Gore Verbinski

New Images from the Set of THE LONE RANGER

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 29th, 2012 at 9:50 am

Some new set photos from director Gore Verbinski’s (Pirates of the Caribbean) take on The Lone Ranger have gone online.  While they feature Johnny Depp’s stunt double instead of Depp himself, we get our first look at Tonto’s full costume and some more images of Armie Hammer as the titular masked hero.  Tonto looks to have a lot going on in the waistline area, but I’m guessing all the extra pouches and pockets are necessary to hold Depp’s collection of wristbands.  In all seriousness, the location work we’ve seen is pretty impressive and I’m eager to see the beautiful landscape through Verbinski’s eye.

Hit the jump to check out the images. The film also stars Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson, and Helena Bonham Carter. The Lone Ranger opens May 31, 2013.

Jack White to Score THE LONE RANGER Starring Johnny Depp

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 24th, 2012 at 5:17 pm

Well this is interesting.  Director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) is currently in production on his big-budget iteration of The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, but it appears he’s already found the perfect person to compose the score for the film.  Disney announced today that the incredibly talented Jack White will write, produce and perform the score for the Disney pic.  Though at first White may seem like an odd choice, I think his inclusion speaks to the vision Verbinski has for The Lone Ranger.  The director crafted a superbly entertaining Western with last year’s Rango, and I think White is a swell choice to write the music for his Western-leaning take on The Lone Ranger.

Apparently White was Verbinski’s idea, and Depp responded enthusiastically to the choice.  Though White has done some fine acting in the past (Cold Mountain, Walk Hard), he’ll be too busy with his touring schedule to make an appearance in the film.  Nevertheless, I can’t wait to hear White’s rendition of the “William Tell Overture.”  Hit the jump for a refresher on the Lone Ranger theme song and for a sample of Jack White’s work.  The Lone Ranger opens on May 31st, 2013.

First Image of Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer in THE LONE RANGER

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 8th, 2012 at 7:18 am

The first official image from The Lone Ranger has been unveiled. The film had a very public rocky road to production, but filming is finally underway in New Mexico on the big budget adventure pic. This image gives us a look into what director Gore Verbinski has in store for the classic character, and unsurprisingly Johnny Depp seems to have crafted an entirely different Tonto. This iteration has some pretty intense face paint and, naturally, a dead bird on his head. Everyone’s familiar with the stories about how Disney almost fired Depp for his take on Jack Sparrow in the first Pirates of the Caribbean (also directed by Verbinski), so I’ll hold off judgment until we see this Tonto in action. For what it’s worth, I think Armie Hammer looks great as the title character. He’s got that everyman quality and “reassuring sense of justice” feel down pat. Verbinski is a really solid director (Rango was one of the best films of 2011) so I’m pulling for The Lone Ranger to be a fun flick. Despite the ridiculous budget, he’s assembled an impressive cast for the film and I’m eager to see more.

Hit the jump to check out the image. The film also stars Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson, and Helena Bonham Carter. The Lone Ranger opens May 31, 2013.

Production Begins on THE LONE RANGER Starring Johnny Depp; First Synopsis Revealed

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 28th, 2012 at 11:13 am

After a rough pre-production period, filming is finally underway on Oscar-winner Gore Verbinski‘s adaptation of The Lone Ranger.  More importantly, Disney has released the first synopsis for the movie.  It’s not big on details, but the gist is that Tonto (Johnny Depp) talks about how he teamed up with John Reid (aka the Lone Ranger; played by Armie Hammer) and how they bonded during their adventures.  It’s an origin story/buddy movie, and that seems like a fine approach to the material.  The devil is in the details, but we shouldn’t expect on hearing those for quite some time.

Hit the jump for the press release which includes the full text of the synopsis.  The film also stars Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson, and Helena Bonham Carter.  The Lone Ranger opens May 31, 2013.

Gore Verbinski Provides Updates on THE LONE RANGER, SPACELESS, CLUE, and More

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 14th, 2012 at 10:40 am

Director Gore Verbinski is currently in New Mexico filming his big-budget adaptation of The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer.  Depp will play Tonto, the sidekick of the Ranger (Hammer), and the film co-stars Helena Bonham Carter, Ruth Wilson, James Frain, and Tom Wilkinson.  There aren’t any details on the plot, but in October, Depp said they were re-inventing the character of Tonto to be more than a sidekick, and that “Tonto probably believes that The Lone Ranger is his slave, his sidekick.”  Verbinski has now provided some new details on the film along with updates on his other projects including Cary Fukunaga‘s Spaceless, Chris Milk‘s Bitterroot, and the new adaptation of the board game Clue.  Hit the jump for more.

2012 Annie Award Winners Announced; RANGO Named Best Animated Feature

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 5th, 2012 at 10:44 am

The 2012 Annie Awards were held last night, and critical favorite Rango ended up deservedly taking home the Best Animated Feature award. Gore Verbinski’s quirky western also took home the award for Best Writing in a Feature Production, Best Editing, and the Members Favorite Award, but lost Best Directing to Kung Fu Panda 2’s Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Bill Nighy won Best Voice Acting for Arthur Christmas, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes took home the Character Animation in a Live Action Feature Production award.

On the television side of things, The Simpsons was awarded the top prize as well as Best Directing and Best Writing. Heading into the Academy Awards, Rango is our clear frontrunner. The Adventures of Tintin was pegged as the film’s biggest competition at the Oscar ceremony, but the Steven Spielberg film was ultimately left out of the nominations. Hit the jump to see the full list of Annie Awards Winners.

Tom Wilkinson and Ruth Wilson Return to THE LONE RANGER; Movie Trying to Reassemble Supporting Cast

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 7th, 2011 at 9:10 am

Earlier this summer, Gore Verbinksi‘s adaptation of The Lone Ranger was rounding up its cast.  Johnny Depp was signed on to play Tonto, Armie Hammer was playing the Ranger, and the movie was lining up Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson (Luther), Dwight Yoakam, Barry Pepper, and Helena Bonham Carter for supporting roles.  But then Disney pumped the brakes and wanted a lower budget, they eventually got it after some protracted negotiations, and now pre-production is back underway.

However, this delay moved back the start of production which meant that scheduling had changed for the actors.  Depp and Hammer never really left, and now it looks like Verbinski is trying to get his other actors back.  Deadline reports that Wilkinson has returned to play the villain Latham Cole while Wilson is still playing the movie’s female lead.  Disney is talking again with Carter, Pepper, and Yoakam as well as James Badge Dale.  Production on the $215 million cowboy movie begins in February 2012 for a May 31, 2013 release.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer Talks THE LONE RANGER Budget Negotiations; Plus Brief Update on PIRATES 5

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 19th, 2011 at 9:05 am

Major studios are talking about tightening their belts and being more selective in their projects because the DVD revenue market has dried up and nothing has come along yet to replace its riches.  However, one can’t help but be amused that for Disney, belt-tightening meant trimming the cost of The Lone Ranger from $260 million to $215 million and that paying $215 million for a movie based on a serial western from the 1950s is good financial sense.

The wrangling over the budget was done in public and we tracked every ludicrous step.  Eventually, the two sides came to an agreement and the film was re-scheduled from December 21, 2012 to May 31, 2013.  Producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently explained why production was shut down at the 11th hour, how they got the budget down to a “reasonable” number, what was cut from the script, and provides a minor update on Pirates of the Caribbean 5.  Hit the jump for what the prolific producer had to say.  The Lone Ranger will star Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the Ranger.

Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Gore Verbinski, and Jerry Bruckheimer Take Paycuts to Make THE LONE RANGER Happen

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: October 12th, 2011 at 9:12 pm

Disney very nearly pulled the plug on The Lone Ranger because of the absurd proposed $250 million budget.  Director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have spent the last two months searching for ways to cut costs, and here’s what they came up with according to Variety:

• Verbinski, Bruckheimer, and stars Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer will all take 20% paycuts; certain payments will be deferered until The Lone Ranger starts making money
• Bruckheimer Films will be responsible for any cost overruns.
• Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) reworked the script by Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road) to eliminate a few expensive sequences involving supernatural elements that require a lot of effects work.

That’s all well and good, and I applaud the waste reduction efforts on a movie that should not cost $250 million.  But the gesture is less meaningful when the result is a $215 million budget.  The report indicates Tom Wilkinson and Ruth Wilson are also still on board and confirms the shoot will probably be delayed from November to February 2012.  As such, The Lone Ranger will likely forfeit its right to a December 21, 2012 release date.  Hit the jump for Depp’s take on the situation.

Chernin Entertainment and Gore Verbinski to Produce Pitch Described as “Futuristic JUNGLE BOOK”

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: September 28th, 2011 at 4:40 pm

Chernin Entertainment is near a deal to acquire an untitled pitch by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless after a bidding war.  Deadline neglects to offer a logline, but describes the story as “a futuristic Jungle Book.”  I am not sure how literally we’re meant to take the comparison, or even what the evolutionary Mowgli looks like.  Maybe he is raised by space wolves?

Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark of Chernin Entertainment will produce alongside Gore Verbinski and John Krauss of Blind Wink.  Sazama and Sharpless are also working with Verbinski on the live-action adaptation of the board game Clue.  Their first produced credit is still on the horizon, but in recent years Sazama and Sharpless have been tasked with a Missile Command, Flash Gordon, and Dracula Year Zero.  In case it’s relevant, I have included a synopsis of Rudyard Kipling’s book after the jump.

THE LONE RANGER Comes Back from the Brink; Expected to Begin Shooting in Early 2012

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 23rd, 2011 at 11:02 am

After a public struggle between Disney and director Gore Verbinski to bring down the budget for The Lone Ranger, it appears the two sides have found a way to move forward and are eyeing an early 2012 start date.  Deadline reports that in order for Verbinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and star Johnny Depp (who is playing Tonto), “the cutting process has included the reworking of deals…and trimming the production budget and the long shoot.”  It looks like Disney decided that they’d rather make an expensive movie with Depp and acquiesce to his demand of keeping Verbinski rather than scrapping the project all together.  If you’re wondering what real star power looks like, that’s it.

Armie Hammer is still on board to play the title character and Ruth Wilson (Luther) is still likely to play the female lead.  It’s unknown if other actors who were cast—Helena Bonham Carter, Dwight Yoakam, Barry Pepper, and Tom Wilkinson—are still on board or if the new start date has created a scheduling conflict.  It’s also unknown if Disney will try to hold onto its original December 21, 2012 release date, but I think that’s a highly-optimistic time crunch for a movie that with a budget of $215 million.  Mr. Verbinski loves his special effects and making FX houses work overtime to get the movie finished by December will only cost Disney more money.

Johnny Depp Won’t Do THE LONE RANGER without Director Gore Verbinski

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 1st, 2011 at 7:36 am

Disney’s drama with The Lone Ranger continues.  As we previously reported, Disney thought the budget was too high and wanted to work it down to at least $215 – $220 million.  Director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer tried to wrangle down that budget but Disney chairman Rich Ross went so far as to hint that Verbinski was an expendable piece of the puzzle if it meant not spending an exorbitant amount on a Western.  But Deadline is now reporting that star Johnny Depp won’t do the movie without Verbinski at the helm.  No Depp means there’s no movie and the studio certainly wants to keep one of the world’s biggest movie stars happy.

The good news for Disney is that Verbinski and Bruckheimer were able to get the budget down to less than $220 million although it’s not at the $200 million mark that the studio would have preferred.  However, there’s still no final agreement on the budget and insiders tell Deadline that Verbinski “won’t take the budget down to a certain point where it’s not the same movie that he started out to make.”  Hit the jump for a recap of why Disney is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Phillip Noyce Leaves HUNTER KILLER; Will THE LONE RANGER Ride without Gore Verbinski?

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 22nd, 2011 at 7:51 am

We have a few director-related stories for you this morning.  First up, Moviehole is reporting that Phillip Noyce (Salt) has left the submarine action-thriller Hunter Killer.  Noyce had been officially on board since February, but apparently just realized that the story—which is about an American sub commander and a Navy SEAL team that must rescue the Russian president and defeat a renegade admiral who’s attempting a coup—was too similar to his previous films (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger).  He’ll now turn his focus to the time-travel romance Timeless and newly-announced project, Above Suspicion, a thriller written by Chris Gerolmo (Mississippi Burning).  We previously reported that Noyce was also attached to a remake of Bloodsport, an adaptation of Tim Winton’s Dirt Music, and the drama Our Wild Life.

Hit the jump for more intrigue revolving around The Lone Ranger.

Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer Try to Wrangle a Lower Budget for THE LONE RANGER

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 17th, 2011 at 11:57 am

At a reported budget of $250 million, you have to wonder if anyone behind Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger actually has respect for the source material.  The character is a guy with a Native American partner who fights bad guys.  That’s about it.  But apparently that’s not cool enough for modern audiences and this notion that bloated spectacle is automatically better is why you now have Disney holding off on making The Lone Ranger and their sticking point is that they have to make it cost $215 to $220 million (or less) instead of $250 million.  A source tells THR, “It all starts with [Verbinski].  If there is any saving this version of the movie, he’ll have to find substantial savings. If he can, maybe we can hold this together.”  Only in modern blockbuster filmmaking run amuck could knocking $30 million off a $250 million budget qualify as “substantial savings.”

Hit the jump on why the film still costs so much and why Disney remains skittish (and rightfully so).  Johnny Depp is still attached to play Tonto with Armie Hammer set as the title character.

Disney Will Not Make THE LONE RANGER with Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, and Gore Verbinski [UPDATED]

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: August 13th, 2011 at 9:54 am

The Lone Ranger had all the makings of a tentpole for Disney.  The December 2012 release date.  The impressive cast, led by Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, and Tom Wilkinson.  The nostalgia for a known property.  The $250 million budget… wait, why does a western need to cost $250 million.  I understand that Johnny Depp is as expensive as he is bankable, especially when paired with Gore Verbinski, the director of the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  But to spend Pirates-level money on a genre that is not noted for success in modern theaters is bad business.  I mean, how much nostalgia is there really for The Lone Ranger?  Disney’s answer: not enough.

Deadline reports the studio has halted production before the October start date, even though filmmakers were trying to reduce costs to a mere $232 million.  The Lone Ranger will join At the Mountains of Madness and The Dark Tower on the 2011 list of ambitious adaptations that were too risky for their studios.  The Lone Ranger was the furthest along, though, with a full cast.  The news is surprising, but totally understandable.  There are much better ways for Disney to spend $250 million.

[Update: Variety now reports that the project is "far from dead," and all parties involved are now working to trim the budget closer to $200 million. Whether the film will still make the planned October start date or if Disney will ultimately pull the plug remains to be seen.]

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