Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Depp's next role unclear as green lights delayed
Wed Jul 22, 2009 4:05am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Steven Zeitchik and Borys Kit
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Johnny Depp is coming off an acclaimed role in "Public Enemies" and stars in one of the most anticipated movies of this weekend's Comic-Con, "Alice in Wonderland."
But the Mad Hatter is facing an unusual situation: Like the character he plays in "Alice," he soon could be killing time.
Depp is attached to a number of high-profile development properties but is facing a landscape devoid of "go" pictures -- those ready for production. Instead, there are a dizzying number of possibilities and schedule permutations, none of which seems likely to result in a produced movie for him anytime soon.
Producers have been interested in Depp for the title role in Warner Bros.' "The Incredible Mr. Limpet." Kevin Lima's remake of the 1964 fantasy comedy that would continue a whimsical, if slightly less drama-intensive, streak for the actor. He has not signed on, however, and in any event the pic would not go into production until next year.
Meanwhile, the fourth installment of "Pirates of the Caribbean" remains a priority for Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. At an earlier point, it was going to be the next picture for Depp, who toplines as Jack Sparrow. But with Gore Verbinski no longer directing the franchise, the ship has slowed.
Disney is seeking a new director, a process that could take time. Although the studio is believed to want an established helmer of franchise and action fare, it has put the word out to agents that it would be open to younger directors and new ideas, potentially prolonging the process. That could mean as much as a four- or five-year hiatus since the 2007 release of the previous picture, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."
(Disney also would like to scale back the size and budget of the next movie compared with previous installments; for that reason, it likely won't bring back relatively pricey Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.)
'RANGER' NOT YET RIDING
Because of the "Pirates" lag, a Depp project that was supposed to go into production after the Sparrow-fest, "The Lone Ranger," could end up getting pushed back further, though there's also a possibility it could shoot ahead of the nautical tale.
For the moment, though, "Ranger" also remains locked in the stable. "Pirates" writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio have written a script for the Disney/Bruckheimer update, but the studio could wind up commissioning a polish or another draft. There's also no director, and Depp is attached to play Tonto, with the title role still to be cast.
Finally, Warners' feature update of the ghoulish TV series "Dark Shadows" -- a Depp/Tim Burton collaboration that might have shot later this year or early next year -- also might be back-burnered. Burton still has work to do on "Alice," which opens in March, and tends to spend a lot of time on prep work.
What the possibilities boil down to, besides head spinning, is that there are projects with momentum that Depp has not signed for, and projects he has signed for that don't have a lot of momentum.
In other words, it's a very 2009 phenomenon brought on by a star's choosiness on the one hand and studios' increasing caution on the other. (In what might be an emerging mini-trend, Will Smith and Leonardo DiCaprio happen to find themselves in similar situations.)
The result is that Depp could face a year or longer without appearing on the big screen.
That might not sound like a major departure, but for moviegoers, it will seem like a shift. Depp has been in one of the most fertile periods of his career: The actor also stars in the Hunter S. Thompson adaptation "The Rum Diary" and had a supporting role in Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," which hasn't yet been released in the U.S. In the past nine years, Depp has not had more than two movies come out in any 18-month period; if "Imaginarium" gets a release by the end of 2010, he'll have had four. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Stephen Baldwin files for bankruptcy in NY
Also on Reuters
China suicide puts spotlight on secretive Apple culture
Slideshow
Slideshow: Longest total solar eclipse of 21st century
Washington's Watergate Hotel fails to attract buyers
More Entertainment News
U.S. drug agents raid Jackson doctor's office
| Video
Rock legends to perform Hall of Fame concerts
Daughtry claims second No. 1 on U.S. album chart
Stephen Baldwin files for bankruptcy in NY
NY judge reinstates Rather fraud claim against CBS
More Entertainment News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Sarah Palin fights back against ethics charge
Charges dropped against black Harvard professor
Actor Stephen Baldwin files for bankruptcy in NY
Asia darkens under longest solar eclipse of century | Video
Asia darkens under longest solar eclipse of century
China suicide puts spotlight on secretive Apple culture
WRAPUP 2-Honduras pressure mounts, U.S. wants deal "now"
China suicide puts spotlight on secretive Apple culture
RPT-UPDATE 4-Apple smashes profit forecasts, iPhone shines
Apple smashes profit forecasts, iPhone shines
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Solar eclipse wows Asia
Dancing babies top viral video chart
No bidders for the Watergate
Landslides kill 6 in Japan
Obama intensifies healthcare push
Baboon gang raid visitors' luggage
Shanghai prepares for solar eclipse
Bernanke: U.S. economy improving
Violence ahead of Maliki U.S. talks
Fido gets his own Facebook
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Special Coverage: Michael Jackson
The King of Pop
Full coverage of Michael Jackson's sudden death, with the latest news, videos, facts and timeline. Full Coverage
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.