Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer ride for justice in the fourth trailer for Walt Disney Pictures' The Lone Ranger. Gore Verbinski directs this highly-anticipated action-adventure set in the Old West, where a Texas Ranger named John Reid (Armie Hammer) is transformed into a masked icon of justice, with help from the Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp). Watch the latest footage from one of this summer's biggest cinematic events, in theaters July 3.Best of the Web Latest HeadlinesJ.J. Abrams Thinks Mark Hamill Will Win an Oscar for Star Wars 8Beauty and the Beast Oscars TV Spot Visits an Enchanted WorldNew Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Footage Arrives, Trailer #3 Coming TomorrowOscars In-Memoriam Mistake Shows Producer Who Is Still AliveStars React to Moonlight and La La Land Mix-Up, Oscar Accountants ApologizeKong: Skull Island Final Trailer Is Epic, Brutal & Full of Monsters Top MoviesRogue One: A Star Wars StoryWar for the Planet of the ApesLoganAssassin's CreedThe BatmanGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2Power RangersDoctor StrangeJustice LeagueThe Fate of the FuriousTransformers: The Last Knight
The Lone Ranger is a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice -- taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption. The Lone Ranger (Blu-ray) The Lone Ranger (DVD)This story first appeared in the June 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. If ever there was a studio that could withstand a serious stumble, it's Disney, home of Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. And stumble it has with Tomorrowland, the Brad Bird-directed fantasy adventure. Sources say the film will lose $120 million to $140 million by the time it finishes its global rollout, becoming Disney's first major financial misfire since The Lone Ranger prompted a $190 million write-down two summers ago.
It's also the third big-budget original tentpole of 2015 to bomb after Jupiter Ascending and Seventh Son, highlighting the risky nature of nine-figure filmmaking at a time when relatively lower-budget hits such as Spy and Pitch Perfect 2 are causing studios to look closely at the costs of creating franchises. Tomorrowland, which cost $180 million to produce plus a marketing spend of $150 million or more, had everything going for it: a hot filmmaker in Bird, 57 (Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol), and a global star in George Clooney, 54. But it debuted to weak reviews (was it for kids or adults?) and a soft $42.7 million during the long Memorial Day weekend. As of June 8, the film had earned $76.4 million domestically and $93.5 million overseas for a global total of $169.9 million. It might not gross much more than $200 million, far from enough to cover Disney's costs. China, ravenous for American event movies, has been a particularly harsh blow. Tomorrowland bowed to $13.8 million there in early June, getting trounced by the $38.3 million opening of the Japanese animated title Stand by Me Doraemon.
"Yes, they took a miss with Tomorrowland, but there are so many things working for Disney," says analyst Eric Handler of MKM Partners, noting that Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron has earned nearly $1.35 billion worldwide since May. "And coming up, there's Inside Out (June 19), Ant-Man (July 17) and Star Wars (Dec. 18). Disney will do just fine this year." That's why Tomorrowland hasn't stirred media or shareholder uproar as did Lone Ranger and John Carter ($200 million write-down). (Disney stock hasn't budged.) But it has raised the issue of whether studios will spend at this level on original tentpoles. Even the hit San Andreas, which Warner Bros. has marketed as an event pic, cost "only" $110 million. "There's a reason you're seeing more sequels, prequels and known properties because you never know how films like Tomorrowland or Jupiter Ascending are going to turn out," says Handler. Jupiter was a pricey miss for Warners, Village Roadshow and other partners who paid nearly $180 million to make the sci-fi fantasy, which topped out at $181.9 million worldwide and lost about $120 million all-in.
Despite the flop, few fault Disney for taking a chance on a director like Bird. Says a rival executive, "When a guy like that comes to you with an original idea, and Clooney is part of the package, you'll take the swing."It's been nearly a decade since Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård), also known as John Clayton III, left Africa... Adam Sandler’s ‘Grown Ups 2’ Leads Razzie NominationsPosted on Wednesday, January 15th, 2014 by Angie HanFor the film industry, the first couple months of each year are basically one long marathon of high fives. In glitzy ceremony after glitzy ceremony, filmmakers congratulate themselves and each other for making such awesome movies. It can all feel like a bit much after a while, even for the most enthusiastic of awards season watchers.That’s where the Golden Raspberry Awards come in. Since 1980, they’ve shoved past the year’s best movies to recognize the worst of the worst. Among this year’s contenders are 31-time(!) nominee Sylvester Stallone, past Oscar winners Johnny Depp and Naomi Watts.
But the most celebrated of all is reigning Worst Actor champ Adam Sandler, whose Grown Ups 2 snagged an impressive eight nominations. Check out the full list of nominees after the jump. Read More » Quentin Tarantino Explains ‘The Lone Ranger’ Love, Dismisses BatmanPosted on Thursday, October 10th, 2013 by Russ FischerIn truth, I wasn’t surprised to hear that Quentin Tarantino found The Lone Ranger to be a personal favorite of 2013, so far. Sure, earlier this year I broke down in detail why I think the movie doesn’t work, but that process included a lot of discussion about what The Lone Ranger wants to be — and it wants to be a lot more than most failed experiments aspire to. That’s enough to make it worth a conversation, at least.That said, when recently asked about the choice, the explanation offered by Tarantino wasn’t quite what I would have expected to hear. Check out that quote below, along with QT’s discussion of his general take on Batman. (Some spoilers for The Lone Ranger follow.)
Read More » Quentin Tarantino’s Favorite 2013 Films Include ‘Gravity’ and ‘The Lone Ranger’Posted on Monday, October 7th, 2013 by Germain LussierEven Quentin Tarantino will tell you his taste in movies is far from in line with any one person. Much like his movies, Tarantino has a very unique and personal sensibility, which is part of the reason why his movies are so unique. The Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained director recently put those tastes on display by revealing his ten favorite movies of 2013 (so far). Some are expected: Gravity, This is the End, and Before Midnight. But there are some very curious entries. One in particular, in fact: Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger. Read More » Four of the Fifty Biggest Box Office Bombs Are in Theaters Right NowPosted on Thursday, August 22nd, 2013 by Angie HanSummer 2013 is on track to become the best ever at the domestic box office, but you wouldn’t know it from the number of flops that have limped through theaters over the past few months.
Indeed, by some measures, this season includes five of the fifty biggest flops of the past two decades. Moreover, of those five, four are in theaters at this very moment. Hit the jump to find out which ones, and just how terribly they’re doing. Read More » Critics Made ‘The Lone Ranger’ Fail, Say ‘The Lone Ranger’ Filmmakers and StarsPosted on Monday, August 5th, 2013 by Angie HanThere’s no question at this point that The Lone Ranger was a big fat flop, but why it failed so badly remains up for debate. Were audiences turned off by the cultural insensitivity? Does Johnny Depp need to put down the white makeup? Was the movie just not very good?According to director Gore Verbinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and stars Depp and Armie Hammer, the answer is none of the above. Instead, the team pegs the film’s poor box office performance on film critics, whom they believe were “gunning for” the movie due to its production troubles. Cue every single movie reviewer I know: If only we had that kind of power.
Hit the jump to watch them complain. Read More » Grant Morrison Reviews ‘Man of Steel’, David Gordon Green Weighs in on ‘Pacific Rim’Posted on Monday, August 5th, 2013 by Angie HanAs Us Weekly‘s familiar refrain goes, celebrities are just like us! They, too, like to check out the summer’s big studio releases and then talk about their opinions afterward. The difference is that when the famous people in question are comic book writer Grant Morrison and filmmaker David Gordon Green, they’re weighing in as pop culture creators, not just consumers.Morrison, whose works include the DC Comics series All-Star Superman, recently offered his ambivalent thoughts on Supes’ latest big-screen outing Man of Steel. Meanwhile, Green professed to liking Pacific Rim, though he had one major complaint. Hit the jump to see their comments. Read More » Disney Could Lose $150 Million on ‘The Lone Ranger’Posted on Monday, July 8th, 2013 by Angie HanAfter months of trailers, TV spots, posters, and other marketing for The Lone Ranger, it’s easy to forget the movie almost never happened at all.
Back in 2011, Disney slammed the brakes over concerns about its over-$250 million budget, and decided to move forward only after director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer trimmed it down to $215 million.As it turns out, though, even that lower figure wasn’t enough to put the project in the black. Following a disastrous opening weekend, Disney stands to lose up to $150 million on The Lone Ranger. That’s not quite as rough as the $200 million lost by John Carter in 2011, but it’s pretty crappy. Hit the jump for more on what happened. Read More » /Filmcast Ep. 235 – The Lone RangerPosted on Sunday, July 7th, 2013 by David ChenDave, Devindra, and Russ reflect on how many great coming-of-age films are being released this year, praise HBO’s customer retention strategies, and explain why they think Jim Carrey can do or say whatever the hell he wants. Be sure to read up on why The Lone Ranger is bad for our society and check out Jim Carrey’s video on gun control.You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993.
Also, like us on Facebook! Read More » ‘The Lone Ranger’ Is Lost in the Desert Between Tradition and SubversionPosted on Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013 by Russ FischerWhy is a film in which a magic horse eats scorpions off Armie Hammer’s face so insufferably fractured and dull? Now that I’ve got your attention, consider the unfortunate fate of a film, one eager to subvert Western tradition, which becomes deeply lost in the wilderness between the arthouse and multiplex.The Lone Ranger, masterminded by the Pirates of the Caribbean team of Gore Verbinski (director) and Jerry Bruckheimer (producer), throws out one weird idea after another — fanged rabbits factor in — almost as distractions for the fact that it wants to batter the very myth of the American west. In all cases, it does so without any significant unifying principle to weave the ideas into a movie of any compelling merit. More interesting to talk about than it is to watch in the moment, The Lone Ranger is still a dud in the end.
Read More » /Film Interview: ‘The Lone Ranger’ Director Gore Verbinski – “We Are on a Crazy Road to Extinction”Posted on Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013 by Germain LussierWhen George Lucas and Steven Spielberg said Hollywood would implode because of a reliance on massive blockbusters, they were probably thinking of films like those made by Gore Verbinski. The director has done small films — even winning an Oscar for the animated Rango — but he’s best known for the three Pirates of the Caribbean movies and now The Lone Ranger, which opens July 3. His latest film was a massive undertaking that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make and even more to market.When we sat down to talk to Verbinski, it seemed like the time to ask him about Lucas and Spielberg’s comments. He thinks there is a problem with Hollywood’s overspending, saying “we are on a crazy road to extinction.” Below, you can read more comments along with talk of genre conventions, the William Tell Overture, Hans Zimmer, and the struggle to get The Lone Ranger in front of cameras.