Words are, the Johnny Depp-starring film is running weeks behind its 120-day shooting schedule, causing the project to be back at its original cost of $250 million.
- Jun 14, 2012
AceShowbiz - Gore Verbinski's newly revived project "The Lone Ranger" has been hit with another bad rumor. The Western movie is reportedly facing a budgetary conflict again, despite previous report that Verbinski has agreed to bring the production cost down to around $215 million in order to get the green light from Walt Disney Pictures.
Multiple insiders revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that the Johnny Depp-starring film, which has begun filming since February 28 in New Mexico, is running days or even weeks behind its 120-day shooting schedule. The situation caused the project to be back at its original cost of $250 million. "It's up to a number they didn't want," said one insider.
As a result, Verbinski was asked by Disney to delete some scenes, including sacrificing a major train sequence in the first round of trimming. According to insiders, period trains are significant elements in the film and the director opted to construct its own locomotives instead of using existing railroad vehicles.
"It's out of control, but if you were going to bet on anyone, it would be on Gore, Johnny and [screenwriter] Jerry [Bruckheimer]," a source said of the problem. Accordingly, the movie project is said to be planning a rewrite.
Another reason that caused the budget to rise was natural force. Multiple sources told THR that the project has "experienced severe weather disruptions, including wind and dust storms that damaged the pricey set." Disney has yet to make any comment regarding the issue.
"The Lone Ranger" is not expected to wrap its filming until August. The film itself has been scheduled to hit the U.S. theaters on July 3, 2013 with Armie Hammer starring as the titular character and Depp playing his partner Tonto.
The movie follows a masked Texas Ranger who survived the deathly ambush by a gang of outlaws. Together with his native American assistant Tonto, he fights against greed and corruption.
