Style and Focus News Bites

** Environment: Johnny Depp to Invest in Solar Power Engery for Private Island. Depp is estimated to spend $500,000 on a sun-powered system for his private island home. The pioneering system will convert sunlight into electricity, providing sufficient power to run his home. Depp's environmentally friendly lifestyle recently earned him a nomination for the ultimate green celebrity. (People magazine)

** Publishing: Hachette Filipacchi Media Teams Up with ELLE DECOR and Metropolitan Home to Form the Luxury Design Group. Jack Kliger, President and CEO, of Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (HFM U.S.), announced that the company has formed the Luxury Design Group to create a unified leadership structure which brings together the strategic sales and marketing power of two affluent and distinct brands -- ELLE DECOR and Metropolitan Home.

The Luxury Design Group will complement the global network of titles owned by HFM U.S.'s parent company Lagardere Active. This upscale network was enlarged in April 2008 with the acquisition of the Massin Group, the French leader in decoration magazines and publisher of its two flagship magazines Art & Decoration and Maison & Travaux. (Press Release)

** Entertainment: New Kids on the Block have confirmed that on their new upcoming album they will be collaborating with New Edition on a new song, tittled "Full Service" (E!)

** Entertainment: BET Networks and Marvel Animation are teaming up to produce an animated series based on the legendary superhero, "The Black Panther". Casting is already underway for the series that is slated to premiere in the first quarter of 2009. A special sneak preview will premiere at Comic-Con. The series will be adapted directly from the first six issues of the Marvel Comic written by Reginald Hudlin. (Press Release)

** Bars/Restaurants: Heath Ledger's bar, Five Leaves, to open in Brooklyn. A bar Heath Ledger invested in before he died will open as planned. The late actor's dad Kim, the executor of his estate, has released the funds for the bar. (Now magazine)

** Art/Home & Garden: Fashion designer Stella McCartney and her father Paul McCartney attended a private viewing of furniture pieces created by her husband, Alasdhair Willis' furniture company, Established & Sons held in St James' Park. (Hello magazine)

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