Spirit Of The West...

The Man of Steel isn't the only hero coming out soon...

A Masked Man with silver bullets will be out soon as well.  The film looks to have crazy action and Gore Verbinski's twisted take on the Wild West also.  If you've seen the trailers then you've seen the scene where the Lone Ranger wakes up after being dead to find himself on a spirit tower and almost falling off.

Walt Disney Pictures has released a new featurette of the filming of that scene.  It shows you the prep that it takes to film even a shot that last only a few seconds.  But it's unique shots that make films stand out in this crowded summer of films.  Or maybe it's story that make films stand out?  Yeah, that's it: a great script.

I've been hanging around development suits too long...

Last American Hero...

So the Mouse released the final trailer for their new summer film...

The fourth trailer for Walt Disney Pictures "The Lone Ranger" has come out.  More action, more comedy, more "splosions" and a really wild, Wild West.  The folks in Burbank are betting 200+ million on a genre that has been hit or miss over the past few decades.

Gone are the days when Hollywood studios would crank out Westerns on a weekly basis, because it was printing money.  People would go to see them no matter if they were good, or bad, or the cowboy was singing.  It was a distinctly American genre that defined this nation during the latter part of the Nineteenth century.  It was the emergence of this nation on the world as a place of opportunity, adventure and hope.

Maybe that hope is personified in the adventures of this tale of a masked man out for justice.  He doesn't wear a cape, or fly, or throw a car at someone to smash them.  He fires a bullet, rides a white horse, and wears a white hat.  He's the symbol of a dying breed of film and men.  Cowboys are a part of the film industry and the American past.  We'll see if it rides again this summer.

Remember they said pirate movies were dead a while ago too...

Cowboys At The Superbowl...

At least this one shows more ranger...

Sadly, they didn't make it that far...

But one particular cowboy showed up.  A ranger.  A lone ranger.  Check out Walt Disney Pictures Super Bowl Spot for "The Lone Ranger" that premiered during the Big Game.  It's got a lot of action and a good amount of humor.  Especially that bit near the end.

Gore Verbinski can tell a Western.  He did it before with "Rango" a couple years ago.  So I have faith in him.  The Mouse's marketing department hopefully won't have a problem figuring out how to sell this one to an audience like they did with "John Carter" last year.  They were both Westerns after all.  One just ended up on another planet.

And the other ended up on Johnny Depp...

The Lone Teaser...

Hi ho, where do we go...

We finally have our first look at a small 2013 film from the Mouse...

Our first glimpse (at least in teaser form) of Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Johnny Depp as the Indian warrior who aids him in his goal for justice.  It's a very visual teaser that shows off some grand images, but very little of the story.

Of course, that is what the trailer will be for next year.  Along with hearing the Masked Man speak it seems.  But for now we'll have to settle for iconic imagery, and a promise of a grand western.

Perhaps even an epic one...

The Lone Ranger Rides Again, Rides Again...

Ho hi, here we go again...








Well it appears that sanity has come to Burbank...

It this struggling economy, spending well north of a quarter of a billion dollars on a Western was enough to make the Mouse believe that it wasn't worth it. Thank you very much, "Cowboys & Aliens."

But the studio has come to an agreement with the producer, director and stars (what, no writers?) to take a 20% pay cut and defer some of the payments on the back end so as to get the film rolling. Also, any cost overruns will come out of Jerry Bruckheimer's pocket not Disneys. So it appears the production is back on track for shooting to start on February 6, 2012, with the film being released in the summer of the following year, May 31, 2013 to be exact.

Fear not, this is still a budget of over $215 million dollars, sans werewolves and a few other mystical things, but it still has three or four amazingly complex train robberies/crashes that should excite audience amidst the shoot outs. And don't worry about Johnny Depp not looking like an Indian, even though he is part Indian. You won't be able to recognize him if the make up test that they've done are approved. He's going to look like something you've never seen before. Of course, that has the studio a little worried, after all, if you're selling Johnny Depp and he doesn't even look like himself, will the audience not buy a ticket?

Come two years from now we'll likely know, but I like Gore Verbinski and I already know he can pull off a Western since he did "Rango" this year.

Now, let's hope he can turn silver bullets into box office gold...

From Pirate Gold To Silver Bullets...

Hi ho...


It seems that Jerry Bruckheimer is getting closer to finding a director for his "Lone Ranger" remake...

And it's a familiar face/name that is the likely candidate: Gore Verbinski.

The famed "Pirates" director is in talks to helm the story of the famous western hero. That would reteam him with Johnny Depp and put the picture on a track for filming sometime next year. Of course, with Depp's list of projects that really is very fluid. The man is more in demand than water is in a drought.

No official start date has been announced, but if Verbinski signs then you can bet that this project will move to the front burner for the Mouse and Jerry. The earliest you'd likely see it is the holidays, 2012. But that's just an estimation. Still no word on who will don the mask, but I'd guess people like Crowe, Clooney and McConaughey are on the short list. My choice?

Jon Hamm...

Gore Doesn't Have A Clue About Another Pirates Film...

Gore Verbinski is one director in demand...

He's attached to four or five different projects. None of which are ready to go and unfortunately, one of them is NOT Pirates of the Caribbean 4. I hope Disney does try and make it so that he can do the sequel. I think since he was the one in charge of the first trilogy, he should be in charge of the second. Ooops, I mean film not trilogy.

Ehem...

But now comes word that Gore will direct a film version of "Clue" the classic board game(not the Disney version, btw). Not that the first film was such a huge blockbuster, but that doesn't stop a studio from trying. There are no writers attached to the project so it doesn't mean it's a go and could take as much time as the "Bioshock" project that he's been connected to for some time. Here's hoping Disney can come to an agreement between Bruckheimer and Depp and some very busy screenwriters. I'd like to see the Mouse get the Pirates filmed by Gore.

Verbinski, that is...

A Pirates Life For He?

The next Pirates film won't be happening for a while, but already, the rumors are starting to spread...

One of the most interesting is that since Gore Verbinski is busy directing two different projects right now, Disney is going to turn to another veteran director that's worked with Johnny Depp quite a bit...

Time Burton.

A very interesting choice if it's true. You don't really know for sure, after all, you can't really trust the word of a pirate...

Even if you say parlay.

Shocked...

Well, it looks like Terry Rossio & Ted Elliott may be returning to the Disney fold to make the new "The Lone Ranger" movie for Walt Disney Pictures, but their colaborative director on the Pirates trilogy isn't. We've heard that Jerry Bruckheimer was wanting Gore Verbinski to team up with the writers and he for a new adventure in the Wild West.

Sadly, it was not to be...

The Trades are reporting that Gore Verbinski has signed on to direct Universal Pictures' big screen adaption of the video game "Bioshock". While I regret not having Gore come back for this film(several top notch directors will obviously now have a chance to fill the slot), I'm excited to see what he and screenwriter John Logan("Gladiator","The Aviator", "The Last Samurai" and "Sweeney Todd") have planned for this adaptation.

Having played the game, I can tell you it's a cool trip. Very smart, very visual and totally stylish beyond most games in its genre. It and a couple other titles have tempted me into almost getting a X-Box 360... almost. But the possibility of watching a talented director and equally talented writer teaming up for this could prove interesting.

Developing...