Anyone else get the feeling that Johnny Depp is picking a lot of his potential future film roles based on TV shows he liked in his younger days? He’s already working on Dark Shadows with Tim Burton, has **The Lone Ranger **in the saddle and has now made a deal alongside Disney to buy the rights to ‘70s TV movie The Night Stalker.
If the movie gets made, Depp would take over the role of Carl Kolchak made famous by Darren McGavin. Kolchak was a grumpy but dedicated Las Vegas reporter who tangled with the supernatural in his first adventure when he tracked down a vampire killing women on the Vegas strip.
The TV movie and the short-lived show it spawned were highly influential, most notably in terms of The X-Files. There’s no word on a writer or director yet, but Depp’s Infinitum Nihil company will co-produce any eventual film with the Mouse House team.
Also on Depp’s potential plate? A pic about Paul Revere, the Boston silversmith who made a risky night-time ride to warn the local Colonial militia that the British were invading. His actions ended up making him one of the most iconic figures of the American revolutionary conflict. Disney has set that one up with Lee and Janet Batchler. Which worries us – their only real screenwriting credits are the little-seen 2004 Modesty Blaise movie and, er,** Batman Forever**.
Still, maybe they can get Sarah Palin to consult on the historical accuracy...