'Rango' the big winner at the Annie Awards

While traditionally Dreamworks Animation has ruled the Annie Awards while Pixar takes home the gold at the Academy Awards, it was Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies which drew first blood this year with Gore Verbinski's "Rango" the big winner at the 39th annual Annie Awards, which were held Saturday evening at UCLA's Royce Hall.

"Rango" was the big winner Saturday.

"Rango" took home the awards for Animated Feature, Writing in a Feature Production, Editing in a Feature Production and Character Design in a Feature Production.

While Verbinski shared the writing award, he lost out in the directing category to Jennifer Yuh Nelson for Dreamworks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda 2." That film was also awarded for Production Design in a Feature Production.

"Tintin," which recently took home Best Animated Feature at the Golden Globes, was awarded twice Saturday for Music in a Feature Production for John Williams and Animated Effects in an Animated Production. Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg's first foray into feature animation was snubbed and will not be among the nominees for the Academy Awards later this month.

In the television categories, "The Simpsons" took home the top prize for Best General Audience Animated Television Production.

See below for a full list of this year's winners.

Can Gore Verbinski justify a $250 million western?

Disney has pulled the plug on director Gore Verbinski's $250 million "The Lone Ranger" and is demanding tens of millions of dollars in budget cuts.

"At World's End" grossed $963 million.

Based solely on Verbinski's record with Disney's "Pirate of the Caribbean" franchise, one might wonder why Disney is so worried. Didn't the first three films directed by Verbinski gross a combined $2.6 billion?

And don't forget that actor Johnny Depp is set to star as the Lone Ranger's companion Tonto. Depp's last two films with Disney--"Alice in Wonderland" in 2010 and "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" this year--each grossed more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office.

Looking at the ever-increasing budgets of the first three "Pirates" films--$140 million, $225 million and $300 million--it's understandable that the studio might be concerned with another $250 million project. And since Depp isn't portraying the lead character here, perhaps his star power may not provide quite the bang (no actor has been named to play the Lone Ranger).

Mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer is also attached, as he has been with all four "Pirates" films. But he also helped deliver two less-than-stellar box office results to Disney last summer with "Prince of Persia" and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."

In the end, however, the decision to take a step back--and perhaps cut their losses altogether--has nothing to do with Verbinski, Depp or Bruckheimer. It has everything to do with the fact that "The Lone Ranger" is a western.

Gore Verbinski trims 'The Lone Ranger' budget, but still millions above Disney's goal

Director Gore Verbinski is trying to salvage his big-budgeted "Lone Ranger" project after Disney pulled the plug Friday.

Johnny Depp

Featuring actor Johnny Depp ("Alice in Wonderland') as the Lone Ranger's companion Tonto and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the project's reported $250 budget million led the studio to halt production.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney has reportedly given Verbinski a week to retool the script and cut at least $30 million from the budget. Citing a source, the report states Verbinski has the budget down to around $242 million with the director and Bruckheimer giving up $10 million in fees.

Unfortunately for the future of the project, that seems like the bulk of the cuts Verbinski is willing to make.

Big-budget westerns have not fared well, with last month's "Cowboys & Aliens," a western/sci-fi mash-up, bringing in only $84 million domestically to date on a budget of $163 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

With neither side looking like it's going to blink, the future of the project looks very much in doubt at this point. "The Lone Ranger" had been set for a Dec. 21, 2012, release.

Disney pulling the plug on 'The Lone Ranger'?

Disney has at least temporarily pulled the plug on production of its big-budgeted adaptation of "The Lone Ranger," which was set for released in December 2012.

Johnny Depp

The project features producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Gore Verbinski and actor Johnny Depp, who teamed together for a little project called "Pirates of the Caribbean."

According to reports, the issue at hand is one of money, namely the large budget, which is in the range of $200 million.

The concern surrounds the fact that the film is a western, which has not exactly lit the box office aflame lately. "Cowboys & Aliens," which was a western/sci-fi mash-up, has brought in $76 million domestically to date on a budget of $163 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

"Pirates of the Caribbean," on the other hand, includes two of the 10 films to cross the billion-dollar mark. Verbinski directed the first three films of the franchise. He and Depp re-teamed earlier this year for the animated western "Rango," which drew $123 million domestically and $242 million worldwide on a budget of $135 million.

Right now it's not clear if either side will be quick to blink, either Disney and its demands for a smaller budget or Bruckheimer and Verbinski, who seems to be sticking to their guns. Muddying the waters is the fact that Disney needs to keep Depp, who is set to star as the Ranger's Native American companion Tonto, happy so he'll be back for a fifth "Pirates" film.

Incidentally, Paramount Pictures announced this week it is releasing the adaptation of Max Brook's "World War Z" the same weekend as "The Lone Ranger," on Dec. 21, 2012.

Universal drops 'Clue,' Gore Verbinski stays

Whodunnit? Well, we know it's not Universal Pictures, which just dropped the planned adaptation of the mystery board game Clue.

The game was adapted into a 1985 film.

Deadline is reporting that the studio has dropped the Hasbro property, but director Gore Verbinski ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "Rango") is still on board to direct. He will produce the film under his Blind Wink moniker with partner John Krauss along with Habro's Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir.

According to the report, screenwriters Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama ("Flash Gordon") have been hired to retool the script based on concepts developed by Verbinkski and the rest of the producers, which will expand the murder mystery concept to a "global stage."

The board game, first published in 1949 in England, allows players to play sleuths trying to discover who killed Mr. Boddy along with where the murder took place and what weapon was used to commit the deed.

The game has already been adapted into a 1985 film directed by Johnathan Lynn and starring Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd, among others. Although it bombed at the box office, it went on to become a cult favorite on home video.