Johnny Depp, Gore Verbinski, Armie Hammer And Jerry Bruckheimer Took Pay Cuts For Lone Ranger

After being on the verge of destruction for over a month, Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger, starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, is finally ready to saddle up and go. While the production was originally going to cost somewhere around $250 million - and include mystical elements like werewolves - executives at Disney made the filmmakers cut a large portion of the budget before letting the movie continue. But other than the lycans, which have since been cut completely, how else did they shrink the budget?

According to the trade, the "principal players," including Depp, Hammer, Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, have taken a salary cut of 20% and the production company behind the project, Bruckheimer Films, agreeing to pay the remainder should the movie go over budget. The report says that the film is now working with $215 million and the start date for production has been moved from this November to next February. While nothing is official, it's expected that this move will push back the scheduled December 21, 2012 release date. The news comes from inside sources, but when Disney was contacted for comment they refused.

The project, written by Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, is based on the classic radio show character, but is said to have a heavier focus on the sidekick, Tonto. In addition to Depp and Hammer, Tom Wilkinson and Ruth Wilson are also attached to star and it was previously reported that Helena Bonham Carter, Dwight Yoakam, Barry Pepper and James Badge Dale were in talks as well (though the newest report doesn't mention them).