The producers of Johnny Depp's upcoming Western The Lone Ranger are donating proceeds from the film's Los Angeles premiere to the American Indian College Fund (Aicf).

The adventure epic, in which Depp stars as Tonto, the Lone Ranger's Native American sidekick, was filmed on Indian land and featured Comanche tribe leaders as consultants, who assisted script supervisors and set designers.

And to honour the project's heavy Native American links, studio executives at Walt Disney Pictures are showing their appreciation and thanks by opening the film's first screening to the public in an effort to raise funds for the Aicf.

Film fans can purchase tickets to the event for $1,000 (Gbp645), all of which will be used to help organisation officials provide scholarships to Native American Indian students.

The premiere is set to take place at the California Adventure Park in Anaheim on 22 June (13).