Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Johnny Depp apologized Friday for joking about assassinating Donald Trump during an appearance at a festival in the United Kingdom. “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?”
Depp asked the crowd at Glastonbury Festival, in reference to the death of Abraham Lincoln at the hands of John Wilkes Booth in 1865. The 54-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star then added: “I want to qualify, I am not an actor. I lie for a living. However, it has been a while, and maybe it is time.” Depp said in a statement Friday that he did not intend any malice and was trying to be amusing. “I apologize for the bad joke I attempted last night in poor taste about President Trump,” the statement said. “It did not come out as intended, and I intended no malice. I was only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone.” The Secret Service said in a statement that it was “aware of the comments in question. For security reasons, we cannot discuss specifically nor in general terms the means and methods of how we perform our protective responsibilities.” Depp was at the festival Thursday to introduce a screening of his 2004 film, The Libertine.
■ Filmmaker Ron Howard is “beyond grateful” to add his voice to the Star Wars franchise and hopes “to honor the great work already done” on the upcoming Han Solo film, which he inherited from directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The Oscar-winning director proclaimed his love for George Lucas’ universe and eagerness to take the helm on Twitter on Thursday after the official news that he would replace Lord and Miller on the untitled project after they were ousted over creative differences with Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. The directors reportedly strayed from Kasdan’s script and disagreed over tone. The origin story, which stars Alden Ehrenreich as a young Han Solo and Donald Glover as a young Lando Calrissian, is already six months into production. Howard, 63, referred to his involvement as “a little opportunity that came my way” during an onstage discussion at the Cannes Lions festival Friday. The prequel film also stars Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newton. Production is set to resume July 10, and the film is still expected to hit its previously announced release date of May 25, 2018.