Tonto and the Lone Ranger Ride the Rails!
Wikipedia tell us that:
“The Lone Ranger is a 2013 American action western film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. It relates Tonto’s memories of the duo’s earliest efforts to subdue the immoral actions of the corrupt and bring justice in the American Old West. It is the first theatrical film featuring the Lone Ranger and Tonto characters in more than 32 years. Filming was plagued with production problems and budgetary concerns, which at one point led to the film’s premature cancellation. It was a commercial failure, grossing $260 million worldwide against an estimated $225 million production budget plus an additional $150 million marketing budget. Despite such tepid reception, the film was recognized for its production merits in visual effects and makeup.”
This movie includes a lot of action around a railway and its trains. What is really interesting about this movie is that the producers decided to:
- NOT use an existing preserved tourist railway for the train scenes
- MINIMIZE the use of Computer Generated Graphics (CGI)
Instead they built a full size 5 mile railway loop in the desert as their stage.
They also wanted some of the railway scenes to be in more scenic settings than an empty desert. Their solution to that challenge is really innovative but we will let you watch the 10 minute “behind the scenes” video (above) to see how they accomplished that!
A very professionally produced fascinating video worth watching!
Posting by Russ Milland