CHAPTER SIX - 02:40am to 03:10 am

I run onto the deserted pathway, my heart thumping madly, all the while muttering "No, no, no…Please don't say…!". As I head around the trees on the darkened green, I spot the young girl spectator silhouetted against the set, sitting on one of the park benches close up beside the little road in front of the theatre. If she's still here, then there's hope..

My heart slows down a bit as I sit down beside her and ask what's happening. She shrugs her shoulders. "Nothing much at the moment." "Is Johnny Depp still here?" I ask, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. All the while my eyes are scouring the set - it's so close to me now that it's hard to take it all in. "I don't know" she says, half-laughing. Apparently the security guard had invited her to sit with him on this privileged bench at the front, and he'd been talking to her so much that she's not been able to follow the comings-and-goings too closely.

And what a privileged position it is too! As I gradually calm down and take in my surroundings, I realise that we've got the best seats in the house!! The bench is slap bang in line with the front of the theatre, and we're within 20 feet of the stairs leading up to the entrance doors. The camera is now positioned near the top of the stairs, and there are still a few people milling around inside the brightly-lit foyer. Then I notice a dark blue Jaguar parked very close to us on our right hand side and, just beyond it on the other side of the street, the big silver people-carrier. My heart does a little flip and I finally let out my breath. With any luck he's still here.

The girl Caroline and I chat about the evening and why we've stuck it out until this time in the morning. She came along at 10:30pm to have a look at the filming and hasn't been able to tear herself away! 'Her' security man arrives and does a bit of a double-take seeing me back on the scene, so I shift over to let him sit down and continue his courting.

And then something wonderful happens: the crew begin to emerge from the foyer and behind them comes Johnny! (and Dustin probably. Did I mention that Dustin Hoffman was on the set as well?) Johnny's only about 25 feet away and he looks sensational: rich black brilliantined hair, combed straight back; immaculate and startlingly vivid black & white evening dress; and he's laughing with someone as he comes through the theatre door.

He takes up his position to the right of the entrance, and the crew get ready to film close-ups. It's exactly the same scene that I'd first witnessed 6 hours previously: the theatre usher emerges from the foyer, rings his silent bell, and calls out: "Last call, ladies and gentlemen! Last call for the - ". Even though I'm very close now, I still can't make out any dialogue beyond Johnny calling for 'Charles' to come back outside. Either they have extraordinarily sensitive mikes or, since it's a location shoot, they plan to dub in the dialogue later. (3rd theory: that I'm going deaf in my old age).

Finally, finally the last take is in the can and Marc Forster calls out: "OK, thank you, that's a wrap!" The lights inside the foyer are immediately dimmed, and everyone breaks position. The director then continues by thanking certain people (I couldn't catch their names) and everyone laughs and applauds. Caroline and I join in with the clapping, laughing together at the strangeness of our situation. There's good-humoured chat as the set breaks up, and Johnny and Dustin come down the stairs and stand talking together on the pavement. I'm half-inclined to finally take out my camera to try and get a shot, but by this time Johnny is embracing Dustin and it's clear that they're saying their farewells, so I think better of the idea.

And now that the moment for autograph-hunting is upon us, my heart and my stomach seem to have swapped places inside of me. I turn to Caroline. "I don't know if I can do this." She looks at me for a moment and then says "If you don't, you'll always regret it won't you?" I think about that. "True", I say, "Come on then." And gripping my little Dead Man book firmly in my hand like a talisman, we stand up.

One of the friendliest security guards comes over and indicates that we can move further on to the set. I ask him if it's OK to get an autograph and he says "Sure. His car's right here", indicating the Jag. "All you have to do is wait because he'll be coming round to this side." I'm a bit stunned by this, and size up the dark blue Jag and the silver people-carrier beyond it...and realise that he thinks I'm after Dustin Hoffman's autograph! (Security guards obviously categorize fans by their age group.) When I explain that it's Johnny's autograph we want, he points out a big blond guy standing in the roadway. "That's his minder. Go and ask him." So I set off across the road, Caroline following gamely behind me, trying to avoid all the cables and gear. I'm actually on the set at last!

The big blond man has disappeared so, with time running out, we head round to the other side of Johnny's car and look in. It's already fully loaded with 5 men - there's just one vacant seat right in front of me. Johnny's seat. I ask the minder if it's OK to get Mr Depp's autograph, to which he shrugs his shoulders and says "It's not up to me."

So it's down to us having the nerve to ask Johnny ourselves - and my nerve failed me 10 minutes ago! We step back from the car and wait, and I just want the ground to open right there and swallow me up.

And suddenly here he is: walking rapidly towards the car and looking ahead and to his right, his focus far way across the green. It's now or never.. Here we go...