With The Lone Ranger budget trimmed and back on track Disney, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and director Gore Verbinski are now aiming to begin filming in February with Armie Hammer as the title character and Johnny Depp as the Ranger’s Native American companion Tonto.

In a new interview Bruckheimer revealed it was “a shock” when Disney halted production back in August, but the team have now reduced the budget to $215m from $260m with most scenes left intact, so as to compete with the “fierce” competition.

From THR:

How did you do it?
…we bunched the sequences that were big together, and for the smaller scenes [we] laid off the extras, the effects people, the makeup people. It costs an enormous amount with 150 extras on the set. It’s not the extras, it’s the people that support the extras. You’re still carrying all the wardrobe, makeup and hair people. We bunched together scenes with Tonto and the Lone Ranger, so we had a much smaller crew. We saved about $10 million just by doing that.

Then we looked for the best break in tax incentives. We found that Louisiana gave us a better tax incentive than New Mexico — that was another $8 million. We’re still shooting in New Mexico, and we might [also] go to Louisiana.

Did you have to lose sequences from the script? There was talk that some train sequences were cut back.
We cut a sequence involving a coyote attack — supernatural coyotes — and a small animated segment. The train [scenes] are intact. We trimmed it a little bit. Gore made some sacrifices creatively, but nothing that would hurt the film.

Disney would have much preferred us cutting stuff out of the script. But the competition is fierce. You can’t compete with The Hobbit, you can’t compete with Transformers if you do that. The audience will stay home.

Because you missed your original start date, how do you feel about Disney moving the release from December 2012 to May 31, 2013?
It’s a better date. Before, we were up against The Hobbit and World War Z. Now we’re a week after Fast and Furious and a couple weeks before Superman. The competition is not as bad. There are a lot of movies jammed in at Christmas. In the summer, you have a longer run. You’re cut off after the first of the year on a Christmas release.

As well as Depp and Hammer, The Lone Ranger will also feature Ruth Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper.

Bruckheimer also said they were at “the outline phase” with Pirates of the Caribbean 5, but “decided we could do better” with the script, so re-writes will likely take place before it moves forward. I felt the script for On Stranger Tides was pretty weak, so improving the next film (which is coming whether we like it or not) will be better for everyone.

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After Disney pulled the brakes on The Lone Ranger last month due to budget concerns producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski tried to bring the budget down from $250m to $215m, while still trying to keep enough spectacle to attract worldwide audiences and earn sequels.

We previously heard that Johnny Depp wouldn’t make the movie without his Pirates of the Caribbean director, putting pressure on Disney to agree on a budget, but it looks like things have been worked out and filming could take place early next year.

From Deadline:

I’m hearing that the studio is likely to have everything resolved by next week, and can start rehiring crew so that the picture will be ready to begin production in January or February. How that late start impacts the Dec. 21, 2012 release date remains to be seen, but Johnny Depp will get to play Tonto (Disney wouldn’t make the movie without him), and Armie Hammer will be back in as the title character. Ruth Wilson, the scene-stealing killer from Idris Elba’s British cop series Luther, is also expected back as the female lead.

The Lone Ranger was originally looking to shooting in October in New Mexico, which will offer the studio tax breaks. While production has been delayed it could still shoot there, but the December 21, 2012 release date will probably be pushed back to summer 2013 or later. As well as Depp and Hammer, the movie is also set to star Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper.

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Last month Disney put the brakes on The Lone Ranger, the classic western which has The Social Network actor Armie Hammer playing the title character and Johnny Depp playing the Ranger’s Native American companion Tonto. The studio wanted to trim the budget down from $275m to around $200m as westerns generally don’t perform well overseas, and with DVD sales declining it would have to make 3x its budget back at the worldwide box office to be worthwhile.

Now Deadline has an update on the project, and they say Johnny Depp won’t make the movie without his Pirates of the Caribbean and Rango director Gore Verbinski, which means Disney can’t simply replace Verbinski for another (cheaper) director without losing their box office draw.

Apparently Verbinski “won’t take the budget down to a certain point where it’s not the same movie that he started out to make”, and he will soon be presenting Disney with a new budget “in the $215m range” with producer Jerry Bruckheimer. That’s still above the $200m the studio wanted, but if they lose Verbinski they lose Depp as well.

The reason for such a high budget in the first place was said to be due to the inclusion of CGI-heavy werewolves and other supernatural creatures from Native American myths. Those have apparently been cut now, but the script still includes three big action set pieces involving trains, including one described as “the biggest train sequence in film history.” Disney will be wanting the film to have enough spectacle to attract worldwide audiences and earn sequels, but a budget over $200m is a risk.

The Lone Ranger was looking to shooting in October in New Mexico, which will offer the studio tax breaks. Whether these budget issues delay production remains to be seen, but the studio may still aim to meet the December 21, 2012 release date. As well as Depp and Hammer, the movie is also set to star Ruth Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper.

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Variety is reporting that Disney is having budget issues with The Lone Ranger, the classic western which has The Social Network actor Armie Hammer playing the title character and Johnny Depp playing the Ranger’s Native American companion Tonto. The studio apparently wants to “trim the film’s escalating budget to get it closer to the $200 million that Disney was looking to spend to make the movie”.

THR earlier reported that production had been halted, with the studio wary about producing a big-budget western following the poor box office performance of Cowboys and Aliens. However Variety insists the project “is far from dead at the studio”, and Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer are “trying to rein in the costs of the actioner before the price to produce the pic gallops away from them.”

The Lone Ranger, which has Pirates of the Caribbean‘s Gore Verbinski as director, was looking to shooting in October in New Mexico, which will offer the studio tax breaks. Whether these budget issues delay production remains to be seen, but the studio may still aim to meet the December 21, 2012 release date.

As well as Depp and Hammer, the movie is also set to star Ruth Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale and Barry Pepper.

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Entertainment Tonight have released a 5 minute behind the scenes video from their visit to the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. We see Johnny Depp filming a carriage stunt on the streets of England, Penelope Cruz filming scenes with Captain Jack, and Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa warning his crew about mermaids who have a hunger for the “flesh of man”.

Watch below:

As the video shows, the fourth film will include “zombies, cutthroats, mermaids and… Penelope Cruz” as Jack Sparrow and Barbossa sail to find the Fountain of Youth together, only to find Blackbeard (Ian McShane) is after it too. Cruz plays Blackbeard’s daughter who is a woman from Sparrow’s past and he’s not sure if it’s love–or if she’s a ruthless con artist who’s just using him to find the Fountain of Youth.

The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will be released in just over a weeks time with Tron Legacy.

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What’s Playing reports that after rumors that Tony Scott would be returning to the land of absurdly catchy Kenny Loggins music and homo-erotic subtext, Scott has indeed confirmed that a new Top Gun movie is in the works. There are no definite reports yet as to whether rumored producer Jerry Bruckheimer is also attached, but safe money says he is.

Scott also refused to comment as to the involvement of the first film’s lead actor, Tom Cruise. It has been suggested, however, that if Cruise is involved he will likely have limited screentime and act more as a secondary role. Perhaps this means that the old rumor of a movie centered around Val Kilmer’s character, Iceman, is still worth considering.

Obviously, this is not the first time a Top Gun sequel has been floating around the rumor bins (in fact, they’ve been floating around since 1986) but it is the first time that anyone important has actually gone on record saying that one is in the works. I guess it only takes 24 years to get something done in Hollywood.

Personally, I can’t help but feel that this might be the beginning of another failed attempt at reviving classic pop culture (Just look at The Lost Boys sequel or Land of the Lost). But if they’ve gotta bring it back, I’m glad to hear that at least Tony Scott still has control.

Be sure to shout out your opinion in the comments section below.

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Things have been quite on The Lone Ranger front since Disney hired Revolutionary Road screenwriter Justin Haythe to work on the script in February. Johnny Depp was cast as Tonto, the Native American colleague of the Lone Ranger, back in 2008 and Pirates of The Caribbean writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio had already written a draft of the script.

Now Deadline reports that another Pirates of The Caribbean crew member may be getting involved, as Gore Verbinski is “getting serious” about making The Lone Ranger his next directing gig.

Verbinski is currently finishing off his first animated movie Rango, which stars Johnny Depp as the voice of a “chameleon with an identity crisis”. That will be released next March, and apart from producing a BioShock movie Verbinski doesn’t have anything else lined up.

No word on a possible filming start, but Johnny Depp may be re-teaming with his other director friend Tim Burton next for Dark Shadows, a gothic-horror tale centering on the life of vampire Barnabas Collins and his run-ins with various monsters, witches, werewolves and ghosts.

Here’s the synopsis for Ted Elliott’s and Terry Rossio’s draft, which Justin Haythe may have re-written or just started anew:

The Texas Rangers chase down a gang of outlaws led by Butch Cavendish, but the gang ambushes the Rangers, seemingly killing them all. One survivor is found, however, by an American Indian named Tonto, who nurses him back to health. The Ranger, donning a mask and riding a white stallion named Silver, teams up with Tonto to bring the unscrupulous gang and others of that ilk to justice.

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Update: Amazon has made Prince of Persia available to pre-order:

- DVD
- Blu-ray

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time made over $320 million worldwide when it was released in May, although as only $90 million of that was from the US a sequel is unlikely.

Disney today announced that Prince of Persia will be arriving on DVD and Blu-ray on September 14th, with a rather limited set of extras.

• An Unseen World: Making Prince of Persia – A look behind the scenes on the set of the film
• 1-Disc BD Exclusive: Deleted Scene – The Banquet: Garsiv Presents Heads
• 3-Disc BD Exclusive: CineExplore: The Sands of Time – Take control of the dagger and use it to unlock secrets behind your favorite scenes! Turn back time and uncover over 40 spellbinding segments – including “Walking Up Walls,” “Filming in Morocco”, and “Ostrich Jockey Tryouts” – with this exclusive interactive feature. Blu-ray puts you in control!

I imagine they will be releasing a special edition later down the line to recuperate some of their loss.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides officially began filming last week, and producer Jerry Bruckhiemer has been tweeting details from the set in Hawaii. Director Rob Marshall arrived for his first day of filming on a jet ski because they were shooting on a secluded beach and that was the only way to get there. I’m sure he’ll get bored of these exotic filming locations with pristine beaches at some point.

To mark the beginning of production Disney has released a press release and it contains a bit more information on the films plot. It shares further details on what Penelope Cruz will be getting up too, and confirms that Jack Sparrow’s side-kick Gibbs will be returning.

From ComingSoon:

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” captures the fun, adventure and humor that ignited the hit franchise –this time in Disney Digital 3D(TM). In this action-packed tale of truth, betrayal, youth and demise, Captain Jack Sparrow crosses paths with a woman from his past (Penelope Cruz), and he’s not sure if it’s love–or if she’s a ruthless con artist who’s using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn’t know who to fear more: Blackbeard or the woman from his past.

Rush reprises his role as the vengeful Captain Hector Barbossa, and Kevin R. McNally returns as Captain Jack’s longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs. Claflin stars as a stalwart missionary, while Berges-Frisbey is transformed into a mysterious mermaid.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which will be released next May, will film on the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Oahu, followed by locations and studio work in the United Kingdom and Los Angeles.

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A new trailer for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice has Youtubed its way online. Despite only lasting 1 minute and 2 seconds it contains a lot of new footage, including new special effects shots and scenes featuring the film’s villain Maxim, played by Alfred Molina. We also see more of Teresa Palmer who plays Jay Baruchel’s lady friend in the film.

For me Nicolas Cage redeemed himself from all of his past duds with Kick-Ass, and I am now once again a Cage fan.

At the moment I’m not sure how The Sorcerer’s Apprentice will fare at the box office, as it could go either way. Opening the same day as Christopher Nolan’s Inception certainly won’t help Cage to kick-start a potential new franchise, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently said the box office battle “is going to be interesting”. Inception will be going after a more mature crowd, so Disney may aim their marketing towards the younger demographic.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice will be released on July 16th and is directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure and its sequel).

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