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The
Curse of the Black Pearl
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION Part 1 |
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| ABOUT
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 15
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:
The Curse of the Black Pearl
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
For the roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow (JOHNNY DEPP), the
crystalline waters of the Caribbean, like the high seas the world
over, present a vast playground where adventure and mystery abound.
But Jack's idyllic pirate life capsizes after his nemesis, the wily
Captain Barbossa (GEOFFREY RUSH), steals his ship, the Black Pearl,
and later attacks the town of Port Royal, kidnapping the Governor's
(JONATHAN PRYCE) beautiful daughter, Elizabeth Swann (KEIRA KNIGHTLEY).
Elizabeth's childhood friend, Will Turner (ORLANDO BLOOM), joins forces
with Jack to commandeer the fastest ship in the British fleet, the
H.M.S. Interceptor, in a gallant attempt to rescue her and recapture
the Black Pearl. The duo and their ragtag crew are pursued by Elizabeth's
betrothed, the debonair, ambitious Commodore Norrington (JACK DAVENPORT),
aboard the H.M.S. Dauntless. Unbeknownst to Will, a cursed treasure
has doomed Barbossa and his crew to live forever as the undead, the
moonlight eerily transforming them into living skeletons. The curse
they carry can be broken only if the plundered treasure is restored
in total and a blood debt repaid.
Against all odds, the Interceptor and Dauntless race toward a thrilling
confrontation with Barbossa's pirates on the mysterious Isla de Muerta.
At stake is Jack Sparrow's revenge, the Black Pearl, a fortune in
forbidden treasure, the lifting of the pirates' curse that has doomed
Barbossa and his crew to live forever as skeletons, the fate of the
British navy, and the lives of our valiant heroes as they clash their
swords in fierce combat against the dreaded Pirates of the Caribbean.
From producer Jerry Bruckheimer comes the thrilling live-action adventure,
Walt Disney Pictures' "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the
Black Pearl," directed by Gore Verbinski. Screenplay by Ted Elliott
& Terry Rossio. Screen Story by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Stuart
Beattie and Jay Wolpert. Executive Producers are Mike Stenson, Chad
Oman, Bruce Hendricks and Paul Deason. The film stars Johnny Depp,
Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Kevin
R. McNally, Zoe Saldana and Jonathan Pryce. Buena Vista Pictures distributes.
 ABOUT
THE PRODUCTION
The thrilling tale of a daring rescue mission aimed at reversing an
ancient curse, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"
is an irreverent wink at the famous Disney theme park attraction.
When the idea was first presented to the production executives at
Disney Studios, they could think of only one producer able to handle
the scope and intricacies of such an undertaking. Michael Eisner,
Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company, Dick Cook, Chairman of
Walt Disney Studios, and Nina Jacobson, President of the Buena Vista
Motion Pictures Group, initially approached Jerry Bruckheimer to orchestrate
this extravaganza, and Jerry was only too anxious to get underway.
He has always wanted to make a motion picture about pirates. "I loved
watching pirate pictures as a kid," says Bruckheimer. "'Treasure Island,'
'Captain Blood' and 'The Black Pirate' were some of my favorites.
Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks were formidable, and although their
movies are still exciting and very watchable today, I thought we could
add some extra pizzazz to a popular theme.
"I think we take the swashbuckler genre to a new level," he adds.
"This has all the thrills and romance that you would expect from a
big adventure." Bruckheimer-who knows better than anyone what it takes
to bring 'big adventure' to the big screen-began assembling his team.
"We brought in Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, two wonderful writers
who created a hit with 'Shrek,'" he continues. "They brought in the
element of the supernatural, which gave the story an edge that interested
me. Anything I'm interested in seeing, I'm interested in making."
A trademark of Jerry Bruckheimer Films productions, writers are involved
in every step of the production process. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio
were on set at all times during production.
"The experience Terry and I had is what every single writer dreams
of," Ted Elliott says. "For a writer, being on set every day is unheard
of. From beginning to end, it was terrific. To be able to talk to
the director, the producer, the actors and even someone like the makeup
artist, to ask questions and find out why things are done a certain
way, was such a wonderful education. It was gratifying to realize
the imagination and creativity each crew member put into the movie.
From set design to costumes and makeup, seeing the production unfold
on set was better than anything we made up and put on paper."
His partner agrees. "Jerry gave Gore such freedom, and Gore was confident
enough with his ideas that he had no problem being collaborative,"
says Terry Rossio. "We just knew the approach we wanted to take; we
knew we wanted these characters and these specific moments in the
story. We wanted it to be a very classic, Jane Austen-style, bodice-ripping
romance.
"Ted and I actually worked very closely with Jerry, Mike Stenson and
Chad Oman; they were instrumental in developing the story," recalls
Rossio. "Writers don't often have that kind of consistent, involved
access to producers, and producers are not necessarily as knowledgeable
as these guys are about structure and dialogue."
"This project was charmed from the beginning," says Mike Stenson.
"Ted and Terry are the absolute masters of this type of storytelling,
and it turned out they had always wanted to do the feature version
of 'Pirates.' They even sang the theme song the first time we met."
Elliott and Rossio will tell you that timing is everything. They pitched
an idea for a pirate movie almost ten years earlier after completing
work on "Aladdin," but there was no interest from any studio. Undeterred,
the writing team refused to give up the dream, keeping their concept
on a back burner, convinced that the combination of romance, adventure
and mystery would one day become popular again.
Actor Johnny Depp was unhesitatingly confident that the writing duo
could handle the job and make a childhood dream come true. "Isn't
it every boy's dream to be a pirate and get away with basically anything?"
Depp asks rhetorically. "Who wouldn want to play a pirate?"
It wasn't purely boyish exuberance that factored into Depp's decision
to accept the role of Captain Jack Sparrow; he was wholeheartedly
confident in the quality of the project when he learned of Elliott
and Rossio's participation. "The second I heard that Ted and Terry
were writing the script, I knew we were in good shape," Depp says.
"With Jerry's background and Gore's intense focus, I knew the film
had strong shoulders to stand on. When I read Ted and Terry's screenplay,
I was pleasantly surprised; they'd exceeded my expectations. They
brought a great amount of humor to the story and created building
blocks for the actors to elaborate, to really stretch the character."
With a script in place, Bruckheimer was now on the hunt for a director.
"My agent called and said, 'How do you feel about a pirate movie?'
I mean, how often are you going to get that call?," recalls Gore Verbinski,
who most recently directed "The Ring." Bruckheimer had attempted to
hire Verbinski several years earlier, but schedules would not allow.
"I had met him early on in his career and thought he was very talented
after seeing his commercial reel," says the producer. "But somebody
got to him before I could and he went off to make 'Mouse Hunt.'"
"We talked quite a bit over the last few years about trying to find
a project to work on together," adds Verbinski. "I am thoroughly entertained
by his films. I am there with the popcorn, getting my money's worth
every time I go to a Jerry Bruckheimer picture." "We were lucky to
sign Gore right before 'The Ring' came out," comments Bruckheimer.
"This film is perfect for him because we encouraged him to use his
wonderful sense of humor and his great storytelling skills. And because
it has elements of the supernatural, Gore got to use lots of visual
effects. His enthusiasm is like a little kid's. He loves to work with
actors, and actors love him. We were fortunate because he really was
the perfect director for this project."
Mike Stenson echoes Bruckheimer's praise. "Gore's combination of visual
style, technical expertise and humor made him our first and only choice
as a director. He said yes the first meeting as well."
A fan of "Captain Blood," "The Crimson Pirate," "The Black Pirate"
and other pirate movies in his younger days, Verbinski was sold on
the concept. "There's something rebellious and revolutionary about
piracy," he says. "Pirates came out of a time when things were oppressive
and people were hung for simply stealing a piece of bread, so what
have you got to lose. For me, the film's about breaking the rules,
and when it's appropriate to break the rules to get what you want.
All the characters ultimately try to obtain their desires through
piracy, through the good and the bad aspects of that."
Elliott and Rossio presented Verbinski their outline, and the director
liked what he heard. It was the element of the curse in the story
that, in Verbinski's words, "was really an opportunity to turn the
movie on its head and open it up as a genre. "When I first heard the
pitch from Ted and Terry, what I liked about it was that it was a
terrific perversion of the classic tale," says Verbinski. "I came
in asking, 'What is the standard plot structure? Is it a kidnapping?
Is it buried treasure?' When actually, it has all of these qualities,
yet the principle one is reversed. It is a film about finding the
last piece of treasure and putting it back. Barbossa and his pirates
need to return the last piece of cursed treasure so they can feel
the pleasures of the flesh-and-blood world. The curse has allowed
Barbossa and his pirates to keep the currency and to continue their
villainy, but they're not able to enjoy it."
Verbinski began prepping and storyboarding the movie from Elliott
and Rossio's outline. "It's no way to prep a movie, especially one
that's shot on water," the director laughs. "We just kind of hit the
ground running. It was chaos."
***
Casting was the next step for the production.
"We always try to populate our movies with great talent," says Jerry
Bruckheimer. "And in this one we were lucky enough to combine respected,
well-known veterans with several up-and-coming actors.
Excellence begets excellence, and with every additional actor we signed,
the bar just moved higher and higher."
"We have a dream cast," says Verbinski. "It's not often that a director
has an opportunity like this. To work with a cast of this caliber
on a pirate movie is a chance of a lifetime."
"The way you get an audience to really embrace a movie is to cast
against the grain," explains Bruckheimer. "You find someone the audience
would never expect to see in a Disney movie.
"I went after Johnny Depp," he says with a knowing grin. "Johnny is
an artist who's known to take on quirkier projects. He's a brilliant
actor. He's not out to create a fan base for himself, or to simply
select work based on salary; it's clear he needs to find a role that
gives back to him artistically. I think he also wanted to do something
specifically for his kids."
Ironically, Depp's character isn't exactly the kind of guy you'd want
your kids to emulate. "Jack Sparrow's the type of character that you
enjoy watching steal money from a little old lady," says Verbinski.
"He is basically a con man-he's lazy, he's a great pirate, but he
is not going to fight if he doesn't have to. He's always going to
take a shortcut. I think the big thing for Captain Jack Sparrow is
his myth.
He's kind of his own best agent-he markets himself very well."
"Jack Sparrow's a rogue, but he doesn't have a dark heart," adds Orlando
Bloom, who plays the role of Will Turner. "He's a man trying to live
with integrity."
Depp was attracted by the opportunity to create a totally new character
from scratch. "It was a different kind of role for me. It was a great
opportunity to invent this pirate from the ground up, to create a
different kind of pirate than you have seen before." The filmmakers
gave the actor free reign to be creative with the character. "Johnny's
known for creating his own characters," says Bruckheimer. "He had
a definite vision for Jack Sparrow which is completely unique. We
just let him go and he came up with this off-center, yet very shrewd
pirate. He can't quite hold his balance, his speech is a bit slurred,
so you assume he's either drunk, seasick or he's been on a ship too
long. But it's all an act perpetrated for effect. And strange as it
seems, it's also part of Captain Jack's charm."
Depp also appreciated the mischievous nature and never-say-die attitude
of his character. "In Jack, I saw a guy who was able to run between
the raindrops. He can walk across the DMZ, entertain a troop and then
sashay back to the other side and tell the enemy another story. He
tries to stay on everyone's good side because he's wise enough to
know he might need them in the future.
"No matter how bad things got, there was always this sort of bizarre
optimism about him," continues the actor. "I also thought there was
something beautiful and poignant about the idea of his objective.
All he wants is to get his ship back, which represents nothing more
than pure freedom to him. Of course he'll thieve and do whatever it
takes, especially when the opportunity arises, but his main focus
is just to get the Black Pearl back at whatever cost."
"Jack's one mission is to get back his ship," echoes Verbinski. "Again,
it's about the simplicity of the character: his great love and his
great freedom are his ship. He's not the villain and he's not the
love interest, although he does think he's got a chance with Elizabeth.
Jack Sparrow is a bit of an oddball. Johnny's character is not unlike
Lee Marvin's in 'Cat Ballou.' He really just floats through the story
affecting all around him while pursuing his goal."
Depp, who developed his ideas for the character of Jack while reading
the script in his sauna, had strong ideas about Jack's attitude and
appearance. His inspirations for the character were diverse: Depp
says he modeled a large part of the character after legendary Rolling
Stones guitarist Keith Richards, added a bit of the cartoon character
Pepe Le Pew and tossed in some modern day Rastafarian. "Pirates were
the rock stars of their day," says the actor.
"Jack's got little trinkets hanging in his hair, so that was one of
the inspirations. I like the idea that each one of these little pieces
is a very vivid and extremely important memory for Jack," says Depp.
Still in his thirties, Depp also found himself in the unusual role
of elder statesman to his younger costars, who grew up watching the
actor in such films as "Cry-Baby," "Edward Scissorhands" and "What's
Eating Gilbert Grape."
"I can't say enough good things about Johnny," says Keira Knightley,
who plays Elizabeth. "It was a dream, it was a pleasure. I mean, he
was wicked. Really cool."
"Johnny is a wonderful human being," says Orlando Bloom. "I would
go to him for advice on all sorts of things. I felt really privileged
to work so closely with somebody who I've admired from afar throughout
his career."
Geoffrey Rush stars opposite Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow's nemesis,
the dastardly Captain Barbossa. An Academy Award® winner heralded
for tackling profound characters in momentous projects, Rush enhanced
the entire project by taking on the mantle of Barbossa, a scheming
brigand with a pompous air, forced to live in a netherworld between
human life and skeletal demise.
"We needed an equally accomplished actor to play Johnny's adversary,"
explains Bruckheimer. "Geoffrey Rush is enormously talented and is
known for playing a vast array of characters. We were lucky that he
had a break in his schedule and wanted to be part of this project.
Geoffrey's Barbossa is the quintessential villain; it's a treat to
watch him become the character."
In an effort to find out what makes the wicked Barbossa tick, Rush
created a rich backstory for the character as he prepared for the
role. "He achieved the position of captain by being a mutinous first
mate, and taking over the Black Pearl and claiming it as his own,"
he says. "I thought, this guy has got to be a crack swordsman, and
a very nasty, dirty fighter. He didn't go to finishing school with
an épée; he probably had a sword on his belt from the time he was
about 13, and he just knew how to hack off heads.
"I think Barbossa is actually quite smart," Rush continues. "That's
probably why he's survived, because he used preemptive logic to map
out his plans and deceive people. He pretends to be a gentleman of
the sea, but he is a dirty old cunning rogue."
Rush speculates that Barbossa may have, at one time early in his life,
had "very earnest desires to be a man of the sea. But he realized
pretty quickly that you could actually get a lot more if you broke
the rules, lied to people, killed a few people and took over. Maybe
that's the innate fantasy people have about being a pirate."
Rush and Johnny Depp had similar styles in their approach to the material,
and both actors took full advantage of the screenwriters' availability
on set. The two actors, unrecognizable to passersby in their pirate
garb, spent most of their time between camera set-ups outside the
stage door, hashing through scenes with Elliott and Rossio.
Although Depp and Rush had only a handful of scenes with one another
during the six-month shoot, it is immediately clear from their interaction
that there is a long and sordid history between Jack Sparrow and Barbossa-and
a mutual admiration between the actors. "Geoffrey's a very interesting
actor, a renegade," says Depp. "I love his work. He never sticks his
neck out in quite the same way. He likes to throw ideas out there
and try new things, and so do I. This was just as important as any
other truly serious, heavy film for Geoffrey; he didn't hold anything
back. He's deeply committed, which is one of the reasons I was excited
to work with him."
"Jack is probably the pirate that everyone wants to be; he is freewheeling,
he is absolutely his own man, he's hilarious-he's like Johnny," comments
Rush. "It was extraordinary to watch Johnny create this character.
It was such a cool performance, very masterfully done. He is a brilliant
actor."
Bruckheimer cast Orlando Bloom in the role of handsome blacksmith
Will Turner after meeting him on his film "Black Hawk Down." As "Pirates
of the Caribbean" opens, 10-year-old Will is pulled from the Caribbean
Sea drifting amidst the murdered crew and burning wreckage of a British
ship attacked by pirates. That day, aboard the H.M.S. Dauntless, Elizabeth
takes from the unconscious Will a souvenir-a medallion bearing the
skull of a pirate's Jolly Roger- hoping to save his life. This event
sets the whole story in motion.
"When we first cast him in 'Black Hawk Down,' I knew his time would
come," says Bruckheimer. "I just didn't know how lucky we'd be to
grab him before all the frenzy started with the two 'Lord of the Rings'
films. I actually talked to him about this role while we were on 'Black
Hawk' and he thought it sounded like a wonderful character."
Bloom recalls that at a wrap party for the forthcoming film "Ned Kelly,"
in which he and Geoffrey Rush performed, he had a curious conversation
with the Oscar®-winning actor about pirates in Australia. "Geoffrey
said he was involved with this movie," says Bloom, "and then I found
out Johnny was doing it. I was like, where do I sign?" Bloom saw the
film as a way to further open the door to audiences that are still
just getting to know him as an actor. He also was enthusiastic about
working with Jerry Bruckheimer again. "I'm trying to make smart choices,"
he acknowledges. "I was already familiar with the way Jerry does business-it's
very slick, very tight and he does his best to cover every detail
and make sure everything is done the right way. You see the same work
ethic in everyone at his company; it's amazing and it's a trait that
gives an actor security. This project just had the right elements."
Like Depp, the young actor also saw the role of Turner as a way to
fulfill a childhood fantasy. "It's so exciting to work on a pirate
movie. It's every boy's dream," he raves. "To actually be living the
dream out on the open seas has been great fun."
Although Bloom sees young Will as quite straitlaced at first, "he
really does develop. He's very earnest, very true blue-then, without
warning, he finds himself thrown into the middle of an exciting yet
dangerous adventure. This is a coming of age story for Will."
"Orlando was amazing," Depp asserts. "He probably had the most difficult
role in the film because he plays the straight, earnest, uptight character
who, in a lot of ways, is the eyes and the ears of the audience. I
thought he pulled it off beautifully."
The casting of Depp and Bloom in the roles of Jack and Will, respectively,
helped emphasize the interesting dynamic that develops between the
characters. "Jack and Will are definitely an odd couple," Jerry Bruckheimer
says. "But Will inadvertently learns a lot from spending time with
a pirate. Despite Will's best efforts to adhere to the social class
structure, he realizes that some rules are meant to be broken."
Orlando Bloom agrees. "Will has grown up without a father figure,
so he has to look to the role models around him, and in Port Royal,
those are naval officers. When Will and Jack are thrown together,
Jack opens Will's eyes to what it means to be a man. He teaches him
that he can't just blindly follow nonsensical rules; a man has to
make his own decisions, right or wrong, and go after what he wants
in life."
Johnny Depp sees the relationship between Jack and Will plainly as
"two characters that make a whole."
Both Jack Sparrow and Will Turner change Elizabeth Swann's notions
of romance and adventure forever. The daughter of Port Royal's governor,
Elizabeth can date her aristocratic lineage back hundreds of years.
She is more than a station or two above a simple blacksmith's apprentice.
But contrary to her patrician and fairly sheltered upbringing, Elizabeth
is no shrinking violet. As actress Keira Knightley is fond of saying,
"Elizabeth is a 21st century girl stuck in an 18th century world.
"She is amazing," declares Knightley. "Elizabeth has a modern outlook.
She is strong and very independent, and when she's faced with some
terrifying obstacles and daunting choices, she kicks ass!"
Bruckheimer and Verbinski took great care in selecting just the right
actress for the role of Elizabeth Swann. They considered every imaginable
female lead, from famous faces to complete unknowns. But after meeting
Knightley, they saw in her that certain something, an indescribable
quality that radiated from the 17-year-old, reminiscent of motion
picture stars from Hollywood's heyday.
"Obviously we were looking for a beautiful young woman," acknowledges
Bruckheimer, "but beauty alone was not enough. Like many of the characters
in this film, Elizabeth is complex, and what you see on the surface
isn't everything. It was imperative that the actress understood the
many facets of her character, not just the love story between Elizabeth
and Will."
"As a London girl, it was kind of nice for my first Hollywood experience
to be the full Jerry Bruckheimer Hollywood experience," gushes Knightley.
"It was incredible. I really enjoyed it." "Keira liked to joke that
'Pirates' was 'a movie about Elizabeth and her boys,'" Bruckheimer
laughs. "And to an extent, she's right. Elizabeth has a connection
to each of the main male characters, and even finds herself in some
pretty precarious situations with a few of Barbossa's henchmen. She's
used to getting her way, but she quickly realizes that her usual direct,
outspoken approach doesn't work, so she's not averse to using her
feminine wiles when she has to; Elizabeth can be quite the little
actress when necessary. It was wonderful to watch her work; it seems
so effortless. Keira is truly gifted."
"Keira steps into the ring and attacks," says Depp of the actress's
approach on set. "She's just as sweet as she can be and has a great
sense of humor. Her work is right on the money, totally professional;
she's amazing. I was very impressed."
"Elizabeth has a morbid curiosity about pirates," says Verbinski.
"She reads too many books on the subject and she's become a sort of
pirate groupie. But instead of getting to meet the Jon Bon Jovi of
pirates, she ends up with the Sid Vicious, and even though she thinks
she knows a lot about pirates, she soon learns that all the rules
she believes in are meant to be broken."
Knightley agrees with her director. "She romanticizes the entire pirate
thing; it's an obsession really. So it's an interesting transition
for Elizabeth to go from her romantic notions to the cutthroat, dirty
reality of piracy. But she has a little pirate in herself," Knightley
says with a twinkle in her eye. "Don't we all?"
Knightley was disappointed, however, that she never got to undergo
sword training like her fencing co-stars. "The one thing I asked for
was a sword," she complains with a smile. "I fight with candlesticks,
poles, even with a bedpan. but no sword. Nobody gives me a sword!"
She adds playfully: "I managed to coax promises from Jerry and Gore
that if we do another film together, they will give me a sword." Governor
Weatherby Swann, portrayed by veteran actor Jonathan Pryce, has his
hands full trying to raise his rather unconventional, bold and sometimes
downright audacious daughter. He copes by arranging her marriage to
the newly appointed commander of the British Naval Fleet in Port Royal,
Commodore Norrington, played by Jack Davenport. "Elizabeth's father
expects her to marry someone of her own stature," says Verbinski.
"Jonathan Pryce does an excellent job. He's not just the arrogant
British governor, he's also the concerned father who's trying to do
the best he can for his daughter."
"It's clear I haven't brought her up very well," says Pryce in the
regretful voice of his character. "Elizabeth is adventurous and refuses
to toe the line, and for some unknown reason, she's very attracted
to pirates. Will Turner's prospects aren't very good and I'd be much
happier if she married Norrington because she'd have a great future
as a commodore's wife." Like many of the actors involved in the film,
Pryce was attracted by the script, which he says contained "a good
deal of wit and intelligence. a great story," and by the Caribbean
location. "I've vacationed here over the years. It's a delight to
work in," he says. "And the Golden Age of Piracy happened right here."
Tall, dark and handsome, Jack Davenport is the epitome of the dashing
soldier in his role as Commodore Norrington. The English actor has
gained a following for his role as Steve Taylor in the popular U.K.
comedy series "Coupling." "Jack Davenport really caught the nuance
of what it is to conspire to do the right thing, but know that it's
not being done under the right circumstances," says Verbinski. "He's
actually one of the strongest characters in the movie and also plays
the foil in many comedic moments."
Davenport was impressed with the complexities of what could have easily
become a stereotypic, onesided character. "Norrington is basically
the scourge of piracy in the eastern Caribbean. If you're a pirate
and you see me coming, you'd better be scared," he explains. "What
I liked about my character was that he wasn't just a snarling English
villain. There was more to him than just looking fierce."
Davenport, always quick with a joke, allows, "brocade is hard to make
fierce," referring to his costume. "I saw this picture of Johnny with
his bandana and dreadlocks. The pirates just looked so cool," he laughs.
"I've got this ridiculous garb on; I look like an ice cream."
With the principal actors in place, the filmmakers then rounded out
the cast with an assortment of colorful supporting players. During
the casting process, it is commonplace for filmmakers to receive many
inquiries from agents and managers soliciting work on behalf of their
clientele, but in casting a pirate movie, the level of interest seemed
to increase exponentially. Casting Barbossa's crew was particularly
time consuming and took the filmmakers and casting director Ronna
Kress halfway around the world, from Los Angeles to New York to London.
"Ronna has a knack not only for finding interesting faces, but for
discovering raw talent," says Bruckheimer. "She is meticulous in casting
every character and puts the utmost care and effort into even the
smallest roles. Ronna's been an invaluable asset on many of our projects
and continues to introduce us to promising new actors."
"We got a lot of phone calls," says Verbinski. "We wanted fresh faces
because these characters give a richness to the entire film. When
you watch each of these guys, you feel like the film could just take
off and start telling that person's story."
Barbossa's crew includes Isaac C. Singleton, Jr. as Bo'sun, Lee Arenberg
as Pintel, and Mackenzie Crook as Pintel's cohort, Ragetti. Treva
Etienne plays Koehler alongside his murderous partner, Twigg, portrayed
by Michael Berry Jr. Trevor Goddard is Grapple and his sidekick, Mallot,
is played by Brye Cooper.
Similar to the actors themselves, Barbossa's crew is an assembly of
mischief-makers from all over the globe. A talented and fun group,
they spent countless hours together on and off screen. "They were
great. Every time I was on set, there were 20 pirates with me," explains
Geoffrey Rush. "We were a kind of mad gang while shooting. A lot of
these guys stayed together in one apartment block in the Caribbean.
They lived like pirates."
Barbossa assembles his henchmen from the dangerous ports he visits
and the mysterious islands he invades. They've floated up from all
over the place: one character is from the Orient, another is from
the Caribbean, one is from Dover and yet another is from West Africa-the
list goes on and on. "Casting a group like this is akin to creating
a bouillabaisse," continues Verbinski. "Each character is distinct
and adds to the overall flavor.
"Because of the curse they're forced to live under, their frustration
brings out a football-hooligan, glue-sniffing type of madness," he
adds.
"Pintel and Ragetti are Laurel and Hardy on acid; they're dangerous
villains, but you like them because they're funny," the director laughs.
"Koehler and Twigg are a pair of assassins, and Mallot and Grapple
round out the core. Bo'sun is Barbossa's first mate; he runs the ship.
They're all demented in their own way."
Jack's crew is a sight more obscure. His intrepid team includes Kevin
R. McNally as Joshamee Gibbs, David Bailie as Cotton (along with his
better half, his parrot), and Zoe Saldana is Anamaria. "They're the
dregs," says Verbinski. "It's like 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.'
They're not about to kick any serious hiney or compete with Barbossa.
They're just a great contrast to Barbossa's motley group."
For some inexplicable reason Norrington selects Lieutenant Gillette,
played by actor Damian O'Hare, and a pair of bumbling subordinates,
Mr. Mullroy and Mr. Murtogg, portrayed by Angus Barnett and Giles
New, respectively. Although Barnett and New had never met before,
the two actors clicked immediately and a comedy team was born.
Then, of course, there were the animal actors, who had their own special
requirements. Barbossa's monkey is played by two identical Cabochon
monkeys, a female and a male, whose naturally white faces had to be
darkened with vegetable dye to make them look more evil and spooky.
"The monkey was sort of like my id," laughs Geoffrey Rush. "The monkey
is actually the smartest person in the film, because he never loses
sight of the goal. Everyone else has human frailty and betrayal and
jealousy and vanity; but the monkey knows we need to get each and
every last medallion back into that case." But the monkey had to do
more than just spend time with Rush. Watching the actor at every stage
as he got into his costume so that the animal understood that he was
still working with Geoffrey, but just in character, was just one part
of a very specific training process.
"I was trained to have no relationship with the monkey, even though
on film it looks as though we actually have a deep, rather symbiotic
rapport," explains Rush. "The monkey worked always with the trainer-she
didn't care that I existed. I thought, great, my co-star is difficult!"
The parrot that sits on the shoulder of the mute pirate Cotton, played
by David Bailie, was played by three birds: a sitter, a talker and
a flyer. One of them was particularly fond of nibbling Bailie's ear
because he liked the texture.
Days before the chartered flight was scheduled to leave Los Angeles,
the production was stunned to learn that customs officials would not
permit the parrots to travel to the Caribbean because of a deadly
disease which had recently decimated the bird population in that part
of the world, tainting their entire poultry industry as well. Although
further contamination has been contained, the risk was too great to
travel the production's feathered friends south.
Animal trainers Mark Harden and Ursula Brauner scrambled to locate
even one bird already in the West Indies with similar color markings
to their own. Animals, like humans, need time to build trust; therefore
Harden sped up the bonding process as much as possible by holding
the new bird non-stop, carrying him on his shoulder or forearm everywhere
all day and night, stroking him and talking to him and soothing him
continuously. It worked-Harden walked away with the talon scars and
poop-covered shirts to prove it. Always good-natured and concerned
for the animal, he didn't care because he's made a new friend.
HISTORY AND PIRATE SCHOOL
Despite the fact that "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the
Black Pearl" is a tale of fantasy, the filmmakers were no less resolute
in their quest to learn as much as they could about real pirates.
To that end the studio hired respected historian Peter Twist. Twist
is particularly interested in and knowledgeable about the years 1500
to 1900. He offered direction and advice, educating every department
in production with general historical information: from customs of
the day, to details regarding the style of dress and simple aspects
of everyday life, to nautical minutiae and military history.
"A pirate is anybody who commits a crime on the high seas, so it's
a very broad term," notes Twist. "Theft, destruction of property,
anything like that done on open water qualifies as piracy." Although
the pirate characters aren't based on any real pirates, the movie
is "a compilation of a lot of the things that were done by real pirates,
and pirate codes, and so it is fact based," he stresses.
"Piracy has been around since man first put to sea," asserts Twist.
"Julius Caesar was captured by pirates, the histories of all ancient
cultures refer to pirates, the Egyptians and so on. They've always
existed.
"The original pirates operated as individuals, they were haphazard
and undisciplined," he says. "Over time piracy became more sophisticated.
For example, in a war a government would grant 'letters of mark' to
people who would then go and attack the enemy's shipping. The sailors
and the government would basically split the money, and this was quite
legal." A great many ship owners and sailors found this a profitable
way to make a living. so profitable that they would continue the practice
after the war ended and it was no longer legal. "That's piracy," says
Twist. The islands in the Caribbean were particularly valuable, he
explains. "Aside from the gold and silver, the crops and the goods
produced there were highly valued and well worth stealing. So it was
a natural place for pirates to operate."
Twist says that the legendary pirate booty of buried treasure is simply
a myth. "Buried treasure was something that virtually never happened.
History tells us that typical pirates, after taking a prize, would
divide the money and then head into a relatively pirate-friendly port
for a drinking and womanizing binge that would make the Romans blush,
so there was nothing left to bury."
The most famous pirates had "rather short and violent careers," according
to Twist, "but they did amass huge amounts of money. It was the allure
of the fast buck that made people turn to piracy."
Despite the live-fast, die-young reputation of pirates, Verbinski
sees some moral ambiguity in their trade. "It's illustrated when you
look at the core of what piracy is," says Verbinski. "Whose rules
does society live by? Who are the people who created those rules?
Are they simply rules created to keep the masses in their place and
the ruling class in theirs? And ultimately for the pirate, what has
he got to lose?"
The filmmakers made no secret about taking liberties with the time
period in which their story takes place. "It's a fantasy, so we weren't
married to any specific period," explains Bruckheimer, "but we did
want to be true to the overall feel of the era. We paid particular
attention to the years between 1720 and 1750 in an effort to find
an approximation."
"I think it takes place roughly at the tail end of the Golden Age
of Piracy, when the Morgans lived," Verbinski asserts. "Maybe the
late 1720s. Barbossa is one of the last dregs of piracy that needs
to be removed and consequently he's the most difficult to get rid
of. So we come into a world where the myth of pirates is way ahead
of the actual characters, which was fun to play with."
To maximize authenticity in the film, all of the actors playing pirates
and some playing British naval officers spent weeks training with
stunt coordinator George Marshall Ruge and his sword masters, Robert
Anderson and Mark Ivie. Ruge originally met Anderson and Anderson's
protégé, Ivie, while working on "The Mask of Zorro."
"Bob is a legendary sword master," says Ruge. "When he arrived in
Los Angeles, the fight choreography was basically done, but I wanted
the actors to have a chance to meet him and work with him just to
give them that extra ten percent that only Bob can give because he's
been doing it for 50 years. No one else has that expertise or spark.
It was well worthwhile. Just the idea that the actors knew Bob's history
and the fact that he's the best in the business, a legendary sword
master, made them excited about training."
Any pirate worth his salt has the scars, and oft times a missing body
part or two, to prove his prowess with a sword. For the actors portraying
pirates, the sessions with the sword masters were crucial, something
akin to "Pirate School 101."
Having starred in "Don Juan DeMarco" several years earlier, Johnny
Depp had already received some training in the art of fencing. "I
remembered the fencing I'd done as a total body workout," recalls
Depp. "It's a beautiful sport, very balletic and precise. On this
film, the sword work, putting the 'umph' into the attack, was much
more involved. It was a lot more work and more moves to learn. Some
of the fights felt like they lasted ten minutes. It was all about
the choreography in those scenes, the words came later." As luck would
have it, Orlando Bloom had already spent time with both Ruge and Anderson
on "Lord of the Rings." "It was great to work with Bob again," says
Bloom. "I'd done some fencing when I was in drama school in London,
but working with someone as proficient as Bob is quite a different
matter. I mean, this is the guy who trained Errol Flynn!
"I watched 'The Master of Ballantrae,' where he doubled Errol," Bloom
continues. "It was awesome. What's so great about Bob is that he knows
character; he understands the necessity of getting a fight to look
slick and clean without losing the sense of character."
"Bob understood acting with the sword," agrees Geoffrey Rush, who
primarily trained with a cutlass. "He said, 'Just because it gets
faster doesn't mean it's better.' The beats in between and the games
that you play eyeball to eyeball are just as important as fast, dazzling
work. He was great to have around."
During Anderson's brief time with the actors, Ruge made certain he
went over the fundamentals and imparted as much of his technical skill
as possible. Learning to be a pirate was not only about imitating
the swagger and demeanor of a brigand, it was a serious study in brandishing
a boarding cutlass or rapier. "Pirates films are my favorite," says
Anderson. "But modern fencing, like the competitions you see in the
Olympic Games, is highly technical and very precise in its actions,
unlike screen fighting which is choreographed in such a way that the
combatants make the action as large as they can for the camera.
But whether it's ancient or modern swordplay, you start by learning
to hold the sword properly and to manipulate it for attack and defense.
And even though we use aluminum replicas, I'm religious about safety
because working with any sword is dangerous. "Swordplay is a conversation,"
he explains.
"The opponents talk to each other with their blades. The style of
fighting varies with each character. If I can make the sword work
talk about what's happening in the script in the same way the dialogue
conveys the story, then I feel I've succeeded." —About
this Film, part 2 |
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