July 9, 2013 (Tuesday)
Every day it started with the “William Tell Overture” and the voice of Fred Foy, saying: “A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty Hi-Yo Silver! The Lone Ran-ger…With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early western United States. Nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again!”
That’s what I heard over the radio when I was a boy. For sixteen years the Lone Ranger and Tonto went into homes of kids over the radio. Then on TV for twelve years. My, what a popular show.
Recently Disney has made a gigantic super-colossal action movie about The Lone Ranger. The producers believed it would do well, and spent $250 million on its production. Last week it made its debut around the world and brought in less than $50 million. Predictions are that it will bring in $100 million when all is said and done. What a disappointment. And for somebody, what a financial loss.
I’m wondering why it has not done well. It features Johnny Depp, normally a sure-fire ticket seller. It capitalizes on the name of a famous fictitious celebrity and successful shows of the past. But perhaps the professional critics’ bad reviews have done it in. I don’t know. I do know that the advance reviews were bad.
Why should the critics’ opinions matter so much? They are just people with an opinion–no more, no less. Experts? How could that be? The true experts are the people who buy the tickets and see the performances. The real professionals are the hundreds of people it takes to produce a movie, stage production, etc. Critics are parasites whose opinions should be ignored.
So to my friend, The Lone Ranger, I just want to say, “Thank you for brightening the life of a lonely city kid so many years ago. I don’t know what they’ve done to you in the latest movie, but your example, along with the other heroes of radio days, helped the kids of that era to aim high for excellence in their lives.”