3Home pirates of the caribbean: the curse of the black pearl production notes
Jump to:
Travel  Pirates of the Caribbean Posters
|
 Chapter 4: Characters and Their Worlds |
|
 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.
|
||
|
4 Next: History and Pirate School
|
BEST LINKS TO CELEBRITIES
Pirates of the Caribbean website is created and designed by Zebra International, 2007. No copyright infringment is intended.
