This post is part of our feature on Money Winners of 2008. See all 20.

Johnny Depp is one quirky thespian. Whether he's playing a Gothic mutant with scissors for hands, a sadistic throat-slitting barber, or one wacked-out pirate who sounds a lot like a drunken guitarist from one of the greatest rock 'n roll bands of all time, Depp works overtime to extract as much weirdness from a part as he conceivably can so he can present a compelling performance to paying audiences at the local multiplex. And he gets paid pretty well for his services.

In fact, he's set to earn multiple millions of dollars to appear in a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. That's right, if you thought Disney (NYSE: DIS) was thinking of stopping at the third one (like maybe it should), then you turned out to be wrong. It's difficult to say exactly how much Depp will make from the next Pirates adventure. The Movie Blog claims that the number is as high as $75 million. I've read other reports that confirm this figure, but I've also read speculation that the value relates more to the potential of his earnings power in terms of gross participation, merchandise, etc. In other words, it might be reasonable to assume that Depp will earn as high as $75 million if Pirates 4 is a huge box-office hit on the level of its predecessors. He may, however, receive a lesser amount upfront. I believe the latter to most likely be the case based on the way Hollywood works. We unfortunately will never know the specific details because the SEC does not require public media companies to report talent compensation (in my opinion, they should). No matter what, though, he'll be grossing a lot of bucks when he returns as Captain Jack Sparrow.

I may turn out wrong about this, but I think Disney (NYSE: DIS) is making a mistake by working on a contemporary version of The Lone Ranger. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this is an upcoming project for producer Jerry Bruckheimer and the screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. Recognize the names? Yeah, they're from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Oh, man, as soon as I saw this headline, I immediately screamed inside my head -- I mean, what the heck are execs at Disney thinking?! I am so glad that even the Reporter article seemed to subtly question the worthiness of this idea, calling some of the elements of The Lone Ranger character possibly "musty to today's audiences." That's exactly what I was thinking! Look -- I know Bruckheimer and the gang are going to make sure this is all action-oriented and that it will have quick cuts and be fast and all of that great cinematic stuff, but, seriously -- The Lone Ranger? You're remaking The Old -- sorry -- Lone Ranger? No, as a Disney shareholder, this doesn't work for me. But here's a big suggestion -- make the storyline supernatural! Have the Lone Ranger chase a group of undead bandits or something. And by the way, please -- I didn't see any mention in the article of who will portray The Lone Ranger, so I'm assuming he hasn't been cast yet, so let me just say that you shouldn't give in to temptation and cast Johnny Depp in the role. That guy will be way too expensive.

This just isn't a strong concept to me. The Lone Ranger is a very ancient brand -- no offense intended, of course, it's just that, again, as a shareholder, I want the studio division to have the best possible chance of making a lot of money. This does not represent the best possible chance, and I don't think this remake will be as successful as Pirates. Disney should leave this one to the competition -- let Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Sony (NYSE: SNE), or News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) roll this particular pair of dice.

Anyone who follows Disney (NYSE: DIS) knows that the media conglomerate is serious about videogames -- it should be, considering that consoles from Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY), Sony (NYSE: SNE), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) are currently cooking in the industry's new cycle. The company has been increasing its investments in this area, and it will continue to do so; making games for Nintendo's DS hand-held system, as well as other platforms, has become a priority. But Disney is also serious about the synthesis of virtual worlds -- you know, the kind of online gaming platforms that can suck a person's life away due to their addictive, immersive scope.

Well, the powers that be at the Mouse have decided that a dedicated team of professionals is needed to ensure a proper presence in the virtual-world space. According to a press release, Disney has created Disney Online Studios for the express purpose of programming new online entertainment platforms. It seems that the company wants to leverage the promise of social networking -- hope you're not too sick of that buzz phrase -- by creating worlds that allow gamers to interact with each other via community tools in addition to playing around in he worlds themselves. Right now, Disney operates Toontown, and it plans on developing immersive online environments for the company's Fairies and Cars franchises. Pirates of the Caribbean has also been given the online treatment; and let's not forget the acquisition of the popular Club Penguin destination.

This summer was a very profitable one for box offices nationwide, with four movies grossing over $300M, and at least another nine grossing over $100M -- signaling in a big way the resurgence of the movie industry, which had been struggling for the last few years.

The four big $300M+ winners of the summer were Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE: SNE) 'sSpider-Man 3, which grossed $336M in the U.S., Viacom, Inc (NYSE: VIA)'s Paramount's Shrek the Third, which grossed $320M, Transformers, also from Paramount, which grossed $311M, and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS)'s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which grossed $308M.

Three of the four were third installments of well established big-budget franchises, so their success is hardly shocking, but the Transformers success clearly marks the start of a new blockbuster franchise (the release date of the sequel has been announced -- June 26, 2009). The robot-action extravaganza, which was directed by Michael Bay, was definitely a surprise, as I remarked in my summer movie preview that Transformers "has flop written all over it... there cannot possibly be enough substance in a story about alien robots that transform into vehicles to make this a hit with the general public." I was wrong -- very wrong. The movie killed at the box office, grossing over $330M on a $150M budget, and prompting a re-release on IMAX, which opened last week.

At Comic-Con this year, the Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) announced its commitment to make all seven of the Chronicles of Narnia books into feature films, releasing one a year starting in May '08 with Prince Caspian. This decision follows the success of the adaptation of the first book -- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe -- which grossed almost $300 million.

This decision is not surprising, following the conclusion of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, which has no immediate plans to continue. Disney is predictably looking for its next goldmine franchise, and what better to use than a seven book series which already had a successful start?

The only question is whether the quality of production will suffer in the sequels from such an ambitious filming schedule, and after Disney pulled off the Pirates trilogy with such dazzling effects, I doubt that will be a concern -- although the quality of the Pirates scripts did fade down the stretch. At least with these movies, the writers will have a classic source to guide them.

We're not even to Memorial-Day weekend, and another box-office record has been broken.

Shrek the Third, the latest in the successful animated series from DreamWorks Animation SKG (NYSE: DWA), enjoyed the third-biggest opening for a domestic film, and easily broke the record for the genre held by Shrek 2, which banked $108 million during its first weekend of release.

The latest adventures of green ogre Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) and his compadres, including wife Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and donkey sidekick (Eddie Murphy), drew in $122 million in box-office receipts, during its first weekend, easily exceeding industry expectation of between $80 million and $110 million. Remember that doesn't include the mammoth sales of Shrek merchandise.

Other stars lending their vocal talents to the movie include triple-hyphenate Justin Timberlake, Antonio Banderas, and The Office's John Krasinski.

Don't look for Shrek's stay at the top to last for two long, however.

Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End comes swashbuckling into theaters this upcoming Memorial Day weekend, and will almost certainly nab the number-one spot. Last year's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (the second in the series) had the biggest domestic weekend opening ever until Spider-Man 3 broke that record earlier this month.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Last year I previewed the big-budget summer movies, giving you a look at ten interesting films that were on the docket for the summer of 2006. This year I'm back with an even longer list (bloated like these films' budgets) of 15 movies you may want to escape to -- or possibly run screaming from.

Of these fifteen movies, Spiderman 3 and ten others are sequels, which in itself indicates something about the state of the industry (And I didn't even include Rush Hour 3 in this list, because, honestly, who wants to see that?). Two of the remaining four movies, Transformers and The Simpsons, are based on animated television shows, leaving only two original ideas in the whole lot -- Knocked Up and Ratatouille. Please, don't shoot the messenger.

Anyway, here is the list, chronologically, of the movies that Hollywood's brain-trust believes you will shell out your cash to see in the air-conditioned darkness of your local movie-house, along with my opinion of how they'll fare. The first on the list, Spider-Man 3, is already out in Asia, but will not be released here until May. All release dates below are for the U.S.

5/04 - Spider-Man 3, Sony Corp's (NYSE: SNE) Sony Pictures
Being the first blockbuster of the summer almost guarantees a successful open, and the popularity of the franchise seals that guarantee. One problem, however, is that "success" measured by any normal means won't be enough, as this movie had an estimated budget of $258M.

5/11 - 28 Weeks Later, News Corp's (NYSE: NWS) 20th Century Fox
The highlight of the horror/zombie genre for the summer, this follows the surprise success of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, which reinvented the zombie film with faster zombies and smarter characters.

5/18 - Shrek the Third, Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Pictures
One of the only cartoon franchises that has held its own against Pixar (Ice Age being the other), the draw of this fairytale romp is that while kids love the story, there are enough winks at the adult audience to make parents happy to take them.

5/25 - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS)
Money in the bank for Disney, and since it was shot simultaneous with the second Pirates installment, it wasn't even as expensive to make as this summer's other budget hog, Spider-Man 3.

Yesterday afternoon, I noted that The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) had been suspiciously silent on the whole Keith-Richards-snorting-dear-old-Dad scandal. Today, officials with the Mouse emerged to say that the Rolling Stones guitarist will not be involved with promoting Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, despite his highly publicized cameo in the movie. Studio executives have concluded that Richards is simply "too unpredictable" to participate in publicity for the film.

Mr. Richards has since declared that his controversial comments were simply a joke, noting on the Rolling Stones' official website that: "The complete story was lost in the usual slanting." Richards went on to insist that his late father's ashes were used to fortify a newly planted oak tree, and declared that "I wouldn't take cocaine at this point in my life unless I wished to commit suicide."

I'm not sure if I exactly believe this new spin, and it seems pretty clear that family-friendly DIS is trying to distance itself from a potential loose cannon. The fallout from Richards' bizarre confession could be a tip, however, for any jaded Hollywood types who are tired of doing the publicity circuit.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

First of all, I can't believe I just typed that headline. Actually, of course I can. Keith Richards - storied guitarist, half of the venerable song-writing team that brought us "Satisfaction" and "Start Me Up," and perpetual name on the celebrity death pool lists - has admitted to snorting cocaine laced with his father's ashes. Since the senior Richards didn't die until 2002, this unconventional use of human remains didn't occur when Keith was in his young-and-stupid heyday, but obviously transpired sometime during the past five years.

Richards, who perhaps thought the move was a touching tribute to his passed-on paternal figure, told this tidbit to British music magazine NME, adding "My dad wouldn't have cared ... it went down pretty well, and I'm still alive." In a rush for damage control, the Rolling Stones' manager brushed it off as an April Fool's joke, calling it an "off-the-cuff remark."

Keith is known for decades of wild living and excess, so this latest detail, if true, isn't even really that shocking. No word yet on Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) official reaction, however. May 25 marks the release of the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series and will feature Keith Richards in the role of Teague Sparrow, Captain Jack Sparrow's (Johnny Depp's character's) father.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.