I mean, basically, more than anything else, that was Disney playing hardball. I heard from Gore and I heard from Jerry what was going on-the negotiation techniques. To this day, Hammer maintains he never lost faith in the endeavor. Reportedly, the film studio also held fees from Bruckheimer, who had contributed his own development funds to finish the film. To further cut costs, Bruckheimer, Depp, Hammer and Verbinski, as well as other crew members and post-production vendors, agreed to defer their payments and take 20 percent cuts in their fees. "But it wasn't the $200 million that Disney wanted to spend." Eventually, some of the script's bigger sequences were combined, while other elements were excised. "I've heard the filmmakers were trying to reduce the film's cost from $250 million (some even say $275 million) down to $232 million," he reported. revealed the project-originally set for release on Dec. In August 2011, Deadline's Mike Fleming Jr. "But I wanted to be able to show these kids, 'F-k that! You're still warriors, man.'") In 2010, director Gore Verbinski was hired, and in 2011, Hammer, an untested leading man best known for playing the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network, booked the titular role.Īnd then, something shocking happened: The film was nearly scrapped, just as a few of the supporting actors, such as Ruth Wilson, were finalizing their deals. They're living without running water and seeing problems with drugs and booze," Depp later told Rolling Stone. ("I wanted to maybe give some hope to kids on the reservations.
Having worked with Johnny Depp on four Pirates of the Caribbean films, Bruckheimer cast the white actor as Tonto, the titular character's Native American sidekick-a decision that would prove to be controversial.
Columbia Pictures had first tried to adapt the radio series into a movie in 2002, but it wasn't until six years later, when Jerry Bruckheimer optioned the rights and brought the project to Walt Disney Pictures, that the wheels were set into motion. The Lone Ranger was supposed to make Armie Hammer a star.īut, even before the movie was released five years ago, on July 3, 2013, the blockbuster was plagued with production problems.