Having gone for the gold with its “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy, is the Mouse now getting ready to go for the silver ?
As in “Hi-yo, Silver ! “
It certainly sounded that way late last week. As the Web (Keying off of a story that had originally been posted on Collider back on May 24th) was suddenly awash with all of these rumors about how Jerry Bruckheimer and several key members of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” creative team would soon be reuniting to create an all-new big-screen version of that once-wildly-popular radio & television series, “The Lone Ranger.”
Truth be told, news of this soon-to-be-officially-announced project had already begun leaking long before Frosty posted that piece last week. Take — for example — this juicy little tidbit that appeared in Peter Gilstrap’s May 18th profile of “Pirates” screenwriters Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio for Daily Variety :
Beyond another “Pirates” project, word has it that the scribes might be doing a take on the Lone Ranger saga for Bruckheimer.
Better yet, how about this quote from Bill Warren’s recent sit-down with Bruckheimer, which appeared in the June issue of “Starlog” Magazine. Where Jerry actually told Bill that …
“The first picture I ever made was a Western — The Culpepper Cattle Company. I hope I can make a big-scale Western someday.”
Copyright 1972 20th Century Fox. All Rights Reserved
But as for definitive proof that this “Lone Ranger” revival project actually is in the works … Well, back in February 22nd of this year, the Walt Disney Company purchased the following domain names:
- LONERANGER-MOVIE.COM
- THELONERANGER-MOVIE.COM
- THELONERANGER-THEMOVIE.COM
So that proves it, folks. The Mouse is looking to make a major motion picture about the Masked Man and his faithful Indian companion.
According to several studio insiders that I spoke with over the past week, this “Lone Ranger” project is supposed to be Disney’s designated blockbuster for the Summer of 2010. Which would then drop the slot that currently lies empty between 2008 (I.E. “The Chronicles of Narnia : Prince Caspian” is supposed to be Mickey’s summer tentpole picture for that year), 2009 (“Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time”) and 2011 (“Pirates of the Caribbean 4”).
Mind you, I can’t honestly tell you that everyone in Burbank is thrilled that Bruckheimer is championing this particular production. After all, it’s been more than a decade since a Western that was produced in Hollywood (I.E. “Maverick.” Which Warner Bros. released to theaters in May of 1994 and earned $101 million during its initial domestic run) actually achieved blockbuster status.
Copyright 1994 Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved
And then when you factor in Disney Studio’s own recent history when it came to this genre …
Film Title | Production Costs | Initial Domestic Gross |
“Open Range” | $22 million | $58 million |
“Tombstone” | $28 million | $56 million |
“Shanghai Noon” | $55 million | $56.9 million |
“The Alamo” | $107 million | $22 million |
… You can perhaps understand why certain folks on the Disney lot aren’t all that enthusiastic about the Masked Man’s proposed return.
I mean, for all the built-in name recognition that “The Lone Ranger” may have, it’s hard to overlook this franchise’s recent history. In that the two most recent attempts to revive “The Lone Ranger” (I.E. That pilot for a proposed new television series that the WB aired in February of 2003 as well as that $70-million feature film that Douglas Wick & Lucy Fisher tried in vain to get produced over at Columbia Pictures from 2002 through 2006) were both miserable failures.
And speaking of failures, does anyone else out there remember what happened the last time that the Masked Man was the subject of a major motion picture ? That was Universal‘s “The Legend of the Lone Ranger,” which was released to theaters back in May of 1981. And that William A. Fraker film cost over $18 million to produce but then only sold $13.4 million worth of tickets. These days, the only reason that anyone ever seems to remember this Jack Wrather production is because the actor who was hired to play the Masked Man in this movie (I.E. Klinton Spilsbury) was supposedly so terrible that the studio had to then recruit James Keach to come in and redub all of the title character’s dialogue.
Copyright 1981 Universal Studios / Wrather Corporation
So when you take all of the above information into consideration … The chances that a Disney-produced version of “The Lone Ranger” might then appeal to a sizable audience seem very slim indeed.
But then again … Let’s remember that — just five short years ago — entertainment industry insiders were saying the very same thing about that “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies that Walt Disney Pictures & Jerry Bruckheimer were getting ready to start shooting. How it had been 50 years since Hollywood had last produced a successful swashbuckler. Which is why it was just insane of the Mouse to even try and make a movie like that.
Of course, that story (As is demonstrated by “At World’s End” ‘s performance at the box office this past weekend. This third film in the “Pirates” trilogy is now on track to have the biggest worldwide opening in movie history) seems to have ended happily … So maybe Disney’s upcoming version of “The Lone Ranger” will be able to ride off triumphantly into the sunset in the end as well.
Mind you, what really helps in this particular situation is that Bruckheimer has reportedly recruited Rossio & Elliot to write the screenplay for this big budget Western. And given all the great work that Terry & Ted did on “The Mask of Zorro” and “The Legend of Zorro” (Not to mention the three films in Disney’s “Pirates” trilogy) … Well, these two clearly have a gift when it comes to reinventing (More importantly, reinvigorating) seemingly played-out film genres.
Copyright 1998 TriStar Pictures / Amblin Entertainment
And I know of at least two divisions of the Walt Disney Company that really want this “Lone Ranger” film project to be an enormous success:
- Disney Consumer Products — Which (provided that this film is a huge hit) will then be able to sell “Lone Ranger” -themed toys, games, action figures, costumes and accessories to young boys the world over.
- Walt Disney Imagineering — Which wants that this new Western to be a real blockbuster. So that WDI can then use “The Lone Ranger” to help revive a long-dormant project. Which is build an elaborate outdoor stunt show in the area that Disneyland‘s seriously-under-used Big Thunder Ranch facility currently occupies.
Anywho … You know what’s kind of ironic about this whole situation ? In order to acquire the rights to use the “Long Ranger” characters in a movie, Walt Disney Studios first had to pay Entertainment Rights PLC an enormous amount of of money.
“And what’s so ironic about that ?,” you ask. Well, back in March of 1988, in order to finally gain control of the Disneyland Hotel, the Walt Disney Company first had to buy the Wrather Corporation. Which — in addition to owning that Anaheim resort — also owned all of the rights to “The Lone Ranger.” But because Mouse House officials were so eager to recover the $85 million that they’d just spent to acquire Wrather, they quickly turned around and sold off all of those old television & radio shows to the highest bidder. Which is how Entertainment Rights PLC eventually wound up with control of the “Lone Ranger” characters.
Clayton Moore (left) and Jay Silverheels
as the Lone Ranger & Tonto
And from I’ve been hearing … Disney then had to agree to pay this UK-based media company over 10 times what the company originally made off of the sale of all of those old “Lone Ranger” TV shows & radio broadcasts in order to be able to use these characters in this new Jerry Bruckheimer film. And then — when you factor in that this ambitious new Western will probably cost just as much as “The Curse of the Black Pearl” did to produce (I.E. $120 – $135 million) … Well, Mouse House officials are really hoping that millions of people worldwide will be willing to part with a little silver in order to see the Lone Ranger & Silver up on the big screen again.
Anyway … That’s the latest news on this yet-to-be-officially-announced Walt Disney Pictures production. So what do you folks think ? Would you actually be interested in seeing a big-screen version of “The Lone Ranger” ? Particularly if this new Western were to be put together by many of the very same talented people who’d created the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy ?
Your thoughts ?