.

While Johnny was in New York at the time, clearly some part of the tragic news got miscommunicated, resulting in this week’s surge of reports of Johnny’s rumored untimely demise (complete with Facebook memoriams and everything). Though Johnny is fine and well, it’s not the first time he’s been killed off by the Internet, as back in 2010 he was the (fake) victim of a fatal car crash.

Johnny Depp has decided to do less of his own stunts after injuring his back on the set of ‘The Lone Ranger‘.
Johnny injured his back shooting ‘The Lone Ranger’. The 49-year-old actor was left writhing in pain on two occasions during action scenes for the Western film – in which he plays Native American Tonto opposite Armie Hammer, who portrays the title character – and he has now realized he can’t do many of his own stunts and needs to rely more on a double.

A source told America’s Star magazine: ”While it’s been hard to accept that he can’t perform such demanding feats anymore, Johnny is seeing it. He threw out his back twice while shooting the movie and then had to push through, getting massages in between takes.”

As well as suffering with back pain, Johnny has also been struggling with insomnia on set.

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The Johnny Depp Web staff wishes him nothing but the best and much health! May he get well soon!

Finally, the first short teaser trailer for Johnny’s upcoming movie “The Lone Ranger” was released. Check it out and tell us what you think in the comments below! I’m super excited! I also added 17 HQ screen captures to the image archive.

“The Lone Ranger” unleashed some great new production stills and promotional images of Johnny and co-start Armie Hammer. I uploaded those 7 LQ pictures to the photo gallery, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Not much is known about Wes Anderson‘s next film, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Anderson has been coy about plot details, simply referring to is as “Euro” – but one thing that seemed to be known was the lead, Johnny Depp. We spoke to Anderson on Saturday to discuss the Blu-ray release of “Moonrise Kingdom.” During our conversation , “The Grand Budapest Hotel” was discussed and Anderson is still being coy about the details. Except one: It won’t be starring Johnny Depp.

The rumor appears to have stemmed from a Deadline.com report in July, and was widely carried on a number of entertainment news sites, including HuffPost Entertainment. But Anderson says the story was without merit.

Your next movie is The Grand Budapest Hotel,” which is reported to star Johnny Depp?
It’s not Johnny Depp.

Oh, it’s not?
No. There’s a lot of… You know, the Internet has a way of announcing things on its own [laughs]. You will find that even though I’m very aware of the cast that has been announced on its own devices, you’ll never find me saying who’s in the movie. Or, as far as I know, anybody else. I really don’t know where it all comes from. In fact, Johnny is somebody who I would love to work with at some point, but he’s not going to be in this movie. But I actually have not put the cast out – I have not announced the cast. We have quite a great cast.