The Lone Ranger Trailer

[fallensaviour]

Lets face facts without Depp slated to play the "lead" (because he is the main star here and we know it) The film would not have been made.
Fact is Depp has a large fan base draws a huge crowd and sells seats.
No Depp no film period.
I also had heard he wanted to bring Tonto to the forefront and not have him be the backup to the ranger.

I know I am looking forward to his portrayal of the character,only time will tell if he is a good Tonto.
My father is 50% native American/first nation is that enough?
I know he is pretty pumped about jack sparrow playing Tonto so it can't be that bad.
It obvious Depp is no Jay silverheels but hey,they can't all be Canadian...
That's right I'm more upset they didn't get a canadian to play Tonto...

[Hector]

Well, if you're going to split hairs, Christian Bale is Welsh and played the American Batman. Hugh Jackman is Australian and played Canadian Wolverine. Heath Leger is also Australian and played the Joker. Catherine Zeta-Jones is Welsh and played the Spanish-American female lead in the Zorro films. I never heard anyone complain about these castings.

I myself would have preferred a Native American play Tonto, as Jay Silverheels and the guy from the 80s movie did...but I'm willing to give Depp a chance. The actors above made me totally forget their backgrounds didn't match their characters.

Chris

Yeah, but all those before-mentioned are European or people of European decent.

Would you mind if a Black man played Abraham Lincoln?

If a Mexican played Superman?

If an Asian played Queen Elizabeth the First?

Not too long ago, there was discussion of a new Spidey comic were Peter Parker/Spider-Man was going to be Puerto Rican, and some were up in arms over that one.

...and that is exactly my point.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^No. But that's why I framed it with splitting hairs. And I do wish they'd cast a Native American as Tonto...but they didn't. So now we'll just have to see how he does.

Oh, and Dean Cain is part Asian-American, and he played Superman, so that's as close as we've gotten on that one yet. Henry Cavill is English, though. I forgot about him, but the jury's still out.

Chris

[Hector]

Oh, and Dean Cain is part Asian-American, and he played Superman

...and that's why he sucked...

[Mikey]

Shatner is a Canadian playing a Iowa farmboy

Damn Canadians took R jobs !!!!!!

m

[Hector]

[fallensaviour]

Shatner is a Canadian playing a Iowa farmboy

Damn Canadians took R jobs !!!!!!

m

[sprytel]

Shatner is a Canadian playing a Iowa farmboy

Damn Canadians took R jobs !!!!!!

m

Worse yet, I heard a rumor that Nimoy wasn't even Vulcan...

[MIB41]

That's pretty much how I am too with some distant ancestor if I trace my linage back far enough and yet I've never once thought of myself as Native American.

See this is the thing when Johnny Depp is in a movie nowadays, the film becomes more about him then the content. Instead of talking about the actual trailer (isn't the movie based on like the entire premise of Hell On Wheels) or the fact that the Ranger isn't wearing his traditional dudes (Batman has a different costume in every incarnation) all the attention is really on Johnny Depp. I used to like him and to an extent I still do but in the case with art and music and acting, less is more. You gotta create a demand for what you have to offer and although I'll see the movie, he's like a band that puts out too many album in a year (I'm looking at you Ryan Adams). Eventually your gonna get tired of all the output and not focus on the music they're making but just the fact that they're making a whole lot of music and while some of it may be good, there's just too much of it out there for all of it too be good and that's kind of where Depp is now when it comes to him in a film. Instead of "oh wow, Johnny Depp is in this, it's ph look here's Johnny Depp playing another off colored character." We've seen this before (just a few months ago with Dark Shadows) and it get's old. GO do a Gilbert Grape or a Benny and June and then come back to the crazy because with the exception of maybe one movie, the last decade or so it's been all Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and no Edward Sicccorhands.

I don't think Depp has saturated the marketplace in films so much as he's a victim of his own success. A successful actor is going to have a full plate of projects. And like anything, the material will be varied and greeted with both praise and ridicule. But these days Deep is best known for his character Jack Sparrow because those films have been so incredibly successful and keep his name out there for an extended period of time. But he's also not a one trick pony. For every failure like "The Tourist" or "Dark Shadows", he has mega success with "Alice", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" or "Sleepy Hollow". But if you look at his body of work, he can have long strings of lesser made films that don't get noticed. But those don't stop others from being huge successes either. He's always creating new characters that, while eccentric, all come from a different origin. And honestly if it wasn't for his recurring role as Jack Sparrow, I don't think we would be having this conversation. I think some people make the mistake of associating his success (and ability) from that one role which I think is a disservice, since he had plenty of success before Pirates. I respect the fact he continues to be creative and not fall into a formula to mimic Sparrow. He has never played it "safe". He sees something creative or original, he runs towards it. And because of that, I don't see his association with the Lone Ranger being anything other than an indication the film has something refreshing to offer. I don't think he has any interest in applying a Sparrow-like performance to the Tonto character either. I think he's smarter than that as an actor and talks like he understands the character's relevance in cultural circles. The trailer certainly suggests a more cutting edge interpretation than what people were fearing. So I'm confident he will not bring any shame to the portrayal. And whether he has enough Indian "blood" in him is really a moot point. Marlon Brando was an American with German/Dutch descent. Yet no one questioned his ability to be an Italian mobster. Go figure...

[Mikey]

I think Depp SUPER saturated the marketplace in films.

His only redemption is people like him (both men and woman).

If it was anybody else he would have been drummed out of the movie industy by now (see Jim Carrey) --- and shortly Wil Farrell

[Werewolf]

I'm with Hector on this. They should have gone with a Native actor. It's not splitting hairs and it's not even comparable, joking or not, to Nimoy not being a Vulcan. You know, Hollywood has historically not been exactly kind to Native characters. They were portrayed as savage animals or idiots speaking in broken english and jibberish by caucasian actors painted red. This didn't really start improving until Dances with Wolves came out.

[Mikey]

Not true, as far back as the 50's and 60's Michael Ansara (Lebonese) and Ricardo (Mexican) always portayed American Indians in a good light.... Both actors played Indians MANY times

Even F-Troop made Indians look "cool" compared to union soldiers

[Hector]

No one beats Nicholas Cage...he is the KING of taking ANY damn bloody role (no matter how horrid the script)...lol.

[MIB41]

I hope no one brings up the classic'33 Kong and all of those 'authentic' tribesmen.

[Werewolf]

Not true, as far back as the 50's and 60's Michael Ansara (Lebonese) and Ricardo (Mexican) always portayed American Indians in a good light.... Both actors played Indians MANY times

Even F-Troop made Indians look "cool" compared to union soldiers

I didn't say there weren't any portrayals that were were more sympathetic previous to DWW. The bad far out numbered the good. DWW seemed to be the turning point where Hollywood and popular culture finally "got it" and the negative mindless savage portrayals finally disappeared and you began to see many more Native actors in Native roles.

F-Troop, umm... that show makes me wince.