If there is one thing you can say about Johnny Depp, it is that he certainly does his research.

When the first image for The Lone Ranger movie came out, about all anyone could comment on was how odd Johnny Depp looked as Tonto.

Well, some time has passed, and now Depp has explained he took his inspiration from this painting.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, he explained his thought process:

I’d actually seen a painting by an artist named Kirby Sattler, and looked at the face of this warrior and thought: That’s it. The stripes down the face and across the eyes … it seemed to me like you could almost see the separate sections of the individual, if you know what I mean.

No, I’m not sure we totally know what you mean, Mr. Depp, but it does make some sense. Luckily he added more.

There’s this very wise quarter, a very tortured and hurt section, an angry and rageful section, and a very understanding and unique side. I saw these parts, almost like dissecting a brain, these slivers of the individual. That makeup inspired me.

As for the crow, I now see what he was going for and it makes a ton of sense.

It just so happened Sattler had painted a bird flying directly behind the warrior’s head. It looked to me like it was sitting on top,” Depp said, which led him to another eureka moment. “I thought: Tonto’s got a bird on his head. It’s his spirit guide in a way. It’s dead to others, but it’s not dead to him. It’s very much alive.

And speaking on why he chose to play Tonto, Depp had this to say.

The whole reason I wanted to play Tonto is to try to [mess] around with the stereotype of the American Indian that has been laid out through history, or the history of cinema at the very least — especially Tonto as the sidekick, The Lone Ranger’s assistant. As you’ll see, it’s most definitely not that.

You would think after as many Johnny Depp movies as I’ve watched over the years I would have known there was a reason for every choice he made. So, color me impressed.

The Lone Ranger is being directed by Gore Verbinski (The Pirates of the Carribbean), produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and will hit theaters on May 31, 2013.

[via Entertainment Weekly]

It seems that the leaders of the Navajo Nation are on board with the idea of Johnny Depp as Tonto in the new Disney film, The Lone Ranger.

While many have been questioning how wise it was to cast Depp as Tonto, the Lone Ranger’s Native American sidekick, it seems the Navajo are okay with it.  New images have been released that show the leaders of the Nation meeting with the stars of the film as filming has moved on to their land.

Johnny Depp is seen here posing with Dr. Gayle Dine’Chacon, Surgeon General of the Navajo Nation.  (via Badass Digest)

The next few come from Collider, and show Depp meeting with various leaders of the Navajo.

At least part of what we are seeing here is that perhaps he doesn’t always have the crow on his head.

And finally a picture of Armie Hammer with the leaders.

I’ve had a lot of questions about the idea of Depp in this role, but he has gone on record about how he is trying to make sure he attempts to change the view people have Native Americans.  If he succeeds, more power to him as it may tke a named star like him to do it.

The Lone Ranger is being directed by Gore Verbinski (The Pirates of the Carribbean), produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and will hit theaters on May 31, 2013.

[via Collider]

Remember how The Lone Ranger movie was canceled, and then it was back on?  Well, it missed the announced February 6 production start date, but as of February 13 things were in full swing.

Not to miss a beat, producer Jerry Bruckheimer tweeted the photo you see below of Arnie Hammer as the titular Lone Ranger and Johnny Depp as his sidekick Tonto.  Click the image for a larger view.

Er … okay. Not quite like any version of Tonto I’ve seen before, but then again this is being directed by Gore Verbinski (who directed the first three Pirate of the Caribbean), and he is known for some odd make-up choices, but this is just out there.  I’m not quite sure why he has a bird on his head, but … well, it’s Johnny Depp, so who really knows.

The Lone Ranger will hit theaters on May 31, 2013.

[via Deadline]

Disney has flipped the switch, and the Johnny Depp Lone Ranger film is back on for production.

This past August Disney shut down production on the upcoming Lone Ranger film due to spiraling production costs that had the movie looking like it would cost between $250 and $275 million to produce.  The company approched director Gore Verbinksi about lowering the cost, but he was only able to get it down to $232 million.  Considering the high profile flop of Cowboys & Aliens this summer, obviously a studio would be nervous about putting a lot of money into a western.

Production was halted and there was no indication if things would resume.

According to Deadline, Disney has flipped the switch back to green for the film to start filming on February 6, 2012 in New Mexico due to the budget having fallen further to $215 million.  (I still don’t understand how you can spend that much on a western, but oh well.)  There’s no word on if all of the cast is still in place, but the most recent plans call for Depp to play Tonto with Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Ruth Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper in various other roles.

It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out, and we’ll see see if it can even come close to making a profit.

Disney has halted production on the upcoming Lone Ranger film that was due to start filming this fall with Johnny Depp in the role of Tonto.

Slated for release December 21, 2012, the new Lone Ranger film was due to tell the story of the character from the vantage point of Tonto, hence why Johnny Depp had been cast in the role.  The film has already signed Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Ruth Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper in various other roles.  (Depp and Carter in a film not directed by Tim Burton … is that allowed?)  Gore Verbinksi was to helm the film, and is best known for directing the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, all of which starred Depp and made a tremendous amount of money for Disney.

It seems the production was halted due to ballooning production costs which had hit $250 million.  Verbinksi had gotten it down to $232 million, but Disney is looking to spend around $200 million due to the number of other expensive productions has on its plate currently.

$250 million for what is essentially a cowboy movie?  Heck, even the $200 million Disney is looking to spend, how in the world do you hit those numbers on a film that is essentially a bunch of people on horses?  Verbinksi is known for his huge budgets with the third Pirates film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, clocked in at $300 million.  I think that perhaps this is a director that need to go take some sort of class on learning how to manage his finances because the budgets he is turning in are just outlandish.  You can somewhat understand them on the three Pirate films because any time you involve water in a film the budget shoots way up, but, again, this is a movie set in the Old West … on horses … all on dry land.  How is he spending this much money?  Oh, I know, the Lone Ranger is famous for his silver bullets, Verbinksi must have gone for “realism” and ordered them cast in real silver.  Silly me.

Apparently Disney will be going forward with this movie, but only once the budget has been brought down into a range they find acceptable.  There is no word on how long that may take, nor what it may due to the targeted release date as of yet.