The movie “The Lone Ranger” has gone over budget, in part due to expensive sets and New Mexico’s destructive wind and dust storms, The Hollywood Reporter said in a report published online this week.
This is the second time the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) movie has reportedly gone over budget. The first time, the Western’s budget was at $250 million. Director Gore Verbinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and star Johnny Depp, among others, agreed to trim scenes and upfront costs to bring the figure down to $215 million.
The Reporter said insider sources, who it did not identify, revealed that the movie is over its revised budget and days or even weeks behind its 120-day shoot schedule. The movie started shooting in New Mexico Feb. 28. Its planned release date is July 3, 2013.
Verbinski, who slashed a major train sequence in the first round of cuts, is reportedly being asked to cut additional scenes. Sources told the Reporter the movie’s budget is back to $250 million. One source said the budget was more than $250 million.
The $250 million budget number is inaccurate, a Disney spokesperson told the Reporter.
One significant element of the movie is the period trains, which Verbinski opted to have constructed on set instead of using existing railroad vehicles. Severe weather in New Mexico has damaged some of the expensive sets. Some think Verbinski, who also worked on “Pirates of the Caribbean,” can create international popularity for the Western genre, like he did for pirate movies.
For more information, see The Hollywood Reporter’s story.