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Johnny Depp’sPirates of the Caribbean, a $4.524 billion franchise, was never meant to be one.Of course, it could be argued that the idea was never meant to be a movie in the slightest. However, it was the kind of creative inspiration that Disney was unable to anticipate or control at the time that ultimately madePirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearla spectacular film.
Jerry Bruckheimer (producer) and Gore Verebinski (director) also had to deal with a flashing green light when they began filmingPirates of the Caribbean – The Curse of the Black Pearl,the first part of this trilogy.Meaning: Walt Disney Studios was supposed to produce the movie, but later, they were not. Using franchise films likeThe MatrixandThe Lord of the Rings,which were huge hits at the time and helped Warner Bros. dominate the box office, Bruckheimer countered at the time, saying,“Your competition is spending $150 million”.
We can thus say thatThe Pirates of the Caribbeangot a major push from the success of WB’sThe Lord of the Ringsand Keanu Reeves’The Matrix.
Also read:Marvel and DC Movies Still Struggle to Beat One Johnny Depp Movie When It Comes to Its Flawless Visual Effects
Johnny Depp’sPirates of the Caribbean: A large investment, a Tense Executive
Based on a story developed by executives Josh Harmon, Michael Haynes, and Brigham Taylor, Walt Disney Pictures hired Jay Wolpert to write the script forJohnny Depp‘sPirates of the Caribbeanin 2001. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, who believed they might be able to revitalize the pirate genre by giving it a supernatural twist, were the ones who introduced and concluded the script.
We learned fromDen of Geekthat a few different people worked on the project while Disney considered whether to releasePirates of the Caribbeanin theaters or straight to video. It was always going to go theatrical once renowned producerJerry Bruckheimergot involved and came full circle with Elliott and Rossio, as stated in the DVD commentary track of the movie.
Bruckheimer does not usually make cheap movies, and Gore Verbinski is a skilled large-canvas painter. As a result, the first film ended up being far bigger than Michael Eisner, the head of Disney at the time, had intended. He was so enraged that, at several points, he actually attempted to stop the movie from happening. According to James B. Stewart’s bookDisneyWar, Bruckheimer had to persuade Eisner of this more expansive idea for thePiratesadaptation.
Eisner questioned,“Why does it have to cost so much?”as was mentioned in DisneyWar. In response, Bruckheimer said, “Your competition is spending $150 million,”citingThe MatrixandThe Lord of the Ringsfranchises as examples. Warner Bros. gained the upper hand at the box office with these blockbuster hits and Disney was in dire need of their own franchise at that time.
With a frustrated shake of his head, Eisner said:
“The theme park is a drawback…Let’s move this away from the park.”
And so they carried it out. But in some ways, having more money meant having more problems, so it was not an easy task.
Also read:Emily Blunt Was Forced To Hide Behind a Cow To Save a Johnny Depp Movie From Getting Ruined
FilmingPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black PearlPresented Some Challenges
Speaking with theBBC, Gore Verbinski, the film’s director, detailed the challenges of filming a picture this size, especially when it required filming on the water:
“This movie has 700 visual effect shots, but there are probably 150 you notice — 500 effects shots are just getting rid of city lights or hotels in the background. My approach was just to keep shooting. If there’s an oil tanker driving through the background and it’s going to cost an hour of shooting to wait for it to clear the frame, you roll and paint it out later on the computer. That was the only way to keep the thing on schedule. Visual effects are just another tool in the chest now.”
Notwithstanding the skepticism of many observers, Verbinski persevered, Disney supplied the funds, and the studio was set to produce one of the biggest shows of 2003.
Also read:Johnny Depp’s Wonka Suffers Crushing Defeat to Timothée Chalamet’s as His Latest Movie Aims Major Box Office Milestone
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearlexceeded all pre-release expectations and was a huge box office success, grossing $654.3 million worldwide. Disney did not waste any time in launching the sequels, as Verbinski came back to helmDead Man’s Chestin 2006 andAt World’s Endin 2007.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearlis streaming on Disney Plus.
Siddhika Prajapati
Senior Journalist & Content Head
Articles Published :3309
With over 3,300 articles carved into the digital walls of FandomWire, Siddhika Prajapati excels at creating, curating, and elevating engaging stories. She takes pride in giving these stories a home and, of course, she’s got a Google Knowledge Panel to prove it!Whether it’s reviewing the latest drop on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Apple TV+, or analyzing the cultural echoes of a streaming hit on Paramount+ or Max, Siddhika is always writing three steps ahead of the discourse.
