Back in 2013, Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp joined forces in Disney’s infamous Western epic The Lone Ranger. Considering Depp was coming off the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean flicks, which pushed him to new heights, Disney wanted him to headline another major franchise.
However, the House of Mouse’s attempt to make The Lone Ranger a franchise Kickstarter fell face-first, as it became a historic box-office bomb. But despite the movie’s misfortune at the box office, it seems the two leads got along with each other pretty well, as Hammer got to know the real Depp.
Johnny Depp Isn’t Like What Most People Imagine
Johnny Depp lives a pretty extravagant lifestyle, which even Armie Hammer once acknowledged, as he said, Depp “lives on like an entirely other planet”. Moreover, his eccentric roles have cemented the perception of him being a quirky guy off-set among fans, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. In another interview, Hammer revealed that the actor is pretty normal opposed to popular belief.
Considering the duo spent a considerable amount of time together in the desert following the filming of The Lone Ranger, there was nothing much to do except “play guitar, tell stories and tell jokes”. But the seven months they spent in the desert helped Armie Hammer to learn about the real Johnny Depp, stressing (via Rolling Stone) that one can talk to him about anything.
He’s not what you would imagine Johnny Depp would be like. He’s just what you’d imagine the coolest dude you know would be like. He’s just got a terrific finger on the pulse of everything, you know, whether it’s pop culture or literature, music, art – I mean, real estate . . . You can really talk to the guy about anything,
Although the two bonded over the course of The Lone Ranger‘s filming, the movie itself failed to make it big, as opposed to its $215M budget, it only made around $260M. Following this poor box-office reception, it was estimated to lose Disney about $190M.
Quentin Tarantino Is One of The Lone Ranger’s Biggest Defenders
While The Lone Ranger was widely criticized upon its release, especially for Depp’s casting in a Native American role, it did succeed in leaving a lasting impression on Quentin Tarantino. The Pulp Fiction director defended the film and even deemed the Western among his top films of 2013.
In his analysis of it, the director explained that apart from the film’s middle section, which comes off as “little soporific”, the rest was incredible.
Speaking with the French Outlet Les Inrockuptibles (via The Playlist), he said:
The first forty-five minutes are excellent…the next forty-five minutes are a little soporific. It was a bad idea to split the bad guys in two groups; it takes hours to explain and nobody cares. Then comes the train scene—incredible! When I saw it, I kept thinking, ‘What, that’s the film that everybody says is crap? Seriously?
Following the filmmaker’s viewpoint on it, it’s evident that the Western epic had some serious potential behind it, and it’s a shame it didn’t live up to it.
The Lone Ranger is available to stream on Disney Plus.
