Disney has halted production on the upcoming Lone Ranger film that was due to start filming this fall with Johnny Depp in the role of Tonto.

Slated for release December 21, 2012, the new Lone Ranger film was due to tell the story of the character from the vantage point of Tonto, hence why Johnny Depp had been cast in the role.  The film has already signed Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Ruth Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper in various other roles.  (Depp and Carter in a film not directed by Tim Burton … is that allowed?)  Gore Verbinksi was to helm the film, and is best known for directing the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, all of which starred Depp and made a tremendous amount of money for Disney.

It seems the production was halted due to ballooning production costs which had hit $250 million.  Verbinksi had gotten it down to $232 million, but Disney is looking to spend around $200 million due to the number of other expensive productions has on its plate currently.

$250 million for what is essentially a cowboy movie?  Heck, even the $200 million Disney is looking to spend, how in the world do you hit those numbers on a film that is essentially a bunch of people on horses?  Verbinksi is known for his huge budgets with the third Pirates film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, clocked in at $300 million.  I think that perhaps this is a director that need to go take some sort of class on learning how to manage his finances because the budgets he is turning in are just outlandish.  You can somewhat understand them on the three Pirate films because any time you involve water in a film the budget shoots way up, but, again, this is a movie set in the Old West … on horses … all on dry land.  How is he spending this much money?  Oh, I know, the Lone Ranger is famous for his silver bullets, Verbinksi must have gone for “realism” and ordered them cast in real silver.  Silly me.

Apparently Disney will be going forward with this movie, but only once the budget has been brought down into a range they find acceptable.  There is no word on how long that may take, nor what it may due to the targeted release date as of yet.

Apparently Johnny Depp and Disney are ready to deepen their relationship even further, and it includes one of the best properties of the 1970′s: Kolchak, the Night Stalker.

Considering the current success of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Disney is sure to be even more in love with Mr. Depp.  He’s already signed for a Lone Ranger movie with the studio, and he’s in talks for Pirates of the Caribbean 5. Now it seems his development studio, Infinitum Nihil, has sold them two more projects. The first is a movie based around Paul Revere’s midnight ride that may see him playing the famous American.  It’s the second project that made me go, “YES! MAKE THIS NOW!”

While I am not a fan of remakes or re-imaginings, Kolchak, the Night Stalker was a series that lasted half a season and two TV movies, and may be one of the greatest tragedies of short lived series ever.  (Yes, even more so than Firefly.)  Just about anyone in horror today lists this series as an influence, and it impacted X-Files so deeply they even tried to integrate the character into the mythos.  They were never able to get the character into the show, but they did get Darren McGavin, the man who played him,  to play a role in the series as a nod to its influence.

There was a horrible remake on ABC a few seasons ago, but the idea of Depp as Kolchak?  I’ll buy my ticket now.  Why will I break my hatred of remakes in this case?  That is how badly I want more of this character in my life.  While a goodly portion was the wonderfulness of McGavin, the series was so well written, and the stories so original that pretty much anyone who watched it still gets misty-eyed just thinking back on it.

Deep down I know I will probably end up disappointed, but I will give it a try.  I have faith in Depp, and I can totally see him in this roll … oh please let this happen, and please let it not suck.

And if you’ve never seen the original series … run, do not walk, and watch it.  It is truly amazing and special.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has passed into the history books as only the eighth film to ever cross the $1 billion dollar global box office benchmark.

While Transformers 3 was conquering the box office all over the world this weekend, history was being made quietly in the background.  Despite the fact the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean met mixed reviews and income here in the United States, globally it has been tearing up the box office receipts.  It is now the seventh biggest money maker ever, standing at $1.008 billion dollars.  But the history doesn’t end there.

Disney currently holds the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh spots on the list; two of those films are from the Pirates series, and three of them star Johnny Depp.

Why do I think Mr. Depp is going to be cast in every Disney movie from now until his death?

The moral of the story is, while the American box office is still important, 76.8 percent of this film’s revenue came in from foreign markets.  While pundits here have scoffed at this film, the foreign numbers alone make it worth making a fifth film in the series, and even if it had done $0 here, it would still be in the realm of being worthwhile to go again.

This is not an isolated case either. Kung-Fu Panda 2 has not done well domestically, but 70.7 percent of its worldwide total has come from foreign markets, and it now stands at $536.5 million.  Once again, people have commented on its poor performance here, but globally it’s raking in a very healthy amount.

While the lion’s share of these hauls still comes from the U.S., perhaps it’s time to realize just how important the foreign markets are and pay them the respect they are due.

With that in mind, get ready for Pirates of the Caribbean 5.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides may not be tearing up the domestic box office, but it’s doing something right overseas. As a matter of fact, it’s doing a whole lot of things right.

The fourth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been disappointing in the U.S. box office, bringing in only $221.5 million thus far.  While some movies would kill for that number, that is not so great compared to the other three films in the series.  What is making everyone take notice, however, is how it is doing in the foreign box office.

To date it has brought in $753.2 million making for a combined total of $956.7 million.  This is enough to make it the tenth highest grossing film worldwide, putting it only $6.7 million behind Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, the third film in the series.  It has a real shot at becoming only the eighth film to ever break the $1 billion dollar global mark, and the third time for Disney.

The other Disney films to do it?  Alice in Wonderland and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest … both of which happen to star Johnny Depp.

Yep, Mr. Depp currently has the honor of having starred in four of the top 10 grossing films of all time across the world.  Three of them were films in the Pirates franchise, and the other was the afore mentioned Alice. His highest spot right now is with Dead Man’s Chest, which is at the number four spot with $1.066 billion.

Normally everything is judged by domestic box office because it is more expensive to distribute films internationally, but there is no way that you can turn a blind eye to these numbers.  A lot of people are making money off of this film, and no one is going to really care where it came from.

There is no doubt some people will wonder why Pirates of the Caribbean 5 is in our theaters some time down the road, and there will be a very good reason why … the world still loves Capt. Jack even if American’s are tiring of him.

The latest film from J.J. Abrams, Super 8, had a $37 million opening weekend which surpassed last minute predictions, but still fell short of what the studio was hoping for.

On the same weekend last yet, The Karate Kid remake opened to $56 million, far exceeding studio projections, so a low opening for one of the most hyped filks of the summer is sure to have disappointed.  While the $37 million surpassed industry experts projections, the studio was surely hoping for more with Abrams and Spielberg attached, and a huge marketing campaign behind it.

The issue is, I think people are tiring of Abrams’ super cryptic shtick of telling you next to nothing about a film before its opening.  Excitement was huge for Cloverfield, and it ended up just being a horrible film.  Some audience trepidation for a film market in a similar manner is totally understandable.  The good news is that audience satisfaction is high with this project, so odds are it will have some staying power and not suffer the usual 50 percent fall of a second weekend.

Speaking of 50 percent falls, X-Men First Class fell 55 percent this weekend to $25 million, landing it in second place.  As X-Men films go, that actually was the second lowest drop in the series, coming in behind X2: X-Men United.

The Hangover: Part II fell another 41 percent to to $18.5 million, crossing the $200 million mark on its 16th day of release.  It’s falling off much faster than the original film, but due its spectacular start, the third film is still a given.

Kung-Fu Panda 2 only fell 30 percent this week, coming in with $16.6 million.  It seems to finally be leveling out and could hang around for some time now.

Rounding out the top five was Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides which fell 40 percent from last weekend to bring in $10.8 million. It surpassed $200 million on its 22nd day of release, and looks set to be the worst performing film in the series domestically. However, it’s total worldwide gross is now at $886,774,000. Off a $250 million dollar budget, I wouldn’t write this series off yet.

Normally I stop at the top five, but Bridesmaids brought in another $10.2 million, falling only 16 percent from last weekend. It’s now up to $123.9 million off a $32.5 million budget. Not bad at all.

Green Lantern is up next weekend, lets see how one of the most anticipated films of the summer does.

X-Men: First Class may have won the weekend, but it didn’t perform anywhere close to expectations.

Clocking in at $55 million, the newest film in the X-Men franchise beat the debut of the original film from back in 2000, but just barely.  Adjusted for inflation, the prequel fell short of the original based on attendance numbers, and considering the $160 million dollar budget, that is most definitely not a good thing.

The Hangover Part II brought in $31.4 million for a 63 percent drop from last weekend.  Apparently the bad word of mouth finally caught up with it.  It actually brought in less than the original did on its second weekend, but the damage is already done for this film to be considered a success, and a third film is already in the scripting stage.

Also not fairing well was Kung-Fu Panda 2 which fell 50 percent to $23.9 million this weekend.  The original fell 44 percent in its second weekend, and 50 percent is almost unheard of for an animated film in its second weekend.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides fell another 55 percent from its previous fall last week to bring in $18 million.  It’s domestic total stands at $190.2 million, but it’s raking it in on the foreign markets for a worldwide total of $790.8 million.  Rounding at the top five was Bridesmaids which actually had the best weekend statistically with $12 million.

Apparently people didn’t get enough of The Wolfpack in the first Hangover film as they dropped an estimated $86.5 million over the weekend for The Hangover Part II.

The second outing in this R-rated comedy series took in $31.6 million on Thursday in addition to the weekend take, bring its four day total to $118.1 million, well ahead of the original’s four day gross of $52.6 million.  The original also took ten days to reach $100 million, so obviously it picked up a lot more fans from home video after its theatrical run.

Despite the fact that the film has received horrible reviews, the film has come in as the second biggest opening ever for an R-rated film, the biggest opening ever for a comedy with that rating.

It wasn’t a great weekend for all sequels as Kung Fu Panda 2 came in at $48 million, down from the $60.3 million opening of the original three years ago.  Translation: People were not that excited about a second helping of Jack Black as a panda with kung fu skills.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides dipped 56 percent from last weekend to bring in $39.3 million, bringing its ten day total to $152.9 million.  While in line with the percentages the previous films saw in their second weekends, considering the film started off with a lower number, it’s not a good sign that it dropped that much.

Overall it was the best Memorial Day weekend since 2007, brining in $270 million.  Factor in the higher ticket prices for 3D films, however, and attendance was down.  No matter how Hollywood sugar coats it, not as many people are heading to the theaters, and as opposed to trying to placate people with a special effect, they could always try writing better movies.

I know, I must be nuts.

It’s a sad day when Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides making $90 million in its opening weekend is somewhat of a disappointment.

The fourth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series has gone to show that there is definitely a law of diminishing returns when it comes to some sequels.  Opening on a whopping 4,155 screens, the film brought in $90.1 million this weekend, a $21,685 per-screen average, which is nothing to crow about.  Adjusting for inflation, the attendance was way off for this entry in the series, but the true test will be how it holds up in the coming weeks.

Oddly enough, according to Box Office Mojo, the film did really well in the foreign markets, bringing in $256.3 million, and setting records in multiple countries for an opening weekend.  Despite the lower than expected domestic opening, the franchise still has some life in it, and a fifth film in the series seems almost guaranteed when you count in home video sales and television rights.

In the interesting realm this weekend, Bridesmaids held on to second place, bringing in $21 million this weekend, only dropping 19.8% from its opening weekend.  A normal drop in the second weekend is more in the range of 50%, so it looks like this all female comedy may have the makings of a sleeper comedy hit, especially when you factor in its $32.5 million budget.

Thor fell to third place, bringing in $15.5 million, bringing its total to $146 million domestically.

In fourth place was Fast Five with another $10.6 million, bringing its total to $186.2 million, and it became the most successful of the series as of this past week.  The Fast and the Furious series has shown that some series can go on to be even bigger as it goes on,which makes the Pirates of the Caribbean performance this weekend that much more stark in contrast.

Some days the mysteries of the film industry are just astounding.

In general I’ve been excited for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides … and then I saw this clip.

While the entire Pirates of the Caribbean series has been unrealistic with zombies, squid-headed villains and more, this clip from the fourth in the film series is just so silly as to actually turn me off to it somewhat.  It is just unbelievable moment after unbelievable moment.  Are we to believe the muskets fired just right to sever the rope?  That Capt. Jack (Johnny Depp) knew a guard would rush him in such a way that he could use them as a counter-weight?  That the chandelier would swing in such a way that he would be able to reach it?  (And I have no clue why food is on it)

Again, I get the films are filled with wild stunts and mystical moments, but when you’re trying to lure me into a film, could you have picked a worse scene to release as the first clip?  Why not show us something a little less ridiculous?  It does note bode well for the overall tone of this film.

At least even Depp told The Hollywood Reporter that they need to wait on Pirates of the Caribbean 5, and I couldn’t agree more at the moment.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is due out on May 20th, but that isn’t stopping Disney from going ahead and prepping the fifth installment in the adventures of Capt. Jack Sparrow.

According to an interview with Jerry Bruckheimer in USA Today, test screenings for the fourth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean series have said they wouldn’t mind seeing more adventures for Capt. Sparrow, but they want them to be stand alone stories.  ”The audience told us what they loved about it is that it was fresh, it was new, it was a whole new story,” said Mr. Bruckheimer.  ”So that will carry over into the next one, too, to give it something fresh and different. As long as the audience embraces this one, we’ll certainly try to make another one. It’s really up to Johnny (Depp). He loves the character.”

With this in mind, Disney has already contracted Terry Rossio who scripted the first four films has already been signed for the fifth movie.  There is no indication of when the production could be released, and even though the script has been commissioned doesn’t guarantee that it’ll go into production.  Considering the length of time to write a script vs the cost to write it, it’s better to just get the process under way even if they never need it.

We’ll see if the fourth film brings in enough to warrant another one, but somehow we think it’s a safe bet that this isn’t the end of Capt. Sparrow.

The Super Bowl has one big thing going for it every year … movie trailers.

As I stated the other day, I’m not a fan of the Super Bowl, but I do enjoy the insane movie marketing blitz that comes with it each year now.  While I think it is silly how much they charge for these ads now ($3 million for a 30-second ad this year), at least it puts all of the commercials for the new summer films in one place.

I’ve gathered up a few of the film commercials, skipping things like Rio, Super 8 and Fast Five.  They’re out there if you want to find them, but somehow I can’t bring myself to care about a fifth installment in The Fast and the Furious franchise when I didn’t care about the first four.  And, oh yeah, they’re already planning a sixth.

Click below for the trailers of Cowboys & Aliens, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, Transformers – Dark of the Moon and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Continue Reading ->

It would appear the marketing machine for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is in full effect now. We had the first pictures the other day, and now we’re on to the first trailer.

While I’m not big on never ending sequels these days, I have to say that this fourth Pirates of the Caribbean is looking pretty promising to me.  The trailer certainly hints at some fresh ideas coming into the series with Barbossa looking to work for the crown, Blackbeard showing up, and, oh yeah, mermaids.  That could be interesting.

We’ll see how good the movie is, but for now you can consider my interest definitely captured.