The lure of green screens and worldwide box office success has finally gone to Johnny Depp's head. Disney announced yesterday that one of the world's most brooding actors will star in a trio of films for the company: In a fourth (fourth!) Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Mr. Depp shall reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow; in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, a motion capture spectacle that will surly feel like an acid trip, he'll play the Mad Hatter; and in the Jerry Bruckheimer produced Lone Ranger, Mr. Depp will take the role of sidekick Tonto (natch).

What's going on here? Call us crazy, but we remember a time when Johnny Depp actually made movies, and not just giant gimmicky FX spectacles based on theme park rides and television shows.  read more »

Remember way back in April when everyone went flying into a tizzy over those Vanity Fair photos of little ol’ Miley Cyrus hugging a bed sheet to her naked, 15-year-old chest? Consider this a minor addendum to that controversy. Disney—the same globo-corp that complained Annie Leibovitz had manipulated their star into those provocative poses—now gives us “Concert Candy,” a product tailor-made to elicit dirty thoughts in the minds of helpless sweet-tooths.  read more »

Monday: Notorious
Some say Rear Window. Others, Vertigo. We say Notorious when asked to name our favorite Hitchcock film. Ingrid Bergman plays a boozy, sad beauty who must redeem herself—and her family name—by turning spy for government agent Cary Grant. The action takes place in 40s Rio de Janiero, where Bergman must marry a suspicious German in order to turn up secrets for Grant, who is both in love with her, and repulsed by her unladylike behaviors (which we found, for the record, totally awesome). [TCM, 8 p.m.]  read more »

Weinstein Books, the publishing imprint of Bob and Harvey Weinstein’s production company, has officially cut ties with Miramax Books, Weinstein Books president Rob Weisbach told The Observer today. The imprint has been part of Hyperion—Disney’s publishing arm—ever since the Weinstein brothers split from Disney two years ago.

The brothers agreed to temporarily retain some oversight of the Miramax imprint when they left Disney in 2005, in order to properly follow through on all the books they’d signed up before they left.

According to Weinstein Books president Rob Weisbach, he and his staff moved out of Miramax’s offices at 99 Hudson Street on September 30th and are now operating out of a new location at Cortlandt and Church Sreets.