Disclosure: I was invited to a local screening of The Lone Ranger last week but no compensation was received for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Over a year ago, I was able to participate in a phone interview with Armie Hammer while he was in the middle of filming The Lone Ranger (in fact, I was supposed to interview him in person while on another press trip but he had to cancel last minute because he couldn’t get away from the set). Here’s a peek at what he shared about working on the Lone Ranger:
What was it like to transition from filming Mirror Mirror to The Lone Ranger? Was it hard to get into such a different character?
Armie Hammer said, “No, no, no. It’s fun. This is very much like the perk of the job. I got to go run around in fairytale land and sprinkle fairy dust on everything. And then, as soon as I was done with that, I took a shower and then I put on a pair of cowboy boots and I went and I rolled around in the mud for a while.
And it’s been great. It’s like you get to do a little bit of everything. Getting a chance to kind of hang up the purple costumes and put on the spurs has been really nice. I feel like it’s a good way to balance everything out.”
I can’t imagine what it has been like for Armie Hammer to work closely with both Clint Eastwood and Johnny Depp. We asked him if he had someone that he wanted to work with or a dream project that he’d love to do in the future.
“I would just love to work with people who are passionate about what they do,” he responded. “I feel like that’s very infectious. And I feel like when you’re working with somebody who loves what they’re doing, it never, ever, ever feels like work.”
Armie Hammer continued, “And I’ve just been very fortunate to get to work with people who are passionate. And I feel like I’m very passionate about this. It’s not only contagious, but it’s like an iron sharpening iron kind of thing. You work with talented, passionate people and you end up in projects where that rubs off. And it’s just been great. I feel very fortunate. I’ve gotten to work with really great people. After this, I am probably going to take a period where I slum it and just work with C list, at best, directors.”
And lest anyone think he was serious about slumming it after The Lone Ranger, he added, “And, by the way, that slumming comment, just so it’s not misinterpreted, was supposed to be very sarcastic.”
When asked how his wife enjoyed his cowboy character, he said, “There’s a lot of cowboy jokes going on more than anything. Underneath my fingernails will be filthy and she’ll ask, ‘Would you please stop pretending to be a cowboy and go take a shower?’ And I’ll say, ‘Baby, there were no showers out on the prairie. Out on the open range, you didn’t shower.’ And she’s like, ‘Get in the shower.’ It’s like, ‘All right.'”
About The Lone Ranger:
From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, comes Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “The Lone Ranger,” a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice – taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.
“The Lone Ranger” also stars Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson and Helena Bonham Carter.
I love this behind-the-scenes look into the movie:
What I thought of The Lone Ranger:
I was thoroughly entertained. The Lone Ranger is full of fast-paced adventure and I never knew exactly what was going to happen. According to fans of the original Lone Ranger story (I was chatting after the screening) this movie follows the Lone Ranger’s origin story fairly closely, minus a few changes (not a surprise). I love that the Lone Ranger is coming to my kids’ generation now.
Funny story–as we were leaving the theater, my 16 year old daughter commented that she loved how they used so much classical music in the movie. I laughed and told her that the song they were playing was actually the Lone Ranger Theme song – the last section of the William Tell Overture.
Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer made a hilarious duo; their very different personalities worked very well together. While this is not a movie full of jokes, there was plenty of humor, quite possibly because Johhny Depp as Tonto is so straight-faced throughout the film as well as the bantering back and forth between TOnto and the Lone Ranger, who don’t click right away.
One of my favorite lines from the movie is Tonto’s response to the Lone Ranger’s question, “What does Kemosabe mean, anyway?”
You’ll have to see the movie to learn Tonto’s hilarious answer.
I was also impressed with how REAL the film looked, which was made possible by the on-location filming. I love that the actors really did get as dirty as they looked in the movie.
Is The Lone Ranger kid-friendly?
Officially, The Lone Ranger is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, and some suggestive material. Obviously, by the simple fact that it’s rated PG-13, I would assume and hope that the youngest movie-going crowd would stay home for this one. However, as a parent of older kids and teens, I thought that it was a very family-friendly PG-13. I appreciated that there was little foul language, and the Wild-West-style action and violence was not offensive to my eyes. I watched the entire movie sitting next to my teenage daughter and didn’t feel uncomfortable.
However, for parents who are wondering if their kids are the right age for The Lone Ranger, here’s what you might want to be aware of: Butch Cavendish brutally murders off-camera (you see his hand reach down and then come back bloody. Even one of the “bad guy” characters is so disgusted by his actions that he vomits). Butch’s actions here were very different from the typical shoot-em-up cowboy scenes.
Another scene shows the inside of a brothel – The Lone Ranger and Tonto enter the brothel to find information and don’t engage in any risky business, but they do pass some questionable (but clothed) positions on the way upstairs.
My recommendation: Parents, see the movie first if you are unsure if your kids can handle the Western-style violence. I think this is most appropriate for older kids/teens and up.
Are you excited about the Lone Ranger heading to theaters this week?!
Like THE LONE RANGER on Facebook: facebook.com/theloneranger
Follow THE LONE RANGER on Twitter: @disneypictures
Visit THE LONE RANGER website: www.disney.com/theloneranger
THE LONE RANGER rides into theaters on July 3rd!
Photos and video courtesy of Disney.
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