Johnny Depp’s ‘Lone Ranger’ Film Halted by Disney Because of $200 Million Budget (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on August 14, 2011
This is surprising and disappointing — I’m not the only one who was pumped up about the new Lone Ranger film coming out from Disney with Johnny Depp as faithful companion, Tonto, and Armie Hammer as the masked Texas Ranger. Disputes about the film’s proposed cost has triggered a shutdown. The Old West film, retooled from the popular classic film, radio, and TV versions, had been slotted for a December 2012 release.
However, to loosely paraphrase a line from the classic Monty Python dead parrot skit, the big-screen film may not be not dead, but just resting.
Fingers crossed.
From BBC News, The Lone Ranger ‘shut down by Disney’:
Disney’s much-anticipated big-screen adaptation of The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp has been put on hold, according to industry reports.
Deadline Hollywood said the studio had stopped pre-production over problems with reducing the movie’s estimated $250m (£154m) cost.
The Social Network star Armie Hammer was set to play the masked Texas Ranger with Depp as his partner Tonto.
Filming had been due to begin in October in New Mexico.
Jerry Bruckheimer had been lined up to produce the film, with Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski also on board.
Deadline reported a source close to the film, who said producers were now discussing whether to take the project to another film studio or to continue at a later date with a lower budget.
The Lone Ranger – about a ranger battling injustice in the Old West – first aired on the radio in the US in the 1930s and became a popular TV series running from 1949 to 1957.
This brief interview with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and The Lone Ranger film trailer came out earlier this year.
Brief Interview & The Lone Ranger Official Trailer (2012 Movie)
From USA Today, Disney says ‘whoa’ to ‘Lone Ranger’ film:
Johnny Depp was all set to ride in the big-screen Disney version of The Lone Ranger. Armie Hammer had the title role and Depp was down for playing Tonto in the film to be directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It even had a release date: Dec. 21, 2012.
But now the production has come to a surprising halt. Deadline’s Mike Fleming reports that Disney became concerned about a budget of more than $200 million, especially in these wild economic times, but that everyone involved is in discussions to see if there’s a way to get it back on track.
From EW.com, Disney halts Johnny Depp’s ‘Lone Ranger’:
Disney has halted production on Johnny Depp’s planned adaptation of The Lone Ranger, a studio source confirms to EW. As first reported by Mike Fleming over at Deadline, executives at the studio grew concerned over the film’s $200-plus-million budget and put the brakes on the production, which was to begin shooting in October. The surprising move comes just weeks after another expensive Western, Cowboys & Aliens, underperformed at the box office.
Still, the studio says it’s not giving up on the Lone Ranger. “It’s not dead and gone,” one Disney exec tells EW. “It’s a priority project for the studio. We want to make this movie.” That may be because the cast and crew features so many members of the Pirates of the Caribbean team: Depp, director Gore Verbinski, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, just to name a few.
From E! Online, Johnny Depp Denied?! Lone Ranger Movie Scrapped:
Johnny Depp has been hi-yo’d away!
Disney will not be moving forward with a big-screen version of The Lone Ranger that was to have starred the Oscar nominee as a retooled-for-modern-times Tonto alongside up-and-comer Armie Hammer as the titular Western hero, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Disney had no comment for E! News, but word is, budget concerns were the primary reason production will not be going forth on what was originally hailed as a possible franchise starter.
A source told THR that attached director Gore Verbinski, who as the helmer of the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films certainly knows how to go big, was unwilling to compromise his vision for the film (i.e. work with a smaller budget). Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer was the deep-pocketed guy behind the scenes for this one, as well.
Disney also may have balked due to the recent lack of success of the much-hyped but lukewarmly received Cowboys and Aliens, even though the tried-and-true Lone Ranger burned up screens big and small back in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s (not to mention radio in the ’30s).
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