Gore Verbinski says, "Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!"

From ComingSoon.net:

"Walt Disney Pictures has confirmed... that Gore Verbinksi is now officially signed on for Disney's The Lone Ranger.


Verbinksi, who has worked with Johnny Depp on the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films and the upcoming Rango, will re-team with the actor, currently attached to play the Lone Ranger's sidekick, Tonto.

The Lone Ranger's origin story begins with a group of Texas Rangers chasing down a gang of outlaws led by Butch Cavendish. The gang ambushes the Rangers, seemingly killing them all. One survivor is found, however, by an American Indian named Tonto, who nurses him back to health. The Ranger, donning a mask and riding a white stallion named Silver, teams up with Tonto to bring the unscrupulous gang and others of that ilk to justice.

The film version will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer with a script from Justin Haythe."

From out of the West, in a cloud of dust,

THE TOURIST boards a trailer

From ComingSoon.net:

"Columbia Pictures has revealed the trailer for director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's thriller The Tourist, starring Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany, Rufus Sewell, Timothy Dalton and Steven Berkoff.

Opening in theaters on December 10, 2010, the film revolves around Frank (Depp), an American tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart. Elise (Jolie) is an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path. Against the breathtaking backdrop of Venice, Frank pursues a potential romance but soon finds himself the pursued as he and Elise are caught in a whirlwind of intrigue and danger."



It's sort of in tone with Knight and Day. It's funny and action-packed. I've read that Depp does a sort of "Jimmy Stewart in a Hitchcock film" performance. It sounds fantastic. That's gonna be an interesting war between The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Tourist, because Treader's in 3D and a third film in a popular franchise. Tourist does however have more star power and will certainly bring in fans of both Depp and Jolie.

ON STRANGER TIDES sets sail...

From ComingSoon.net:

"Production has commenced on location in Hawaii, the United Kingdom and Los Angeles on Walt Disney Pictures' and Jerry Bruckheimer Films' sweeping comedy adventure Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth entry in the blockbuster franchise which has already reaped $2.7 billion in worldwide box office from the previous three films, and the first to be filmed and presented in Disney Digital 3D. Johnny Depp returns to his iconic, Academy Award-nominated role of Captain Jack Sparrow, newly joined by Academy Award winner Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Ian McShane (HBO's 'Deadwood') and newcomers Astrid Berges-Frisbey and Sam Claflin. Also rejoining Johnny Depp and Captain Jack are Academy Award-winner and three-time nominee Geoffrey Rush ('Shakespeare in Love') and Kevin R. McNally (first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, Valkyrie). The film is slated to open May 20, 2011.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides captures the fun, adventure and humor that ignited the hit franchise --this time in Disney Digital 3D. In this action-packed tale of truth, betrayal, youth and demise, Captain Jack Sparrow crosses paths with a woman from his past (Penelope Cruz), and he's not sure if it's love--or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know who to fear more: Blackbeard or the woman from his past.

Rush reprises his role as the vengeful Captain Hector Barbossa, and Kevin R. McNally returns as Captain Jack's longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs. Claflin stars as a stalwart missionary, while Berges-Frisbey is transformed into a mysterious mermaid.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is written by Pirates veterans Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio. The executive producers are Mike Stenson, Chad Oman, Barry Waldman, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio and John DeLuca."

Jerry Bruckheimer updates ON STRANGER TIDES

From ComingSoon.net:

"In February, we learned that both Ian McShane and Penelope Cruz were joining Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It was reported that McShane would play the villain Blackbeard, but it wasn't clear which role Cruz would take on.

In talking with MTV, producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that Cruz is playing Blackbeard's daughter. 'She's the daughter of the bad guy,' he said. You can expect 'a little romance between Captain Jack and the new character that Penelope plays.' He said 'she brings a lot of humor to it. And the fact that she's so feisty.'

Bruckheimer added that Blackbeard is 'the nastiest pirate ever.'

The producer also confirmed that Geoffrey Rush, who played Barbossa in the first three Pirates films, is indeed returning.

As for more roles to be cast, Bruckheimer said they they are 'looking for some new kids to be in it, we're testing right now.'

Asked how different this film will be, he said 'we're going to take a whole new direction,' but he did mention that 'it is a continuation of what you saw last time, he's in search for the Fountain of Youth.'

The... film is scheduled to start filming in June for a May 20, 2011 release."

I just wanna know if Kevin McNally (aka Mr. Gibbs) will return. That guy is funny!!

Dick Cook steps down from Disney

From ComingSoon.net:

"Just a week after he made some big announcements at the D23 Expo, Dick Cook is no longer chairman of the Walt Disney Studios. Cook and The Walt Disney Company President and CEO Bob Iger both released statements. First up is Cook:

'I am stepping down from my role as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, effective immediately.

I have loved every minute of my 38 years that I have worked at Disney... from the beginning as a ride operator on Disneyland's steam train and monorail to my position as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. To wrap up my Disney experience in a neatly bundled statement is close to impossible. But what I will say is, during my time at the Studio, we have achieved many industry and Company milestones. Our talent roster is simply the best in the business. I believe our slate of upcoming motion pictures is the best in our history. But most of all, I love the people, my colleagues, my teammates, who are the most talented, dedicated and loyal folks in the world. I know that I leave the Studio in their exceptional hands.

I have been contemplating this for some time now and feel it's the right time for me to move on to new adventures... and in the words of one of my baseball heroes, Yogi Berra, 'If you come to a fork in the road, take it'.'

And the statement from Bob Iger:

'Throughout his distinguished 38-year Disney career, Dick Cook's outstanding creative instincts and incomparable showmanship have truly enriched this company and significantly impacted Disney's great legacy,' said Disney CEO Bob Iger. 'We thank Dick for his tremendous passion for Disney, and his many accomplishments and contributions to The Walt Disney Studios, including a very promising upcoming film slate. On behalf of everyone at Disney, we wish him the best with all the future has to offer.'

Johnny Depp also shared his reaction about Dick Cook leaving the studio with the Los Angeles times. Depp said he is 'shocked and very sad' because Cook was the reason he signed on to the Pirates of the Caribbean films and that Cook was his biggest supporter when other executives didn't agree with how Depp was playing the role on set. He also commented on the fourth Pirates movie, which Cook revealed just last week would be titled Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and be released Summer 2011:

As for the fourth planned Pirates movie, Depp said while he has a potential deal in place that will depend on how good the script is, his passion for the project at the moment has been severely dampened by the news that Cook will no longer be around.

'There's a fissure, a crack in my enthusiasm at the moment,' Depp said. 'It was all born in that office.'"

I understand how Johnny feels but DON'T LEAVE US, JOHNNY!!! EVERYBODY LOVES CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW!!!

ALICE IN WONDERLAND teaser trailer premieres

From ComingSoon.net:

"From Walt Disney Pictures and visionary director Tim Burton comes an epic 3D fantasy adventure Alice in Wonderland, a magical and imaginative twist on some of the most beloved stories of all time. Johnny Depp stars as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. Alice embarks ona a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen's reign of terror. The all-star cast also includes Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonahm Carter and Crispin Glover."

Here's the first teaser trailer:



Does this not totally bend your mind?

UPDATE:

More mind-bending madness!!

Jerry Bruckheimer gives updates on PIRATES 4 and LONE RANGER

From ComingSoon.net:



"Earlier this week, there was a story from the Licensing International Expo in Las Vegas posted on Jim Hill's blog claiming that Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures had chosen a director to helm The Lone Ranger, which would star Johnny Depp as Tonto, and that the movie would push the planned Pirates of the Caribbean 4 back..... Currently, the producer is in the middle of filming The Sorcerer's Apprentice with Jon (National Treasure) Turtletaub in New York City, while Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is well into its post-production, with both movies scheduled for release in the summer of 2010. That doesn't mean that those other projects aren't in development, but Bruckheimer told us that for Disney, the priority is most definitely Pirates. 'It's a great franchise for them and for us, too,' he said. 'A beloved character and Johnny's really excited about coming back to Captain Jack. He certainly is interested in Tonto, but Disney's priority is to get Pirates made first. You never know what's going to happen, but they would like it.' Bruckheimer shared that the original writers, Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot, were 'writing Pirates as we speak,' and he said it was 'funny' and a 'whole new way of going' although he wouldn't share more than that.



Since Gore Verbinski recently announced that he may not direct a movie based on the video game BioShock, we asked Bruckheimer if there was a chance he might return for a fourth movie. 'You never know,' he admitted. 'He created the franchise so we'd love to have him back, but it's kind of up to him.'



That led us to wonder what the status of The Lone Ranger really was, since other than Johnny Depp as Tonto, no casting for the lead character has been announced; we asked whether that information might be forthcoming. His response was that they were going to 'wait until they got a director and Disney says to go make the movie,' essentially denying earlier stories that 'Prince of Persia' director Mike Newell was in talks to direct the movie. 'We don't have a director yet. He's too busy on Prince of Persia right now,' Bruckheimer confirmed."

The battle of the Depp movies... Pirates vs. Lone Ranger.