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From MTV
Nov 18 2009 3:32 PM EST
Johnny Depp Says He'd 'Love To' Return To 'Pirates Of The Caribbean'
Actor says his participation will depend on quality of the script.
By Eric Ditzian
(excerpt)MTV News had a chance to chat with Depp, People magazine's newly anointed Sexiest Man Alive, on Tuesday night at the Museum of Modern Art's Tim Burton retrospective in New York, and the star revealed several key points. He hasn't seen a script. He's unsure of what the story line will be. And while he's keen to step into the boots of pirate Jack Sparrow once again, he stopped well short of making a 100 percent commitment to return.
"The thing is, I'd love to do it," Depp responded when asked if he could assure the public that he'd reprise the role. Then he began to hedge a bit.
"If there's a script and a story that is outside of what we've done before and it's worthy of the audience's attention, I would definitely do it," he said.
From Seeking Alpha It mentions that Disney plans on starting the filming of Pirates 4 in "Spring 2010."
The Daily Herald
Hollywood drama washes ashore to find 'Pirates' writerGeoff Boucher - Los Angeles Times | Posted: Friday, October 9, 2009 12:00 am | No Comments Posted
HOLLYWOOD -- Last month, Johnny Depp walked on stage at the Anaheim Convention Center in his Jack Sparrow costume and delighted a surprised audience of Disney fans with his rummy buccaneer's trademark mutter. Within an hour, award-winning fantasy author Tim Powers found a flurry of e-mails from surprised friends and fans filling his inbox.
The reason: Depp's theatrical appearance at Disney's D23 Expo included the announcement that the fourth Sparrow film would be titled "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," echoing the name of a 1987 fantasy novel by Powers about pirates and the Fountain of Youth. Everyone wanted to know if Powers had hit the Hollywood jackpot -- or if he needed to be in touch with his attorney.
Powers was in a tricky spot. He wanted to publicly celebrate a career windfall, but the folks at Disney had made it clear that he was supposed to keep everything under wraps. He was more surprised than anyone that the title had been trumpeted at Disney's promotional convention.
"I was still -- as far as I understood -- not free to talk about it," the author said Monday. "Then about a week ago my agent wrote and said, 'You're now able to say that, in fact, Disney did option the book.' That happened awhile ago; it'll be three years in April."
The novelist, with a dozen books to his credit, is still a bit dazed that a book he published during the Reagan administration will set sail in May 2011 as the new edition of a Disney franchise that has racked up $1.78 billion in worldwide box office since hoisting its flag in 2003.
"Yes, I'm thrilled," Powers said, "I think it's great."
The 57-year-old is a two-time winner of the World Fantasy Award, taking the prize home for "Last Call," (the 1992 tale based in the gritty underbelly of Las Vegas that weaves in tales of ancient magic and wagers for the soul) and "Declare" (a 2001 novel that presents the secret supernatural history of Civil War spies and conspiracies). All his books, he says, have "some kind of supernatural stuff going on; it's the only sort of stories I can think of."
Powers is intrigued to see how Hollywood will bend his historical fantasy to its needs. In the original form, "On Stranger Tides" was the tale of "Jack Shandy" Chandagnac, who is the son of a British puppeteer who gave up the family marionette tradition after his father died destitute. He sets sail for Jamaica to find the nefarious uncle who stole his father's rightful inheritance, but en route he is captured by pirates who practice sorcery. They give him the choice of joining their ranks or being executed. Soon he reluctantly falls into service to Blackbeard, who is on a quest to locate the Fountain of Youth.
"I've watched all the movies several times, of course, and I think the clear thing they would use is the trip to the Fountain of Youth," Powers said. "My main character doesn't overlap with Jack Sparrow at all (in personality or circumstance). They're totally different characters. I suppose they might overlap the Geoffrey Rush character Barbossa and Blackbeard. The only thing I feel certain they will hold on to is the Fountain of Youth, since they telegraphed that at the end of the last movie."
Either way, Powers said he was not going to walk into the theater with many expectations other than hoping to have a good time as a moviegoer.
"Some people said, 'Powers, are you worried that they're going to mess up your book?' I always think of something James Cain, the author of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice,' said when people asked what he thought of the things Hollywood had done to his books. He pointed to the bookshelf and said, 'They haven't done anything to them, look.' That's my attitude. Just take all the fun stuff and, of course, any checks. ... It strikes me as unrealistic to look at it in any other way."
Still Powers has a bit of concern about the project as it moves forward, considering some recent reports. On Sept. 18, after the D23 Expo, Depp spoke to Claudia Eller of the Los Angeles Times and said that the abrupt ouster of longtime Disney studio chief Dick Cook had dampened his interest in a fourth "Pirates" film.
"There's a fissure, a crack in my enthusiasm at the moment," the star said, saying also that he was "shocked and very sad" to see Cook walk the corporate plank after playing such a key role in the "Pirates" success story. "Pirates" would also be moving forward without Gore Verbinski, the director of the opening trilogy. Monday, Powers sounded like a man who wishes he could cast a voodoo spell on all the Hollywood players who are navigating the cinematic ship of the "Pirates" franchise. "Nobody talk to each other. Everyone just stand and smile. Don't do anything to mess this up. Let's keep this going, OK?"
From the LA TImes BlogspotHero Complex
For your inner fanboy
Is the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' film franchise a sinking ship?
October 9, 2009 | 11:57 pmFOUR FRANCHISES AT A CROSSROADS: PART FOUR
This week we're taking a look at four major trilogies from this decade that are looking to add a fourth film despite substantial challenges -- not least among those challenges the skepticism of moviegoers who may wonder whether some of these Hollywood vehicles are running on empty. You can find the other three installments of the series right here.
Pirates of the Caribbean Worlds End
"PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN"
The story so far: Back in 2003, in the months before the release of the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" film, very few observers thought the venture was sea-worthy. It was a $135 million movie based on a Disneyland ride -- a crass approach to filmmaking that had given the world the furry failure of "The Country Bears" just a year earlier. The movie was also a pirate film -- a genre that went out of style in Errol Flynn's lifetime and had produced the cringe-worthy flop "Cuthroat Island" less than a decade earlier. The star, meanwhile, was Johnny Depp, an actor who had proven himself to be too quirky for the American moviegoing public (he had starred in only one film, "Sleepy Hollow," that topped a $100 million in U.S. box office). On paper, it looked like madness, but, of course, it turned out to be a treasure map. Depp's bleary rogue Jack Sparrow would be become a signature characters in modern popcorn-film history (and earn Depp an Academy Award nomination) while director Gore Verbinksi tapped into a rollicking mix of adventure, supernatural thrills and comedy. The first film pulled in $654 million worldwide. The sequel did even better -- it's $1.06 billion worldwide made it the highest-grossing film of 2006. A third film in 2007 brought in $961 million. A fourth installment, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," is due in 2011.
Johnny Depp and Dick Cook The challenge: There are plenty. The first film was fresh, fun and unexpected, but the franchise started to get creaky as soon as it came back for a second voyage. The third film was oddly long and labored -- didn't this franchise start as swashbuckling lark? -- and left critics sounding as if they had found a drowning victim in the theater aisle. Claudia Puig of USA Today called it a "bloated, overwrought and convoluted three-hour misfire." Still, money was made, and Disney wants to keep this ship afloat, so a new approach was taken with this fourth film: The studio secured the rights to "On Stranger Tides," a 1987 novel by fantasy author Tim Powers that weaves a tale of pirates, voodoo and the Fountain of Youth, making this the first adaptated work in the series. That move was made (presumably) to save the next film from the loopy and confusing plot threads of the last installment. That's all to the good, but there's also the question of who will replace Verbinski, who decided that after three films it was time to go ashore. Rob Marshall ("Chicago") is the name that is everywhere but his hiring has not been publicly confirmed by the studio as I type this. Really, though, the more pressing worry: What would "Pirates" do if its jolly anti-hero Jack Sparrow decided at this late-date to abandon ship?
The status: The plan is start filming in the spring (that according to an MTV interview with co-star Geoffrey Rush) and the venture got off to a sunny start when Depp, proving himself a real trouper, showed up at a Disney convention in Anaheim in his full Sparrow costume and make-up to promote the film. Depp and Dick Cook, the longtime Disney studio executive who was a key player in the "Pirates" franchise, smiled, hugged and mugged for the cameras and fans. Then, just days later, Cook was kicked to the curb by his corporate bosses. Depp, in an interview with Claudia Eller of the Los Angeles Times, said he was "shocked and very sad" and admitted that there was "a crack in my enthusiasm" for the planned "Pirates" sequel.
The prediction: Depp is in an interesting spot here. He does a lot of work with Disney ("Alice in Wonderland" is now in post-production and Disney officials say the "Lone Ranger" project is still out there on the horizon line) and I would imagine that, contracturally, it would be very difficult for him to walk away from "Pirates" at this point, too. (If he does walk away, it would be thunderbolt announcement that would fracture his relations with the studio and cause a great deal of embarassment for Disney CEO Bob Iger, the fellow who pushed Cook out onto the plank.) Depp showed himself to be a team player by dressing up as Sparrow for a promotional event but he also flashed his maverick spirit by publicly siding with the long-gone Cook. From my vantage point, that suggests he might honor his commitment to a fourth "Pirates" voyage and then set sail in a new direction.
-- Geoff Boucher
From IMDB
Robin Hood star Clive Standen offered role in next Pirates of the Caribbean?5 October 2009 7:19 AM, PDT | The Geek Files | See recent The Geek Files news »
Clive Standen, most recently seen in the BBC's Robin Hood series, is being offered a role in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, according to a rumour that's reached us here at the Coventry Telegraph.
An email tip-off claims Standen has just been flown to Los Angeles by producer Jerry Bruckheimer for talks over appearing in Pirates 4.
The handsome 28-year-old, born in Northern Ireland and educated in Leicestershire, lives in London with his wife and children.
He played Robin Hood's brother Archer in the BBC series. He was set to become the new lead character after Robin was killed off, but the show was cancelled instead.
Standen also played Unit leader Private Carl Harris in several Doctor Who storylines.
I'm still trying to get official confirmation that Clive is being approached to join the Pirates franchise, so treat this as rumour for the time being.
But, having looked into his background, »
- David Bentley
From the LA TimesHero Complex
For your inner fanboy« Previous Post | Hero Complex Home | Next Post »
Surprised author Tim Powers finds himself setting sail with 'Pirates of the Caribbean'
October 6, 2009 | 7:28 amJohnny Depp as Jack Sparrow
Last month, Johnny Depp walked on stage at the Anaheim Convention Center in his Jack Sparrow costume and delighted a surprised audience of Disney fans with his rummy buccaneer's trademark mutter. Within an hour, in San Bernadino, an award-winning fantasy author named Tim Powers found a flurry of emails from surprised friends and fans filling his inbox.
The reason for the e-mail barrage: Depp's theatrical appearance at Disney's D23 Expo included the announcement that the fourth Sparrow film will be entitled "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," which echoes the name of a 1987 fantasy novel by Powers about pirates and the Fountain of Youth. Everyone wanted to know if Powers had hit the Hollywood jackpot -- or if he needed to be in touch with his attorney.
Tim Powers Powers was in a tricky spot -- he wanted to publicly celebrate a career windfall but the folks at Disney had made it clear that he was supposed to keep everything under wraps. He was more surprised than anyone that the title had been trumpeted at Disney's new promotional convention.
"I was still -- as far as I understood -- not free to talk about it," the author told me Monday. "Then about a week ago my agent wrote and said, 'You're now able to say that in fact Disney did option the book.' That happened a while ago, it'll be three years in April."
The novelist, with a dozen books to his credit, is still a bit dazed by the fact that a book he published during the Reagan administration will setting sail in May 2011 as new edition of a Disney franchise that has racked up $1.78 billion in worldwide box office since hoisting its flag in 2003. "Yes, I'm thrilled," Power said, "I think it's great."
The 57-year-old is a two-time winner of the World Fantasy Award, taking the prize home for "Last Call" (the 1992 tale based in the gritty underbelly of Las Vegas that weaves in tales on ancient magic and wagers for the soul) and "Declare" (a 2001 novel that presents the secret supernatural history of Civil War spies and conspiracies). All of his books, he says, have "some kind of supernatural stuff going on, it's the only sort of stories I can think of."
On Stranger Tides Powers is intrigued to see how Hollywood will bend his historical fantasy to its needs. In the original form, "On Stranger Tides" was the tale of "Jack Shandy" Chandagnac, who is the son of a British puppeteer who gave up the family marionette tradition after his father died destitute. He sets sail for Jamaica to find the nefarious uncle who stole his father's rightful inheritance but en route he is captured by pirates who practice sorcery -- they give him the choice of joining their ranks or execution. Soon he reluctantly falls into service to Blackbeard, who is on a quest to locate the Fountain of Youth.
"I've watched all the movies several times, of course, and I think the clear thing they would use is the trip to the Fountain of Youth," Powers said. "My main character doesn't overlap with Jack Sparrow at all [in personality or circumstance]; they're totally different characters. I suppose they might overlap the Geoffrey Rush character Barbossa and Blackbeard. The only thing I feel certain they will hold on to is the Fountain of Youth since they telegraphed that at the end of the last movie." Either way, Powers said he is not going to walk into the theater with too many expectations other than hoping to have a good time as a moviegoer.
"Some people said, 'Powers are you worried that they're going to mess up your book?' and I always think of something James Cain, the author of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice,' said when people asked what he thought of the things Hollywood had done to his books; he pointed to the bookshelf and said, 'They haven't done anything to them, look.' That's my attitude. Just take all the fun stuff and, of course, any checks.... It strikes me as unrealistic to look at it in any other way."
Still, Powers has a bit of concern about the project as it moves forward, considering some recent reports. On Sept. 18, after the D23 Expo, Depp spoke to Claudia Eller of the Los Angeles Times and said that the abrupt ouster of longtime Disney studio chief Dick Cook had dampened his interest in a fourth "Pirates" film.
"There's a fissure, a crack in my enthusiasm at the moment," the star said, saying also that he was "shocked and very sad" to see Cook walk the corporate plank after playing such a key role in the "Pirates" success story. "Pirates" would also be moving forward without Gore Verbinski, the director of the opening trilogy. On Monday, Powers sounded like a man who wishes he could cast a voodoo spell on all the Hollywood players who are navigating the cinematic ship of the "Pirates" franchise. "Nobody talk to each other, everyone just stand and smile, don't do anything to mess this up, let's keep this going, OK?"
-- Geoff Boucher
From Cinema Blend
Disney Promises Depp For Pirates 4
By Katey Rich: 2009-09-28 17:44:43
ShareThis
Disney Promises Depp For Pirates 4 You may have seen our story from a few days ago that explains that, while Johnny Depp is still planning to participate in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, he'd be a lot less likely to sign on for any further sequels, and that Disney may consider replacing Jack Sparrow with some other new character.To follow up on the story, I spoke to a Disney representative today who had checked with the higher-ups in the company, who assure that Depp has not wavered one bit in his commitment to Pirates 4, despite some cryptic statements he made when Disney exec Dick Cook left the studio last week.
As for any movies following Stranger Tides, the Disney rep can't speak about those-- probably not because they don't want to do them, but because nothing has yet been greenlit, and it would be silly to publicly speculate otherwise. Same goes for a new character, which our rep says they're not even thinking about yet--though, again, that doesn't mean that no one at the Disney office has had the thought "Hey, how does Zac Efron look in eyeliner?"
So, to wrap things up, Johnny Depp is still doing Pirates 4, just as our tipster suspected he would given that he's a man of his word. As for what happens after that, no one knows for certain-- not Depp, not Disney, not the guy who makes Captain Jack's hats, even our tipster said it was all just speculation and rumors. As soon as anything emerges as fact, we promise to let you know.
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