Box-Office: Pirates Rides Smaller ‘Tides’

Filed under Pirates Box Office Results, Pirates Facts by on May 23, 2011 at 12:01 am {no comments}

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger TidesPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides swooped in with the top-grossing weekend of the year so far. The supernatural swashbuckler claimed an estimated $90.1 million at 4,155 locations, edging out Fast Five’s $86.2 million launch. That was also the 12th highest-grossing May opening ever, but, since close to half of On Stranger Tides’ gross was from 3D presentations at a record 2,747 locations (and due to today’s general ticket prices), its estimated attendance level would rank 27th.

Relative to its predecessors, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sank: At World’s End drew $114.7 million on its first weekend in May 2007 (not including $13.2 million in Thursday night previews), while Dead Man’s Chest raked in a then-record $135.6 million opening weekend back in July 2006. Adjusted for ticket price inflation, those grosses would be the equivalent of $131 million and $163 million, respectively. Since the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie was the franchise establisher, its early grosses were in a lower league, though still bustling ($70.6 million in its five-day launch, or $92 million adjusted). On Stranger Tides’s start was also less than that of the last Johnny Depp spectacle Alice in Wonderland, which began with $116.1 million.

On the plus side, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ opening held better relative to its predecessor than Shrek Forever After’s did on the same weekend last year. On Stranger Tides was always destined to debut lower than At World’s End and Dead Man’s Chest, given the mixed reaction to those movies and how the audience lost interest with At World’s End. Sealing the deal was On Stranger Tides’ lower key approach: it came off as just another Pirates movie in its marketing and lacked stand-out visual and character moments. Distributor Walt Disney Pictures’ exit polling indicated that 54 percent of On Stranger Tides’ audience was male and 54 percent was over 25 years old (the age 26-34 group was most represented at 24 percent, followed by 18-25 with 22 percent).

Jerry Bruckheimer Talks

Filed under Interviews by on April 27, 2011 at 4:10 am {no comments}

Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley

The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy represents the very essence of why legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer makes moves.

“I love Pirates because there are very few films you can take your children to and you can all enjoy the experience. It is rare,” he says. “And, you know, I have made enough money, I don’t have to do this anymore. But I do it to entertain people and a movie like this really entertains people on a global basis and that is a real thrill.”

When the first Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was released in 2003 it was a critical and box office triumph. Now Bruckheimer has re-untied his team – director Gore Verbinski, cast Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom and indeed crew – to make Pirates 2, Dead Man’s Chest, and Pirates 3, virtually back to back.

“If that had not all come together – same director, same cast and crew,” he reflects. “I don’t think we would be here right now.”

Bruckheimer reveals that he was thinking of a sequel when the first Pirates was being filmed – long before, of course, it become a box office phenomenon. At that time, a skeptical media was casting doubts on the commercial chances of a film based on a theme park ride. How wrong they were.

“And it wasn’t until the picture started making steam that we got the studio to say “Yeah, let’s go! Start writing another one!” Johnny loves the character and he’ll tell you that and he was excited about coming back.”

Bruckheimer isn’t gloating – his remarkable track record speaks for itself – just delighted that a project he clearly adores is back with a massive fan base anxious to discover what happens to lovable rogue Jack Sparrow (Depp) and young lovers Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) and Will Turner (Bloom).

“The anticipation for the movie is very high,” he says. “We feel that there is real want and need to see a continuation and since we have created what we consider a full story between the three movies – because everything that you will see in the second and third movie really relate to the first – it’s created a real arc and a real trilogy for the three films.”

Indeed, such is Bruckheimer’s enthusiasm for the project he would quite happily make a further three films. He certainly wants the ships used in the movies, The Black Pearl – pirate Jack Sparrow’s ship – and The Flying Dutchman, to be kept shipshape and Bristol fashion just in case.

“Hopefully, we’ll make more,” he says. “Hopefully Disney will save these ships, unlike last time, and save the sets and we can continue another trilogy – another three films. I would love to do that but it’s not my money.

“Johnny loves the character and he’d love to play it. He has a fan base at home; his two kids love it. So that’s a good start.”

Bruckheimer, 60, is one of the most successful producers in Hollywood. Born in Detroit, Michigan, he started his career producing television commercials before moving on to films with his partner, the late Don Simpson.

His list of credits is truly remarkable – ranging from American Gigolo, Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, Bad Boys, Crimson Tide, Con Air and Armageddon amongst many others, in the seventies, eighties and nineties. More recently, he has produced Gone In Sixty Seconds, Pearl Harbour, King Arthur and Glory Road.

This interview was conducted on set at the Universal Studios biggest sound stage.

Was it a risk to make these movies back to back?

It’s made around $600m in revenue, just in theatrical revenue not counting DVDs and all the other stuff, so it’s a pretty good bet. Especially if you can get the same writers back, the same directors, the same director and the same cast and had that not all come together I don’t think we would be here right now.

Did everyone commit to the project straight away? When did you decide to make two and three?

We were thinking about it while we were making the first one but the studio wasn’t. Then the press was slamming us for making a movie about a theme park ride that involved pirates because pirates were a dead issue at the box office – at least in the past. And it wasn’t until the picture started making steam that we got the studio to say “Yeah, let’s go! Start writing another one!” And Johnny loves the character and he’ll tell you that and he was excited about coming back.

You actually do have a bit of a break in between two and three. There was the two month hiatus and then in early 2006 Gore will have to go off and finish editing number two. What was the thinking behind that?

Well, first of all Gore needed time to edit the movie so he needed the two months to cut the two together and then jump to three and you don’t want the audience to over dose on it too, give them too much, so we thought the year apart was good as far as generating more interest. Plus, you have the DVD coming out and revitalising two, before three comes out. So it was a good plan from a business point of view

It must be an added bonus that both Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley have become bigger stars since the first movie?

Yeah, it’s great. The anticipation for the movie is very high. We feel that there is real want and need to see a continuation and since we have created what we consider a full story between the three movies -because everything that you will see in the second and third movie really relate to the first – it’s created a real arc and a real trilogy for the three films.

Is there more pressure after having so much success with the first one?

I feel pressure on every project even the tiny ones. I feel pressure every time I take somebody else’s money and try to get a good return on it. So sure.

You’ve worked on so many different movies- big scale, small scale. How does this compare? Is this the biggest so far?

Yeah I think it is the biggest undertaking that I have ever done. I’m doing two movies back to back plus all of the other things, ten television series and there are two other movies that we are currently working on. This is a big chunk of my time, let’s put it that way.

Q: The first film was a great surprise and no one knew what to expect. But now we kind of know what Johnny’s performance is going to be like. How do you conquer that and still make it surprising?

Well it’s all about story telling. It’s all about really good story telling. We have a new character, we have a number of new characters and we have a creature. It is a bigger, funnier, more exciting script. You don’t know how the movie is going to turn out but I know the script is wonderful and the dailies and cut footage I’ve seen seem terrific. I don’t make the decisions about what you spend money on when you go the theatre, you do,. So whether you’re going to spend your six or ten bucks to go and see Pirates, I don’t know. But I hope you will.

How much input did you have in the scripts?

Well it `s a team; Gore, the writers, myself, my group of executives all work on it together. It’s certainly a vision by the writers and by Gore. The writers came up with the ideas and the new characters for the second and third films then Gore certainly worked on it and embellished it as did our company. It’s a team. But it’s the writers who are the driving force creatively, along with Gore…

Whose decision was it to cast Chow Yun-Fat in the third film?

I think it was a combination of Gore and myself and the writers. He’s just a wonderful actor and he is a real gentleman .I’m thrilled to be able to work with him.

Is the Asian element in the third part an attempt on your part to tap into the huge Asian audience?

Well we had a huge Asian audience for the first one . It did really well out there and we kind of wanted to give them something too. Why not? We really did well in Japan, Hong Kong and all those markets.

The first Pirates introduced Johnny Depp to a much wider audience…

Yeah, sure, Disney made a PG13 movie for the first time and parents thought �Well, it’s a Disney label, maybe my 10 year old can see it.’ Before most of Johnny’s pictures were R rated, or wonderful artistic endeavours, that were not big crowd pullers. But, suddenly kids knew who Johnny was. And we’ve got kids now who want to be Johnny Depp ; 8 year olds running around in pirate hats and swords. Pirate costumes are the most bought costumes now.

Is there going to be a whole lot of merchandise to go with the film?

I hope so because there wasn’t much on the first one. It caught Disney by surprise.

Is the script now driven by something that you can merchandise?

I don’t think we look at it that way, but I think we’ll probably take advantage of everything we have in there in terms of merchandising it. For example, we have a dice game that’s a lot of fun and hopefully we’ll get some company who can do the same dice game. It shows up in the Pirates Two.

Why have you employed so many British actors?

A number of reasons. One they’re really good. I like good actors and they are very talented and this kind movie really lends itself to that. An American accent probably wouldn’t work too well in this movie. So I think it is that old fashion kind of English drawl that they have. It is perfect for a pirate movie.

Do you have to pay your professional cast a little bit more than in the first part?

Yeah, you are absolutely right (laughs)

What are the advantages of a sequel?

For a studio it gives them confidence that there is an audience that is pre-sold. So, if you liked the first one, chances are that you’ll sample the second.

What is the key to controlling a film like this?

Nothing is ever under control. I’m not under control. I can’t control my wife! (laughter) Let alone anything else.

But it’s a big movie?

Yes, as a movie it’s got a lot of moving parts and it is doing quite well. Some parts break down and you fix them. But as, as a movie of this size it’s as good as you can imagine. You don’t know because tomorrow something could happen that you just hope doesn’t happen. I was getting ready to make a movie in New Orleans, and we were supposed to start last October, obviously we didn’t g at that time. So you never know what can happen on a film. But it all comes down to the director and we have a wonderful director and he is very prepared. He knows what he wants to do and most of his big action sequences are pre planned. He’s got IOM working with him and they’re wonderful. So for this size, it is going quite well.

What parts have broken down on Pirates?

Every day something breaks down. I don’t think any major parts. We had a storm in the Caribbean. We built this tank and the depth was down to 25ft and the sand came in and we had to re dig it and put a retaining wall in. But things like that happen on a daily basis: a ship won’t be ready on time, an actor gets sick. We had an actor get sick and he couldn’t fly from England. Those things happen. But it is just part of it being a big movie. I don’t see that as a detriment,. When you have been doing it as long as I have, you just see it as daily events.

What can you tell us about the story? What’s the overview?

Well basically the overview is that the East India Trading Company, which you sort of met in the first movie, has come to Port Royal to take over the seas and make the seas free of pirates and the first thing they do is arrest everybody associated with letting Johnny go and so that’s the beginning. And this character, Beckett is the major villain in the piece. He is trying to get rid of all the pirates. It is kind of like Wal-Mart eating up all the independents you know, so he wants to get rid of all the privateers. And then Johnny made a deal in order to get the Black Pearl before the first movie started, with Davy Jones, the legendary character who lives under the sea. They agreed Johnny could have the Black Pearl for 10 years but then he owed his soul to Davy Jones. And now it’s 10 years and Davy Jones has come back to claim Johnny, and Johnny doesn’t want to go. So he has got to figure out a deal to get him away from Davy Jones. And Davy Jones, because he can’t find Johnny, sends this creature. He’s been living under the sea forever and all his tentacles move and he smokes a pipe. (Played by Bill Nighy).

And how often have you sat down with Keith Richards to discuss him appearing in Pirates 3?

I never have. Johnny has, not me.

Are you still hopeful that it`ll happen?

Well, we’ve got some schedule problems with his tour, so we’ll see.

Does the ending of two leave you having to see three, or is it kind of completed?

I think there is an emotional ending to it. But then there’s something else that happens. It will certainly make you want to come back.

Could you translate this to TV?

You could do anything but hopefully we’ll make more. Hopefully Disney will save these ships, unlike last time, and save the sets and we can continue another trilogy. Another three films. I would love to do that but it’s not my money.

And Johnny has already indicated as well that he would do more…

Yeah, he loves the character and he’d love to play it. He has a fan base at home; his two kids love it. So, that’s a good start.

And so once the third part is over there’s a consideration of doing a 4th and 5th?

Yeah I would love to. But I don’t write the cheques.

You’ve made a lot of films, what is it that you love so much about Pirates?

I love Pirates there are very few films you can take your children to and you can all enjoy the experience. it is rare. Normally we dumb down things for kids and you are sitting there thinking, “I can’t wait to get out of here.” You’re thinking about everything but the movie and something like this comes along and you just get such a broad audience and it is not just a movie here for Americans, it’s bigger elsewhere in the world. And it’s the reason I do this. I have made enough money, I don’t have to do this anymore. But I do it to entertain people and a movie like this really entertains people on a global basis and that is a real thrill to be able to do this – take people away from their lives for a couple of hours and make them feel good, make them feel something. Let them watch something that engages them, where they like the characters and they want to be with the characters and that is a lot of fun.

Are there plans to modify the actual rides in Disneyland?

I know they are doing some alterations to the ride that I think will be open around the time of the movie at least in California, and maybe in Florida, too. I don’t know about the rest of them, but I know they are making some alterations.

Are you on set much yourself?

I try to come by here once a day. But I have so many other responsibilities too. And when they’re out of town I try to go out for a week and then come back for a week. But I do love being with the actors, it’s just that we have so many other things.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Sorting Fact From Fiction

Filed under Pirates Facts by on April 27, 2011 at 3:41 am {no comments}

Pirates of the Caribbean: Sorting Fact From Fiction

He may be, depending on your point of view, the best or worst pirate in history, but there’s no doubt that he’s also the most entertaining (and most fashionable).

Yes, Johnny Depp is back for another turn as Captain Jack Sparrow in the soon-to-be-released Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, the second installment (of three) in the rollicking adventures of the dandy, rum-loving pirate and his unlikely allies, the idealistic Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and feisty Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley).

What better time then to have a look at the fact behind the fiction and find out if Hollywood’s most dashing pirate could really have cut it on the high seas?

Did the pirates of history wear earrings and make their victims walk the plank?

Did they really obey the pirate code (more a set of guidelines) that played such a key part in the plot of the first Pirates film, The Curse of the Black Pearl?

Peter Twist, an expert on 18th century history and the historical and technical adviser on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, answered our questions about the pirates of history, their Hollywood counterparts, and the difference between the two.

Honor among thieves

Pirates may be notorious for being bloodthirsty and lawless, but, like Captain Jack and Captain Barbossa in The Curse of the Black Pearl, they still lived life aboard ship according to a strict set of codes. Before setting sail, crews often signed a contract establishing the division of booty and compensation for injuries sustained in combat (800 Pieces of Eight for the loss of a limb). Unlike the regular navy, pirate ships often elected their captains (and replaced them mid-voyage if they fell from favour).

Punishments were clearly defined and harsh: smoking in the hold without a cover on your pipe could get you forty lashes; for planning to desert his ship a pirate could expect to be marooned on a small island with one flask of water, a bottle of rum, one gun and one bullet. Says Peter Twist: “The captain and crew were more or less equal to one another. The code, which would vary from ship to ship, would cover everything from dividing up the treasure, sort of like today’s profit-sharing schemes, to general standards of behavior. Some ships were quite puritanical: no gambling, no drinking, etc, etc.”

The Skull and Crossbones

“Pirate flags in general were either red or black,” says Twist, “and they play a significant role in Dead Man’s Chest. “Pirates really did fly the traditional Skull and Crossbones too (as does the Black Pearl) although there were many variations on the best-known pirate flag and its origins are unclear. “The death’s head or skeletons or the devil were very common images on flags,” says Twist. “Basically anything that would let intended victims know that something bad would happen to them if they resisted.” When they weren’t flying the Skull and Crossbones, pirates weren’t averse to flying the Union Jack or French or Spanish flags to suggest friendly intentions as they approached their prey.

Buried Treasure

“The real-life Captain Kidd famously buried treasure when he knew he was going to be tried as a pirate,” says Twist. “But basically pirates would spend their money as they got it by going into the nearest port and drinking it all away. Typical pirates weren’t usually lucky enough to get their hands on much gold or silver either. They’d take any ship that they happened to come across and it might be carrying some less glamorous cargo, like food supplies for example, so they’d just take what they could.” Between groceries and buried treasure however, Hollywood has usually gone for the buried treasure. As for the final resting place of Captain Kidd’s loot, it’s still to be found.

Pirate Fashion

Just like Captain Jack, real-life pirates and sailors did wear earrings, though not just to look dashing. Back in the 17th and 18th centuries it was generally believed that piercing the ears with silver and gold improved one’s eyesight (oddly enough contemporary scientific studies — and acupuncturists — have suggested there may be some truth to the idea). “As for their clothes, pirates wore what they could get their hands on, “Twist explains. “If there was a high-born person onboard a ship they captured they’d just help themselves to their clothes. So if they were somewhat extravagant dressers, like Captain Jack, they’d have plenty of opportunities. There was a real-life pirate called Bartholomew Roberts who was renowned for his fine clothes.”

Hooks and peg legs

There aren’t any hooks or peg legs in Pirates of the Caribbean,” says Twist, “but usually Hollywood can’t resist them.” The idea of pirates using hooks to replace missing hands became a stereotype after the success of the fictional Peter Pan, while pirates with peg legs were popularized by Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island. The majority of real-life pirates who lost hands or legs in combat probably died of a subsequent infection (pirate ships didn’t have doctors). The survivors were often put to work in the ship’s kitchen. “People with missing limbs wouldn’t have been much use in combat,” Twist explains. Meanwhile, fans of Johnny Depp will remember that he played Captain Hook (and his creator James Barrie) in the hit film Finding Neverland.

Keeping Clean

Pirates would bathe in seawater,” Twist explains, “but they certainly weren’t what we’d call clean by today’s standards.” Fresh water was a luxury on a ship and wouldn’t have been used for washing. There were generally no toilets onboard either (just a hole in a plank). The dirty water that sloshed around at the bottom of a ship (the bilges) gave off the odour of rotting fish and the livestock kept onboard didn’t help matters either.

Parrots on the Shoulder

Pets were popular on ships but it had to be something that wouldn’t need too much care or food, “ Twist says. “Barbossa’s monkey and the parrot who talks for the mute in The Curse of the Black Pearl would live on table scraps, so are probably quite typical. “ Still, a parrot on the shoulder would be a little messy and during lean times at sea a parrot might well substitute for a chicken in the cooking pot. More common and unwanted shipboard companions were rats, fleas and poisonous spiders.

Food

As Twist explained, being cook on board a pirate ship was a lowly position often given to a crew member no longer fit to fight. The reluctant chef didn’t have many ingredients to work with either: usually hard crackers made of flour and water and some dried or salted meat. Cattle, sheep, chicken and pigs would be brought on board at the start of journeys to provide some fresh meat, as would fresh vegetables, but, as Twist points out, they wouldn’t last for the length of an entire voyage.

Drink

Surprisingly enough, tea and coffee were drunk aboard pirate ships, but, like Captain Jack, pirates generally preferred rum. “Welcome to the Caribbean, love,” says Jack in the first film, proffering a bottle of rum to Keira Knightley. Small amounts of rum, or other spirits, were often added to the stale and filthy water on board ship to take away the taste. A large amount of rum was an antidote to boredom and the tough conditions of the pirate’s life. “One famously unsuccessful pirate captain, Jack Rackham, was actually captured because his crew was too drunk to fight,” Twist says. Bartholomew Roberts, the famous teetotaler pirate, was definitely the exception to the rule.

Walking the Plank

Walking the plank – as Elizabeth and Jack do in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – was probably not as common a form of punishment among real-life pirates as it is in Hollywood. On the whole pirates probably preferred the swifter and simpler method of the “heave to” — simply tossing their unfortunate victims overboard – or came up with things much grislier than walking the plank. “Often pirates would consult with the crews of the ships they captured and if the captain had a reputation for being brutal, they’d come up with some truly nasty punishment for him,” Twist explains.

Pirate terms

Whether a real life pirate ever said, “Shiver me timbers” is unclear (it’s the parrot’s line in The Curse of the Black Pearl). But like all sailors of the time, Twist explains, they did call non-seafaring folk “landlubbers”; they did “swab” (clean) the deck and drink “grog” (rum mixed with water). “Davy Jones” was sailor slang for the evil spirits that lurked in the sea. “Davy Jones’ Locker” was the ocean floor. To be “sent to Davy’s Locker” was to die at sea. To “send someone to Davy Jones” was to kill them. To “awaken Davy Jones” was to cause a storm. In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Davy Jones is an actual character (played by Bill Nighy).

Getting Caught

“Virtually all pirates that were caught were hung,” Twist explains. British maritime law ranked piracy, along with desertion and mutiny, as the most serious crime a sailor could commit. A condemned pirate was to be hanged within ten days of being found guilty, the only hope of a reprieve being snitching on one’s former crew members, convincing a judge you had been forced into piracy against your will, or, as in Captain Jack’s case, making a daring escape.

Avoiding a Fight

“I think the single biggest inaccuracy in Hollywood pirate movies,” says Twist, “is that pirates were always spoiling for a fight. Pirates were essentially just after the money, so the last thing they wanted to do was actually fight with another ship and risk damage to their own ship or being injured or killed.” Typically a pirate ship would come alongside its intended prey and fire a warning shot in the hope that the other ship would surrender without a firing a shot. “And that’s what usually happened,” Twist says. “People knew that if they resisted they’d be killed. The Pirates of the Caribbean films and Captain Jack are much more realistic in that respect. Like most real-life pirates, Captain Jack enjoys his rum and has an eye on the main chance, but he’s not going to fight unless he really has to.”

At World’s End: Introduction

Filed under At World's End Production Notes by on April 26, 2011 at 3:20 pm {no comments}

Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Geoffrey Rush reunite in Walt Disney Pictures’ / Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” an all new epic tale in the blockbuster series chronicling the fantastical adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. This time around, the quartet is joined by international superstar Chow Yun-Fat as Captain Sao Feng, the pirate lord of Singapore.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Gore Verbinski, Captain Jack and the others set sail on the spectacular new adventure, once again laced with lashing of rollicking and irreverent humor, which takes them into new realms of adventure and fantasy. Their two previous “Pirates” adventures smashed records around the world, with “The Curse of the Black Pearl” garnering more than $650 million worldwide, a figure nearly doubled by “Dead Man’s Chest,” which became the third highest-grossing movie in international box office history with more than $1-billion, and a gigantic domestic take of $423,315,812, the sixth highest position in history.

The writers of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” are Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, co-writers of the first film and its follow up “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” also have such hits on their resume as “Aladdin” and “Shrek.” The film is based on characters created by Elliott & Rossio and Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert, and based on Walt Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. The film’s executive producers are Mike Stenson, Chad Oman, Bruce Hendricks and Eric McLeod.

Johnny Depp has become one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed actors, with a hugely versatile range of performances marking his outstanding career. He was nominated for Best Actor Academy Awards for both “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” and “Finding Neverland.” Depp’s extensive motion picture credits since the late 1980s have included “Cry-Baby,” “Platoon,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?,” “Ed Wood,” “Benny & Joon,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “Don Juan DeMarco,” “Donnie Brasco,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Chocolat,” “Blow,” “Once Upon A Time in Mexico,” “Secret Window,” “The Libertine,” “Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride” and Burton’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Orlando Bloom became a major international star with his portrayal of Legolas in Peter Jackson’s award-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy after co-starring in Jerry Bruckheimer’s production of “Black Hawk Down,” directed by Ridley Scott. Since then, the increasingly popular actor has starred in Wolfgang Petersen’s “Troy,” Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven” and Cameron Crowe’s “Elizabethtown.”

Keira Knightley was first brought to the attention of international audiences in the sleeper hit “Bend It Like Beckham.” In addition to “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” she was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress for “Pride & Prejudice,” and also starred in “Love, Actually,” Jerry Bruckheimer’s production of “King Arthur,” and the upcoming “Atonement,” “Silk” and “The Best Time of Our Lives.”

Geoffrey Rush won an Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for his captivating performance in HBO Films’ “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers,” in which he portrayed the title character. He first became internationally known for his starring role in Scott Hicks’ feature film “Shine,” which garnered him an Academy Award for Best Actor as piano prodigy David Helfgott. He also won a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Film Critics’ Circle of Australia, Broadcast Film Critics, AFI and New York and Los Angeles Film Critics’ Awards for the film. Rush also received an Academy Award nomination for his performances in Philip Kaufman’s “Quills,” and both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for “Shakespeare in Love.”

Chow Yun-Fat exploded into international stardom after more than a decade as Hong Kong’s most popular leading man in a memorable series of portrayals that included director John Woo’s now classic films “A Better Tomorrow,” “The Killer,” “Once A Thief” and “Hard-Boiled.” Chow has also starred in Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Anna and the King” and most recently, Zhang Yimou’s “Curse of the Golden Flower.”

With only seven features to his credit thus far, Gore Verbinski’s highly acclaimed films have totaled more than $2-billion worldwide. His films have included the immensely successful “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” the chilling horror film “The Ring” and the acclaimed drama “The Weather Man,” starring Nicolas Cage.

Jerry Bruckheimer holds an undisputed position as one of the most successful producers in both motion pictures and television. First in partnership with Don Simpson, and then as the chief of Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Television, he has produced an unprecedented string of worldwide smashes, hugely impacting not only the industry, but mass culture as well. Bruckheimer’s films have included “American Gigolo,” “Flashdance,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Top Gun,” “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “Days of Thunder,” “Bad Boys,” “Dangerous Minds,” “Crimson Tide,” “The Rock,” “Con Air,” “Armageddon,” “Enemy of the State,” “Gone in 60 Seconds,” “Coyote Ugly,” “Remember the Titans,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Black Hawk Down,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” “Bad Boys II,” “Veronica Guerin,” “King Arthur,” “National Treasure,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” and the upcoming “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.”

On television, Jerry Bruckheimer had an unprecedented 10 television series airing simultaneously in the Fall season 2005, a record in the medium for an individual producer. JBTV’s series have included “C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation” and its spinoffs “C.S.I.: Miami,” “C.S.I.: NY,” “Without a Trace,” “Cold Case,” and “The Amazing Race.”

Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Television have been honored with 39 Academy Award nominations, six Oscars, eight Grammy Award nominations, five Grammys, 23 Golden Globe nominations, four Golden Globes, 53 Emmy nominations, 14 Emmys, 16 People’s Choice nominations, 11 People’s Choice Awards, numerous MTV Awards, including one for Best Picture of the Decade for “Beverly Hills Cop” and 14 Teen Choice Awards.

Along with Depp, Rush, Bloom and Knightley, cast members returning to “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” include Stellan Skarsgard as Bootstrap Bill Turner, Bill Nighy as Davy Jones, Jack Davenport as Admiral James Norrington, Jonathan Pryce as Elizabeth’s father, Governor Weatherby Swann, Naomie Harris as Tia Dalma, Tom Hollander as Lord Cutler Beckett, Kevin R. McNally as Joshamee Gibbs, Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Crook as Pintel and Ragetti, David Bailie as Cotton, Martin Klebba as Marty and, from the first film, Giles New and Angus Barnett as thick-skulled British soldiers Murtogg and Mullroy. Vanessa Branch and Lauren Maher return for a third time as Jack Sparrow’s favorite Tortuga wenches, Giselle and Scarlett. New cast additions include Reggie Lee (“The Fast and the Furious”) as Tai Huang, Captain Sao Feng’s lieutenant, and a diverse group of international actors portraying the Pirate Lords, including the legendary Keith Richards as Captain Teague, Keeper of the Code.

A large contingent of the award-winning “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” creative team reunites for “At World’s End,” including director of photography Darius Wolski, production designer Rick Heinrichs (Oscar nominated for “Dead Man’s Chest’), costume designer Penny Rose, supervising art director John Dexter, set decorator Cheryl Carasik (who shared the nomination with Heinrichs for “Dead Man’s Chest”), film editors Craig Wood and Stephen Rivkin, visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Charles Gibson (both of whom won Academy Awards for their work, along with ILM’s Hal Hickel, on “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”); special effects coordinator Allen Hall (who shared the “Dead Man’s Chest” Oscar with Knoll, Gibson and Hickel); stunt coordinator / second unit director George Marshall Ruge; three time Academy Award-winning key makeup artist Ve Neill and key hair stylist Martin Samuel, both of whom shared an Oscar nomination for “The Curse of the Black Pearl”; and composer Hans Zimmer. Joining this world-class team on the new film is Academy Award-winning special effects coordinator John Frazier (“Spider-Man 2”)

Next Page: Short Synopsis

At World’s End Short Synopsis

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Pirates Of The Caribbean - At World's End

Pirates Of The Caribbean – At World’s End
39 in. x 27 in.

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It is a dark time as the Age of Piracy nears to a close. Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) of the East India Company has gained control of the terrifying ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, and its malevolent, vengeful Captain, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). The Dutchman now roams the seven seas, unstoppable, destroying pirate ships without mercy, under the command of Admiral Norrington (Jack Davenport).

Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) embark on a desperate quest to gather the Nine Lords of the Brethren Court, their only hope to defeat Beckett, the Flying Dutchman, and his Armada.

But one of the Lords is missing–Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), either the best or worst pirate ever, and now trapped in Davy Jones Locker, thanks to his encounter with the monstrous Kraken.

In an increasingly shaky alliance, our heroes, including Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), Pintel (Lee Arenberg) and Ragetti (MacKenzie Crook) must first travel to dangerous, exotic Singapore and confront Chinese pirate Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) to gain charts, and a ship, that will take them off to world’s end, to rescue Jack.

But even if Captain Jack is successfully rescued, the gathering of the legendary Brethren Court may not be enough to hold back the fearsome tide of Beckett, Davy Jones and their powerful Armada… unless the capricious sea goddess Calypso, imprisoned in human form, can be freed and convinced to come to their aid.

As betrayal piles upon betrayal, it becomes clear that Jack, Will, Elizabeth, Sao Feng, and Barbossa each have their own agenda, and no one can be trusted. Yet each must choose a side, and make their final alliances for one last battle, in a titanic showdown that could eliminate the freedom-loving pirates from the seven seas — forever.

Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Stellan Skarsgård, Bill Nighy, Chow Yun-Fat, Jack Davenport, Naomie Harris, Kevin R. McNally, Jonathan Pryce
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Screenplay by: Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott
Produced by: Mike Stenson, Chad Oman, Eric McLeod
Running Time: 145 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of action / adventure violence and some frightening images.
Release Date: May 25, 2007
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

Next Page: Chapter 1 – Success Can Be A Tough Taskmaster

Pirates Saga by Numbers and Awards

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Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann and Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

Using the famed Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disney Theme Parks (the last one in which Walt Disney himself had a personal hand in creating) as a springboard, “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” defying some less than enthusiastic anticipation for a “movie based on a ride,” was a smash hit everywhere it played upon opening on July 9th, 2003, amassing a domestic U.S. gross of $305,413,918 million and, including its record-breaking overseas engagements, a worldwide total of $653,913,918.

The film also received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Johnny Depp. So successful was the first “Pirates” opus, that the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction was modified by Walt Disney Imagineering at both Disneyland in Anaheim and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida in time for the opening of “Dead Man’s Chest,” so that characters from the films, including Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa and Davy Jones, were seamlessly inserted in a way that retained what made the original ride such a perennial favorite among Disney theme park visitors… with hopes, of course, that the second film would at least equal the first in popularity.

But not even Bruckheimer, Verbinski, nor The Walt Disney Studios, could have predicted what would happen when the second film in the trilogy, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” opened on July 7th, 2006. The zeitgeist is a mysterious entity, and “Pirates” had obviously plugged directly into its circuit board, as “Dead Man’s Chest” became an instant cultural phenomenon. Upon its opening three-day weekend, the film blew every preceding U.S. box office record apart, amassing an astonishing $135,745,219, surpassing the previous champ, 2002′s “Spider-Man,” by more than $20 million.

“Big Booty for Bruckaneers,” screamed a headline of the Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety in its unique parlance, pointing out that the three-day numbers even beat the standing four-day weekend record…that the Friday totals of $55.5 million set a new mark for the biggest one-day numbers ever… that by Saturday, its $100.2 million take was the biggest ever two-day gross, which meant that “Dead Man’s Chest” was the first movie in history to break the sacred $100 million mark in 48 hours. By this point, the film had taken on major event status, as evidenced by the legion of “Pirates” fans, sweeping across the demographic board, who lined up for hours, many sporting an array of buccaneer gear, some so comprehensively attired from head to toe that it looked as if they stepped right off the set.

By the end of its second weekend, “Dead Man’s Chest” had passed $200 million on its eighth day of release-another record sent crashing to the ground-and amassed $258.2 million in only 10 days, with an additional $125 million in 24 countries outside of the U.S. and Canada. Any lingering doubts about the Pirates’ sea “legs” were laid to rest after the third weekend of “Dead Man’s Chest,” in which the film soared past four major new releases and became the fastest film in history to pass the $300 million mark in the U.S. and Canada (and broke “The Curse of the Black Pearl”’s $305 million milepost).

And overseas, opening in 11 new markets, it was the same story over and over again. Number one everywhere. Long queues from Tokyo to Mumbai to Warsaw, and back again. By September 2006, “Dead Man’s Chest” became only the third member of the billion dollar club and became the third highest grossing film, internationally, in motion picture history. The public had spoken, and very loudly too, across the entire world. The film was also honored with four Academy Award nominations, winning the Best Visual Effects prize for John Knoll, Charles Gibson, Hal Hickel and Allen Hall.

The filmmakers all knew that audiences, although having been thrilled by the first two films, would obviously be seeking the “Astonish me” factor in the third. And they were fully prepared to reward their expectations. “We wanted to tell a story which would be an epic struggle between freedom and conformity,” says executive producer Mike Stenson. “A fundamental question of the movie is, why are we supposed to like pirates? It really does come back to the sense that when you’re growing up, you want to be a pirate… you want to do something that’s about freedom, no rules, not dealing with authority. As we go through our lives, we have to deal with more and more issues of dealing with authority and conformity… but that doesn’t mean that on a Friday night you don’t want to leave the suit and tie behind and spend a couple of hours of experiencing that darker, more swashbuckling and independent version of yourself. Which is what I think elicits people’s passions for these movies.”

“The first movie wasn’t even on the top ten preview list for the summer,” adds executive producer Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films. “Then `Dead Man’s Chest’ did double what we hoped, which was pretty amazing. The problem is that after the celebrations came, the realization that we had to really deliver the goods for `At World’s End.’”

“In a way, the most satisfying aspect of `Pirates’ is that it has become this kind of cultural phenomenon that audiences have embraced so passionately,” says executive producer Bruce Hendricks. “You’ve got to give Jerry, Gore, Ted and Terry, and Johnny and the cast credit for that. This has forever changed the approach to the pirate genre, which was basically dead. It’s now been re-invented, whether or not we make more pirate movies, or someone else does, there’s a different way of looking at pirates now.”

Next Page – Chapter 3: Revealing the True Nature of all the Characters

Revealing the True Nature of all the Characters

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Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Main Characters.

In the aftermath of the “Dead Man’s Chest” sweep of worldwide box offices, the stars of the film were still processing its impact. “It’s shocking you know,” admits Johnny Depp. “I’m still sort of amazed that so many people in so many corners of the globe embraced the films and Captain Jack, and in a lot of ways just sort of claimed ownership of the character. Nothing like this has ever happened to me, but what’s happened with `Pirates’ hasn’t happened to many people. It’s very, very moving and emotional, the idea that people feel this very strong connection with Captain Jack. You know, seeing little kids dressed up as the character, talking like him. It’s just amazing.”

Depp was enthusiastic to pursue the development of Captain Jack’s journey in “At World’s End.” “When we last saw Jack in `Dead Man’s Chest,’” Depp explains, “he was swatting his way into the mouth of Kraken, and when we pick him up again in `At World’s End’ he’s in Davy Jones’ Locker, which is kind of beyond the idea of purgatory, a kind of hell in which he’s surrounded by himself. I thought it was a brilliant idea of taking this guy and not have him face his demons, but rather the various sides of his personality.”

“It’s an interesting idea that Jack Sparrow has an honest streak that will likely be his undoing,” adds screenwriter Ted Elliott. “He says it in the first movie, it actually does happen in the second one, and in this third film Jack has said, in effect, look, I’ve given up on the whole honest streak thing because we all saw where that one led to. That becomes Jack’s struggle throughout… what are you willing to do to get what you want?”

“Johnny Depp is a very surprising, unusual and unique actor,” adds Jerry Bruckheimer, “who creates memorable, original characters that audiences just fall in love with. Captain Jack was unlike anything that audiences had seen on screen before, a drunken, swashbuckling character who can barely stand up sometimes, yet is so clever and smart that he outwits everybody around him. And Johnny does this on every movie. Whether it’s Willy Wonka in `Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ J.M. Barrie in `Finding Neverland’ or `Donnie Brasco,’ he creates something so indelible that you can’t quite put your finger on how he invents that magic.”

Geoffrey Rush, an unabashed enthusiast for the three films, was thoroughly delighted to once again transform himself into Captain Barbossa. “I’ve always thought that `Dead Man’s Chest’ and `At World’s End’ are really one big film, with a cliffhanger interval,” he notes. “I say that quite selfishly, because I don’t do anything in the second film. I’m dead. But I have a fabulous sort of curtain line at the end of the movie. But `At World’s End’ galvanizes 15 major plot lines that have all been simmering through the first and second movies, and kind of brings them home.

“There’s a shift in Barbossa’s character in the third film,” Rush continues. “I think that in `Dead Man’s Chest,’ Davy Jones becomes the villain or dark force at the center of the film. And with Barbossa being absent, when he re-emerges, he actually comes back as a kind of politician, which is great for me because it meant I didn’t have to play the same flavors, or work off the same dramatic palette as in the first film, which was pure rivalry with Jack. I mean, that’s certainly still there, but my job in `At World’s End’ is to make sure that the romantic true heritage of the pirates being the vagabond brotherhood at sea maintains its identity against this rather ruthless corporate world of the East India Trading Company that wants to stamp it out. So I become an arch manipulator, and I think Barbossa’s familiar qualities of betraying people and forcing them to do things they don’t particularly want to do, is how he works.”

“We’re all still in character,” adds Orlando Bloom, “but thankfully, the character development is really great in the third film. Will Turner definitely has a few more edges. In the second movie, the major conflict for Will is whether to choose between his father or his love for Elizabeth. He wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to rescue his father, Bootstrap Bill, and he also wants to be with the girl he loves, but the two are opposite magnets that push away from each other.

“By the time `At World’s End’ begins,” Bloom continues, “Will has embraced the pirate code that he so hated at the start of `The Curse of the Black Pearl,’ to pursue his own purposes. A promise has been made that he will save his father’s life, and Will will try and do everything he can to honor that vow…not forgetting that he still loves Elizabeth, and wants to get her back into his life. The third movie reveals the true nature of all the characters, and it’s great to go on a journey with Will where you’re not quite certain which direction he will turn to.”

“There’s a certain amount of guilt that Elizabeth feels about having delivered Jack to the Kraken at the end of `Dead Man’s Chest,’” says Keira Knightley of her increasingly strong minded and determined character, “but I think that was something that had to be done at the time. But then she finds out that actually, what they really need to do is save him. Elizabeth is certainly more than the girl who stands in the corner by this point in the story. It’s been great to play a girl who’s strong and interesting, and isn’t afraid of a fight.”

“Keira became a woman through the course of making these three films,” notes Jerry Bruckheimer, “and Elizabeth is a character who has an enormous arc. She starts out as a kind of spoiled rich governor’s daughter, and through the course of the story becomes a woman who bucks convention and becomes as fierce and competitive a fighter as Will and Captain Jack.”

Bill Nighy was also delighted to take Davy Jones more than a few steps further in the third film, and again infusing the devilish character with a large dollop of recognizable humanity. “Davy is now in service to the East India Trading Company and Lord Cutler Beckett, certainly the first time he’s been in service to anybody. He’s no longer the free lord of the seas. In `At World’s End,’ you see how love and betrayal wrecked Davy’s life and ruined his existence. He just wants Calypso, and peace from this terrible love pain. He suffers in a major way. Davy is a lover, and he’s been deeply, deeply hurt, devastated by the loss of this woman. People like Davy who never connected with anyone, ever, and then do and lose it, cleave for all time. And these are dangerous men, you know, they’re almost certainly emotionally damaged. It’s a central fact of Davy Jones’ life that he’s never getting over it.”

“I have had a long life with Gore already, and it’s a very pleasant life,” smiles Stellan Skarsgård, who returns as Will Turner’s cursed father, Bootstrap Bill. “And it’s surprising because when you work on a production this big, you would think that working in front of the camera would be very different from the kind of independent films I’ve done before. But it isn’t, because it’s very intimate around the camera. You work basically in the same way, or you’re free to try things. Gore is not only a technical director, but he’s very interested in actors and to see what actors can produce. It’s one of the reasons I wanted this job…because when I saw `The Curse of the Black Pearl,’ I saw a bunch of actors who enjoyed themselves and obviously had a lot of fun.”

Bootstrap Bill also continues on a progressive arc throughout the third film. “It’s pretty sad, because his deterioration has gone quite far. He’s already falling apart, and only has glimpses of remembering and vague ideas about his relationships to people. As with other crewmen of the Flying Dutchman, Bill is becoming more and more a part of the ship, losing his humanity.”

Explains the compulsively witty Jack Davenport of his character, James Norrington, “Where you left me off at the end of the second film, I was still modeling homeless person chic…but with Davy Jones’ heart in hand. I well know that I managed to give the heart to probably the last person on earth or indeed the high seas that I should have given it to, it’s now allowed me in the third film to once again dress like a Mardi Gras float. I’m much more comfortable in blues and yellows, and I once again sport the deeply flattering white wig. So joy is unconfined all around.”

On a somewhat more serious note, Davenport says, “In `At World’s End,’ Norrington comes to realize that he’s made a terrible mistake, and he has to live with that. In terms of his feelings for Elizabeth, he’s not the same swooning chap that he was in the first film, which I think is a good thing in terms of deepening the character. She broke Norrington’s heart, very embarrassingly and very publicly. Subsequently, I don’t think he harbors any great illusions about them sailing off into the sunset together. In the third film, he looks on rather helplessly at the gigantic mess he’s created, and he has some opportunity for redemption.”

Tom Hollander, the charming Englishman who plays the distinctively uncharming Lord Cutler Beckett, was also dazzled by the success of “Dead Man’s Chest.” “Being in the third biggest grossing film of all time, I felt like it was as if I’d been standing next to the man who discovered penicillin,” jokes the actor. “It was thrilling, a fantastic feeling. Being a part of something which people absolutely love is just wonderful. It’s been quite a tough job, but amazing as well.”

In the third film, Beckett’s cold-bloodedness ascends to even more dastardly levels. “Davy Jones can be seen as the main villain of `Dead Man’s Chest,’ but Beckett becomes his boss in `At World’s End,’ so technically speaking, I’m on the top of the heap of villainy,” adds Hollander. “Davy Jones’ heart is my secret weapon, what’s known in show business as `leverage.’ Because he who has the heart of Davy Jones controls the seas. So even though Beckett is physically unintimidating to Davy Jones, he has his heart, which although a gloopy, nasty, smelly thing, gives him all the power.

Next Page – Chapter 4: Some New Faces Aboard

Some New Faces Aboard

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Chow Yun-Fat as Captain Sao Feng in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

In addition to the stars already established in the two previous films, Bruckheimer and Verbinski brought some special new faces aboard for “At World’s End,” most notably international superstar Chow Yun-Fat, cast as the smart if duplicitous Singaporean pirate, Captain Sao Feng. “You want to hire enormously talented actors who are at the top of their game,” says Bruckheimer, “and that’s the definition of Chow Yun-Fat. He’s a masterful actor, an international star, and a perfect addition to the trilogy.”

“They were all pirates in reality, and betrayal was normal,” notes Chow of his character. “Therefore, Sao Feng treats it as a business transaction. There is no good or evil in the pirate world, and Sao Feng is neither a good person nor a villain. They are all pirates, and that’s how pirates are.” In terms of the films’ international appeal, Chow explains, “I think everyone has a fantasy to do things that cannot be controlled by parents or the authorities. Pirates are rebels, so especially in the minds of young people, the movie has global appeal.”

For such grizzled “Pirates” veterans as Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Crook, who play the tag-team duo of Pintel and Ragetti, “At World’s End” presented another opportunity to expand their characters. “In the first film we were pretty vicious,” says Crook. “We shot the servant in the governor’s house straight away, really nasty, cutthroat villains. In the second film, we lightened up a bit and became a real double-act. But I think that Gore, Ted and Terry were keen to keep a vicious streak in us, because we’re pirates when you come down to it, so we can’t always just be goofing around. So I have a good kill count in `At World’s End.’ I think I dispatch three or four souls.”

“We were funny bad guys in the first movie and funny good guys in the second one,” adds Arenberg. “And from here on out we’re funny good guys no matter which team we’re on. We certainly don’t gain any intelligence. I always say that Pintel and Ragetti still share half a brain.”

Next Page – Chapter 5: Every Saga Must Make a Start

Singapore Sling

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Keira Knightley in Singapore Shootings.

With the lion’s share of filming during this period going to “Dead Man’s Chest,” followed by a summer hiatus while the huge open studio tank was being constructed on Grand Bahama Island, the next scene to be filmed for the film wouldn’t be until August 31, 2005, with Chow Yun-Fat joining the cast as Captain Sao Feng for scenes shot on Disney’s Stage 2 in Rick Heinrichs’ lustrous sets representing the Singaporean pirate’s cabin on his ship, the Empress. Two days later saw the start of filming of the first major stage setpiece for “At World’s End,” and for many it represented the apotheosis of Rick Heinrichs’ artistry, and that of his entire department: a massive, fanciful interpretation of Singapore in the early 18th century.

Constructed on Stage 12 at Universal Studios, this amazing funhouse of a set, comprising some 40 individual structures, was built on top of an 80 by 130 foot tank, and was basically comprised of a harbor replete with Southeast Asian thatched huts and houses built on stilts (known as kampongs), and a swath of the fabled city itself, more formally Chinese in design, including a marketplace, adjacent street where all sorts of dubious business takes place, and a vast bathhouse frequented-way too often, from their looks-by local pirates. Heinrichs even designed and built the low-roofed area underneath the bathhouse in which workers keep the water heated with large furnaces.

This was the stage for an early and crucial sequence in At World’s End, in which Will, Elizabeth and Barbossa search for secret charts which could lead them to Davy Jones’ Locker-and therefore to Captain Jack Sparrow, who was sent there at the finale of “Dead Man’s Chest” by the Kraken-from Singapore pirate lord Captain Sao Feng. What ensues is a tremendous action sequence which spills from the town area onto the rickety boardwalks, strung with illuminated lanterns, that connect the kampong houses on stilts above the harbor, pitting the pirates against soldiers of the East India Trading Company.

“Singapore is a mélange of different influences and architectural styles that we researched when we were studying what Singapore might have looked like at that time,” says Heinrichs. “In those years, Singapore was not a particularly well documented place until the 19th century, so we looked at a number of other Chinese cities for reference. We took a deliberately fantastical approach, creating something like a Chinese/Malaysian expressionist style of what we think Singapore might have looked like at the time.

“The bathhouse is a nasty example of hygiene that pokes fun at the spa sensibility running rampant today,” continues Heinrichs. “We have a lot of mushrooms and other fungi growing out of the wooden tubs, and in fact, the pirates have spent so much time lazing around the tubs that they also have mushrooms growing out of them! They don’t seem to leave their filthy ways on the ships…they bring it with them into the bathhouse. The whole point of this is to give you a wonderful sense of nausea at what filthy beasts and brutes the pirates are. We’ve added lots of thickeners and color to the water so that it looks unwholesome. Captain Sao Feng has his own `hero niche’ in the bathhouse, with an imperial dragon on the wall behind it. One of the fun things that we did was to design the entire floor of the bathhouse to have a meandering, planked look that’s almost organic, so every one of them had to be hand cut.”

Heinrichs’ longtime collaborator as set decorator-someone who shared an Academy Award nomination with him for both “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” and “Dead Man’s Chest” in the Best Art Direction category-is Cheryl Carasik. “I’ve done four films pretty much back-to-back with Rick, and we just have a great relationship,” she says. “Rick starts cooking right away, so I have enough information from the very beginning of prep to focus and fine tune the big picture. Carasik’s set decoration for Singapore, half of which was actually imported from Asia, was an incredible grabbag of baskets, bushels, food products, flickering Chinese lanterns, baskets, crates, barrels, buckets, painted scrolls, hanging laundry, all made of rattan, bamboo (much of which Carasik brought back from the Dominican locations), wood and palm fronds, just as they would be in Southeast Asia. “It was one of the biggest sets I’ve ever done in my career, and probably the most challenging for the amount of time in which we had to do it,” Carasik recalls. “There were little nooks, apothecary and pottery shops, and interiors that all needed to be dressed, because you never know where Gore is going to want to shoot.”

Atmospherically, the Singapore set actually felt like Southeast Asia, with heavy, dripping humidity caused by the thousands of gallons of water in the tank utilized to create the harbor area, combined with the heat emanating from the powerful lighting equipment. There was even a visible fog which could always be seen just above the water level!

At World’s End presented new, and occasionally overwhelming, challenges to stunt coordinator George Marshall Ruge, assistant Dan Barringer and their fabulous team of stunt doubles and players, which this time included a large Asian contingent featuring martial arts experts of all caliber. The Singapore sequence, involving Captain Barbossa, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Gibbs, Tia Dalma, Pintel and Ragetti, Cotton and his parrot, Marty, Captain Sao Feng, Jack the Monkey and approximately 200 assorted Chinese pirates, East India Trading Company militia and various Singaporean citizenry, spills out from a grotty bathhouse, onto the streets and alleys of the city, and then onto wooden boardwalks and walkways connecting thatched stilt houses over the harbor. “The Singapore sequence began as an unknown entity and one line description in a treatment,” notes Ruge. “Without a lot of warning it took on massive proportions, with a rapid evolution into a complex sequence on a very difficult set. We had limited time to prepare, design the action, choreograph and rehearse. Because the sets were still being built and the paint was still drying, I ended up calling rehearsals at very odd hours that often extended into the night.

“The bathhouse portion of the sequence presented a lot of problems,” Ruge continues. “Complex fight choreography was required in a very confined space with lots of people and lots of obstacles in terms of the baths themselves. The set was raked and incredibly slippery, with the steam rising from all crevices. The action was designed to be absolutely character driven, fresh, intricate and crisp. There was literally no room for error with gunfire and swords flying everywhere. Once the action leaves the bathhouse and escalates out onto the streets of Singapore, another set of problems emerged. The action had to be designed utilizing the very narrow wood planked walkways that were elevated above the water by bamboo scaffolding. This required performers taking eight to 14 foot falls into the water, which was only three and one half feet deep with a concrete bottom.”

Ruge’s solution was to sink large sections of black foam rubber and anchor them to the soundstage floor. The problem is that foam rubber’s natural inclination is to float, so holes needed to be cut throughout the foam to allow the water to pool above the submerged pad and hold it down.

Chow Yun-Fat, who had already performed several scenes on Grand Bahama Island, was a major attraction on the Singapore set, especially to those members of the company who had followed him for years as he ascended the ranks of superstardom in Asian and U.S. cinema. “He always said that he was honored to be there,” recalls Reggie Lee, who portrays Tai Huang, Captain Sao Feng’s aide-de-camp. “Here’s a megastar who we all idolize, who in fact is so humble and friendly to everyone. Yun-Fat’s work is spectacular, he has a great work ethic, and having a chance to act with him was just spectacular.”

Also participating in the Singapore battle were some of the now famous non-human performers of the “Pirates” series from animal coordinator Boone Narr of Boone’s Animals for Hollywood and head trainer Mark Harden, especially Jack the Monkey, again portrayed by either Chiquita (female) or Pablo (male), depending upon the required abilities. “At World’s End,” even more than the previous film, really gave Pablo and Chiquita a chance to shine as simian thespians, such as being dressed in little Chinese costumes in the Singapore sequence, stealing a Roman Candle and firing it during the pitched battle with the East India Trading Company troops. “It was a literal blast,” recalls Harden. “Pablo and Chiquita had to handle a lit candle and touch the flame to the wick, and it took over 60 takes to take it right. It wasn’t just the monkeys, it was a harmonic convergence of all sorts of things going awry. But I was really happy. I mean, everybody teased me that it took 66 takes, but I was proud that the monkeys were willing to do it in 66 takes to get it right!”

Also appearing in the film, and whenever and wherever the silent Cotton (David Bailie) appears, are either Chip or Salsa, the macaws who play the pirate’s squawking pet bird. Has Bailie’s relationship with the animal grown over the last three films? “If I had anything to do with it, it would have done, but the bird seems remarkably indifferent to me. People only recognize me because of the wretched creature!”

Next Page – Chapter 7: Return to The Bahamas

The Brethren Court

Filed under At World's End Production Notes by on April 26, 2011 at 11:57 am {no comments}

The Brethren Court

The last of the fabulous sets built on Disney’s Stage 2 for the Pirates trilogy was Shipwreck Cove, where the raucous and divisive Brethren Court of pirate lords meets to make a last plan of action against the onslaughts of Beckett and the East India Trading Company armada. “Shipwreck Cove was conceived by Gore as kind of a retirement home for old pirates, comprised of the wrecked hulls of various ships hidden in a volcano,” notes Heinrichs.“The Brethren Court meet in one of those hulls, and outside of the structure we’ve extended the set with a 300-foot-long painted backing which has been beautifully designed and painted in the good, old-fashioned Hollywood tradition.”

The Brethren Court does have some foundation in history, note the screenwriters. “There was a loose confederation of pirates called the Brethren of the Coast,” says Ted Elliott. “And it’s just such a fun idea to have a whole bunch of pirates sitting around trying to come to decisions. Captain Sao Feng has a line of dialogue in which he says that pirates are either captain or crew, and nine captains charting a course is eight captains too many. We also wanted to get more international in flavor, so the pirate lords are from all over the world.”

In fact, although Elliott and Rossio cheerfully admit that they often play (“play” being the operative word) fast and loose with history, there are truths to be found amidst the fun. In fact, most of the Pirate Lords are based on historical buccaneers, and although they didn’t necessarily occupy the same chronological era depicted in “At World’s End,” Captain Chevalle, Ammand the Corsair, Gentleman Jocard, Mistress Ching, Captain Villanueva and Sri Subhajee all made their mark on the chronicles of high seas skullduggery.

On Heinrichs’ evocative set, rickety boardwalks connect one rotting old hull to another, with the Brethren Court meeting room gorgeously illuminated by some 3500 candles. Figureheads from plundered ships used as decoration are used for target practice by the rowdy pirate lords, pierced by an amusing array of swords, hatchets and daggers. The long wooden table at which the Pirate Lords meet was designed by Heinrichs and Cheryl Carasik, and constructed at a Walt Disney Studios workshop. “We also made a chandelier out of an anchor, which looks like iron but is actually fabricated from foam,” explains Carasik. “Then we took several cases of wax candles and dripped them over the top of the chandelier. We must have used thousands of candles to get this effect!”

The filming of the sequence, which took place over a momentous seven days in mid-September 2006, was pretty raucous itself. The set was crammed with the film’s stars and the wildly colorful array of pirate lords from the seven seas (portrayed by some very distinguished international actors, including Syria’s Ghassan Massoud, who coincidentally portrayed Saladin opposite Orlando Bloom in “Kingdom of Heaven”).

Then there was the matter of who would be chosen as Captain Teague, Keeper of the Code, the Pirata Codex, to which even the most dastardly scalawag must religiously adhere, at the peril of his own body and soul.

But the casting was pre-ordained. For nearly a year, rumors flew hither and yon that it would be none other than Keith Richards, legendary guitarist of the Rolling Stones, and a close mate of Johnny Depp…who very admittedly had modeled some of Captain Jack Sparrow’s style and characteristics on his great and good friend. And the rumors, for a refreshing change, were true.

“The sort of connection I made when first thinking about Captain Jack,” says Depp, “was the idea that pirates were the rock and roll stars of that era. Their myths or legends would arrive months before they would ever make port, much like rock stars.”

“It’s about freedom, baby,” adds Richards. “Open the cage, let the tigers out. Somebody’s gotta do the naughty work. It’s not so much about destroying the establishment. It’s to prevent them from destroying you.”

Richards was understandably somewhat wary at first of accepting the role of Captain Teague. “When I first heard about it, I was thinking, oh my God, this is an Elvis Presley thing. You pop in and sing. But when I saw how it fit into the whole scenario, then it felt quite natural to do it. And they’ve also made me a lovely guitar.”

Strumming that guitar-especially designed and built for him by the legendary instrument maker Danny Farrington at the request of propmaster Kris Peck-and wielding a mean flintlock pistol, Richards took the company, and the days on which he filmed, by hurricane force. “It was kind of a long shot to even think about getting Keith to do this,” says Depp. “The fact that he agreed was above and beyond a dream come true. Experiencing his arrival on set was unbelievable. Every single person on the crew, including people you hadn’t seen in months, suddenly showed up. It was a beautiful, perfect symmetry.”

As for the unique connection between Captains Jack and Teague, Depp notes, “You get the feeling that there was a real tough love relationship there. Teague is one of those pirates who would give you a hug one minute, and blow you away the next. Or maybe he’ll blow you away and then give you a hug. You don’t know what to expect from him.”

“It was really interesting to see the kind of mutual respect that Keith seemed to have for the actors and crew, and that they had for him, his artistry and his long, celebrated career,” notes Jerry Bruckheimer. “I think he had a lot of fun. In fact, he didn’t want to quite leave the set. Usually, when an actor is finished with a scene, they go to their trailer until the next set-up. But Keith was hanging around the set even in between his scenes. I think Keith took his personalized chair when he left as a remembrance of the experience, and I’m sure he took his costume. If he didn’t, I hope he did.”

“Keep to the Code” if an oft-heard slogan in the “Pirates” films, but it’s only in “At World’s End” that the audience actually gets a chance to see the Real Deal…the Pirata Codex, so-named in haughty Latin, a mighty volume of overwhelming size which, in reality, was nothing less than an objet d’art of surpassing craftsmanship.

“The Pirate Code book was something in the making for a very long time,” explains “Dead Man’s Chest” and “At World’s End” property master Kristopher E. Peck, “and we had many people working on it. It had never been done before, and had to be grand and spectacular. I also wanted to put a lot of detail in it, even if it never ended up on film. But I knew that Gore is very detail oriented, and I wanted to give him options to shoot.

“We had some trial and error with Gore, and I finally decided that he wouldn’t see it again for approval until we got it right. I got on the phone with two people from San Diego:Tom Mallory, who’s a writer for one of the city’s newspaper, and Mark Van Stone, who’s an expert in ancient calligraphy and manuscripts. I had both of them get in a car immediately and come up to L.A. and after our meeting we worked until two o’clock in the morning in the production office writing the text and setting it down as quickly as we could. Tom wrote the text based upon what we got from screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, things I’d discovered in my research, storyline points that needed to be factored in. By the time we walked out at two, we basically had the Pirate Code finished.”

Previously, Peck and Van Stone had combed through the manuscript archives of UCLA for inspiration. “We walked into the basement, and there was this beautiful, big library room, low key lighting as if you were going to see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, and there was a 40 foot long beautiful wooden table covered with manuscripts. They laid all of these old books out for us to look at, and we studied them microscopically. Mark pointed out little details that I would never have picked up on, like showing that certain parchment were embedded with the follicle hairs of a pig. We spent ten hours there, and walked away with this great archive of researching photos that we wanted to implement. Parchment was scarce back then, so you would see where they would scratch off the ink and write over it, or sew additions on top of the original paper. We tried to put ourselves in the pirate world, wondering what they would be doing, what they would be eating. Maybe there was a parrot on someone’s shoulder, and the sunflower seeds that the bird was eating fell down into the middle of the book, or some ashes from a pipe they were smoking became ingrained into the paper.”

After Peck, Mallory and Van Stone completed their “first draft,” conceptual consultant James Ward Byrkit became involved in the process, drawing illustrations and creating other materials. “Jim came up with some wonderful stuff,” says Peck, “like how to attack a ship, or a castle. We have all kinds of things in the book, including recipes for beer, or where you can find the best brothel in Singapore. Jim helped us lay in the character and texture of the Pirate Code. We have wine stains, blood stains, sunflower seeds, wax stamps and seals, and addendums actually sewn onto the parchment pages.”

The final dimensions of the Pirata Codex were 20 X 28, with the embossed covers an inch bigger, and the “hero” version of the book weighed some 80 pounds and contained a thousand pages of textured parchment. “So we had to make two books,” Peck continues, “because we had these two little old men in the film, sort of like a 90-year-old ZZ Top with beards down to here, playing the pirate librarians, who have to carry it. And since Captain Teague, played by Keith Richards, is the Keeper of the Code, we wanted to give him something easier to work with. So the second version only weighed about ten pounds.”

Next Page – Chapter 10: The Climactic Maelstrom Scene

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