Free Republic

“The Lone Ranger” was gunned down over the Fourth of July weekend, bringing Disney a paltry $50 million against its estimated budget of $215 million, not to mention its $175 million marketing budget. Forecasters are now estimating the film will lose $150-200 million. That’s a lot of mouse food. But the studio might not be the only one whose bank balance suffers. Many industry insiders are now questioning whether its star Johnny Depp – front and center in “The Lone Ranger” marketing campaign – will be worth his $20 million plus per-movie salary going forward.

I attended a screener of the Lone Ranger movie last night, the director Gore Verbinski dropped by and introduced the opening of the film. In summary (and without spoilers): The Lone Ranger character starts out as weak and naive and ends the movie as a weak and naive but now following Tonto. I struggle to remember if any of the white male characters were portrayed as anything other than evil, racist, greedy, inept, or religious zealots. Even the military is not spared; the cavalry captain is portrayed as Hollywood’s stereotypical ”General Custer” type replete with Van Dyke beard and long...

When Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., chastised Jay-Z and Beyonce in a TV interview for their recent trip to Cuba, he especially criticized Jay-Z for his adoration of Che Guevara. “I think Jay-Z needs to get informed,” Rubio said. “One of his heroes is Che Guevara. Che Guevara was a racist. Che Guevara was a racist that wrote extensively about the superiority of white Europeans over people of African descent, so he should inform himself [about] the guy that he’s propping up.” Jay-Z, Carlos Santana, and Johnny Depp — who have all been spotted in Guevara t-shirts in the last decade...

Actor Johnny Depp has moved out of France and returned to America because he didn’t want to become a permanent French resident and pay income tax there. …Depp has now moved his family out of France after government officials asked him to become a permanent resident, as he feared he would end up paying tax in both countries. He tells Britain’s The Guardian newspaper, “…France wanted a piece of me. They wanted me to become a permanent resident. Permanent residency status – which changes everything. They just want… Dough. Money… ” Depp goes on to explain that if he spends...

Johnny Depp has been made an honorary member of a tribe in New Mexico, where he is playing a Native American in the film adaptation of "The Lone Ranger." Comanche Nation tribal member LaDonna Harris said Tuesday that the tribal chairman presented Depp with a proclamation at her Albuquerque home on May 16. She says the Comanche adoption tradition means she now considers Depp her son.

Jonathan Frid, the man known to fans around the world as Barnabas Collins, the suave vampire from the cult hit soap opera "Dark Shadows" has died at age 87. The Hamilton Spectator, of Hamilton, Ontario, reports the Canadian actor died in his hometown of Hamilton at the Juravinski Hospital on Friday, April 13. Frid's final screen role was a cameo in "Dark Shadows," the soap opera's upcoming big-screen revamp directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas. Kathryn Leigh Scott, who co-starred with Frid on the original "Dark Shadows" and recently reunited with him to film her own...

<p>After years of delays, the big-screen version of the popular Fifties show started filming last month.</p> <p>And producer Jerry Bruckheimer gave fans a sneak peek at what to expect with the first photo of Armie Hammer as the Ranger and Johnny Depp as his sidekick Tonto.</p>

Well, I’ve just finished scouring the White House visitor logs. Regular readers know I seem to be one of the few in the media who actually does such a thing. Regular readers also know that I’ve pointed out time and again that the logs are incomplete, misleading, obtuse, and designed to make it as difficult as possible to figure out who has visited and when. So, it is no surprise that neither director Tim Burton nor actor Johnny Depp — hosts of the big 2009 Hollywood Halloween bash at the White House — show up in the visitor logs. At...

Tis the season to bash Jesus and Christians… (If your a Christian-hating leftist) Hollywood star Johnny Depp lent his voice to a new Christmas song that mocks Jesus Christ – right in time for the holidays. “Jesus Stag Night Club” is the first track off of UK band Babybird’s 2011 album, ‘The Pleasure of Self Destruction’. The song features a guest performance from Johnny Depp. The Christian Post reported: This time of year is usually filled with songs about baby Jesus and expressions of the great joy that emanates from the Christmas story. It seems no one told actor Johnny...

The Pirates of the Caribbean movies have taken an interesting course. The first movie sounded like another Disney attempt to cash in on old favorites from yesteryear...the Pirate ride being one of the most famous in their amusement park for decades. Of course, The Curse of the Black Pearl took in an astounding $350 million domestically, and $650 million worldwide, coming in only second to the third Lord of the Rings movie for movie receipts in 2003. That assured sequels...which were largely disappointing. The second and third movies suffered from being add-ons to the original, which never intended on making...

After more than 50 years, Ayn Rand’s seminal novel and ode to free market capitalism “Atlas Shrugged” is finally hitting the big screen this weekend, in the first of a planned trilogy of movies. Independently produced and distributed by entrepreneur John Aglialoro, chairman of UM Holdings Inc, the film “Atlas Shrugged, Part 1″ was budgeted under $10 million and includes a cast of little-known actors (newcomer Taylor Schilling stars as the powerful female industrialist Dagny Taggart). At one time, Algialoro, who optioned the book’s rights 18 years ago, had struck up a partnership with Lionsgate Films to make a version...

It appears that high-tech glitz and A-list celebrity glamor are not the keys to moviegoers’ hearts. Pre-release box office tracking for movies hitting theaters this holiday season has yielded some interesting results. Disney’s long-hyped cyber-reality actioner Tron:Legacy may end up a financial loser. The 3D sci-fi film has been marketed heavily for months en route to its Dec. 17 bow, and many have been suggesting a big opening and leggy theatrical run based on built-in interest from the cult base of its 1982 predecessor. But at this point, tracking suggests Tron: Legacy with as little as $35 million. In the...

OH to be a kid again. Hollywood Lord JOHNNY DEPP was a surprise guest at a London school's assembly this morning. The actor - who is currently filming the fourth Pirates Of The Caribbean movie in Greenwich - took some time out to make an impromptu trip to Meridian primary school dressed as his character Captain Jack Sparrow. His visit came after one of the school's pupils, Beatrice, wrote a letter to him saying: "Captain Jack Sparrow, at Meridian Primary School we are a bunch of budding young pirates and we were having a bit of trouble mutiny against the...

The very gorgeous and beautiful Angelina Jolie and the outstanding Johnny Depp are together in The Tourist their forthcoming movie together. After doing, the spicy Salt Angelina is doing an action thriller movie that is expected to release in December. The movie has not even released yet but the rumors about the movie are very much prevalent even far before the movie is to release. There are many expectations of s steamy sex scene between Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp in the movie. The scene is rumored to be scripted like- when Angelina will be taking a shower, Johnny will...

To steal a phrase from the Tenth Doctor... What? Sources are reporting that a big screen version of Doctor Who, written by former showrunner Russell T. Davies, is slated for release in 2012. Those same sources are also reporting that Johnny Depp has been confirmed in the iconic role of The Doctor.

At last, we have an Alice in Wonderland for these times: Gloria Steinem meets Joan of Arc — with a touch of Carrie Bradshaw. Tim Burton’s big-budget movie loses touch with a lot of the whimsy from Lewis Carroll’s Alice books in favor of lots of girl-power feminism. That doesn’t ruin the movie, but in a world that’s supposed to grow curioser and curioser, things quickly get conventional and conventionaler. Read more: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/alice-in-wonderland-full-of-girl-power-feminism/

Louis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland is one of the great children novels in children's literature. Its imaginary world, with numerous adult themed allegories, makes it an interesting read for both children and adults. In all honesty...I have not read the book since high school. And my kid is not old enough yet for this book. But the way I remember it, the story is really...a story without a real story line, without key relationships, and kind of a wandering maze of events. Very difficult to build a movie around. Of course, if there is any director that could pull it...

The word is that watching Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland is the closest you can come to falling down the rabbit hole yourself and into Lewis Carroll's fantasy world. Those who have seen the film, or clips of it, say that it is utterly breathtaking, a hallucinatory alternate universe completely realised in every detail, from the sun streaming in through the gills of the mushrooms to the light falling on the individual fuzzy hairs on the caterpillar's back.

46 year old Johnny Depp has been named The Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine for 2009. This marks the second time Mr. Depp has earned that honor, the first time was in 2003. This is rather unusal since he has mostly been under the radar in 2009, while other candidates such as Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal) and Robert Pattinson (Twilight) have made big waves. Johnny Depp however has stood the test of time. He's been a major, if not minor heart-throb since 1987 when he first appeared in 21 Jump Street. He reached true stardom with his silent portrayal...

London, July 02(ANI): Johnny Depp is keen on teaching his children to handle guns. The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star, who learnt shooting at the age of six in Kentucky where he grew up, wants to pass on his experience to his kids. "We would just go out and line up a bunch of cans and shoot with rifles, handguns and at times, submachine guns," the Daily Star quoted him as saying...