 Pirates of the Caribbean Posters
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 Time for Cast and Crew to Return Home to Loved Ones Returning to The Bahamas in the second week of January 2006, the filming of “Dead Man's Chest” finally wrapped with the conclusion of Kraken attack sequences, and, ironically, shooting Captain Jack's introduction at the start of the film as one of the last scenes to be shot.
The weather on Grand Bahama had now cooled considerably, enough so that parkas had to be donned for night shooting. “We've been through every possible circumstance of weather,” said Johnny Depp at that juncture in the shoot. “When we started out down in St. Vincent and then on to Dominica, there was sweltering, intense heat and humidity. Now it's touching between 30 and 50 degrees at night. It's pretty strange. Also, we're still shooting scenes that we started a year ago.You've really got to keep all the dots connected at all times.” And although Verbinski and company remained until the end of February working on “Pirates III' sequences, “Dead Man's Chest”-almost exactly one year to the day filming had began in Burbank-was a wrap.
On that final day on location in the Caribbean, the company gathered in the catering tent in the Grand Bahama basecamp, and were addressed by Bruckheimer, Verbinski and their production team, which included some of the following salient details:
 The production's travel coordinator had booked over 10,000 one way tickets, not including charter flights.475 cell phones were distributed in Dominica.550 barrels had been built by set dressing.178 barrels of smoke had been used by the special effects department.Over 6,000 batteries were used by the sound department.At one time there were over 200 walkie-talkies being used on set by various departments.Between ship rigging, marine, set decoration and props, production used over 463,000 feet of rope…which translates into 87 miles!Between the first, second and element units, 335 miles of film had been shot…enough to stretch from Los Angeles to Sacramento.Catering served over 200,000 meals.Now it was time for cast and crew to return home to loved ones, and process a year's worth of memories. “It's been amazing at every level,” says Johnny Depp. “You become kind of like a weird gypsy family, a traveling circus.”
“Being away from family and friends for long periods of time can be difficult, but we have created our own kind of family environment, and there's a great atmosphere on set,” notes Orlando Bloom. “The hours can be long and the work is definitely challenging, but we all know what we're working on, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's quality entertainment, family fun, with a great story and plotline that everyone can enjoy. It doesn't take itself too seriously, which frees it up to everything that it wants to be as a movie, and more. I feel like I'm living many dreams, all at the same time, whether it's swinging from ropes, rolling in a bone cage, sliding down sails, or kissing a beautiful girl. The actual work that goes into it is really difficult, and it's made to look easy on camera. But it's so much fun doing it. I feel very lucky, because it's a great group of people, and there's a lot of thought and care that goes into the whole process of making this movie.
“I can't imagine it will ever be done like this again,” concludes Bloom. “It sort of feels like the end of an era in terms of making movies this way. And I think we all feel very lucky to be a part of it.”
“It was an adventure in the spirit of pirate movies themselves,” says assistant director Peter Kohn. “It's not like making the movie…it's like being in the movie, `livin' the ride' as one of our t-shirts says.”
“Audiences are going to get everything that anybody wants when they put their money down to enter a cinema,” says Bill Nighy. “Romance, adventure, thrills, danger, wonder. Things they've never laid eyes on before, worlds they've never visited before. It's really difficult to pull off an adventure movie that's authentic and satisfying, and at the same time make everybody laugh in the dark at regular intervals.”
“I've never been in anything as big as this,” notes Kevin R. McNally, “and you might worry that you could get lost in it all. But the great thing about Jerry's production, Gore's direction, and Ted and Terry's writing, is that what they're most interested in is character. So despite the gigantic sets, the visual effects, the spectacle, the real meat of the film is when we all get down, talk, plan, plot and just be pirates together. You don't get lost in the sea of organization and logistics.”
“I have a profound respect for Gore, and always have since the first instant we worked together on the first film,” says Johnny Depp of his “Pirates” director. “But on this one, watching what he's had to deal with on a daily basis is incredible. With the kind of pressure he's been working under, I've never seen him step outside or lose his composure, or his vision. He just sort of deals and fights his way out of that corner. It's pretty miraculous to witness. Gore is one of those directors where, as an actor, you could almost get away with not reading the script at all and just sort of trusting his knowledge of the material. He knows it that well.”
“Gore is a phenomenal director,” adds Orlando Bloom. “When I saw the first movie, I was blown away by how he had managed to maintain such incredible integrity with the story and the characters. Gore has a tremendous ability to motivate a crew, and has a spirit and youthful energy to attack whatever scene we're up against, no matter how complex it might be.”
Keira Knightley concurs with her fellow “Pirates” stars. “I don't know how Gore's brain can focus on so many different things at once, but it's very impressive. I think it's important that in a film like this, which is in the realm of fantasy and dreams, to actually have an emotional core that feels real. And that's what I think Gore does…he always makes it real.”
And all agreed, whether it was another go-round, or the first time, that there was nothing like being on the set of a Jerry Bruckheimer film. “The first film felt very intimate and got more and more grand as time went on,” says Depp. “This one is just totally, utterly Jerry Bruckheimer, which means that it's very grand but done with incredible taste. Jerry uses the best guys in the business, and it's impressive.”
“Jerry has a team of people around him who have the ability to tackle pretty much anything that's asked of by Gore and the screenwriters,” adds Orlando Bloom. “There's always a sense of `how can we be better?' that's part of Jerry's attitude toward life and moviemaking: that there's nothing you can't do. It's a courageous way to make films, fearless and sometimes a little overwhelming.”
“I've done three films with Jerry now,” says Keira Knightley, “and it's just amazing. They're really, really big! The scale of these movies are just huge. Jerry has created an entire pirate world, and we're all part of it. It's fantastic.”
“Jerry Bruckheimer is one of a kind,” adds Lee Arenberg. “He's truly an impresario, because he gives you the tools to do what you need to do. His focus is super-strong, he has a gold thumb and hires great people to work for him. I think that's a true sign of power, giving the trust and respect to the team.”
“You can't drift through a Jerry Bruckheimer movie,” adds Kevin R. McNally. “You can't come to work half-cocked. You see everybody around you up to their full game, and it's really inspiring. He's very hands-on, and you know that everything is up to 110 percent.”
“Jerry's strength is that he has no weakness,” says Bruce Hendricks. “He really understands audience's tastes, and makes sure that a movie like this is accessible to young and old viewers alike.”
But the work was far from over…a hiatus from the filming of “Pirates of the Caribbean III” was required so that Bruckheimer and Verbinski could begin dealing with the myriad post-production elements, leaping into the cutting room with film editors Craig Wood and Stephen Rivkin as well as dealing with visual effects, sound effects, music scoring and a thousand other details required for completing “Dead Man's Chest” in time for its July 7th opening. Walt Disney Imagineering got to work on revising the “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction, scheduled to re-open in concert with the new film's premiere. Explains Jerry Bruckheimer, “They're adding some of our iconic characters to the ride, which will be thrilling for us to go through and see characters that we created now become part of the Disney world.”
And, oh yes…following the theatrical opening of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,” Bruckheimer, Verbinski and their company of latter-day buccaneers would once again raise the Jolly Roger high and head back onto sets, soundstages and high seas to complete work on the tentatively titled “Pirates of the Caribbean III.”
The Black Pearl will sail again…and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” odyssey continues!
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