JOHNNY DEPP UPDATE -- Kemo Sabe?

Coming up next for Johnny Depp is the role of the Mad Hatter in ALICE IN WONDERLAND. This Disney release is currently slated for March 5, 2010. The entire staff at Needtovent.com is anticipating another brilliant performance by what is arguably the finest American actor currently gracing the silver screen. As Director Tim Burton states, "Johnny definitely gets ALICE IN WONDERLAND. He's probably been there himself many times."

And so we wondered what might be the next step for Mr. Depp. The answer surprised us. As Alice would say, things get "curiouser and curiouser." Reportedly, producer Jerry Bruckheimer aims to reintroduce a classic Western franchise, THE LONE RANGER, with Depp (whose maternal grandfather, not incidentally, was Cherokee) as Tonto. Writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio have been selected to write the script for the live-action big-screen adaptation of the classic 1930s radio show. Besides writing SHREK, THE MARK OF ZORRO, and NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS together, Elliott and Rossio are the duo that brought us all three of the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN adventures.


Remaking THE LONE RANGR is essentially a risky undertaking in this day and age where Westerns continue to flop no matter how good they are (PALO PINTO GOLD being a rare exception). But one could've said the same about pirates and octopus-headed villains back before the first PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN plundered the box office in 2001. However, THE LONE RANGER seems a bit more daunting. The character's most recent shot at the big screen, 1981s THE LEGEND OF THE LONE RANGER, failed so badly that the film's star, Klinton Spilsbury, never worked in Hollywood again.

While no one has yet been signed to play the title character, there have been clues that George Clooney is being seriously considered for the role forever made popular by Clayton Moore. If this will bring an end to the looney Clooney's overinflated career as well, we say go for it.

Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!