Wow!
This is a man dedicated to his art!
As we reported earlier, Disney canceled production on The Lone Ranger due to it’s high budget of $250m.
$220m is where Disney draws the line, so director Gore Verbinski has been busy working on rewrites and finding ways to trim the budget.
There are also a couple of other options in talk:
The first one is Depp, Verbinski, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer offering to cut down on their own compensation to reach the budget goal. A friend close to the director says all three agree this could work. So we’ll see!
And apparently if all else fails, production sources say Johnny Depp will pay the balance himself:
Johnny is passionate about the Lone Ranger as a character and Tonto especially. He has already carried out extensive research into the character and he doesn’t want to see that go to waste. Johnny feels this is a story that needs to be told and he’s talking to contacts about financing the project outside of Disney.
At first it seems a little cray cray, but then we think about all the money he makes and it’s probably not that hard of a blow.
Either way, it’s a still a huge testament to his commitment — last resort or not.
When asked about the fate of the film, Johnny replied:
I think everything will work out as it should.
That sounds very promising!! We really want to see this movie made too!
[Image via Lia Toby/WENN.]