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EXCLUSIVE: Disney and Johnny Depp’s Infinitum Nihil are teaming up on two new projects: a feature version of the ’70s TV movie The Night Stalker, and a drama about the Midnight Ride made by Paul Revere to warn Colonial militia of the impending British invasion. Depp is the potential star of both films, and he and his Infinitum Nihil partner Christi Dembrowski will produce.
Like many, Dembrowski and Depp had fond memories of the ABC telepic and series The Night Stalker, and they got Disney’s Rich Ross and Sean Bailey sparked on a pitch for Depp to potentially play tabloid reporter Carl Kolchak. Originated by Darren McGavin, Kolchak was the dogged journalist first seen in the 1972 telepic (where he hunted a killer who was draining the blood of beautiful girls on the Las Vegas strip) and later in the ABC series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Kolchak’s investigations always seemed to lead him to the doorstep of vampires, zombies, werewolves and aliens. For its time, it was pretty scary stuff. The studio will go out to writers shortly. David Kennedy will be exec producer.
Dembrowski and Depp set up the Paul Revere film at Disney with Batman Forever scribes Lee and Janet Batchler writing the screenplay. The film will focus on the Boston silversmith and that 24-hour period in which he made the risky “midnight ride” from Charlestown to Lexington, becoming a seminal figure in the American Revolutionary War. Jon Brown and Infinitum Nihil’s Margaret French-Isaac will be executive producers.
It is a coup for Disney’s Ross and Bailey to be back in business with Depp, right after Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides cracked the $1 billion mark in worldwide gross. It’s the third time that the studio has reached the billion-dollar milestone on a film with Depp in the lead role, after Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Alice In Wonderland. Depp next saddles up for the studio with Armie Hammer in the Gore Verbinski-directed The Lone Ranger.
Depp and Dombrowski, whose Infinitum Nihil has a production deal with GK Films, have been busy: The Rum Diary, which was written and directed by Bruce Robinson and stars Depp, will be released by FilmDistrict on Oct. 28; the Martin Scorsese-directed 3D Hugo Cabret will be released Nov. 23 by Paramount Pictures; and they are now shooting the TV series transfer, Dark Shadows, at Warner Bros, with Depp starring and Tim Burton directing. Both Dark Shadows and The Night Stalker were based on series produced by the late Dan Curtis.
The Night Stalker will push the boundaries of the family film formula that Disney is following under Ross and Bailey. But as they showed by taking on the Ice Cube-directed Chrome and Paint, Ross and Bailey are broadening that definition into edgier territory. And who wouldn’t bet on The Night Stalker and Paul Revere with Depp a strong possibility to star in both? UTA reps Depp.
By the way, insiders have denied a story in The Wrap story that Depp is set for a fifth Pirates of the Caribbean.
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Johnny Depp as Kolchak = genius!
YES!!!
I agree, its perfect. This is such awesome news and I would love to see it come to fruition but I am not even going to allow myself to get excited until its greenlit.
I am a huge fan of Johnny Depp and I read yesterday that he has bought the rights to a book called “Shantaram”, by Gregory David Roberts. Is there any news as to when this movie is likely to be made/released.
I read the book last year, and couldn’t put it down. I am so excited that Johnny Dep’s name is now linked to it. Can’t think of anyone more suited to play the lead role.
A DEPP fan for always.
Marion from Vancouver Island, Canada
I’d love to see David Chase wtite and direct a Night Stalker movie with Depp. If I’m
not mistaken he’s on the record as being a big fan. But if it’s YET ANOTHER Tim
Burton pairing…please, no. Another good pair would be Zemekis/Koepp.
Chase isn’t merely a “fan”; he was the original show’s principle writer (admittedly because Richard Matheson, who wrote the 2 tv movies that proceeded it felt the concept wouldn’t work on a weekly basis).Chase knows that the main draw wasn’t the monsters; it was the down-to-earth Kolchak’s REACTIONS to all the weird goings-on.
Chase would be a great choice to write this (as would Matheson, of course)- certainly better than Depp as star (Depp is many things, but a workin’ class hero like Kolchak ain’t one of them).
And if Burton directs, it won’t be “Kolchak” at all- just another over-artdirected fantasia.
The best possible director for this: someone they’ll never consider in a million years- Stuart Gordon, who, like Kolchak, is a Chicago boy who knows when to be scary, when to be funny,- and when to keep it real.
CST – Love the notion of Stuart Gordon doing this. Good call.
John V. Karavitis And Matheson’s fear was correct. Towards the end, even Darren McGavin wanted to bail, as he felt that the series had become too predictable, too boring, and that they were running out of monsters. Unfortunately, the last attempt at a re-make of this venerable and iconic TV series in 2005 with Stuart Townsend was a complete and utter failure. “Kolchak” was responsible for a number of TV series, movies, etc. (Chris Carter stated that “Kolchak” was his inspiration for “The X-Files” (damn you, Chirs Carter! I wanted to do that!) Anyway, Johnny Depp has proven that he’s not afraid of trying on roles that are “different” and “weird”, and he’s also putting his money where his mouth is. Something tells me that, If Depp can resist hamming it up, if he plays Kolchak the way McGavin played him, we might have a decent re-make – for once. John V. Karavitis
It would be glorious to see Depp star in Sarah Palin’s version of Paul Revere’s ride where he famously warns the British of the impending American attack.
To borrow the Hollywood cliche: it’s a reimagining of Revere’s famous ride to tell the REAL story of what happened….which we all now know thanks to Sarah Palin.
LOL
Johnny Depp as Sarah Palin!
This is a PFZ (Palin Free Zone.)
Yes, I’m 100% certain that Johnny Depp could play Sarah Palin, he can do just about anything else on screen, so why not ?????
Laughing heartily in Comox, Vancouver, Island.
I had a similar, albeit stranger thought…”Depp’s going to give slap-stick a try?”
Seriously? You really need to read something other than the Daily Kos. Revere was captured by the British that night and warned them the colonials were waiting for them and they would never capture their armaments. While she may not have been a bit rattled, Palin was accurate.
The capture by the British and Revere’s defiant “You guys are soooo eff’ed” delivered with a gun to his head would seem to be the best part of a new Revere movie, wouldn’t it?
I can’t believe we never got that part of it, but I suppose it wasn’t in the POEM so…
Seriously, you need to NOT believe everything you see on Fox…lol.
Palin twisted the Revere legend into an unrecognizable pean to her gun-tottin’-lovin’ base.
Revere was captured by the British, admitted warning the settlers of their arrival, but mever mentioned guns.
Neutralizing the enemy’s fire power is a generic goal of any invasion, but Palin’s fixation on “guns” and the distortion of a treasured historical event to redirect the emphasis (to her tastes) is nothing but self-aggrandizing ignorance – willful or otherwise.
Either way, she’s a joke to critically thinking Americans everywhere.
Sarah Palin just finished the Paul Revere tour, with local historians. So ‘her version’ is their version. Paul was captured and warned the British of exactly their impending doom! The British actually ended up fleeing, fearful… for the ride & ‘early warning system’ were well planned out by these Christian men.
Both are PERFECT vehicles for him. This is why Depp is such a big star. Not only is he a great actor but so easily cast in iconic roles like these.
Paul Revere was a cybernetic centaur that turned against humanity and started the Civil War. I thought that was pretty well documented at this point.
Wow! First “Dark Shadows” then “The Thin Man” (in development) and now a re-boot of my fave t.v. show from the 70′s “Kolchak The Night Stalker”? I can hardly wait! Good call.
Depp as Kolchak is a terrible idea. It’s going to suffer the same fate as the Stuart Townsend relaunch a few years back…the actor playing the lead was too slick and put-together and so were the cases. The show suffered for them. Kolchak more-or-less should be Columbo of the supernatural…rumpled, disheveled, but dogged in breaking the case wide open. If they want to do a big movie, then the perfect person to play him would be someone like Bill Murray.
Ummm..have u not seen the PIRATES movies? Depp never plays ‘put together’…he’s always odd and quirky..look at his Ichabod Crane.
Right, Depp picks Odd or Quirky and then plays that one beat throughout an entire film. It’s exhausting.
In that case, he’d make ‘do’ a perfect SARAH PALIN @@@@@
Of course I’ve seen the Pirate movies (much to my regret, save for the first one), but I would hardly equate what Depp does there to him playing Kolchak. You’re talking about a character that he created for himself vs. stepping into an established character. And no matter how much “quirk” Depp would bring to the performance, the fact remains it’s still Johnny Depp, a good-looking movie star type, playing quirky. I suggested Bill Murray, someone else suggested Bryan Cranston (which I love), and I’ll add someone like John C. Reilly. Good actors who aren’t traditional pretty-boy types and can make the role their own, vs. “Hey, it’s Depp being wacky again!”
Actually the remake was one of the best shows of the last ten years. Maybe it was disappointing for the old fans, but as someone who was new to Kolchak, I loved the story, the casting, and especially the cinematography. Sad it never got the attention it clearly deserved.
I’m willing to give Depp a chance. First, it’s his time and money, let him run with it. Second, it’s GOT to be way better than the Stuart Townsend failure. Third, we’re talking KOLCHAK, people! KOLCHAK! John V. Karavitis
Fantastic! KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER is Chris Carter’s primary inspiration for THE X-FILES which ran for 9 nears in prime time, put Fox network on the map and became a $2.3 billion franchise for Fox.
“There is nothing scary on television,” Carter said in 1993. “I want to do something as scary as on when I was a kid, which is ‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker.’ It was a series that I loved, I could have watched it every night of the week. So I came up with ‘The X-Files,’ Mulder and Scully and the FBI as a way to explore the paranormal.”
CST – I love you and want to have your baby!
Maybe we should just have a 3-way with Max, ‘cuz that Bill Murray idea is spot-on!
Love Depp in most everything (except Chocolat) and think that Bill Murray’s better for Kolchak too.
Gary Oldman as Kolchak, Depp as the vampire. Now you got a hit.
Depp and Oldman = LOVE that idea.
Another great idea from Johnny Depp. Can’t wait for Dark Shadows (2012), but I would want to see this proposed Kolchak: The Night Stalker motion picture too. I think its fantastic that Johnny Depp is making movie projects for the “Baby Boomers” generation. The 1970′s was a great time to be growing up especially if you watched television.
I LOVED The Night Stalker!!! If done right I’m sure this will be a huge hit for Depp and Disney. Looking forward to it.
I don’t see Depp as Kolchak. I can buy Bill Murray, though.
Personally, the person I’d like to see play Kolchak is Bryan Cranston. I think he’d be awesome in the part.
“Personally, the person I’d like to see play Kolchak is Bryan Cranston.”
Will, I’ve thought the same thing about Cranston as Kolchak from back in his Malcom in the Middle days!!!! Bryan Cranston has a total Darren McGavin-ness going on and now after Breaking Bad’s success perhaps him in the Kolchak role can become a reality.
Needless to say I think Depp as Kolchak is a bad idea as I think tinges of Jack Sparrow will seep into his performance. The same goes for any Depp-Tim Burton pairing. The Night Stalker was a favorite of mine and the movie could make serious bank if done well. Here’s to hoping it works out.
Johnny excels at planning the offbeat oddball outsider – Edward Scissorhands or Ed Wood, anyone?
I’d have more trouble buying him as a non-oddball historical drama lead in Paul Revere. He was great fun in From Hell and Sweeney Todd, but again, oddball offbeat, not straightforward historical drama.
Excels at PLAYING. Stupid typo.
Harrison Ford wouldn’t be a bad Kolchak. Johnny Depp can’t do Dark Shadows AND Kolchak, can he? Ooh! What if he did Night Stalker as a sequel to Dark Shadows and had Carl Kolchak tracking down Barnabas Collins?
Please leave the humor in Kolchak. It had its scary moments, especially the first one, but it was also very funny and quirky. That tv redo was like a vampire sucked all of the endearing and fun things out of the concept.
Yep….He was born to play this role.
Tentpole franchise hack Depp as Kolchak in a reboot of The Night Stalker?! The late, great Darren McGavin must be spinning in his grave.
Depp thinks if you put on a funny outfit, wig, or contact lenses, and speak with a funny “accent,” that’s “acting.”
Make. It. Stop.
Depp as Kolchak is brilliant! The talkbacker(“Max”) who compared Depp to the naff Stuart Townsend Night Stalker is an idiot. That show was done by Frank Spotnitz, an X-FILES hack ripping off his old boss.
Townsend is a fish-eyed stiff, who, if he wasn’t Mr. Charlize Theron, would be cleaning pools. He was a terrible Kolchak, as he was a terrible everything else. Peter Jackson deserved a special Oscar for firing him from LORD OF THE RINGS…He would have sunk that franchise as surely as he sank the tepid NS redo and the Lestat franchise, but I digress…
Carl Kolchak is a quirky guy, and “Quirky” is what Depp excels at. This is probably gonna be a Burton/Depp deal, so please, not another awful John Logan script! SE7EN’s Andrew Kevin Walker reportedly wrote a NIGHT STALKER script back in the ’90s. Hopefully, Burton will find it, as the last cool Depp/Burton teaming was the Walker-scripted SLEEPY HOLLOW…
Hi “at least we Brits.” Max here. So let me understand this correctly…I voiced an opinion differing from yours and I’m an idiot? You want to turn Kolchack into yet another Depp/Burton wankfest and I’m an idiot?
Tell me, does the stick up your ass have to split the rent with your head, or does it get to live there for free?
Grow up, mouth-breather.
Great casting, but I really DO want to see him play Marc Bolan of TRex fame. What’s a girl gotta do? Best to you, Johnny!
There is no way Depp can play Kolchak. That was McGavin’s signature role. They tried aremake once and it tanked, because the lead was no Kolchak, and neither will be Depp.
Dear Hollywood,
a) Stop casting pretty boys to be Kolchak.
b) Stop remaking old shit.
Thanks in advance,
Darren
PS: Depp is overrated. Surely I’m not the only one who saw The Tourist? A non-Pirates, non-Burton role. Sank like a rock.
I hope it will be set in the present, instead of the 1970s – assuming so, the struggle of newspapers to stay alive in the Internet era could provide interesting subtext
What are you talking about? If Jonny Depp only wanted to read the telephone Directory for 90 minutes, Disney’s Rich Ross and Sean Bailey would him offer $25 million.
It doesn’t matter a damn WHAT Depp wants to do – after Disney’s killing with 4 PIRATES movies, they’d hire him to do a remake of GLENN OR GLENDA.