By MICHAEL SMITH Movie Critic on Aug 15, 2011, at 11:06 AM Updated on 8/15 at 11:06 AM
I SEE MOVIES FOR FREE
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From the "you can't make this stuff up" department: Production on a movie version of "The Lone Ranger" has been halted, according to Hollywood trade publications.
Why? According to deadline.com, producers have been unable to reduce the budget for the movie starring Johnny Depp (as Tonto, Armie Hammer of "The Social Network" as the masked man) from $250 million or more down to $232 million.
This latter figure, however, is still not close to the $200 million that Disney wants to spend making the movie.
How many questions does this scenario beg? Why would anyone be spending $250 million on a Western starring Depp? Is it set in Wonderland, or is there a pirate ship involved? Is this the real cowboys vs. aliens?
Are the horses eating caviar on set? (thanks to James Watts for initial reaction to this story)
And as to Disney: They WANT to spend ONLY $200 million on a comedic Western? This is like the poster child movie for "Why do films cost so much to make?"
Stay tuned for this film to go back into production at something closer to that $200 million figure, and keep this fact in mind: The Coen Brothers made "True Grit," the best western in 20 years, on a budget of $38 million.
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