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Disney's adaptation of The Lone Ranger is finally back in the saddle after the studio shut down production in August over the movie's reported $250+ million budget. After director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer worked to bring down the budget, which Bruckheimer said took "four to six weeks" to get the budget down to an more acceptable $215 million (which still seems like a lot, but we digress) and were rewarded with a May 2013 release date in October.
With production rescheduled for February, it was reported that the movie's leads were intact, with Armie Hammer (The Social Network) remaining in the title role, Johnny Depp set to play Tonto — a role he's been attached to since 2008 — but what wasn't clear was whether the movie would retain its supporting cast, but Deadline reports that the rest of the cast will also be retained.
Tom Wilkinson (The Kennedys), originally cast in June, will still play railroad tycoon Latham Cole, a character who is, as we expected, the movie's main villain. Ruth Wilson (BBC's Luther), originally cast in July, will be back as Rebecca, The Lone Ranger's female lead.
kingsley enters Ender's game >> Posted 12.11.11 by Ryan -
At first, Disney's adaptation of The Lone Ranger seemed to be going swimmingly. Armie Hammer was cast in May to star in the title role alongside Johnny Depp as Tonto, the Lone Ranger's sidekick, and, weeks later, Disney gave the movie a prime release date of December 21, 2012. Then, just as more actors were being added to the movie's cast, Disney shut down production after the studio balked at the movie's $250 million (and growing) price tag.
Depp recently admitted that the budget bargaining was part of the plan, and, in an interview with THR, producer Jerry Bruckheimer explained why the delay wasn't the biggest surprise.
what got cut? >> Posted 10.19.11 by Ryan -
Back in August, Disney's adaptation of The Lone Ranger looked like it was in big trouble as the studio shut down pre-production on the movie. Despite putting together the Pirates of the Caribbean dream trio of actor Johnny Depp, director Gore Verbinski, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer for The Lone Ranger, the $250 million budget ultimately made Disney too nervous.
Last month, concessions were made and Verbinski and company were able to bring the budget down to a more agreeable $215 million (which still seems like a lot of money for a Lone Ranger movie, but we digress), which put the movie back in production. According to a recent interview with MTV, Depp said that the budget bargaining was all a part of the plan.
We knew that the budget was going to be huge initially, and we also knew that it was going to be shut down for a while, and it was kind of like we patiently wait — we shave a little bit here, we do a little bit there, [and] they fix it.
when will The Lone Ranger arrive now? >> Posted 10.13.11 by Ryan -
Finally, Disney's adaptation of The Lone Ranger rides again.
The movie has had the easiest road to the big screen, with plans for the Lone Ranger in place since 2008 with Johnny Depp attached to play The Lone Ranger's sidekick, Tonto. Armie Hammer (The Social Network) was eventually cast as the Lone Ranger, but Disney shut down production last month, fearing that the $250+ million budget was spiraling out of control, but it looks like those budget issues have finally been ironed out.
what changed? >> Posted 09.24.11 by Ryan -
The news that Disney was pulling the plug on producer Jerry Bruckheimer's planned adaptation of The Lone Ranger came as quite a surprise when Deadline reported it last Friday. Not only is the Lone Ranger an iconic character whose popularity (or, at least familiarity) spans generations, but the team assembled to bring it to life — Bruckheimer producing, Gore Verbinski directing and Johnny Depp starring as Tonto — have made billions of dollars for Disney with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and other movies.
Disney apparently made the decision to shut it down because the projected budget was well above the $200 million that they were willing to put up to make the movie. Even with Bruckheimer behind it, it seemed pretty strange that the budget for what is essentially a Western would be that high. Now, however, it appears that the reason for the huge budget has been explained. According to Hollywood-Elsewhere, the primary antagonists in the movie were going to be werewolves.
"The Lone Ranger Meets the Wolfman?" Really? >> Posted 08.16.11 by BrentJS -
Only weeks after the supporting cast of producer Jerry Bruckheimer's (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) long-in-development adaptation of The Lone Ranger was fleshed out, and just two months before filming was supposed to begin in New Mexico under the direction of Gore Verbinski (Rango), Disney has pulled the plug on the production. According to Deadline, the decision was made for financial reasons, with the budget far above the $200 million that Disney wanted to spend on it. Johnny Depp, who would have played Tonto to Armie Hammer's Lone Ranger, apparently had a "pay or play" contract, so he's going to get a huge chunk of cash no matter what.
was it really just about the budget? >> Posted 08.13.11 by BrentJS -
The posse's really coming together for Disney's adaptation of The Lone Ranger. British actress Ruth Wilson (BBC's Luther) was recently cast as the female lead of Rebecca, and now four new actors will be joining Armie Hammer (The Social Network), who will play the titular role, and Johnny Depp, who will play a more expanded version of the Lone Ranger's trusty sidekick Tonto.
THR reports that Dwight Yoakam, Barry Pepper, and Helena Bonham Carter are all in negotiations for the movie, which will be directed by Gore Verbinski (Rango, the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies).
who will they play? >> Posted 07.20.11 by Ryan -
Kristen Wiig has landed her first post-Bridesmaids role, and the extra good news is that it's one she's coveted for a while.
THR reports that Wiig will play the title character in Imogene, which will go into production on August 8 with American Splendor directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini and a script from screenwriter Michelle Morgan (Middle of Nowhere. Wiig will also serve as executive producer on the project.
Wiig has been championing the Imogene script for a while, and has been attached to the project for well over a year. "It’s basically about a girl who kind of pretends to kill herself," Wiig told The Playlist in March. "Starting off really funny, isn’t it? She does it to get her recently ex-boyfriend’s attention. She ends up having to go live with her mom, whom she hasn’t seen in years. It’s kind of about going back home, so she finds her life again and gets reintroduced to her family, kind of a coming home story."
At the time of the interview, funding had not come through for Imogene, but with the huge success of Bridesmaids, it looks like Wiig's passion project is finally on its way.
The Lone Ranger gets his girl, Leatherface meets new family >> Posted 07.13.11 by Ryan -
A good action movie needs a villain, which is why Tom Wilkinson (The Kennedys) is in talks to play one in The Lone Ranger, Variety reports. Reportedly, Wilkinson will play a railroad tycoon, and while the report doesn't exactly say that Wilkinson will play an antagonist, movie math tells us that "railroad tycoon" plus "Western genre" equals "villain." Not to mention, he's a British actor in a Western, which, again, means villain.
Armie Hammer (The Social Network) is set to play the title role. Johnny Depp, who has been attached to the project since 2008, will play Tonto, the Lone Ranger's faithful sidekick. Gore Verbinski (the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies) will direct from a "funny" script by Justin Haythe, who wrote the hilarious Revolutionary Road. Production will begin later this year on The Lone Ranger, which opens on December 21, 2012.
new Snow White and Tom Sawyer Cast >> Posted 06.24.11 by Ryan -
Yesterday the release date for The Lone Ranger was announced: December 21, 2012, a date that happens to coincide with the winter solstice (the earth's equator aligning with the Milky Way) and the end of the Mayan 5,139-year Long Count calendar.
The Mayan calendar has not only been informational to archaeologists, it has also been a design inspiration for wall clocks, jewelry, and even paper basket-liners at some restaurants. Many people believe that this calendar is even more significant, saying that it predicts the day the world will end, with some thinking that the Mayans had insider information about an alien attack (they did know about astronauts after all), and others believing that it will be apocalypse by seismic and meteorological events or a mysterious planet on the outer-reaches of the solar system flinging itself at the earth.
Apparently Jerry Bruckheimer and the folks at Disney don't think the apocalypse is going to happen December 21, 2012, because if they did, it's a pretty safe assumption that they would release the movie a week or two earlier. Maybe December 21, 2012 is just another day, and if they Mayan civilization were still around, they'd have another calendar up and ready to go by that time. Or maybe Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer are two of the horsemen of the apocalypse. What do you think?
Posted 06.09.11 by Mandy