Disney Sees The Light...

It's going to be interesting seeing how the opening of the Mouse's new film does this week...

Why you may ask? Well, it may have something to do with how fast this project gets going. But being as how the company paid such a high price for the script, and in this hostile market, it may have strong enough legs to get out of the gate despite any soft opening of Walt Disney Pictures' "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" box office. Now, don't read that I'm thinking it'll be a bomb or anything, I'm just saying that success, failure or disappointment will have some weight in how much breathing room Bruckheimer will have with pushing this film into production. Granted, it's Jerry and he has a great deal of wiggle room.

For those that want to know what I'm ranting about, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films have bought Terry Rossio and Bill Marsilii's epic space adventure script, "Lightspeed."

The Mouse and the Bruck put down $3.5 million bucks for said script. This is an astronomical amount, and the fragile state of the economy only multiplies the significance of this purchase. Rossio and Marsilii were responsible for the Touchstone Pictures film, "Deja Vu" that came out a couple years ago. Rossio, of course, is one half of the team responsible for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, the Disney classic, "Aladdin" and the upcoming western epic from the Mouse, "The Lone Ranger." Marsilii is also known for the early drafts of McG's "Captain Nemo" reboot/prequel that Ross canned late last year.

The plot of tale is about a young pilot who qualifies for something known as the Earth Interstellar Racing Team and then takes his star ship on a dangerous journey through a galaxy that is on the brink of war. The film will be live action and most likely in 3D. Sounds like Star Wars meets Speed Racer.

Developing...

The Long Ranger Rides Again And Again...

Hi Ho, Silver...



And Away...
Seems those guys over at Latino Review have gotten their hands on the "Lone Ranger" script...

Seems like El Guapo's pals have read the first draft of Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott's more serious version of the masked man. And they apparently think it's really good. Really. Go over and take a look at their video review.

Of course, we have to wait until 2012 to see a return to those thrilling days of yesteryear...

Prince Of Persia Rides Again?

Production Weekly has a twitter-feed that says Mike Newell(Prince of Persia) is in negotiations to film Terry Rossio & Ted Elliott’s screenplay of Walt Disney Pictures "The Lone Ranger" remake/reboot/retool?

Word is the Suits like what they're seeing in the dailies and are confident in Newell as the director of Jerry Bruckheimer's next ginormous undertaking set for release in 2011. Crowded year with some other movie from the Mouse called TRON 2. Should be an interesting year for WDP. Johnny Depp is the only cast member signed right now. He's the faithful sidekick Tonto, but now the question will be who is the Lone Ranger?

Developing...

Sparrow To Set Sail In 2010 For 2011...

So the rumors are floating out there that "Pirates of the Caribbean: Part 4" is supposed to start lensing in 2010. Gore Verbinski's schedule is so packed with projects that he finally informed everyone involved that he officially would not be involved in this one. I can imagine after spending about five-plus years on the sea with pirates, he's had enough of them for a while. Sad, as I'd like to have seen him back with Johnny Depp. But apparently the search is on for a new director so that the production can film next year.

The other big question is who will be writing this one? The original writers Terry Rossio & Ted Elliott are pretty busy at the moment too. Could we see a new director and new writer for the continuing adventures of Jack Sparrow? I personally like the idea of continuing the adventures without Will and Elizabeth, but the one character I hope winds up haunting the dear captain is Barbossa. I want to see him chasing after that map that he stole from the mangy pirate all across the Caribbean.

And the last question I have is will this story be ready for theaters in 2011 or will it be so effects-laden that the actual release date will be in 2012? If they plan on coming out in 2011 there's going to be a very crowded Disney schedule with a possible "Lone Ranger" film, "Tron 2" and others. Then again, 2012 is going to have "John Carter of Mars" and a couple more as well, so it's not exactly going to be an open playing field if the release is a year later.

Still waiting on those Bothans for that Pirated answer...

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...

From High Seas To Wild West...

As we reported here at Blue Sky Disney last year, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio are in final negotiations to write the reboot of "The Lone Ranger" for Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.

The film is being planned as a tentpole for 2010.

The irony in this is the property was once owned by the Mouse(if you've read the blog much, you know this) and is now owned by Classic Media. Having began as a 30s radio show created by George W. Trendle, the Masked Man quickly moved into serials, a hugely successful TV shows, comic strips, comic books, toys, novels before languishing in the 70's. An earlier reboot in the 1981 was a horrible box office bomb.

Elliott and Rossio will try to breath life into the Ranger the way they were able to remake Pirates into a financial success story. They also turned another loved member of the Old West into a hit with "The Mask of Zorro", although that was not made by Disney(should have been, but that's a story for later).

The project will be made by the Mouse with and Jerry Bruckheimer producing, Mike Stenson and Chad Oman executive producing and Jason Reed is the Suit for Disney.

A note for the "Geek-Challenged": The Lone Ranger also happens to be the grandfather of "The Green Hornet". Fighting crime and working for Justice runs in the family, eh? Now, if the Mouse were smart, they'd get the rights to Green Hornet and make it.

The Need For Heroes...

Even though it's been talked about, there is no official word that "The Lone Ranger" is happening. Not until they announce it. But Jerry Bruckheimer is doing it. Bank on it. All one has to do is connect a lot of evident dots...

There was that interview with Starlog magazine in which Jerry Bruckheimer said:

"I hope I can make a big-scale Western someday."

Of course we've seen the quote by Peter Gilstrap in Variety:

"Beyond another "Pirates" project, word has it that the scribes might be doing a take on the Lone Ranger saga for Bruckheimer."

And as Jim Hill reported the Mouse is busy securing internet domain names faster than you can say "hi ho, Silver".

Well now BoxOfficeMojo has an interview with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio in which they talk about a lot of things. There's a hint late in the article when Scott Holleran ask them what type of screenplay do they want to write next. Ted Elliott's suttle response is loaded:

"We want to do a Western. The public consciousness that existed when Westerns were popular—that sense that, if you leave town, you could easily die—isn't there anymore."

It sounds like they could be talking about TLR without mentioning it. But from their interpretation of Westerns, it sounds like it won't be your father's Lone Ranger. It'll be a serious battle of life and death. And how no one really wants a hero... because if there's a hero around, then something is wrong. Something awful. Listen to Elliott talk about how political correctness killed the Western:

"I think it started to fall away in the middle to late Sixties to the early Seventies—this idea, as in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", that the men you need to build a civilization have no place in it once it's been built. If you think about the idea of a hero, the last thing you want to show up in your life is a hero—because all that can mean is that there's something really bad going on. The only time heroes show up is if there's conflict. It's not good to be around heroes if you're not a sidekick—you can become collateral damage way too easily."

Then Rossio got to talking about their interpretation of those "wide open spaces" that cowboys in Westerns alway seem to be looking for:

"If you think of The Searchers, that lack of civilization is dangerous." and "In the Western that we want to do, those open spaces need to be made frightening."

How about that? A "frightening" interpretation of the Lone Ranger. One in which a hero is kind of dreaded because you know the situation is so bad that someone is needed to rectify it...

It could be interesting...