UPDATE: On Friday August 12, 2011 Disney cancelled pre-production on “The Lone Ranger”. Budget limits with the director is being reported as the reason for the shutdown. The studio gave director Gore Verbinski a firm budget cap for “The Lone Ranger” but the director turned it down. it said. Verbinski didn’t want to limit the budget from what he thought a movie like “The Lone Ranger” needed. That, combined with the fact that the film is a western was also a concern for the studio. Westerns have been struggling including a recent poor box office showing for “Cowboys and Aliens”.
The extras casting director for “The Lone Ranger”, Elizabeth Gabel, made the following statement to the Las Cruces Sun-News on Saturday August 13, 2011 – “I can confirm that ‘Silver Bullet’ (the working title for ‘The Lone Ranger’) has been shut down and the casting call has been canceled, at this time I do not have anymore details”. Gabel was scheduled to come the Las Cruces area to cast as many as 500 extras for the film.
Note: “The Lone Ranger” was also using the working title of “Silver Bullet”. A working title is the temporary name of a film used during its development. Working titles are used primarily for two reasons – the first being that an official title has not yet been decided upon and the working title is being used as a filler for naming purposes, the second being to intentionally disguise the production of a high profile film. In some cases a working title may ultimately be used as the official title. This “title ruse” is now a very common practice by which these high-profile films or television series is given a fake working title to keep its production a secret, and to prevent price gouging by suppliers, casual theft and undesirable attention.
Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films were gearing up for an October, 2011 start date on the feature film “The Lone Ranger” starring Armie Hammer as The Lone Ranger, and Johnny Depp as Tonto. An open casting call was scheduled to take place in New Mexico for all ages and types to work on the film as extras, stand-ins, and photo doubles. The casting call has been cancelled. The film’s main stars were being cast in Los Angeles, while smaller speaking roles and extras were being cast in New Mexico where shooting was to take place.
Gore Verbinski, who is best known for directing Johnny Depp in the first three Disney “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, was to direct “Lone Ranger” from an adapted screenplay written by Justin Haythe, who adapted “Revolutionary Road” for Sam Mendes as well as the “Jekyll” project for Keanu Reeves.
Jerry Bruckheimer, who has won 7 Primetime Emmy Awards and is currently on the National Board of Directors of Producers Guild of America, would have produced “Lone Ranger”. Chad Oman and Mike Stenson were to executive produce for Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Thomas Robinson Harper would have served as Stunt Coordinator on “Lone Ranger”. Harper is an extremely talented and respected Stunt Performer/Stunt Coordinator, and a few of his recent Stunt Coordinator credits include “Iron Man 2,” “Dinner for Schmucks,” “Thor,” “Cowboys & Aliens,” and “We Bought a Zoo”.
“Lone Ranger” was listed at the Screen Actors Guild as having a shooting schedule from October 31, 2011 through May 5, 2012.
Open Casting Call Details
The Open Casting Call has been cancelled.
Principal Actor Casting
Los Angeles:
Denise Chamian
“Lone Ranger” Casting
1438 N. Gower Street
Building 35
Suite 270
Hollywood, CA 90028
New Mexico:
New Mexico casting has been completed.
Extras Casting
New Mexico:
Elizabeth Gabel Casting
“The Lone Ranger” Extras
304 Washington SE
Albuquerque, NM 87108
Production Companies:
Do NOT send photos and resumes to the production companies, as they will most likely end up being thrown away. They do not cast the films, rather they hire casting directors who sort through the thousands of submissions.
Walt Disney Pictures
500 S. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521
Jerry Bruckheimer Films
1631 Tenth Street
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Silver Bullet Productions
100 Universal City Plaza
Building 6111
Universal City, CA 91608
Blind Wink Productions
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
Classic Media
860 Broadway Sixth Floor
New York, NY 10003
Producers:
Jerry Bruckheimer
Mike Stenson
Chad Oman
Director:
Gore Verbinski
Starring:
Armie Hammer – The Lone Ranger
Johnny Depp – Tonto
Ruth Wilson – Rebecca
Tom Wilkinson – Railroad Tycoon
Story:
Left for dead in an ambush with five other Texas Rangers, lawman John Reid (Armie Hammer) survives and is nursed back to health by an Indian scout named Tonto (Johnny Depp). He then dons a mask to avenge the murders of his comrades and to foil evildoers, never accepting payment for his services. His gratis vigilantism is made possible by the silver mine he inherits from one of his slain brothers, the same mine that affords him his endless supply of trademark silver bullets.