terry rossio 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.

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?

Who was that masked man? Audiences will soon have the chance to find out. The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that Disney plans to revive The Lone Ranger franchise (as previously reported when it was in rumor form).

And this is going to be a big budget reboot. Writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, the two folks behind the Pirates of the Caribbean and The Mask of Zorro screenplays, are in talks to write the script for Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer. If they can revive pirates, a long dead and verboten franchise, surely they can do the same for the Lone Ranger.

It will definitely need all the help it can get. The last time the character was revived on the big screen was 1981 in The Legend of the Lone Ranger. It was such a failure that the film's star, Klinton Spilsbury, never worked in Hollywood again. There was a WB television movie in 2003, with the idea of launching a weekly series, but it too failed.

Hi-Ho Silver, bring me lots of money! According to the Hollywood Insider, Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott, the pens behind Pirates of the Caribbean, are trying to cook up a draft of The Lone Ranger for Jerry Bruckheimer to turn into the latest cash cow. Yes, the old masked ranger who rides a white horse, righting wrongs with the help of Tonto. Sure, remakes of old stories, even radio classics, are all the rage, but is a cowboy on a horse going to rake in the cash for Bruckheimer and Disney? Could this really be true?

According to the report, the studio won't confirm the assignment, so they can only go by their sources, and as HI describes it, the writing duo is "trying to create a new juggernaut for Bruckheimer to exploit." Sure, they made pirates all the rage, but can they do the same with cowboys? It doesn't seem to be one of those areas that gets tons of mileage, at least, not in the wide world of kids and marketing. I guess if anyone could do it, it's this team, but still. Cowboys and Indians? Can they really pull it off?

As HI says, the concept hasn't been as popular as it used to be. After the '50s television show, there was a 1981 film flop, and more recently, the WB tried to get a television version off the ground with Chad Michael Murray. It's really too bad that that project didn't even make it to the boob tube -- CMM as the Ranger would've amused me. So there you have it, the Lone Ranger might hit the big screen once again, under the powerful arm of Bruckheimer. Does that scare you? Excite you? Or maybe make you feel a little queasy?

As one of the few film critics to actually enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, I can honestly say I'm looking forward to more from the franchise, even after the current trilogy ends. Well, actually, I'd probably lose interest if Johnny Depp did -- not that it seems he will ever let go of Jack Sparrow. As you've probably read here and there, a fourth installment is still up in the air, and even screenwriter Terry Rossio isn't sure if it will go ahead. "It's like the fourth Indiana Jones picture," he told Moviehole. "There are forces in play to make it happen, and forces in play to make it not happen. I think we will try to write a screenplay. I can't say if we'll be able to solve the challenge of making a good fourth film, or if our screenplay will be enough to get a film made."

Last summer, Jerry Bruckheimer stated that if Rossio and Ted Elliott continued to write 'em, the producer is interested in making 'em. And this was before Dead Man's Chest went gangbusters in theaters and on DVD (Disney shareholders will likely demand more sequels if the profits keep coming.) Obviously the series will eventually dwindle in quality, as does any franchise, but considering most reviews of Dead Man's Chest were negative, this shouldn't matter. Other tidbits that Rossio shared with Moviehole include the series' origins, the difficulty of back-to-back sequels and the subject of Keith Richards: "Well you don't hire Keith Richards to get a guy who shows up in the morning, on time wearing a suit and tie," he said. "You get a guy who shows up at night, on time, with a bottle of wine. There were good times on the set."

Odds and ends from Thursday:

• Apparently, David Hasselhoff is looking to bring on an A-list star to play his son in a planned Knight Rider film. After crossing paths with Orlando Bloom in Hollywood recently, Hasselhoff extended an offer to the actor for him to appear in the flick as Knight Rider, Jr. Bloom gave him the old, "You'd need to speak to my manager about it" routine, which, in actor-speak, means "Um, no."
• For those of you interested in exploring the life of Rembrandt, you'll be happy to know a biopic is currently in the works. In fact, four more actors have just signed on to the project, which already has Martin Freeman (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) starring as Rembrandt himself. Hopping onboard the flick are Eva Birthistle, Nathalie Press, Emily Holmes and Jodhi May. Birthistle will play Rembrandt's wife May, while Holmes and May will play his mistresses. Pic, entitled Nightwatching, is said to "shed new light on the painter's life through a fresh reading of his 1642 painting Night Watch."
• Screenwriter Terry Rossio stopped by the Word Player forums to officially confirm to fans that the title of the third and (final?) Pirates flick will be Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End. Supposedly, the studio had been tossing around At Worlds End and Worlds End, finally deciding to go with the former. Pic is scheduled to hit theaters on May 25, 2007.

See that picture above? Yeah, that's me every morning as I gear up for another day of movie reporting here at Cinematical headquarters. Some often wonder why I don't wear a disguise while writing posts. I just tell them I'm too lazy to change outfits all day, plus the line for the bathroom here wraps around the entire imaginary office.

2005 is gone baby! That's right, it left the other day, on its way to obscurity, with a handful of "Free Cruise" t-shirts and a ton of nasty letters from people looking for their free cruise. Right now, it's all about 2006. Ah, such a pretty little number, isn't she? It's time to wine and dine 2006. Massage and caress 2006. Make sweet, passionate, commitment-free love to 2006. Part of me wants to say that I'm already falling in love with 2006, but I'm keeping quiet for fear she'll get spooked and run off with 2001. Damn you 2001!

By my calculations, there are roughly a gatrillion (give or take a few) films coming out this year. More movies means more stories. More stories mean I still have a job. And jobs are good. While there are several films coming out in 2006 worth waiting in line for, I've gone and picked seven that have given me a reason to wake up each morning with a smile on my face...