Johnny Depp: Made Disney Nervous With His Flamboyant Portrayal of Capt. Jack Sparrow

Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Capt. Jack Sparrow in Disney’s blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean and its two sequels was good enough to earn the actor an Oscar no nomination for best actor.

But Depp, the cover story in the new Vanity Fair, that some Disney executives were initially skittish over his over-the-top flamboyant portrayal.

“They couldn’t stand him,” he tells rocker Patti Smith who did the interview. “They just couldn’t stand him. I think it was Michael Eisner, the head of Disney at the time, who was quoted as saying, ‘He’s ruining the movie.’ Upper-echelon Disney-ites, going, What’s wrong with him? Is he, you know, like some kind of weird simpleton? Is he drunk? By the way, is he gay?… And so I actually told this woman who was the Disney-ite… ‘But didn’t you know that all my characters are gay?’ Which really made her nervous.”

As we all know, it turned out well for everybody!

Elton John and Lady Gaga: Details on Their Duet

If you were watching Elton John on The View yesterday, you might have heard him mention that he’s planning to release a duet with Lady Gaga. It’s something he’s alluded to before, but now we can report that the track, called “Hello, Hello,” will appear in the upcoming Disney animated film Gnomeo & Juliet, which is being produced by Sir Elton and his partner, David Furnish.

The charming pop track plays during the moment where the two lead characters, lawn ornaments named Gnomeo (voiced by James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt), meet for the first time.

The film hits theaters on February 11, 2011. No word yet on when the single will be released.

Toy Story 3 Trailer is Here

Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of Andy’s toys are back in Toy Story 3!

After Andy leaves for college, his toys are given away to a day care center, and they meet new friends in their new environment, including Barbie and Ken. [And I must say that Ken looks and acts pretty gay on this movie with his teal outfit and ascot.]

New celebrity voices in the film include Whoopi Goldberg, Bonnie Hunt and Jeff Garlin.

Toy Story 3 hits theaters on June 18th. Can you believe the original Toy Story came out 15 years ago?

Here's the trailer:

Disney to Remake Beatles "Yellow Submarine"

Walt Disney Co is to remake the zany 1960s Beatles movie "Yellow Submarine" in 3-D in a deal with the band's company Apple Corps.

Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook said on Friday the new "Yellow Submarine" will be directed by Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis using the same motion-capture effects he employed in the family movie "Polar Express."

It will incorporate the 16 Beatles songs and recordings from the original film, licensed from Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Capitol Records. No release date was announced.

The original film, about a peaceful, music-loving underwater community that is attacked by music hating "blue meanies", was released in the U.S. in 1968 and directed by George Dunning.

The Disney film project extends a wave of "Beatlemania" ushered in by the release of the remastered edition of the Fab Four's albums this week, and an interactive video game for a new generation of fans.

Jeff Jones, CEO of Apple Corps, said the deal with Disney brings together "two of the best-loved creative entities in the world."

Hugh Jackman to Haunt "Ghostopolis"

Hugh Jackman is moving from mutants to ghosts.

The "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" star is attached to "Ghostopolis," an upcoming graphic novel from Doug TenNapel that the author recently set up at Walt Disney Studios.

The story centers on a man who works for the government's Supernatural Immigration Task Force. His job is to send ghosts who have escaped into our world back to Ghostopolis. When a living boy accidentally is sent to the other side, the agent must team with a female ghost (and former flame) to bring him back.

Jackman will produce through his Seed Productions, as will the Gotham Group. No director or writer has been hired yet for the project.

TenNapel's graphic novels are in high demand as movie projects, with nearly all of them being developed at studios. His dinosaur tale "Tommysaurus Rex" is set up at Universal, "Creature Tech" at New Regency and "Monster Zoo" at Paramount.

Seed Productions, which Jackman runs with his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, and John Palermo, is developing several comic book projects, including an adaptation of Virgin Comics' "Nowhere Man."