“Lone Ranger” crew to film at Tsé Bit’Ai
By Cindy Yurth
Tséyi’ Bureau
SHIPROCK, July 10, 2012
Kee Long of the Navajo Nation Film office Tuesday confirmed that a set crew for the much anticipated Disney movie “The Lone Ranger,” starring Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp, has been “prepping” sites on the Shiprock for about two weeks now.
Monday, four or five men were visible constructing something out of wood on top of one of Tsé bit’ Ai’s wings.
The security guards at the site certainly weren’t talking.
When the Navajo Times pulled up and asked what was going on, a guard curtly said, “They’re building something up there,” which was pretty obvious. Asked what it was, he looked around at the other guards for a few seconds, then answered, “They’re fixing something.”
The guards would also not reveal who had hired them, only that they had “strict orders” not to let anybody take pictures or come near the site.
He then instructed an NT photographer not to take pictures and threatened to confiscate his camera, then had a security vehicle follow the reporter and photographer back to the road.
The construction on Shiprock was news to Shiprock Chapter Manager Loretta John.
“This is my first time hearing about this,” she said Tuesday. She said the crew of “The Lone Ranger” did have a permit to film around the Shiprock, but she didn’t know if that’s what was going on Monday.