Australia DVD Box Set Super Online Store

First film

In the early 1990s, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio conceived of writing a film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Disney had Jay Wolpert write a script based on the ride, which producer Jerry Bruckheimer rejected, feeling it was, "a straight pirate movie." Stuart Beattie was brought in to rewrite the script in March 2002, due to his knowledge of piracy, and later that month Elliott and Rossio were brought in. Elliott and Rossio were inspired by the opening narration of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride, and decided to give the film a supernatural edge.[9] As the budget rose, Michael Eisner and Robert Iger threatened to cancel the film, though Bruckheimer changed their minds when he showed them concept art and animatics.

Shooting for The Curse of the Black Pearl began on October 9, 2002 and wrapped by March 7, 2003. Before its release, many had expected the film to be a flop, as the pirate genre had not been successful for years, the film was based on a theme park ride, and Depp rarely made a big film.However, The Curse of the Black Pearl became both a critical and commercial success.

Second and third films

After seeing how well the first film was made, the cast and crew signed for two more sequels to be shot back-to-back,[14] a practical decision on Disney's part to allow more time with the same cast and crew.[15] Writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio knew that with an ensemble cast, they weren't free to invent totally different situations and characters, as with the Indiana Jones and James Bond series, and so had to retroactively turn The Curse of the Black Pearl into the first of a trilogy.They wanted to explore the reality of what would happen after Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann's embrace at the end of the first film, and initially considered the Fountain of Youth as the plot device.[17] They settled on introducing Davy Jones, the Flying Dutchman and the Kraken, a mythology mentioned twice in the first film. They introduced the historical East India Trading Co., which for them represented a counterpoint to the themes of personal freedom represented by pirates.

Fourth film

Due to the trilogy's success, and Depp's desire to play Jack Sparrow again, a fourth film was put into the works. On April 2007, Disney bought the rights to Tim Powers' novel, On Stranger Tides. Gore Verbinski was interested in returning, but later left the project to direct a film adaptation of the video game, BioShock. Rob Marshall replaced Verbinski as director. Jerry Bruckheimer returned as producer, with writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio on board again to draft the screenplay, incorporating elements from Powers' novel. While the proposed title for the film, which was frequently used by fans and critics, was Pirates of the Caribbean: The Fountain of Youth, Disney announced that the actual title would be, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Previous cast members Depp, Rush, and McNally were signed on, and on March 2010, it was announced that Ian McShane and Penélope Cruz would also star, though previous cast members, including Bloom, Knightley, Arenberg, and Crook would not return. McShane portrays a new villain, Blackbeard, and Cruz, playing Blackbeard's daughter, Angelica, is Jack Sparrow's love interest. The film features a musical score composed by Hans Zimmer. It was also confirmed that the fourth installment would be filmed in 3D.