To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Fantastic Four films are getting a reboot.
After two films that met poor reviews, the Fantastic Four are set to get a new movie with a new cast. Obviously a third entry in the last series wasn’t going to happen as neither of them did well, but 20th Century Fox wants to keep the rights from reverting to Marvel/Disney, so they have to get something into production. So long as the studio keeps something based on the property coming out every few years they can hold on to the right indefinitely, making sure that the growing Marvel movie studio doesn’t get its hands on one of its longest running sets of characters.
Who wants to bet that no one ever makes a movie deal like this ever again?
All I can hope for is that the new film is not nearly disappointing as the last two, but I’m not holding my breath for that quite yet.
Disney has flipped the switch, and the Johnny DeppLone Ranger film is back on for production.
This past August Disney shut down production on the upcoming Lone Ranger film due to spiraling production costs that had the movie looking like it would cost between $250 and $275 million to produce. The company approched director Gore Verbinksi about lowering the cost, but he was only able to get it down to $232 million. Considering the high profile flop of Cowboys & Aliens this summer, obviously a studio would be nervous about putting a lot of money into a western.
Production was halted and there was no indication if things would resume.
According to Deadline, Disney has flipped the switch back to green for the film to start filming on February 6, 2012 in New Mexico due to the budget having fallen further to $215 million. (I still don’t understand how you can spend that much on a western, but oh well.) There’s no word on if all of the cast is still in place, but the most recent plans call for Depp to play Tonto with Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Ruth Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper in various other roles.
It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out, and we’ll see see if it can even come close to making a profit.
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.
The confusion here comes from the fact the first film, Amazing Spider-Man, doesn’t come out until July 3, 2012, so we now have a release date for a sequel to a film that hasn’t even been released yet. ”I think it speaks volumes about our confidence in what we are seeing on the new film and our desire to move quickly on the next installment,” a Sony executive told Deadline.
What it tells me is you’re racing to get a lock on a weekend and make it extremely clear to Marvel that you’re never going to let these rights revert back to them. (So long as Sony keeps production on a Spider-Man film churning every few years, the rights will never return to the comics company, or its parent company Disney.) Do you even have a script ready? Have you locked crew yet? I’m sure you locked Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone (pictured to the right) for multiple films, but do you have a director ready to go?
The first film is still in post-production, and now these same folks have to get pre-production ready on the next one? True, it’s a little under three years away, but you are definitely overlapping productions here, and that can go horribly wrong if not managed correctly. True, the Harry Potter series kept a similar schedule up, so it is possible, but it definitely makes me nervous about what sort of quality we can expect.
First up is the second film in the re-imagined world of Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role and Guy Ritchie directing. The first film was fantastic and exciting, and it looks like more of the same in the second one. The addition of Noomi Rapace (European version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series) to the film is sure not to hurt either.
Here is the official synopsis of the film that releases Dec. 16th, 2011.
Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room… until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective.
When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder—a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by one Professor Moriarty.
Mixing business with pleasure, Holmes tracks the clues to an underground gentlemen’s club, where he and his brother, Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) are toasting Dr. Watson on his last night of bachelorhood. It is there that Holmes encounters Sim (Noomi Rapace), a Gypsy fortune teller, who sees more than she is telling and whose unwitting involvement in the prince’s murder makes her the killer’s next target. Holmes barely manages to save her life and, in return, she reluctantly agrees to help him.
Something about the look and feel of this trailer just feels “off” to me, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
The investigation becomes ever more dangerous as it leads Holmes, Watson and Sim across the continent, from England to France to Germany and finally to Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead as he spins a web of death and destruction—all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.
The second big trailer this week is for John Carter. Based on the classic series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, this film covers the first book in the 11 novel series, A Princess of Mars. Why they didn’t include that in the title is puzzling to me as “John Carter” by itself is not a name that screams “sci-fi epic.” Obviously Disney wants to turn this into a series, but we’ll have to see how this first one does at the box office.
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.
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.
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.
Brian Kirkendall, the Vice President of Marketing for Hoover, issued a statement this evening that the company was pulling all of its advertising from ABC in protest to the cancellation of two soaps on the network that was announced last week.
I want you to know from me personally that we hear you loud and clear. My wife and mother are both passionate viewers of All My Children and One Life to Live, as are many of my colleagues here at Hoover. We were and are as disappointed with this news as you are.
In fact, we will discontinue our advertising with ABC this Friday, 4/22. We’re making every attempt to pull our spots from these programs sooner.
Because we feel that’s not enough, we also want to help get your voice heard with ABC. So, we’ve set up a special email address, SaveTheSoaps@Hoover.com, to help pull together the mass emotional outpouring of support for our beloved ABC soaps and get it to our contacts at ABC.Please, send your emails to us at SaveTheSoaps@Hoover.com, and we’ll get every, single last one of them to ABC.
We’re 150% committed to doing what matters most to you – so if there’s anything else we can do to help or you have any ideas, please email this address, and we will respond to you personally.
Thank you for standing up for what matters to you! We need more of that in this world.
Brian Kirkendall
Vice President of Marketing
Hoover
While certainly a bold move, it’s also worth mentioning that Hoover is probably getting more attention from this move than they would ever get from an advertisement. The company pretty much has guaranteed itself that 2.5 million people will consider Hoover first when they need a new vacuum.
While I highly doubt that Hoover will be able to get ABC to rethink its decision, kudos to the company at least seeing what it could to help.
ABC has announced that it is canceling the long running soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live. All My Children will air its last episode in Sept. of this year while One Life to Live will end in Jan. 2012.
It was announced today via press release that ABC would be replacing two of its longest running soap operas with new reality based shows towards the end of this year, and the beginning of the next. The Chew will focus on food from every angle imaginable — as a source of joy, health, friendship, breaking news, dating, fitness and weight loss, travel adventure and life’s moments. The one-hour live show will be co-hosted by celebrity chef Mario Batali, Clint Kelly of TLC’s What Not to Wear fame, Carla Hall from Bravo’s Top Chef, Michael Symon from Food Network’s Iron Chef America and nutrition expert Daphne Oz.
The second new series has the working title of The Revolution and will be a daily show about health and lifestyle transformations, hosted by a team of experts and rotating guest contributors led by fashion expert Tim Gunn of Project Runway, celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak and American Idol alum Kimberly Locke.
“While we are excited about our new shows and the shift in our business, I can’t help but recognize how bittersweet the change is,” said Brian Frons, President, Daytime, Disney ABC/Television Group. “We are taking this bold step to expand our business because viewers are looking for different types of programming these days. They are telling us there is room for informative, authentic and fun shows that are relatable, offer a wide variety of opinions and focus on ‘real life’ takeaways. A perfect example of this is The View, and that factored into our decision. The Chew and The Revolution are in the same vein and will be great additions to the lineup, with The View serving as an ideal foundation from which to launch these programs. They will also provide enormous opportunity for the creation of ancillary businesses and growth.”
“All My Children and One Life to Live are iconic pieces of television that have made an indelible mark on our culture’s history,” reflected Frons. “Each of the shows has touched millions and millions of viewers and informed the social consciousness. It has been a privilege to work with the extraordinary teams who brought the residents of Pine Valley and Llanview to life each day, and we thank the cast, crew, producers and most especially the fans for their commitment to the shows through their history.”
With the cancellation of these two soaps, that leaves a total of four still on the air (General Hospital on ABC, Days of Our Lives, Bold and the Beautiful and Young and the Restless on CBS), and there is no saying the numbers won’t drop even more. Compared to the glory days of soaps in the 1970s and 80s, when it seemed you couldn’t turn on a TV without seeing a soap, the love affair has just waned more and more. Is it changing tastes? Yes, partially, but it is also a real lack of engaging story lines.
I watched All My Children (AMC) for years, but in Aug. 2009 I called it quits. I just couldn’t take the sub-par writing any more. (I like soaps, so sue me) I still watch Young and the Restless, and oddly enough, former AMC actors keep showing up over there when they leave the show. Perhaps it’s a subtle comment on moving up the big leagues? Who knows, but I sure don’t mind.
What my stopping watching the show says, however, is when someone who has followed characters for years, no matter how contrived the plots are, finally says, “ENOUGH!”, there is obviously something horribly wrong with the show. I left characters behind I have loved for years because it had just become insufferable. This had nothing to do with changing tastes, it had to do with scripts that erased history, characters coming and going without explanation and a complete disrespect for the audience that felt we would just keep watching whatever garbage they threw on the screen. But, nope, its the changing tastes of the audience.
I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that The Chew and The Revolution will be considerably cheaper to produce also. I mean, certainly that wouldn’t factor in … would it?
In short, the era of the soap opera is certainly coming to an end. There was a time when there were 19 of them on in the United States, and now we’re down to four. Somehow I don’t think they are much longer for this world.
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.
It would seem that being a woman beater is not harming Chris Browns career in any way, shape or form. Must be nice.
Following an appearance last week on Good Morning America where he was so enraged by an interview that he broke a window, Chris Brown was back on ABC tonight to appear on Dancing With the Stars. Despite the fact that host Tom Bergeron and professional dancer Cheryl Burke both voiced opposition to his coming on the show, come on he did.
So, here we are with Brown still acting up, existing show personalities expressing their dismay at his coming on the program, and ABC just ignores it all. Does he have incriminating photos on someone high up at the network? Somehow he keeps getting on this channel even after he has thrown a hissy fit on another of their shows. Does this make sense to anyone? Was a guy who is simply out promoting a new really that necessary to appear on your show at the risk of alienating viewers and cast members?
Apparently so. Apparently woman beating is perfectly acceptable in the eyes of the Disney-owned network. Getting destructive after another interview on the same network? Perfectly ok.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Fantastic Four films are getting a reboot.
Apparently 
Apparently the Hoover Vacuum company is less than pleased with 
I watched All My Children (AMC) for years, but in Aug. 2009 I called it quits. I just couldn’t take the sub-par writing any more. (I like soaps, so sue me) I still watch Young and the Restless, and oddly enough, former AMC actors keep showing up over there when they leave the show. Perhaps it’s a subtle comment on moving up the big leagues? Who knows, but I sure don’t mind.
It would seem that being a woman beater is not harming Chris Browns career in any way, shape or form. Must be nice.
