If you’ve never heard of the West Memphis Three, I’d encourage you to seek out one of many documentaries about the three boys wrongly accused of child murder back in 1994 and the real-life drama that followed. The Paradise Lost films sparked nationwide interest in the case and got the attention of Peter Jackson, who produced an exhaustive chronicle of the events in a documentary called West of Memphis that played at Sundance 2012. Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder, Natalie Maines, Henry Rollins, and more have been fighting for the boys for years, and now Depp will produce a movie based on an upcoming memoir written by Damien Echols, one of the accused.

Depp’s company Infinitum Nihil has optioned the rights to the book (via The Playlist), which is set to be released in September of this year. Echols and his wife Lorri Davis will executive produce the film version, which will “spotlight the controversial conviction and imprisonment of the then 18-year-old who’s now in his mid-30s and present his life before conviction as well its twists and turns leading to release.”

The West Memphis Three have been big in the news recently, since West of Memphis provided new evidence in the case during its Sundance premiere a couple of weeks ago. And Atom Egoyan (Chloe) is already directing a movie called The Devil’s Knot about the case, which is starring Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth, so Depp will have to compete with another big budget take on this insane true story once things get rolling with this version.

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Before Disney pulled the brakes on The Lone Ranger in order to trim the budget British actress Ruth Wilson (Luthur) was in talks to play the female lead and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton) was being eyed for the villain.

The movie eventually got the green light but with the start of filming delayed from October to February there could have been some scheduling issues preventing the actors from appearing. Luckily for Disney both are free, and Deadline reports that Wilson and Wilkinson will star in the film as originally planned.

The site also notes that Barry Pepper, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Dwight Yoakum are having their deals worked out, having been attached previously but not confirmed.

The Lone Ranger, which stars Armie Hammer as the title character and Johnny Depp as the Ranger’s Native American companion Tonto, is to be directed by Gore Verbinksi and will be released May 31, 2013.

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Many A-list actors adopt a “one for them, one for me” mentality: they make one big movie for a studio so they can make a smaller passion project for themselves. Considering Depp’s relationship with Hunter S. Thompson (the infamous novelist/journalist whose novel provides the basis for this film), it’s clear The Rum Diary falls into the latter category. It’s just too bad that the “one for him” wasn’t a better movie.

Written for the screen and directed by Bruce Robinson, The Rum Diary follows the story of Paul Kemp (Depp), a washed out novelist who goes to Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper. Soon, he’s intoxicated not only by the alcohol he’s constantly swilling, but also by a beautiful girl named Chenault (Amber Heard). She’s with Sanderson (Eckhart), a wealthy playboy with a ton influence working on an illegal land development scheme. Sanderson invites Kemp to be a part of the project and, after a ton of stumbling and drunken debauchery, Kemp and the rest of the guys at the paper take it upon themselves to bring down “the bastards” by blowing the whistle on their operation.

There are a lot of elements that I liked about this movie. It’s hard to knock gorgeous locales, solid acting, and an intriguing plot – especially when you consider I have a bias in favor of stories involving journalism. But at a certain point, the movie itself begins to take on characteristics of its main character: it seems to drag for an interminable amount of time, bouncing from point to point with a “hey, look over there!” attitude and waiting far too late to attempt to wrap things up in a neat little package in the third act. It’s not as “out there” as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - the other Hunter S. Thompson project in which Depp has starred – but it kind of tries to have it both ways with trippy drugged-out sequences tossed into the middle of a narrative that is, admittedly, a lot more cohesive than Fear and Loathing‘s. The main problem with The Rum Diary is the structure: by having the first two thirds of the film as this breezy, stumbling, quasi-romantic discovery piece, it feels forced and unnatural when the final act arrives and story elements have to be quickly wrapped up.

Depp has made himself a superstar by playing these types of roles, so it’s not much of a departure from his past work. Even if you removed Fear and Loathing from the equation, simply mix his lead character in Rango with Captain Jack Sparrow and you’ve got Paul Kemp. I was much more interested in Bob Salas, the sidekick character more inhabited than played by former “Sopranos” actor Michael Rispoli. He was gruff but lovable, and seemed like the kind of guy you’d want to hang out with in an unpredictable island environment. Aaron Eckhart was great as the guy you love to hate, but this also wasn’t that big of a change (or challenge) for him. Giovanni Ribisi really went for it with his portrayal of Moberg, a guy who drinks 400 proof alcohol and listens to Adolph Hitler speeches on vinyl. Richard Jenkins was really entertaining as the editor of the San Juan Star, playing “the man” as it were, forcing Kemp to curtail his writing to fit in with an idealized version of the American Dream.

Though the novel was written back in the 1960s, much of this film is especially relevant today with the Occupy Wall Street movement going on and this movie essentially railing against corporate greed. Our buddy Vince Mancini at FilmDrunk liked it far more than I did, and even with all of the meandering in the middle of the movie, it’s easy to see how The Rum Diary would have a special charm to fans of Thompson’s work. That said, I don’t think I’d ever watch this movie again – and if you’ve read this far, that probably tells you all you need to know. Until next time…

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With The Lone Ranger budget trimmed and back on track Disney, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and director Gore Verbinski are now aiming to begin filming in February with Armie Hammer as the title character and Johnny Depp as the Ranger’s Native American companion Tonto.

In a new interview Bruckheimer revealed it was “a shock” when Disney halted production back in August, but the team have now reduced the budget to $215m from $260m with most scenes left intact, so as to compete with the “fierce” competition.

From THR:

How did you do it?
…we bunched the sequences that were big together, and for the smaller scenes [we] laid off the extras, the effects people, the makeup people. It costs an enormous amount with 150 extras on the set. It’s not the extras, it’s the people that support the extras. You’re still carrying all the wardrobe, makeup and hair people. We bunched together scenes with Tonto and the Lone Ranger, so we had a much smaller crew. We saved about $10 million just by doing that.

Then we looked for the best break in tax incentives. We found that Louisiana gave us a better tax incentive than New Mexico — that was another $8 million. We’re still shooting in New Mexico, and we might [also] go to Louisiana.

Did you have to lose sequences from the script? There was talk that some train sequences were cut back.
We cut a sequence involving a coyote attack — supernatural coyotes — and a small animated segment. The train [scenes] are intact. We trimmed it a little bit. Gore made some sacrifices creatively, but nothing that would hurt the film.

Disney would have much preferred us cutting stuff out of the script. But the competition is fierce. You can’t compete with The Hobbit, you can’t compete with Transformers if you do that. The audience will stay home.

Because you missed your original start date, how do you feel about Disney moving the release from December 2012 to May 31, 2013?
It’s a better date. Before, we were up against The Hobbit and World War Z. Now we’re a week after Fast and Furious and a couple weeks before Superman. The competition is not as bad. There are a lot of movies jammed in at Christmas. In the summer, you have a longer run. You’re cut off after the first of the year on a Christmas release.

As well as Depp and Hammer, The Lone Ranger will also feature Ruth Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper.

Bruckheimer also said they were at “the outline phase” with Pirates of the Caribbean 5, but “decided we could do better” with the script, so re-writes will likely take place before it moves forward. I felt the script for On Stranger Tides was pretty weak, so improving the next film (which is coming whether we like it or not) will be better for everyone.

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Nowadays, it’s become just an average everyday occurrence that we come to expect when Johnny Depp is given a new role to play. He’s played so many diverse characters from Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of The Caribbean franchise to John Dillinger in Public Enemies, so it’s no surprise really that, according to The Hollywood Reporter, his next role will be literary icon Dr. Seuss, also known as Theodor Seuss Geisel.

Depp has played a famous writer before (shocking right?) in Finding Neverland as the man who created Peter Pan, James Matthew Barrie, so taking on Dr. Seuss will be familiar territory for him. Universal, along with their Illumination Entertainment production house, will be working on the biopic. Even though the two companies are responsible for the CGI hit Despicable Me and also working on an adaptation of Seuss’ The Lorax, don’t expect a heavily colorful and CG heavy environment a la Alice and Wonderland.

However, a few animated elements may still come into play considering Seuss is responsible for literary classics such as The Cat in The Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, and Horton Hears a Who among others. The film will also take a look at Seuss’ life before he hit children’s book fame, including his career as a magazine illustrator in the 1920s and later as a political cartoonist during World War II.

Depp seems like the perfect candidate to pull it off and his schedule continues to grow, including this year’s The Rum Diary and even as Tonto in the long-stalled The Lone Ranger, so it’s safe to say we will be seeing a lot of him for the next few years. Other than Depp producing as well, no more news regarding production details has sprouted but we’ll keep you posted when more comes about.

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According to THR Billy Ray (Shattered Glass and Breach) has been brought on to write The Thin Man which will reunite Depp with his Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides director Rob Marshall.

The original movie released in 1934 was based on a Dashiell Hammett novel, which centered on former private detective-turned-professional drunkard Nick Charles, his lovely socialite wife Nora and their dog Asta. The book saw the couple investigate a murder involving an eccentric inventor and his bizarre family.

Warner Bros. has had a number of writers working on the project, however the visions of Jerry Stahl (Bad Boys II) and David Koepp (Angels & Demons) didn’t match with the director’s, forcing them to seek a new writer.

THR says The Thin Man is a priority for the studio, but then again no studio wants to wait around when you have Johnny Depp attached to a movie. Depp is currently finishing off shooting Dark Shadows with Tim Burton and will be re-teaming with Gore Verbinski early next year for The Lone Ranger, so The Thin Man could begin production sometime in 2012.

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After Disney pulled the brakes on The Lone Ranger last month due to budget concerns producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski tried to bring the budget down from $250m to $215m, while still trying to keep enough spectacle to attract worldwide audiences and earn sequels.

We previously heard that Johnny Depp wouldn’t make the movie without his Pirates of the Caribbean director, putting pressure on Disney to agree on a budget, but it looks like things have been worked out and filming could take place early next year.

From Deadline:

I’m hearing that the studio is likely to have everything resolved by next week, and can start rehiring crew so that the picture will be ready to begin production in January or February. How that late start impacts the Dec. 21, 2012 release date remains to be seen, but Johnny Depp will get to play Tonto (Disney wouldn’t make the movie without him), and Armie Hammer will be back in as the title character. Ruth Wilson, the scene-stealing killer from Idris Elba’s British cop series Luther, is also expected back as the female lead.

The Lone Ranger was originally looking to shooting in October in New Mexico, which will offer the studio tax breaks. While production has been delayed it could still shoot there, but the December 21, 2012 release date will probably be pushed back to summer 2013 or later. As well as Depp and Hammer, the movie is also set to star Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper.

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Last month Disney put the brakes on The Lone Ranger, the classic western which has The Social Network actor Armie Hammer playing the title character and Johnny Depp playing the Ranger’s Native American companion Tonto. The studio wanted to trim the budget down from $275m to around $200m as westerns generally don’t perform well overseas, and with DVD sales declining it would have to make 3x its budget back at the worldwide box office to be worthwhile.

Now Deadline has an update on the project, and they say Johnny Depp won’t make the movie without his Pirates of the Caribbean and Rango director Gore Verbinski, which means Disney can’t simply replace Verbinski for another (cheaper) director without losing their box office draw.

Apparently Verbinski “won’t take the budget down to a certain point where it’s not the same movie that he started out to make”, and he will soon be presenting Disney with a new budget “in the $215m range” with producer Jerry Bruckheimer. That’s still above the $200m the studio wanted, but if they lose Verbinski they lose Depp as well.

The reason for such a high budget in the first place was said to be due to the inclusion of CGI-heavy werewolves and other supernatural creatures from Native American myths. Those have apparently been cut now, but the script still includes three big action set pieces involving trains, including one described as “the biggest train sequence in film history.” Disney will be wanting the film to have enough spectacle to attract worldwide audiences and earn sequels, but a budget over $200m is a risk.

The Lone Ranger was looking to shooting in October in New Mexico, which will offer the studio tax breaks. Whether these budget issues delay production remains to be seen, but the studio may still aim to meet the December 21, 2012 release date. As well as Depp and Hammer, the movie is also set to star Ruth Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper.

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FilmDistrict has released the first trailer for The Rum Diary, which comes from writer/director Bruce Robinson. Based on the debut novel by Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary tells the unhinged story of itinerant journalist Paul Kemp played by Johnny Depp and also stars Aaron Eckhart, Amber Heard, Michael Rispoli, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi and Marshall Bell.

Watch below:

Based on the debut novel by Hunter S. Thompson, “The Rum Diary” tells the increasingly unhinged story of itinerant journalist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp). Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, The San Juan Star, run by downtrodden editor Lotterman (Richard Jenkins).

Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault (Amber Heard), the wildly attractive Connecticut-born fiancée of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart). Sanderson, a businessman involved in shady property development deals, is one of a growing number of American entrepreneurs who are determined to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of the wealthy. When Kemp is recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmen’s financial benefit, or use them to take the bastards down.

The Rum Diary has a release date set for October 28th, 2011.

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Variety is reporting that Disney is having budget issues with The Lone Ranger, the classic western which has The Social Network actor Armie Hammer playing the title character and Johnny Depp playing the Ranger’s Native American companion Tonto. The studio apparently wants to “trim the film’s escalating budget to get it closer to the $200 million that Disney was looking to spend to make the movie”.

THR earlier reported that production had been halted, with the studio wary about producing a big-budget western following the poor box office performance of Cowboys and Aliens. However Variety insists the project “is far from dead at the studio”, and Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer are “trying to rein in the costs of the actioner before the price to produce the pic gallops away from them.”

The Lone Ranger, which has Pirates of the Caribbean‘s Gore Verbinski as director, was looking to shooting in October in New Mexico, which will offer the studio tax breaks. Whether these budget issues delay production remains to be seen, but the studio may still aim to meet the December 21, 2012 release date.

As well as Depp and Hammer, the movie is also set to star Ruth Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper.

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