Weekend Meme: Taylor Lautner's "Ab-duction," Mitchell and Cameron's Find Their Inner Dude, and "Lone Ranger" Won't Ride Again

In what may be the most shocking movie news in years, Disney has canceled their Lone Ranger movie. The film was set to star Disney's most bankable star, Johnny Depp, along with hunky Armie Hammer in the title role. The sticking point was money, with a budget of $250 million (how many horses did they want?!). Disney is shelling out that much each for John Carter and The Great and Powerful Oz, both of which are under way, so I guess this was even too much for the Mouse. The movie could still come back if a deal can be reached, because Depp really wants to make the film.

Much less surprising, Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the presidential race, and will be a formidable (and scary) contender. Meanwhile, Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Ames Poll in Iowa. This was just a day after her security and husband shoved and elbowed CNN anchor Don Lemon at a campaign event.

We talked about the fact that Gay Dude was finally moving forward. The younger cast is mostly unknowns, but the parents have now been named. Nick Offerman will parent the straight youth, while the gay dude will have Megan Mullally and Gary Cole as parents.

In a weird series of events, Joy Behar quietly wed her spousal equivalent of many years. This happened nly two days before her cohost on The View Sherri Shepherd held her much, much, much talked about wedding to Lamar Sally.

I think I've said about all I care to say about the Bert and Ernie wedding petition.  Besides, Jessica Max Stein, who is writing the biography of "gay Muppeteer" Richard Hunt, says it all so much better than I can.

MTV has canceled The Hard Times of RJ Berger, meaning we'll never get to know what came from that steamy boy-on-boy makeout scene in the school showers.

In the new season of Modern Family, we'll have a new, older Lily who seems to have caught a nasty cast of SORAS. Plus Cameron and Mitchell will test their masculinity at a dude ranch in anticipation of a bigger change to their lives.

I really wish I could have been in the room while the director of The Amazing Spider-Man discussed just how much bulge Andrew Garfield was going to show in his costume. I mean, don't you need a natural starting point to launch from? How do you broach the subject? Do you ask if they'll require padding or tucking?

The trial for Tyler Clementi's roommate and tormentor is wrapping up, and the defense seems to feel pretty confident that theprosecution didn't prove their case. If it was a bad case, it deserves to lose, but I hate to think of the fallout if it does. The right wing would love to point to the high profile example and say bullying doesn't exist.

David Mixner makes a compelling and stunning case for removing all tax exemptions for religious organizations. Ironically, if the country moved to do that, the churches would cry persecution as their special rights (and they are special) were taken away.

Sure, Harry Potter won the war, but as anyone knows, the battle is the easy part. It's the nation building after the battle that gets tricky. So some people took a hard look at what the wizarding world needed to recover.

Republicans seem unsure whether hooker-hiring Rep. Hinkle should resign or not. So let me get this straight: texting your junk to willing, adult females is cause for instant resignation, but hiring a teenage rentboy leaves some doubt? One of those things is legal, the other should be, but isn't.

Sexy Jonny Weston has landed the lead role as Jay Moriarty in Mavericks. It's costarring Gerard Butler and is based on a true story of surfers who risked their lives to ride the waves in Mavericks in Northern California where the waves are as tall as a five story building. As a bonus, Weston is an accomplished surfer, as well as a former contender to be a Briefs Guy here on AfterElton.