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| that papers for "POTC4" have already been signed. |
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| I'm good with it! |
| QUOTE (melodyslove @ Jul 19 2006, 08:04 PM) | ||
Yes,but by who??? :huh: |
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| It’s blockbuster or bust. Nothing epitomizes the current studio culture more than 20th Century Fox’s decision not to go forward with a fourth installment of “X-Men,” but rather to create a spin-off “Wolverine” franchise. Nothing, that is, except Disney’s newest juggernaut, “Pirates of the Caribbean.” It’s fitting then that “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” recently passed “X-Men: The Last Stand” (third in that series) as the top grossing movie of 2006. From here, however, the two franchises are going in opposite directions. Fox, the studio with a reputation for making the toughest deals in town, says the “X-Men” franchise has run its creative course. Despite director Bret Ratner stepping in for Bryan Singer and delivering the goods on the third “X-Men” movie, with $458 million worldwide and counting, Fox co-chairmen Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos had decided even before the film opened not to develop a fourth installment. “They drive the toughest deal, no question about it,” one top manager says. “They run a solid, no-nonsense business, but there will be opportunities they miss because of this management style. ‘X-Men’ may be one of them.” Disney, however, had already started production on a third “Pirates” movie before releasing the second one on July 7. Reportedly subtitled “At World’s End,” the third “Pirates” film opens May 27, 2007. Even before that, however, the studio and producer Jerry Bruckheimer are already thinking about "Pirates 4." “The hardest part was getting everybody together at the same time period,” Bruckheimer told darkhorizons.com. “That’s why we made two movies. To get Gore (Verbiniski), (writers Ted) Elliot and (Terry) Rossio, the three lead actors – that’s the hard part. Scheduling is really difficult. Then making the deal, especially when you come off a successful picture everybody deserves more money, and of course Disney always wants to make it for less. So you have a real problem.” The cost of the second and third “Pirates” together has been reported as high as $450 million. But with all the production delays due to constant weather problems and a long hiatus improvised into the schedule of the third film, one producer who works with Disney claims the cost is “over a half a billon for both films.” Production on the third film ramps up again this fall for 70 additional days of shooting. A 'PIRATES 4' SCORECARD Historically, the decision to greenlight second and third installments simultaneously has met with mixed results. New Line scored big with this strategy on “Lord of the Rings,” while on Warners’ “Matrix” and Universal’s “Back to the Future” franchises, when number two didn’t deliver, number three petered out at the box office. But never mind history and hurricanes. There’s already talk that Disney is thinking about a fourth installment. For his part, director Gore Verbinski told Entertainment Weekly he hoped “there was no reason to ever make a pirate movie again,” but Johnny Depp countered with “never say never.” If there is a “Pirates 4,” look for it to be the most expensive motion picture ever made when budget and first-dollar gross are taken into consideration. According to a rival studio executive and several agents queried, the gross out on the second and third “Pirates” movies is 32.5 percent, which is above the artificial first-dollar gross topline of 27.5 percent that studios claim they will not exceed these days. The exec tallies the backend as follows: Depp 20; Bruckheimer 10 (up from his customary 7.5), and Verbinski 2.5 of first-dollar gross. Two of the agents tallied it differently among the principles, but came up with the same 32.5 total. “On another sequel, Disney not only has to contend with the same backend but it will have to sweeten Orlando (Bloom) and Keira’s (Knightley) deals by putting even more gross out, or paying more upfront,” explains one agent. The only way they don’t go above 32.5 is if Gore doesn’t come back.” Bloom and Knightley reportedly received huge salary raises on “Dead Man’s Chest.” (Bloom’s take was pegged at $11.9 million for the both films, plus 2.5-3 percent of adjusted gross.) For a fourth film, both could easily ask for first-dollar gross and/or upfront raises. But will Disney even make any money on “Dead Man’s Chest”? You bet it will. In its first 17 days, “Dead Man’s Chest” grossed $321 million. Assuming a 90/10 studio/theater split the first weekend falling to 80/20 the second week and to 70/30 the third, Disney has collected roughly $269 million domestically. Of that amount, it will have paid out about $87 million in first dollar gross, leaving the studio with $182 million after just 17 days. Add the $214 million-and-rapidly climbing foreign receipts as well as home video yet to come and big-time returns are at hand. The studio’s internal projected worldwide gross for “Dead Man’s Chest” is upwards of $700 million, according to one agent who recently spoke to Disney chairman Dick Cook. Even with bonzo production and marketing costs and 32.5 of the gross out, profits will still be in the stratosphere once all ancillaries are counted. 'THE NEW MOUSE ORDER' Despite a potential $250-300 million price tag, “Pirates 4” fits snugly into the studio’s newly revamped business plan. Many blanched at the idea of 12-13 Disney-branded films per year (down from roughly 18) and significantly less studio overhead. How will Disney fill its production pipelines, they asked? How will it maintain revenue and profit levels? Making bigger movies better seems to be one answer. Sure, "Pirates 4" will cost a lot of loot, but all the money goes to the movie — a near-sure thing — and not to dubious development deals and iffy mid-level movies. “The new mouse order,” carps one agent. Back to “X-Men and Fox.” With “The Last Stand” battling its way past half a billion at the box office, why not do a fourth? Because it’s too expensive. “The Last Stand” cost roughly $210 million and carries gross players in Marvel Entertainment, stars Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry, producer Lauren Shuler Donner and director Brett Ratner. “‘X-Men’ has 16 characters to bring back,” explains one of the participants. “That’s why it was such an expensive movie. It’s easier to make ‘Pirates 4.’ You don’t have such a huge cast. Plus, since ‘X Men’ has come out a lot has happened. Halle’s won an Oscar. Ian McKellen has been in ‘Lord of the Rings’. All of that affects the movie.” And Fox is not Disney. The studio generally insists on its tentpoles costing less and its talent profits being lower than others do. Consider the saga of “Used Guys,” the Jay Roach comedy that was to star Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller. Due to a miscommunication between business affairs and production, the budget jumped from $104 to $113 million, with 27.5 percent of the gross out to the three creatives, according to one executive involved in the deal. Fox’s Rothman and Gianopulos simply pulled the plug. “Tom (Rothman) hates the idea of paying directors and giving final cut, except to certain artists,” says one manager who does business regularly with Fox. “On ‘Wolverine,’ they still have to pay Hugh and Marvel. Maybe they don’t feel it’s worth it to pay Lauren Shuler Donner and Halle Berry and whoever directs.” Fox’s reasoning is, rather than risking $200-plus million and paying out more than 25 percent of the gross on another “X-Men” movie, why not make a “Wolverine” that costs far less and carries fewer gross profit participants? Meanwhile over at Disney, if “Pirates 4” doesn’t get the go-ahead, Bruckheimer will be plenty busy putting together “National Treasure 2” — and maybe even a 2/3 combo if things go well for “Pirates 3” in May. So which studio’s plan will work? Maybe both. Fox’s tightfistedness has already delivered years of “record profits” according to Rothman and Gianopulos. And with a franchise like “Pirates,” it’s pretty hard for Disney to go wrong. |
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| Capt. Jack Sparrow will buckle his swash for a fourth instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Jerry Bruckheimer confirms. "We've got a good jump on a story we're going to do," the producer tells the Sun when asked about continuing Sparrow's adventures beyond next summer's At Worlds End. "We hope to (do more sequels)." Clearly, any plans to leave Pirates a trilogy ended about the time July's Dead Man's Chest grossed a record-shattering US$132 million in its opening weekend, eventually crossing the $1 billion mark in worldwide box office. Key to any Pirates 4, 5 or 6 is the participation of Johnny Depp, of course; fortunately for Bruckheimer and Co., Depp has publicly stated he'd be up for more high-seas action. The third episode will bow in May during an impossibly competitive month that also sees Spider-Man 3 and Shrek The Third premiere. (Reports Orlando Bloom would be killed off in the third instalment have been officially denied, although one has to wonder how much longer Bloom wants to play second mate to an over-the-top Depp.) Joining Depp, Bloom and Keira Knightley in At Worlds End -- which is still shooting -- are Chow Yun Fat (as Capt. Sao Feng) and, in a cameo, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. "He was great to be with. He didn't want to leave; he was having the best time," Bruckheimer says. Is his head OK after he fell out of a tree in Fiji? "Apparently." |
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| Tell us how Keith Richards is faring over there? Well, you don't hire Keith Richards to get a guy who shows up in the morning, on time, wearing a suit and tie. You get a guy who shows up at night, on time, with a bottle of wine. There were good times on the set. Online rumors say this is the final 'Pirates' movie - but I'm sure Disney has other plans. What do you think? Any more 'Pirates' movies left in you? It's like the fourth Indiana Jones picture - there are forces in play to make it happen, and forces in play to make it not happen. I think we will try to write a screenplay. I can't say if we'll be able to solve the challenge of making a good fourth film, or if our screenplay will be enough to get a film made. |
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| If Depp's onboard, 'Pirates' may keep sailing "At World's End" may not be the end of the world. Word on the Walt Disney Studios backlot is that, while "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which opens on Memorial Day weekend, is the end of the trilogy, it may not be the end of the franchise. According to insiders, Johnny Depp has said he would be interested in keeping the swaggering Capt. Jack Sparrow alive in other pirate adventures and, as the film's production director Rick Heinrichs says, "If Johnny's interested, why wouldn't they?" Many of the larger set pieces have been kept and put in storage. Costar Orlando Bloom says he too has heard the rumors. "But they haven't said anything to me," he said with a laugh during an interview, "so I guess I'm not coming back." In the meantime, those left hanging by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" need have no fear — "World's End" promises a complete end to the story begun in 2003's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." "All questions will be answered," Bloom says. |
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| "But they haven't said anything to me," he said with a laugh during an interview, "so I guess I'm not coming back." |
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| First the good news: The rumors that you've hearing are true. Johnny Depp actually has told the folk at Walt Disney Studios that he'd be willing to reprise the role of Capt. Jack Sparrow. Which is why the Mouse has already tentatively made plans to shoot "Pirates 4" in 2009. With the hope that this film could then be the studio's tent pole for the summer of 2009. Now the bad news: When Johnny finally swaggers back in front of the camera, his longtime collaborator -- director Gore Verbinski (Who has helmed all three installments of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" series to date: 2003's "Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl," 2006's "Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest" and 2007's "At World's End") -- may not be there to say "Action !"READ MORE HERE |
| QUOTE (treasure22 @ May 8 2007, 10:35 PM) |
| I choose to believe if there is a fourth movie,Orlando & Keira will be in it. And positive thinking makes positive things happen! :D |