A few months ago, Johnny Depp revealed that he would be playing Tonto in an upcoming film adaptation of The Lone Ranger for Disney. At the time the news flew under the radar since it was announced at the same time that Depp mentioned that he would be getting paid $55 million to star in Pirates Of The Caribbean 4. Paychecks like that tend to grab the headlines, so no one really paid attention to the other high-profile Disney franchise that he would be kicking off. Perhaps everyone hoped that it was all just a bad joke, but unfortunately that didn’t prove to be the case.

Today a big step was made towards bringing The Lone Ranger back to life. Mike Newell (of Four Weddings And A Funeral fame) was hired to direct. On paper hiring this powerful British filmmaker to make a movie about such a quintessentially American icon might seem like a mistake, but digging a little deeper into Newell’s list of career highlights reveals that it might not be such a bad idea after all. The man already worked with Johnny Depp on Donnie Brasco where he vividly brought to life the world of American gangsters that he obviously has now connection to. Plus, he directed Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, giving him experience with blockbuster budgets and state-of-the-art digital effects. The man has the skills to get the job done.

The only real question is whether or not the movie should be made in the first place. The Lone Ranger may have thrilled children from previous generations, but today the Western is dead and the representation of Native Americans that The Lone Ranger presents is offensive in a P.C. world. Perhaps some clever writer at Disney has an idea of how to make the old clichés feel new, but that seems unlikely. It’s certainly an intriguing movie worth keeping an eye out for, but it’s no guaranteed classic. That’s for sure.

Robert Zemeckis Talks Who Fremed Roger Rabbit 2

Robert Zemeckis’ name might not boast the instant brand name recognition of someone like Stephen Spielberg, but he’s easily one of the most successful filmmakers in Hollywood. From 1985’s Back To The Future to last year’s Beowulf, the man has amassed a streak of 11 movies that have grossed at least $100 million worldwide. Essentially, the guy is worth more money than you can comprehend and can make any movie he’s even remotely interested in. During a recent interview with MTV, Zemeckis revealed plans create a sequel to one of his most beloved movies from the 1980s: Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

The 1989 blockbuster was revolutionary in its combination of live-action and animation, which must have been extraordinarily costly and time consuming in the pre-digital age. Zemeckis’ plans for a future installment are a little different. Here’s what he had to say: “I’ll tell you what is buzzing around in my head now that we have the ability—the digital tools, performance capture—I’m starting to think about ‘Roger Rabbit.” Now, as exciting as it would be to see a new Roger Rabbit movie, this seems like the wrong way to go. After all, the charm of the original was seeing 2-D animation interact with the real world, which would be lost in a motion capture movie (not to mention the fact that contemporary audiences will hardly be blown away by a combination of live action and animation anyways). Zemeckis seems committed to only making motion capture movies these days, which is fine. He’s great at using that medium. I just think it would be better for him to use that technology to tell stories that couldn’t be made otherwise like Beowulf, rather than rehashing his greatest hits (Although I can’t deny that I’d be excited about a new Back To The Future movie, how bout it Bob?).

Your First Peak At GI Joe

The first trailer for GI Joe hit the internet today. It certainly looks like a lot of money was spent on the movie and there will be plenty of explosions…but it doesn’t look like it will be that great. The fact that Transformers worked at all was a miracle, but it made studio executives think that all audiences want to see these days are blockbuster movies based on old toy lines from the 1980s. I don’t think that’s true and this trailer seems to confirm it. Didn’t we learn this lesson after that terrible Dolph Lundgren He-man movie? If a Battlecats movie ever gets a green light, I’m going to vomit.