Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 471 Pirates of the Caribbean Begins Filming

In its second week of release, "Tomorrow Never Dies" grossed $5374 million in North America, bringing its total box office to $1.12 million in two weeks, making it the first film to break the $007 million mark in North America in 98.

However, this week "007" encountered a strong competitor: Paramount Pictures' disaster film "Deep Impact," which grossed $60.7 million in its opening week in 3156 theaters and is expected to be another film to break $100 million at the box office.

This week's release also includes the romantic comedy "Wedding Singer," a co-production between GuessMe Pictures and New Line Cinema.

The film tells the story of wedding singer Robin, who is abandoned by his bride at his own wedding, and whose plight is sympathized with by waitress Julia.

After getting to know each other, the two gradually became friends. Later, Julia got married and invited Robin to help with the wedding arrangements. During this time, Robin discovered that the groom was a playboy who had other women. In order to prevent Julia from marrying the wrong person, he decided to stand up and expose the groom.

The film stars Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler.

The production cost was $1800 million.

It grossed $2391 million in 2812 theaters in its first week.

The box office broke even in the first week.

This also shows that the film is of good quality and has the potential to become a blockbuster.

"Link, I heard some interesting news, do you want to hear it?"

In the morning, Link arrived at the MGM studio to check on the progress of the props team for "Pirates of the Caribbean." Chris Bauer came over and asked with a grin.

"what news?"

Link picked up a few gun props from the table and looked at them. He heard Chris Bauer laugh and say, "Have you been back to the youth apartment? I went back to see it the week before last. They converted the apartment you stayed in into a hotel. Now it costs $1000 a day to stay in your apartment, which is more expensive than staying in the presidential suite at the Hilton Hotel."

"Using my name for publicity? Maybe I should ask them for payment."

"Haha, you're worth tens of billions now, why would you care about that little bit of money?"

"Of course! No matter how rich I am, I will never worry about having too much money."

Link put down the homemade cannon, then picked up the captain's tricorn hat and looked at it. "I heard you're going to be a father soon?"

"Haha, that's right. Maria is almost three months pregnant, and I'll be a dad in seven months. I get so excited every time I think about it."

Chris Bauer chuckled.

Chris Bauer's wife, Maria, is a Mexican immigrant who is three years younger than him. The two married early last year.

Link attended their wedding.

Chris Bauer is now considered a successful person with a family and a career.

"It's not easy for a woman to get pregnant, so you should spend more time at home taking care of her."

"Understood, I will pay attention."

Chris Bauer grinned and led him on a tour of the prop workshop, explaining how each prop was made and its purpose.

Hey, Link!

Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom (who plays the young blacksmith Wiltner), and Jeffrey Rush (who plays the first mate of the Black Pearl) walked in and politely greeted Link.

They came over to try on the costumes and familiarize themselves with the props.

Link responded, picked up a knight's sword, and said, "Try it out and see if the weapon is comfortable. If you have any suggestions, feel free to voice them on the spot. The props team will make improvements based on your requests."

"All right!"

Under the guidance of the staff, Depp and his companions put on their respective costumes and took their respective props to practice.

Link looked at it once and found it not bad; the effect would be even better after makeup.

While taking photos of Depp and the others, Link received a call from the security company informing him that there were preliminary results in the investigation of the 'stalking stranger'.

Last Wednesday, they arranged for the logistics team to intercept four unidentified individuals and question them about their identities and purposes. The four insisted that they were paparazzi and that their purpose in following Link was to collect news material.

The logistics team continued to inquire about the media companies they worked for.

The four men claimed to be "wild paparazzi," and after taking news footage related to Link, they submitted it to various media outlets. They lent their materials to whoever offered the highest price, and they did not establish long-term cooperative relationships with any particular media outlet.

However, when the logistics team checked their cameras, they found that their shooting skills were very poor and the quality of their submitted materials was also very poor. So far, no media outlet has used their articles.

Since they couldn't find any evidence, they had no choice but to release the person.

The security company's consultant reminded him to be careful and pay attention to safety when filming outdoors.

Link replied that he didn't care about being followed or targeted, but he felt it was a bit troublesome and would affect his daily life and work. Sometimes when he went on dates with his girlfriends who came to visit him on set, he had to make careful arrangements to avoid any accidents.

I'm not as free as I used to be.

But Link also knows that this is one of the drawbacks of being a billionaire and a public figure, as public figures have a narrower scope of privacy rights than ordinary people.

Because public figures, as a special group in society, possess greater power and status, and are involved in certain public interests, the exercise of their rights is correspondingly subject to certain restrictions. The media has the right to report on the words and actions of public figures to satisfy the public's right to know.

If Link wants to change this situation, he will have to give up his identity as a director and focus on being a reclusive billionaire.

But that was impossible for him.

He could only accept this situation for the time being and be careful when filming movies on set or when dating his girlfriends.

"Boss, the film sets in the Caribbean are all set up. When are you coming to film?"

Mike Statham, executive producer of "Pirates of the Caribbean," called from Cuba to ask.

"Understood. The props team is all set. We'll come over to film next week."

Link hung up the phone and called assistant director Yu Feihong, asking her to inform the cast and crew that they would be flying to the Caribbean next Monday.

Before flying to the Caribbean film set, Link flew to Paris to visit Sophie Marceau, Emmanuelle Béart, Julie Delpy, his new girlfriend Marion Cotillard, and their two infant children.

After returning from Paris, he flew to Seattle to visit his dozen or so girlfriends who were pregnant at his villa there, including Diana, Jennifer Connelly, Brooke Shields, Nicole Kidman, Cindy Crawford, Gong Li, Brigitte Lin, and others.

After a busy period and reassuring his girlfriend at home, Link took the crew to southern Florida, near the Caribbean Sea, to film "Pirates of the Caribbean".

This film has many shots and scenes, and the shooting period is expected to be more than three months.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is based on folklore from the Caribbean Sea.

The Caribbean Sea is located in the western Atlantic Ocean, between North and South America. In the 17th century, it was a vital passage for European merchant fleets traveling to the Americas, which led to rampant piracy. Pirates attacked not only passing merchants but also the British Royal Fleet, plundering vast amounts of wealth and leaving behind countless legends, including the shadowy pirates, Caribbean underwater treasures, mysterious beaches, and the Kraken sea monster.

The film tells the story of how, after the famous pirate ship 'Black Pearl' was stolen by First Mate Barbossa, Captain Jack Sparrow became a lone commander and was imprisoned by the military in a small harbor town.

After stealing the Black Pearl pirate ship, First Mate Barbossa ravaged the Caribbean Sea, becoming its overlord. Later, Barbossa's ambition grew, and he hoped to achieve immortality. However, when he tried to break the curse on the gold coins, Barbossa and his crew were cursed. Every full moon, they would turn into skeletons and be forced to abstain from sex for life.

After becoming a skeleton, Barbossa became even more unscrupulous in his raids. On one occasion, they sailed into Port Royal and attacked the town, kidnapping the governor's daughter, Elizabeth Swann, because they had heard that Elizabeth possessed a mysterious gold coin that could break their curse.

Will Turner, a blacksmith in a small town, is in love with Elizabeth. When he hears that his sweetheart has been kidnapped by pirates, he rescues Captain Jack from prison, and the two of them sail the Interceptor to chase after the Black Pearl.

After several battles, Jack, with the help of Wiltner and Elizabeth, defeated Barbossa and successfully reclaimed the Black Pearl.

The more complex aspects of this film lie in creating all sorts of strange props, finding suitable filming locations, and post-production special effects.

The other parts were no more difficult to film than movies like "Batman Forever" and "Saving Private Ryan".

"cut!"

After filming a scene, Link called Depp over for a chat.

Captain Jack Sparrow is the central character of the film. If Depp plays the role well, the entire film will be elevated several levels; if he plays it poorly, the film will become mediocre.

Perhaps due to insufficient research into the character, Depp's portrayal of the role felt somewhat awkward and fell short of his expectations.

He could only guide Depp slowly through words and actions, trying to help him transform into the flamboyant, eccentric, and somewhat abstract Jack Sparrow as soon as possible.

"Link, is this a good way to act? Won't it make the character seem too feminine?"

After hearing what he said, Johnny Depp frowned, his face showing deep concern.

Link said, "Johnny, you're a veteran actor. In your opinion, what makes a good role? Is it the male lead in a blockbuster movie, the role that wins an Oscar for Best Actor, or the role that is remembered by countless viewers? Share your thoughts."

Depp stroked his fake beard and thought for a few seconds. "A successful movie character should be distinctive, memorable, and unforgettable to countless viewers, like Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump."

"That's right. In the history of world cinema, many actors have played the role of pirates. Some have portrayed the pirates' cruelty, ferocity, and evil; some have portrayed their might, bravery, fearlessness, and justice; and some have portrayed other characteristics."

But few people have portrayed pirates as mad and eccentric, both righteous and evil, both serious and humorous. If you can portray Jack Sparrow in the way I'm about to say, this character will become the most charming and memorable screen character in the genre.

Furthermore, you've played similar roles in several gothic films directed by Tim Burton over the past few years, gaining some successful experience. This is why I cast you as Jack Sparrow, and I believe you can make this role a timeless classic on screen.

Depp nodded after hearing his words and did not argue further, but he still had concerns in his heart.

In the past, the characters he played were handsome, innocent, and devoted, or gentle and kind.

He's under a lot of pressure now that he's asked to play a sissy, a comedic character.

Although he has good acting skills and is very famous, compared with true actors, he is more of an idol actor.

If the role fails, or if the audience doesn't accept it after the film's release, like with "Waterworld" or "Cutthroat Island," it will have a huge impact on his career.

“Johnny, you should have confidence in me and in yourself, and believe that we can make an epic pirate movie.”

Link noticed Depp's concerns and spoke up to persuade him.

Depp nodded. Link has made 16 films in the past six years, and so far, there has been no failure. On the contrary, he has made many classic films, which have been both box office and critical successes.

Thinking about this, he had more confidence in the film.

(End of this chapter)