JerryBruckheimer Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Mere days ago I passed on the report that Disney was making The Lone Ranger their priority and pushing back Pirates, which wasn't too surprising since Ranger had a director and Pirates didn't. Well, belay all that, because ComingSoon caught up with Jerry Bruckheimer, who assured Jack Sparrow fans that a fourth installment was just around the corner, and suggested that Ranger had stalled out for the moment.

When it comes to the masked man, there's no hunt for a lead, and Bruckheimer & Co. are essentially waiting to hire a director, and for Disney to hit the gas on the whole thing. Despite all reports, Mike Newell is not attached to the chair because he's still hard at work on Prince of Persia -- and frankly, Disney could be waiting to see how that flies before signing him onto another franchise maker.

But Pirates, well, that's a sure thing. "It's a great franchise for [Disney] and for us, too," Bruckheimer said. "We love the character and Johnny was 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." Franchise scribes Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott (who are also writing Ranger) are scribbling a script as you read this, one that Bruckheimer promises is "funny" and a "whole new way of going."

Well, we know where we're going -- weighing anchor and heading back to sea instead of riding off into the sunset. As someone who enjoyed the Pirates franchise, I'm pleased we're going back so soon (especially if they get Geoffery Rush back) but it's always deflating when something fresh gets stuck spinning its wheels.

I was just watching Monsters, Inc this past week, and wondering why it belonged to Pixar's no sequel club ... and guess what's in the works now? Dedicated Disney blogger Jim Hill visited this year's Licensing International Expo, and talked to the fine people who were representing Disney and Pixar, and buying up licensing rights.

Reportedly, Pete Docter (fresh off his success with Up) is planning to return to Monstropolis and helm a sequel to his previous Pixar effort, Monsters, Inc. Obviously, story details are shrouded in secrecy, but they've got Cars 2 and Toy Story 3 in the works, it's not much of a stretch to believe they'd revisit Mike and Sully. While it's a delightfully complete film, it's also a wonderful world, and I'd like to go there again.

Hill also reports that Disney is really focusing its efforts on The Lone Ranger, and are hoping to have it in theaters by Summer 2011. As you may remember, Mike Newell was hired to direct, and Johnny Depp is set to play Tonto.
Intent on launching a Ranger franchise, they've pushed back Jack Sparrow's, and are now planning to release the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean installment to a tenative date of Summer 2012. Both franchises offer a dose of Depp, so the Pirates fanbase should be pretty happy with that. Frankly, I'm willing to trade tricorns just to know just who they cast as that masked man ....

[via Empire]

It's been a long time since we had any buzz or movement on The Lone Ranger. For a movie that reunites Jerry Bruckheimer, Johnny Depp, and Pirates' scribes Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott ... it's just kind of sitting there. But that's probably a good thing -- we want them to take their time.

At last though, they might have a director. Production Weekly Tweeted that Mike Newell is "in talks" to direct The Lone Ranger for Disney. Yes, the British director of Four Weddings and a Funeral, High Fidelity, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and perhaps most importantly, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Clearly, Bruckheimer is hiring from within the "family," but let's look at it as a sign that Disney and Bruckheimer might really dig what Newell did with Prince of Persia. (Erik Davis liked what he saw too, for the record.)

It's not official, but let's talk about it like it is. I thought Newell did a pretty bang-up job with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and directors from Across the Pond tend to do a pretty good job tackling Western mythology like The Lone Ranger. Do you think he'd be a good pick?

If Pirates of the Caribbean really decides to weigh anchor and sail in 2010, it will have to be with a new captain. According to Variety, Gore Verbinski has officially informed Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer that he's no longer interested in swashbuckling, and won't be helming a fourth installment.

"I had a fantastic time bringing Pirates to life, and I am eternally grateful to Jerry, Johnny and the rest of the creative and production team," Verbinski said. "I'm looking forward to all of us crossing paths again in the future."

Instead, he's throwing all his attention to another underwater project -- his eagerly awaited adaptation of Bioshock, which is expected to be his next directing vehicle after he finishes on the Johnny Depp voiced Rango.

The fourth Pirates was being eyed for a 2010 start date, and it's not known if Verbinski's departure will affect that although it doesn't seem like Disney is racing to get into production any time soon despite all those Russell Brand rumors.

A lot of people are fried on the Pirates franchise and while I should be one of them (Jack Sparrow is still alive and well in this house), I'll always be a sucker for high seas adventure. Maybe a change-up behind the scenes will breathe some new life into the series, and avoid another muddy plot like At World's End.

Granted, British comedian Russell Brand isn't for everyone, and I think there are some people at the BBC who would agree. But, I just love the guy to bits. Sure he's strange and a little bit of a lecher, but damn is he funny. When rumors first started to surface that Brand was being considered to take over for Johnny Depp in the next Pirates of the Caribbean installment, it seemed to be the perfect fit. But, in a recent interview with Access Hollywood, Brand told Billy Bush, "There's been some talk of doing a 'Pirates' movie, but, I've got eight other things to do [including] 'Get Him To The Greek' with Judd Apatow... So I don't know if there'll be time to be a pirate, I've got enough of that in me private life." If you follow the UK gossip rags, then you probably know that he isn't kidding about that last part.

Eugene brought us the news back in April that Brand would be reviving his character of Aldous Snow from Forgetting Sarah Marshall with Jonah Hill for Greek. The comedy centers on a young insurance adjuster (Hill) assigned to get a wild rock star (Brand) from London to LA's Greek Theater (I wonder if Hill is reprising his loyal fan character from Marshall as well). But, Brand didn't rule out Pirates completely; the comedian was quoted as saying that Pirates was still, "A possibility," -- which, as you know in Hollywood, is enough to keep a rumor going indefinitely.

It's funny that the main reason that I recognize the name Teresa Palmer (Bedtime Stories), is as the girl who seemed to lose out on her fair share of high profile roles in 2008. But, it would appear that persistence really does pay off, because The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Palmer just signed on to star alongside Nicholas Cage and Jay Baruchel in Jerry Bruckheimer's take on The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

It has been almost a year since Bruckheimer first announced that he would be working on a live action version of Goethe's classic poem (but to be fair, most of us are probably more familiar with the Fantasia version). Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure: Book of Secrets) will direct the story of an apprentice (Baruchel) left in charge of his master's (Cage) magical workshop in modern day New York City. When the plucky apprentice decides to get a magical broomstick to do his work for him, things begin to quickly spiral out of control. Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal (Star Trek V) wrote the first draft of the script, which has since been rewritten by Matt Lopez (Bedtime Stories).

So where might Palmer fit into all of this? (because if you are familiar with the story , then you probably don't remember a cute blond anywhere) Well, where else could a pretty young actress fit into a Bruckheimer movie? Why the love interest of course! Although, thankfully she will be Baruchel's love interest, because I think I have had enough of Cage in May-December pairings for now.

Cinematical had a chance to chat up Jerry Bruckheimer earlier today while in London visiting the set of a really big Disney film that we can't talk much about ... yet. However, while there our small group of dedicated online writers pressed The Bruck on his upcoming projects -- most notably Pirates of the Caribbean 4, The Lone Ranger, and National Treasure 3.

Regarding National Treasure 3 and Pirates 4 (which he says is eying a 2012 release as of right now), those scripts are being worked on as we speak. Of course IMAX and 3-D technology was part of the discussion, and it was not ruled out. Says Bruck, "Absolutely. I'd love to do it, so let's just see if we can work it through the production schedule with everything else." Additionally, while Johnny Depp has officially signed on to star in The Lone Ranger as Tonto, rumors George Clooney snagged the lead role as The Lone Ranger were quickly dismissed by Bruckheimer: "We haven't decided who is going to play the Lone Ranger yet. Get a director first and then figure it out." We'll have so much more from London and from this "really giganto Disney film" at a later date. (And trust me, you will definitely want to read that story.)

With the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, it was pretty much inevitable that more would come our way. But it wasn't all signed, dotted, and crossed until now. Variety reports that Johnny Depp has finally signed on for a fourth film. I can only hope that this time around, he gets the passion and the girl. Or at the very least, I hope she doesn't pick a bland dude who lacks charisma and chemistry instead. Ick.

But that's not all, folks! Depp, with a big ol' soft spot for iconic roles lately, has signed on for one more (two if you count Mad Hatter in Burton's Alice in Wonderland). As briefly reported yesterday, he's also going to play Tonto as part of Jerry Bruckheimer's adaptation of The Lone Ranger. The man must like his Bruck. I'm glad he's part Cherokee so there's more basis to this pick than just "Holy crap Depp is awesome and brings in big money!" But that leaves a pressing question:

We still don't have the Lone dude himself. Is there an actor out there who would make a good Lone Ranger, AND be able to fight his way out of Depp's talented shadow? Weigh in below!

Well, for all of us out there waiting for Jake Gyllenhaal to don the infamous puffy pants for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, it turns out we are going to have to wait a lot longer than we thought. Variety announced yesterday that Disney has scrapped their original release date of June 19, 2009 for the big-screen adaptation of Ubisoft's best-selling game, and has pushed the release back to May, 2010 (that's right, almost a full year later). Disney has a lot riding on the production, and are hoping to turn it into their next big franchise -- so why the delay?

The official word from Disney was that the change was required to "to allow plenty of time for post-production considering that the tent pole will require extensive special effects to create its fantasy world and set pieces." Not to mention that the delay gives producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney some wiggle room in the event of an actor's strike. But the more logical reason for the delay was that if Persia kept its original release date, it would be going up against Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen -- and I think we all know who would win that box-office battle.

So what 'summer behemoth' will Persia battle instead? The lucky winner is Shrek Goes Fourth; which will probably prove to be an easier opponent for the video game flick at the box office. Director Mike Newell just started shooting on location in Morocco last week, and then will head off to London to finish the film. Now, if we can just get the film into theaters, we are all set.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will now open in theaters on May 28th, 2010.