Pirates 3 world premiere tickets sold out
posted by Jas, 04/30/07
Walt Disney Studios announced today that tickets for the May 19 world premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" have sold out in just 14 days. $3 million was raised to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and Make-A-Wish International. Read press release

'Pirates' Of Singapore? Details From Un-Caribbean 'At World's End' Set
posted by Jas, 04/30/07
Pirates 3 production designer, Rick Heinrichs, talks about the Singapore set in At World's End. Spoilers ahead!

UK preview screening of AWE and Pirates marathon
posted by Jas, 04/30/07
Film Factory is giving away a pair of tickets to the preview screening of Pirates 3 on May 21 in London. They are also giving away tickets to a Pirates marathon on May 23 in London.

DMC nominated for MTV Movie Awards
posted by Jas, 04/30/07
Nominations for this year's MTV Movie Awards are out and Dead Man's Chest has been nominated for Best Movie, Best Performance (Johnny and Keira) and Best Villan (Bill Nighy)

Pirates 3 CD soundtrack
posted by Jas, 04/29/07
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End CD soundtrack is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com, the album will be released on May 22. Also available at Amazon UK

Track listing:
1. Hoist The Colours
2. Singapore
3. At Wit's End
4. Multiple Jacks
5. Up Is Down
6. I See Dead People In Boats
7. The Brethren Court
8. Parlay
9. Calypso
10. What Shall We Die For
11. I Don't Think Now Is The Best Time
12. One Day
13. Drink Up Me Hearties Yo Ho

Pirates 3 almost done
posted by Jas, 04/29/07
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer mentioned in an interview that Pirates 3 is yet to be completed, it's almost done. He also showed eight scenes from the movie to a small group of journalists. The scenes include elaborate battle scenes, humourous lines by Depp & Co and complex special effects that appeared to be perfect. He said, "the last 40 minutes are some of the most exciting filmmaking I've ever seen. It's just spectacular what Gore has achieved."

In a small gold art deco building hidden in the maze of sound stages on the 20th Century Fox movie studio lot in Los Angeles, Jerry Bruckheimer is sitting quietly in the foyer.

He has plenty to think about.

The Hollywood super producer is under the gun.

In a few weeks the final chapter of his adventure trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, will open simultaneously in theatres around the globe, but the film is yet to be completed.

It's almost done.

Bruckheimer, director Gore Verbinski and the film's army of editors, sound mixers and special effects technicians are facing a week of sleepless nights before the final print is in the can.

The deadline is so tight he has not screened a rough cut for a test audience, a right of passage for most Hollywood films and a chance for a movie's producers, directors and studio executives to make late changes.

"Sure we're nervous," Bruckheimer, whose films, including Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor and Armageddon, have made more than $US14 billion ($A17 billion) at the global box office, said.

"I think it will open well, but who knows?

"No audience has seen this movie because we just don't have time.

"We showed it to a group of Gore's friends who loved it and thought it was better than the first two, but they're Gore's friends.

"So, who knows what that really means?"

Then again, Bruckheimer probably does not have to fine-tune this film.

If there is such a thing as a guaranteed Hollywood hit, the third Pirates film is it.

The Pirates franchise, which stars Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Australian Oscar winner, Geoffrey Rush, is one of the most profitable in Hollywood history.

Just like Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, each chapter has made more money than the previous one.

The original, 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, earned $US654 million ($A792.5 million) world-wide and scored Depp a best actor Oscar nomination.

Last year's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest became the third highest grossing film of all-time, earning $US1.066 billion ($A1.3 billion), behind number one Titanic which earned $US1.845 billion ($A2.24 billion) and runner-up Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King which took in $US1.12 billion ($A1.36 billion).

The third Pirates is expected to eclipse $US1 billion ($A1.21 billion) and leapfrog Return of the King.

It cost $US225 million ($A272.6 million) to make so it is not a bad return if it does top the billion dollar (US) mark.

On this day at the Fox lot, Bruckheimer has agreed to show a small group of journalists eight scenes of Pirates Three.

The Pirates films are owned by Disney, but for the final weeks of editing Bruckheimer and his team have leased the editing suites of rival studio Fox, owned by Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

It is a common occurrence as quality editing space is tight in LA.

When Bruckheimer realises his guests have arrived he gets out of his chair in the foyer, greets them with a warm handshake and leads the group through a glass security door in the art deco building, along a short corridor and into an office area.

The Pirates Three crew have made themselves at home at Fox.

The first thing you see when you enter the office is a large flag containing a picture of a pirate skull and cross bones sculling a bottle of booze.

The skull and cross bones are underlined by the words: "Time Flies When You're Having Rum".

There are photos and other pirate memorabilia scattered around the office.

Attached to the office are two state-of-the-art suites where Pirates Three editors Stephen Rivkin and Craig Wood are piecing the film together.

Bruckheimer invites his guests into Rivkin's suite, makes sure everyone has a chair and begins the preview session.

There is a large high definition flat screen TV on the far wall and below it are two computer screens.

One computer screen is filled with files containing scenes for the movie. With one click a scene appears on the big flat screen.

The other computer screen shows the movie footage.

To the left is another TV screen matching the footage on the large flat screen TV.

"A lot of the visual effects shots aren't finished so you'll see things that don't look right, but they'll soon be perfect," Bruckheimer cautions before asking Rivkin to show the first scene.

For an hour Bruckheimer introduces the eight scenes, which include elaborate battle scenes, humourous lines by Depp & Co and complex special effects that appeared to be perfect.

"I have a proposal for you!" Rush, who returns as the infamous pirate, Captain Barbossa, asks newcomer, Hong Kong action film star Yun-Fat Chow, who plays a Singapore-based pirate lord, in one scene.

It would spoil the plot to reveal the details of Capt Barbossa's proposal.

Pirates Three continues the love triangle between Depp's Capt Jack Sparrow, Knightley's Elizabeth Swann and Bloom's Will Turner.

"If you make your choices alone how can I trust you?" Turner pleads with Swann at one point.

"You can't," a defiant Swann replies.

The second Pirates' movie introduced the Kraken, a giant octopus, and in the new film audiences meet the Calypso.

Bruckheimer declined to show the last 40 minutes of the movie.

"It's a little teaser," he explained at the end of the sneak peek session.

"But, the last 40 minutes are some of the most exciting filmmaking I've ever seen.

"It's just spectacular what Gore has achieved."

Critics and audiences had complained the second Pirates film ended abruptly, but Bruckheimer said the storylines of the first two will be resolved in the third.

"Everything is tied up," he said.

Bruckheimer confirmed Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who was the inspiration for Depp's mumbling and stumbling performance as Capt Sparrow, would make a cameo appearance.

"He has a cameo, but it's a very important cameo," Bruckheimer said.

"We had to find three or four days when Keith wasn't touring.

"At the time we were filming this he was touring around Europe, so we found a little break in September, he had some time and we grabbed him and got him to the set."

Richards shot the cameo a few months after he fell out of a coconut tree while holidaying in Fiji, but Bruckheimer said the veteran rocker lapped up his time on the LA set with Depp.

"He loved it," Bruckheimer said.

"He had a ball. He didn't leave the set even when he wasn't shooting."

There are more than 2,000 special effects shots in Pirates Three.

Bruckheimer said technology had advanced so quickly fans will notice improvements in the special effects between the new film and Pirates Two.

Davy Jones, the mythical pirate whose face is part human and part squid, will once again make audiences squirm.

"Davy Jones is even better in this one," Bruckheimer said.

"The images are better.

"The technology makes it more real."

The technical wizards were pushed to create one of the film's more dramatic scenes, which involved a sea battle within a giant whirlpool.

"You would never have been able to do that sequence prior because water is the hardest to recreate digitally," Bruckheimer said.

To shoot the scene Bruckheimer and his crew hired one of the largest airplane hangars in the world, a building on the outskirts of Los Angeles that once housed Howard Hughes' giant sea plane, the Spruce Goose.

The one scene took eight weeks to film.

"We built three ships in that hangar and did a lot of that sequence there," Bruckheimer said.

There are rumours of a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie and while each chapter makes a $US1 billion ($A1.21 billion) at the box office and hundreds of millions more in DVD sales, it is probably more than speculation.

Bruckheimer, however, is adamant the series ends with the third film.

"This is the end," he said.

"This is the end of the trilogy."

Then again, that does not mean there could be a Pirates of the Caribbean spin-off, right?

"Whether there will be another movie depends on whether we can create something new and different, but this is the end," he adds.

"Everything is tied up at the end of this movie."

Bruckheimer is the master of the spin-off.

Along with his $US14 billion ($A16.96 billion) in movie revenue, he dominates TV, with the CSI TV franchise as well as top-rating TV series Without a Trace, Cold Case and Amazing Race.

He successfully spun off CSI: Crime Scene Investigation into CSI: Miami and CSI: NY.

As adamant as Bruckheimer is about no loose ends left for audiences at the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: At Word's End, he admits the script does leave the possibility of a spin-off.

Depp and Bloom have said they will hang up their swords after Pirates Three, but some other characters may live on.

"This is the end, but whether one of the characters or a couple of the characters continue on, it's a possibility," Bruckheimer concedes.

"Certainly, there is a moment at the end of the film there is a hope that something else might happen.

"There's a little string that goes off. There's something new."

Australian audiences can look for that "string" when Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End opens in Australia May 24.

AWE special on Veronica
posted by Jas, 04/29/07
Tessa reports that Dutch fans who can receive Dutch channels, Veronica will air a Pirates 3 special every Thursday in May from 8 pm - 8:30 pm in honor of their Moviemonth.

Interview with Lee Arenberg
posted by Jas, 04/29/07
Jew Review has an interview with Lee Arenberg where he talks about working with Johnny, Keith Richards, and the future of the Pirates franchise.

What’s it like getting on the set and putting on the make-up? Do you become Pintel, or are you still Lee?
I must say, fortunately, this role is one I can approach pretty technically. And so the transition of that make-up, which after 300 times of doing it, takes a little over an hour. My guy, Joel Harlow, is one of the most talented dudes on the whole set; he’s a jack of all trades on the artist side, and he’s been my guy for all three pictures. It was a lucky break to have that consistency and the artistry of what he does – the placement of the scar - throughout the process. Sometimes the make-up thing can be where you just sit there and take it, like a Star Treky thing. But with Pintel, you’ve got to stretch the skin, and it’s little participation bits; you’ve got to move your chin, you’ve got to stay locked in in that make-up, which is cool. Because when you stay there for an hour and you see that transition in the room, you’re there. And the very last thing you do before we do a take is the teeth; there’s nothing of Lee left. As long as my sounds sound like something from over there, I’m ok; I’d always run my lines by the other cast members, Mackenzie or (Kevin) McNally. After the first movie, I was on my own and I trusted them; it’s not that easy, especially when you have to ad-lib something. There’s something about those ‘a’ sounds, like ‘father’ or the word ‘last;’ it doesn’t sound right to me, so every time I would say it, it’d be like ‘clink, clink, clunker, clunker.’ To be able to do it enough times that your minds ear gets it; you really do have to nestisize your ears to the sound – (in his Pintel voice) ‘Pintel, he’s real convoluted, you know, at all times.’ And if I had to say those lines, ten times through, I’m good at identifying each one; you see my line, I re-write it above it on the page – ‘i’ becomes ‘oy,’ ‘time’ becomes ‘toyme.’ And every time, it’s not pretty, but my script looks like that; when I’m reading it in my mind, I’m reading the phonetics, I don’t memorize the words – ‘rain’ – ‘rayn.’

What’s it like working with Johnny Depp?
Johnny Depp is one of the greatest actors for his talent, his intellect, his choices, and also just his look – he’s got the ‘ace face’ to back it up; if you’re going to call bullsh*t, you’re a good looking man. He always says the fans are the boss of him, and he works for the fans; I think it was really interesting to me. One of the things about him that was so magical about him on the first one, Curse of the Black Pearl, was here you have one of the greatest actors – although corky and probably many of the audience hadn’t caught many of his pictures, or if they saw him, he was under scissorhand make-up or a pretty elaborate make-up job; to see him there, just nailing a character - in a way, very few actors in film actors ever have. There’s very few actors nominated for Oscars for a comedy; it’s Chaplin-esque. It’s legendary, it’s like Bob Beamon jumping three feet farther than anyone. The studio didn’t want to do it because they were afraid of the sexuality of his character, they didn’t know what to make of the teeth thing; but he sees three steps ahead. The romantic pirate is like a rock and roll star, so I’m going to base my character on my favorite rock and roll star, Keith Richards – and put in a little Pepe Le Peu for the kids.

What about Keith Richards?
When I met Keith Richards on P3, he reminded me of a modern f*ckin’ pirate, he really did; his bodyguard, Bill, was the real Pintel. Here’s a guy from South London, the dialect I’m trying to pull off; he’s my size, bald, stocky, and he works for a Pirate – he is Pintel. And he was paired up with a New York dude, but he was doing a double act too. So the parallels that Johnny sees, allowed for the rest of our success. A magical thing happened when all that came together.

What was that like to see him on set?
So cool; when I first met him, it was the best! He was in the make-up trailer and I just poked my head in there; I wanted to see Keith Richards. Johnny was in there doing a make-up test on him. I was dressed as Pintel, and he looked at me and busted into this Cheshire fat grin smile – he goes to Johnny, ‘Johnny, there’s another one!’ And that made me feel so good; he was such a great addition, if nothing more than a breath of fresh air. Obviously, he busted everyone’s balls – this is Keith Richards; he really is a cool dude, and a legend for a reason. He’s super smart, real charismatic, and it’s a different circus than he’s part of – that rock and roll circus. It was interesting of the two circuses locking up, just to hear his manager – the way we work, and he works hard too, in just one burst of artistic energy, where ours is sustained. We have a lot more people than a rock show, but they’re still there. I don’t want to give it away, but he is very cool – and just to be in the scene. That’s what we always checked in the first version of P3, we figured out where his part was going to be and make sure Mackenzie and I were always in that scene. But to me, it was more of his cameo was more of a kudos for Johnny – Johnny’s work, Johnny’s love. His wife, Patti Hansen, she’s gorgeous; she made me blush – and it’s hard to make Pintel blush. The kiss from Keira, that’s about it; his whole life, the guy’s never blushed and Patti Hansen did it, too.

Seeing Johnny and Keith next to each other as father and son, was it almost trying to figure out who the dad was and who the son was?
What’s interesting is the dynamic – how we act around Johnny is how Johnny acts around Keith. It was more about him hanging out outside Keith’s trailer like the rest of us poor shmucks – it was pretty neat. That’s the great thing, Johnny’s layer of humanity; he sees himself as a regular dude with a superstar gig. I don’t think he buys into his own bullsh*t either really; he’s got a beautiful family, and it’s given him a different perspective. When his daughter came to the set on the first one, he was worried she’d be scared of the pirates, but she loved them – the nastier, the better and that’s what was another good kudo for the project.

Will we see more of the Pirates?
I hope there’s more of them out there; I would want to think so. There’s always a possibility of them making a Pintel and Rigetti movie; I would want to do it, I love the characters. I always have thought these guys are the classic double team; it’s two actors brought together by a physical difference. Luckily for Mackenzie and I, they were looking for sexy and sexy – cause they got that right! Two highly hot, sexy men cast together. He’s such a great guy, I love the chance just to get to hang out with him and work; his acting sensibility matches mine. We were assigned to become really good friends off the first movie, and fortunately I’m loud, he’s quiet; he’s smart, I’m not – that kind of thing, it’s a nice combo. Those things, you can’t take any of that luck, that magic for granted. But when they get it right, they get it right; and the investment of a half a billion dollars, or whatever it is, to invest in a couple more movies – they made it on the first one. Both movies (2&3) are paid for from the success of the first.

On the Set: AWE
posted by Jas, 04/27/07
Starz Channel will have a behind the scenes look at the making of At World's End on May 11 at 4:00 - 4:15 AM/ET.

Pirates 3 cover trilogy
posted by Jas, 04/27/07
This month's Empire magazine has three different covers featuring Johnny, Keira or Orlando. Speaking of magazine, Gotham magazine has a feature on Orlando, read excerpts from the interview.

Orlando Bloom is a master at revealing very little about himself. The British heartthrob offers thoughtful, often sensitive, answers to all questions thrown at him, but is careful not to expose any more of himself than necessary. For instance, when asked what his biggest vice is, he takes a moment to think and then replies, “Vintage watches.” When I point out that his collection of 60-plus watches is an awfully G-rated vice, he laughs, knowing I’ve called his bluff. “Believe me, I have plenty more, but I’m not going to share them with you,” he says.

It’s ironic, then, that this sweet star who’s near-Garboesque in his desire for privacy has been catapulted into a stratospheric realm of fame. His name was among the most searched items on Google News last year, second only to that of Paris Hilton. While Hilton may be courting the attention, it seems Bloom has fallen into it. He’s appeared in two of the most successful movie franchises of all time, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Pirates of the Caribbean series, and those two roles alone have made him a household name the world over.

Bloom, 30, is clearly trying to handle all the attention with grace. When I ask if crazed female fans have sneaked into his hotel room, he doesn’t want to discuss it out of sensitivity to the fans who may have done so. “To be honest, I don’t want to share that with you because if I were that person reading this, I’d feel so embarrassed,” he explains. But it’s clear that all the attention is wearing on him. When talk turns to how he’s coping with the paparazzi or trying to have a private life, he sounds weary and a little annoyed. And when I cross the invisible line and ask about rumors that he’s dating Penélope Cruz, there’s a painfully long pause before a terse, “She’s a friend.” When I press him on it, the pause is so long I fear he’s hung up the phone.

On the eve of the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, the third film in the series, the avid environmentalist is looking toward venturing into independent “socially relevant” films. He’s ready to move on and shed the costumes. It may be a chance for us to finally see the real Orlando… maybe.

GOTHAM: What’s it like to have teenage girls cry hysterically when they see you?
ORLANDO BLOOM: It’s kind of sweet, you know. It’s a very pure and very real reaction, because they just lose it. I’m always amazed and very touched, because it’s an authentic response to a moment…. I remember being in Spain during the filming of Kingdom of Heaven. I was just talking to my mum on the phone and halfway through the conversation she asked, “What’s that in the background?” And I was like, “Um, it’s just a few girls screaming….” It was kind of a trip because it was the first time it had been like that. It’s not like that’s my life, though. It’s not like there are people camped outside my house.

G: What’s the most bizarre interaction you’ve had with a fan?
OB: In New York this girl kind of freaked out at me. I was being let out of a building and the security people were saying, “You’ve got to keep moving! You can’t stop! If you stop we’re going to have chaos in here!” But she got kind of aggressive with me and was really angry. She was like, “I’ve been at every premiere and you never say hello.” And it was funny, I felt really upset. I felt bad for her. So I turned around and went over to her and just gave her a hug and said, “It’s cool. I’m sorry you feel let down or disappointed. But the nature of my life is I can’t necessarily stop every time, and it’s not because I don’t want to.” I think she felt a little better afterward, and so did I. And for me, it actually shed a little light on the other side of the coin.

G: You spend a lot of time in New York. Would you ever buy a place here?
OB: Fuck, I’d love to. I love New York. I’m a city boy, for sure.

G: What are some of your favorite places here?
OB: On this last trip I went to see The Vertical Hour, which was great. I tend to see a play every time I’m in New York. I went to the Beatrice Inn and I liked it. You don’t find places like that anywhere else.

G: So many celebs love New York because they can go about their daily lives without being bothered. Is it the same in London?
OB: I think New Yorkers probably think they’re too cool for school, which I love. It’s like London in that way—people don’t tend to jump down your throat.

G: But the British paparazzi are legendary. Do you get harassed?
OB: What are you going to do? It’s part of the job.

G: Which are worse, tabloids or bloggers?
OB: What’s a blogger?

G: Like PerezHilton.com….
OB: Right. It’s all the same thing. It’s sad to me that the celebrity culture has taken over in such a way that it overshadows a lot of what this industry is—or should be—about. It feels like it’s all about celebrity and fame and less about talent and ability.

G: I heard there’s actually an imposter “Orlando” on MySpace. Have you checked out his site?
OB: I heard about him in a really weird way. This guy approached me in my hometown and said something like, “I’m Angel.” He had this mad look in his eye. I was like, “You’re who? That’s a funny name for a guy.” And he said, “I’m four down on MySpace. You’re on MySpace, right?” And I said, “I don’t even know what it is!” I’m not on it. So anyone who’s pretending to be me, I hope he’s getting laid a lot.

G: Where would you like to be in 10 years?
OB: I definitely see myself acting and maybe doing some producing. I’d love to have a family of my own, children…. I really do want to live that life.

G: Is it hard for you to date when you’re the focus of so much attention?
OB: Yeah, it is. It just kills the romance of the initial moment. I grew up predominantly with my mother and my sister, so I’m comfortable in the presence of women. I have a lot of female friends, and I can’t step outside with any of them without being linked to them in some form or another. It’s sort of annoying, but what can you do?

G: So, are you dating Penélope Cruz?
OB: [Pause] She’s a friend of mine.

G: So you’re not dating?
OB: [Very, very long pause] OK, so what’s your next question?

G: This is your third film playing pirate Will Turner. How has the role affected you?
OB: It’s rubbed off on me a little bit. It’s taken up the majority of my mid- to late 20s, and informed many aspects of my life and who I am. We started doing a film about pirates years ago and no one knew that it was going to take off the way it has. The success of the movie has brought good and bad things to my life. Mostly good things, obviously, but it locks you into a certain world you wouldn’t necessarily have expected.

G: Like what? Being considered a heartthrob?
OB: Yeah, being a “heartthrob” and being in huge blockbusters. I’ve found myself in a lot of big movies, and obviously those were choices I made, parts I auditioned for and am really excited about. But I feel I’m at a point where I want to make decisions based on character and authentic worlds. I want roles that can reflect the man and the actor I’m growing into instead of the actor I’ve been.

G: Do you get a little tired of playing the same character when you do so many sequels?
OB: Yeah. I mean, look—when I tell you I’ve spent the majority of my 20’s working on one character, I mean it’s been great. I’ve loved it. The movies’ success has afforded me a great life and the potential for more work. But I also want to mix it up. It’s time to move on.

Video Download: AWE Featurette #3 - Characters
posted by Jas, 04/26/07
New At World's End Characters featurette, it contains the same clips aired on ET last night.