15h 40min, apr 17, 2013 y - DEADLINE CinemaCon: Johnny Depp Lone Ranger Footage

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Alan Horn today made his CinemaCon debut in his new capacity as Chairman of Walt Disney Studios hosting a long three hour presentation that was a slide show highlighting the studio’s entire slate for the next two years. It included Johnny Depp and a first look at 20 minutes of new footage plus a trailer premiere from Disney’s expensive summer western The Lone Ranger.

Disney opened the presentation with a very well produced sizzle reel which had brief snippets not only from the 2013 live action slate but beyond. Adding a touch of starpower to the proceedings, Disney trotted out Lone Ranger’ stars Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer who were brought on by director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The actors did little more than wave to the crowd and only Depp managed to say how tall he thinks Hammer is. The two stars stood apart from each other on stage, probably so Hammer wasn’t towering over Depp who rides tall in this film and has clearly elevated sidekick Tonto to the star spot in the classic tale. Among the footage shown was the infamous train sequence which helped cause the pic’s much publicized budget problems before rolling. Cut down from a reported $250 million to a reported $215 million, this film is still an expensive gamble for the studio. But judging from the results, the decision not to stint appeared worth it among the theatre owners who were clearly into it. Other scenes were the duo’s first meeting and Lone Ranger’s personal life. But when Depp is on screen in a wild reinvention of Tonto, it all works. The action-filled trailer debut drew strong and enthusiastic applause.

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