We've known for awhile that Johnny Depp was going to be somehow involved in his friend Hunter S. Thompson's memorial service, in which the ashes of the late great chronicler of debauchery are set to be launched from a cannon onto the grounds of his Colorado home. Depp recently announced that he's hired an event planner to handle the details of the private memorial, and, in an interview, explained why he's been so involved: "[Thompson] was a great pal, one of my best friends. We had talked a couple of times about his last wishes to be shot out of a cannon of his own design. ... All I'm doing is trying to make sure his last wish comes true. I just want to send my pal out the way he wants to go out." The invitation-only ceremony will go down in August, and will be followed by a public memorial event.