Friday, August 26, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Disney stops work on The Lone Ranger!
In a stunning development, Disney has shut down production on The Lone Ranger, the Gore Verbinski-directed period Western that was to star Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the title character. Jerry Bruckheimer is the producer and the script's by Justin Haythe. I'm told this all just happened, and Disney pulled the plug because the budget, which I've heard the filmmakers were trying to reduce from $250 million--I've heard from insider that they'd gotten down to $232 million, but whatever the number, it wasn't close to the $200 million that Disney wanted to spend. This had to be an incredibly tough call for Disney's Rich Ross and Sean Bailey, but they have several huge live action bets on the table already. John Carter, the Andrew Stanton-directed adaptation of John Carter of Mars with Friday Night Lights' Taylor Kitsch in the lead role, has a budget that has ballooned to north of $300 million because of extensive re-shoots [a studio insider said the number is lower], and The Great and Powerful Oz, the Sam Raimi-directed James Franco-starrer has a budget is hovering at $200 million. Lone Ranger wasn't starting production until October, and and even though money has been spent as the picture is in pre-production (Depp is pay or play), but it was the easiest one on which to apply the brakes. The shoot was set for New Mexico. Between Depp, Bruckheimer and Verbinski, the gross outlay on the film is substantial. The film was still casting up, with Ruth Wilson, the serial killer from the BBC's Lutherseries, set for the female lead.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Is Ryan Gosling in talks to play the Lone Ranger?
Ryan Gosling is in talks to star in Disney's "The Lone Ranger," TheWrap has learned.
It's early, and Gosling's schedule might not permit him to take the role of the Lone Ranger opposite Johnny Depp as Tonto. Gosling is starring as Logan in "Logan's Run" which is scheduled to begin production this fall."The Lone Ranger" is a big movie: Gore Verbinski, who directed the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, is directing the adaptation of the durable franchise for producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
The Lone Ranger started as a radio serial and was later turned into a TV series. The Lone Ranger is a masked lawman who, with his Native American friend Tonto, fights injustice. Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels starred in the "Lone Ranger" television series form 1949 to 1957.
"Revolutionary Road's" Justin Haythe is writing the screenplay.
Gosling was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role in the 2006 film "Half Nelson."
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The Rum Diary is finally hitting theaters on October 28th...
It was announced today at CinemaCon, by Bob Berney, President, Theatrical Distribution that FilmDistrict will release “The Rum Diary,” based on the early Hunter S. Thompson novel that was ultimately published in 1998. It stars Johnny Depp and will be released on October 28, 2011. The film is directed by Bruce Robinson (“Withnail and I”) from his own screenplay and also stars Aaron Eckhart, Amber Heard, Michael Rispoli, Richard Jenkins and Giovanni Ribisi. “The Rum Diary” is produced by Infinitum Nihil, the production company headed by Depp and Christi Dembrowski, along with Graham King and Tim Headington. Anthony Rhulen and Robert Kravis also produce. “The Rum Diary” tells the increasingly unhinged story of itinerant journalist Paul Kemp (Depp). Tired of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local San Juan newspaper run by the downtrodden editor Lotterman (Jenkins). Adopting the rum-soaked lifestyle of the late ‘50s version of Hemingway’s “The Lost Generation,” Paul soon becomes entangled with a very attractive American woman, Chenault (Heard) and her fiancĂ©e Sanderson (Eckhart), a businessman involved in shady property development deals. It is within this world that Kemp ultimately discovers his true voice as a writer and integrity as a man.
