PiratesOfTheCaribbean Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I was just watching Monsters, Inc this past week, and wondering why it belonged to Pixar's no sequel club ... and guess what's in the works now? Dedicated Disney blogger Jim Hill visited this year's Licensing International Expo, and talked to the fine people who were representing Disney and Pixar, and buying up licensing rights.

Reportedly, Pete Docter (fresh off his success with Up) is planning to return to Monstropolis and helm a sequel to his previous Pixar effort, Monsters, Inc. Obviously, story details are shrouded in secrecy, but they've got Cars 2 and Toy Story 3 in the works, it's not much of a stretch to believe they'd revisit Mike and Sully. While it's a delightfully complete film, it's also a wonderful world, and I'd like to go there again.

Hill also reports that Disney is really focusing its efforts on The Lone Ranger, and are hoping to have it in theaters by Summer 2011. As you may remember, Mike Newell was hired to direct, and Johnny Depp is set to play Tonto.
Intent on launching a Ranger franchise, they've pushed back Jack Sparrow's, and are now planning to release the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean installment to a tenative date of Summer 2012. Both franchises offer a dose of Depp, so the Pirates fanbase should be pretty happy with that. Frankly, I'm willing to trade tricorns just to know just who they cast as that masked man ....

If Pirates of the Caribbean really decides to weigh anchor and sail in 2010, it will have to be with a new captain. According to Variety, Gore Verbinski has officially informed Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer that he's no longer interested in swashbuckling, and won't be helming a fourth installment.

"I had a fantastic time bringing Pirates to life, and I am eternally grateful to Jerry, Johnny and the rest of the creative and production team," Verbinski said. "I'm looking forward to all of us crossing paths again in the future."

Instead, he's throwing all his attention to another underwater project -- his eagerly awaited adaptation of Bioshock, which is expected to be his next directing vehicle after he finishes on the Johnny Depp voiced Rango.

The fourth Pirates was being eyed for a 2010 start date, and it's not known if Verbinski's departure will affect that although it doesn't seem like Disney is racing to get into production any time soon despite all those Russell Brand rumors.

A lot of people are fried on the Pirates franchise and while I should be one of them (Jack Sparrow is still alive and well in this house), I'll always be a sucker for high seas adventure. Maybe a change-up behind the scenes will breathe some new life into the series, and avoid another muddy plot like At World's End.

Fans of the swashbuckling Elizabeth Swann (aka Keira Knightley) might want to take a deep breath. In an interview with our friends at Moviefone, they asked about her possible involvement in Pirates 4, and the gal tells them, "It was a completely fantastic experience, and it was an amazingly large portion of my life, but I don't think I need to go there again. I think that it's done. But I'm very excited to see the next one." This, we assume, would appear to be a very diplomatic way of saying, 'Not on your life pal'.

The Pirates franchise might have made Knightley a household name, but it has become obvious that she's been looking to expand her career beyond playing second fiddle to Captain Jack for some time. Not to mention this isn't the first time that Knightley has said that she would not be returning. So now that we only have Jack Sparrow officially back for the next installment, what could Disney possibly have planned?

Earlier reports had Disney re-booting the franchise as "Captain Jack adventures" and supposedly the film would "toss the Elizabeth and Will characters over the side in favor of doing a bawdy buddy picture which would star Jack Sparrow and Barbossa. Where both captains of the Black Pearl would initially be competing for the exact same prize." But that was over a year ago, and now there are rumors the film will focus entirely on Depp's boozy captain -- but if I may be so bold, perhaps there is a certain British comedian who could be the perfect addition to the Sparrow clan.

So what do you think: will Elizabeth be missed? Or is it about time we all just fess up and admit that the only reason most of us see want another Pirate movie is to see Captain Jack just one more time?

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Granted, British comedian Russell Brand isn't for everyone, and I think there are some people at the BBC who would agree. But, I just love the guy to bits. Sure he's strange and a little bit of a lecher, but damn is he funny. When rumors first started to surface that Brand was being considered to take over for Johnny Depp in the next Pirates of the Caribbean installment, it seemed to be the perfect fit. But, in a recent interview with Access Hollywood, Brand told Billy Bush, "There's been some talk of doing a 'Pirates' movie, but, I've got eight other things to do [including] 'Get Him To The Greek' with Judd Apatow... So I don't know if there'll be time to be a pirate, I've got enough of that in me private life." If you follow the UK gossip rags, then you probably know that he isn't kidding about that last part.

Eugene brought us the news back in April that Brand would be reviving his character of Aldous Snow from Forgetting Sarah Marshall with Jonah Hill for Greek. The comedy centers on a young insurance adjuster (Hill) assigned to get a wild rock star (Brand) from London to LA's Greek Theater (I wonder if Hill is reprising his loyal fan character from Marshall as well). But, Brand didn't rule out Pirates completely; the comedian was quoted as saying that Pirates was still, "A possibility," -- which, as you know in Hollywood, is enough to keep a rumor going indefinitely.

So you remember those rumors a few weeks back that Russell Brand was signing up as Johnny Depp's 'heir apparent' in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise? Well, it looks like Brand might be playing a charming drunk, but it's not going to be as part of the Sparrow clan. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Brand has started putting together a remake of the 1981 Dudley Moore comedy, Arthur, for Warner Brothers (with an eye of making it a starring vehicle).

The original starred Moore as a boozy playboy who will only inherit his massive fortune on the condition that he marries an heiress selected by his family. When he falls for Liza Minnelli (in the form of a working class woman) he turns to his valet (John Gielgud) for help when forced to choose between money and love.

After making a splash in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Brand started lining up plenty of projects for 2009, including, Bedtime Stories, Julie Taymor's The Tempest, and Get Him to the Greek (which reunites him with the Sarah Marshall crew). The timing really could not be better for Brand to take a little vacation stateside since he seems to be having a tough time in his native land.

When Arthur was first released, the film was a bit hit, and snagged Oscars for Supporting Actor and original music. But, I would be willing to guess that a lot of Brand's fans weren't born when the original was released and won't know the difference. Although, for me, the only true love able drunk on the big screen is Nick Charles..if anyone can make this remake work, it's Brand.

With the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, it was pretty much inevitable that more would come our way. But it wasn't all signed, dotted, and crossed until now. Variety reports that Johnny Depp has finally signed on for a fourth film. I can only hope that this time around, he gets the passion and the girl. Or at the very least, I hope she doesn't pick a bland dude who lacks charisma and chemistry instead. Ick.

But that's not all, folks! Depp, with a big ol' soft spot for iconic roles lately, has signed on for one more (two if you count Mad Hatter in Burton's Alice in Wonderland). As briefly reported yesterday, he's also going to play Tonto as part of Jerry Bruckheimer's adaptation of The Lone Ranger. The man must like his Bruck. I'm glad he's part Cherokee so there's more basis to this pick than just "Holy crap Depp is awesome and brings in big money!" But that leaves a pressing question:

We still don't have the Lone dude himself. Is there an actor out there who would make a good Lone Ranger, AND be able to fight his way out of Depp's talented shadow? Weigh in below!

I guess Elizabeth Swann is part of the powers that be at Disneyland. Jack Sparrow has had his rum taken away once again. Over at the Disney Blog, there's a post talking about an ex-Sparrow entertainer from the park, who says that Disney wanted their iconic character toned down. "Don't be flirtatious." "See women as trouble." And best of all -- don't mention drinking.

In other words: Don't be Jack Sparrow.

Considering the fact that this is based on a ride where all the pirates drink, and that any Sparrow fans out there have already seen him in action -- flirting and drinking -- this is one of the silliest bits of moral control that I've seen in a while. If a drunk pirate hero really isn't the type of dude Disney wants mingling with the kids, perhaps that should have been figured out a long time ago, before the film and the ride? And anyway, when did flirting become something inappropriate for kids?

I mean, sure, going through that ride a number of times as a kid, I got meself an eye patch, couldn't stop saying ARR!, and slept with a bottle of rum rather than a bear, but what's wrong with that?

Remember serials? I don't, because I'm too young, and by the time I began going to the movies, it was already the practice for cinemas to stick to single, self-contained, feature-length fare. With the way screenings are arranged today, scheduled so that both theater owners and studios can get as much money from as many showings as possible, there's just no room for any accompanying shorts, especially the kind that don't end in a conclusive manner.

I'd probably be okay with being left out of that experience from the moviegoing past, but each time another Indiana Jones movie is released, I can't help but think I'm at least a little less appreciative of George Lucas' intent than some of the older folk in the audience. When Lucas thought up the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, he partly meant the film as homage to the serials he remembered from his childhood.

Yet Raiders didn't end with a cliffhanger, as most serials had on a weekly basis. And with the third sequel to that film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, arriving in theaters this week, I still wonder why at least two installments couldn't have been connected with the serializing device. Lucas had already somewhat shown us, through the uncertain ending of The Empire Stikes Back and continuation/resolution beginning of Return of the Jedi, that it could be done.

Cranky Eric© sez ... Hey, people who make movies: Stop putting scenes after the closing credits. If you want me to watch it, put it IN THE MOVIE, not after it.

It has been well established that when a list of names starts scrolling up against a black screen, the movie is OVER. You're done. Whatever story you had to tell, you told it. That's the way movies work.

You want to put something cute after the credits, fine. Knock yourself out. A lot of times that stuff is fun. But it doesn't count as an actual part of the story. If it's something we need to know, tell us. Don't hide it after the list of gaffers and production assistants and humane society certifications.

Oh, what, at the end of the last Pirates of the Caribbean -- after the 37 minutes of credits have rolled -- it turns out Elizabeth has a son and is standing around waiting for her once-in-a-decade evening of romance with Will? No she doesn't, and no she isn't. Because the movie ended 37 minutes earlier, when the closing credits started. Whatever happens after that is just you horsin' around. Doesn't count. It's not canon.