Tag: The Lone Ranger

The buccaneer genre was a Hollywood castaway before Johnny Depp, Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer proved the skeptics wrong with their “Pirates of the Caribbean” mega-success — now the same trio and rising star Armie Hammer want to disprove the conventional view that Westerns are snakebit when it comes to attracting young moviegoers. Producer Bruckheimer used Twitter on Thursday morning to give the world the first look at director Verbinski’s “The Lone Ranger,” the Disney film that overcame some oddly public budget shoot-outs and will ride against the industry assumption that the Hollywood Western long ago rode off into the sunset as a viable popcorn prospect with young audiences. Jon Favreau’s ”Cowboys & Aliens” experiment didn’t do anything to change that view, although Verbinski’s ”Rango” put up an animated argument against the perception. The photo shows Depp as Tonto – described by Disney as “a spirit warrior on a personal quest” – and ...

“The Avengers,”  ”Brave” and “John Carter”  are coming to Anaheim this weekend. The three-day D23 Expo 2011 opens Friday with previews and promotions representing every corner of the Mouse’s universe but the brightest of all spotlights will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday when Walt Disney Studios begins a preview of upcoming film projects that will include movies from Disney proper as well as Pixar and, for the first time at the Expo, Marvel Studios. At the first Expo, back in September 2009, the same preview program in the Anaheim Convention Center’s arena included appearances by Johnny Depp, John Travolta, Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage, and you can expect a similar parade of famous faces this year as Disney looks to further establish the D23 event as its own in-house version of Comic-Con International’s Hall H — the place where Hollywood studios reach out to fans, bloggers and the media ...

When it came to the Lone Ranger, the classic question was “Who was that masked man?”  — but for some casual moviegoers on Tuesday the query might be “Who is that actor?” That’s because the news is spreading that Armie Hammer will portray the mysterious hero of the Old West in the new adventure film from Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, a film that will star Johnny Depp as Tonto and have Gore Verbinski in the director’s seat. Disney insiders say the deal is not 100% done but that the contracts are being written. For Hollywood insiders it’s not a shock that Hammer, who turned heads with his dual performance as the Winklevoss twins in “The Social Network,” got the role (after all, the rumors have been well circulated) but for less-immersed film fans the decision might seem like a big head scratcher. You can ...

The actor who will ride alongside Johnny Depp’s Tonto in “Lone Ranger” has big boots to fill, but he probably won’t be an established star, according to producer Jerry Bruckheimer. “You want somebody who can do the humor and somebody who’s attractive and charismatic,” said Bruckheimer, of casting the iconic masked man in the upcoming Disney reboot. “But I think it will be somebody who’s not that well known. That’s my guess.” Bruckheimer’s “guess” would support the rumors that Armie Hammer, the square-jawed newcomer who played the old-moneyed Winklevoss twins in David Fincher’s Oscar-winning drama “The Social Network,” is a front-runner for the title role. The producer is busy this month promoting that other Depp movie, due in theaters May 20 — “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” — the fourth in the so far $2.68-billion franchise and the ...

Johnny Depp will play Tonto when the Disney version of “The Lone Ranger” finally gallops into theaters, but don’t expect him to be a typical second-saddle sidekick. Director Gore Verbinski – who has made four films with Depp — said he’s interested in a sly, somewhat subversive version of the classic Old West adventure that presents the “faithful Indian companion” as the wry central voice of the story. “The only version of ‘The Lone Ranger’ I’m interested in doing is ‘Don Quixote’ told from Sancho Panza’s point of view,” Verbinski said Tuesday. “And hence I was honest early on with Johnny that Tonto is the part. We’re not going to do it [straight], everyone knows that story. I don’t want to tell that story.” I visited Verbinski’s office on the Universal lot to talk about “Rango,” the animated film that arrives on March ...

With Gore Verbinski saddling up to direct “The Lone Ranger” for Disney, and his “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Johnny Depp already attached as Tonto, the question is, who will play the Masked Man? Hero Complex has some suggestions for Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Vote and let us know whom you’d like to see yelling, “Hi-ho, Silver!“: Hugh Jackman: As Wolverine, Jackman channeled old-school laconic tough guys, and as a cattle driver in “Australia,” he honed his horseman skills. Plus, the world may be finally ready for another singing cowboy. Jon Hamm: Born with a jaw line for period movies, Hamm is due for a franchise role. But can we really trust Don Draper to lasso the bad guys? George Clooney: At nearly 50, Clooney may be too senior for the part, but “The Lone Ranger” is the ultimate ...

The Lone Ranger will ride again and “Pirates of the Caribbean” director Gore Verbinski will be calling the shots for the Disney. Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have been talking about a Lone Ranger feature film for years and announced in 2008 that Johnny Depp would play the role of Tonto, the faithful friend to the masked man. The project has been slow to the screen, though, with Depp’s dense schedule and the emphasis by the studio, producer and star on their massively successful ”Pirates” franchise, which has pulled in $5.35 billion in worldwide box office with three films and has a fourth scheduled for release next summer. Now, though, with Verbinski on board, the Lone Ranger revival might move into gallop mode. The 45-year-old Verbinski has been working as director and producer on “Rango,” the Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures animated feature with Depp ...

Dennis McLellan writes obituaries for the Los Angeles Times, and last week he had one on an actor with an interesting legacy in television: John Hart wore the familiar mask of the Lone Ranger and rode across the small screen with Jay Silverheels (Tonto) for 54 episodes, but will always be remembered as the other Masked Man. Here’s an excerpt. – Geoff Boucher Most TV fans of a certain age know the answer to the question, “Who played the Lone Ranger?” Those who say Clayton Moore are correct, at least partially. There was another actor who played the Masked Man on “The Lone Ranger” television series, temporarily replacing Moore in the title role for 52 episodes beginning in 1952. John Hart, 91, the handsome and athletic actor who also starred in the 1940s movie serial “Jack Armstrong: The All-American Boy” and the ...

The “Harry Potter” juggernaut is starting to wind down. As the franchise moves closer to its finish line, Hollywood executives are scrambling to find the Next Big Thing — a multiple movie property that appeals to youngsters, has an epic sweep and fantastic landscapes that suit modern CGI filmmaking. It also needs to lend itself to those all-important licensing deals. Rachel Abramowitz, who writes about the film industry for the Los Angeles Times (and authored the book ”Is That a Gun in Your Pocket: The Truth About Female Power in Hollywood“), has some intriguing insights into the quest to replace the boy wizard of the box office. It was a seminar that top executives at Sony and Paramount couldn’t afford to miss. Forty-six of them — including Sony Pictures Chairman Michael Lynton, co-Chairman Amy Pascal, Paramount Film Group President John Lesher and marketing teams from around the globe — crowded around a ...

Johnny Depp will play Tonto in a Disney revisitation of the Lone Ranger, but who will be the masked man? The Hero Complex is officially supporting Viggo Mortensen for the role of mystery man of the Old West because, after seeing “Hidalgo” and the trailer for “Appaloosa,” we just think he does the dusty-trail adventure thing with a nice flair. George Clooney would also give Disney a powerhouse tandem at the top of this hoped-for franchise, as well as some major opportunity for the type of winking humor that gave “Pirates of the Caribbean” its box-office flair. Clooney may be too old, but we still think he has enough silver bullets in his ammo belt. Depp, meanwhile, may be just five years shy of 50 but still approaches his acting career like a kid rummaging through a trunk of dress-up ...