What a Rush - Part II

So, with Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sinking all kinds of box office records, here’s Part II of my chat with legendary Australian actor Geoffrey Rush.

In my previous chat with Rush, he eluded to the fact that there will indeed be a fifth and sixth Pirates film depending on how On Stanger Tides went at the ol’ box office. But initially Rush, who plays Captain Barbosa, says no one had any idea just how successful the franchise would be.
“No one commercially had made a popular pirates film, but Jerry’s (Bruckheimer) pretty astute,” he says.
“The first ideas that came through in the screenplay didn’t have the curse of the Black Pearl in it, it was just another swashbuckling ride.
“Then Jerry said they needed more to it and they came up with the idea of the Pirates becoming freaks under moonlight.
“It became so popular we made part two and three back-to-back.
“It was always a one-off at the beginning and it was only towards the end of the shoot when there was a week or two left that it was known as Pirates Of The Caribbean.
“We started getting memos from the Disney head office and once we saw the semi-colon on the letterhead we smelt a sequel.”

Rush says the “fantastic little cliffhanger” at the end of the third Pirates film, At World’s End, left potential for a fourth.
“I was pretty confident I had the Fountain Of Youth map at the end and that Johnny had the hole in it and it took them a while to thread that story together and freshen it up, but there are completely new storylines,” he says.
“Elizabeth and Will’s story had come to an end.
“They’re probably 120 years old now and settling down for a quiet life in Dorchester.”

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is sailing the cinema high-seas now.

Read more...

What a Rush - Part I

With four films, two directors and a six billion dollar global box office gross under its belt, you would think the Pirates Of The Caribbean series is tired. That's not the case, says series stalwart Geoffrey Rush who has played likable villain Captain Barbossa since the first film in 2003.
``At the premiere in Disneyland 25,000 people lined up to see us and that kind of fan worship and turn out . . .if there wasn't that kind of enthusiasm we would stop making them,'' he says.
``The energy, the loyalty, the madness, the craziness, the obsession; these fans have been with us since 2003 and that audience doesn't want to be cheated.
``The films have got to be as funny and generous as the last ones, everyone's keen not make it a sausage machine.
```I love how we got into the pirate mythology, not just pirate history, which is a large part of what stops them getting tired.''

If anyone should be tired, it's Rush. The Oscar-winner, who turns 60 in July, is currently resting up in Australia after a whirlwind press tour for the film which has seen stopovers in Disneyland, London, Cannes and finally Sydney all within the past two weeks for Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides premieres. The fourth film sees Rush's Captain Barbossa reunite with Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in a quest for The Fountain Of Youth (you can read my review below). Although the on-screen chemistry is supposed to be between Depp and new cast member Penelope Cruz as Blackbeard's daughter, Rush says Barbossa and Sparrow's long running love-hate relationship is where the sparks fly.
``Barbossa quite unashamedly just stole the Black Pearl from Jack and they've been arguing about that ever since,'' he says.
``So I said to Johnny `lets imagine that the Black Pearl is our shared girlfriend' because for me that's more interesting than a boat.''Rush is renowned for championing independent film projects such as Oscar-winning The King's Speech, for which he was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar and served as executive producer. But Rush says there isn't that much difference when it comes to working on a blockbuster franchise.
``Johnny (Depp) has spoken about it and I agree; the process doesn't change,'' he says.
``He said early on in the first one that it as like shooting a small, independent film that just happens to have a bucket load of money behind it.
``When you're on camera doing a two person scene it feels very intimate and just the same as doing The King's Speech for me or for him, Finding Neverland.''

Although Rush says a script for a fifth Pirates film has already been completed, his next focus is drama The Eye Of The Storm, alongside Judy Davis, and playing Lady Bracknell in The Melbourne Theatre Company's production of The Importance Of Being Earnest in November. Rush is one of 25 people to have won the Triple Crown of Acting - an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award - and says it's important for young thespians to have a grounding in theatre.
``I would certainly say if your going into it, don't be accidentally deceived.
``If you want to be a celebrity, be a celebrity.
``If you want to be an actor, get on stage and try and find out what that's about.''

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is out today. Above: You know you've `made it' when you get your very own waistcoat-wearing monkey. The fact it's carrying the Rage virus is a secondary concern.

Read more...

A big budget piece of ship

The latest instalment in the six billion dollar Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise makes you want to walk the plank. Four years after the last swashbuckling adventure, Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush arrrr back in Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. We first catch up with Depp's iconic character Captain Jack Sparrow in London, where the crown try to employ him to go on a voyage to find The Fountain Of Youth before their Spanish rivals do. After a daring escape, Sparrow runs into his father (Keith Richards) and a former flame Angelica (Penelope Cruz) at a nearby pirate bar before waking up onboard Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship captained by “the pirate all pirates fear'' - Blackbeard (Ian McShane).

Turns out Angelica is Blackbeard's daughter and the duo need Sparrow to navigate their way to the Fountain Of Youth so the notorious pirate can cheat a death prophecy. As well as racing against the Spanish, Captain Barbossa (Rush) is hot on their sail and looking to reunite with Sparrow so they can get revenge on the murderous Blackbeard who also has zombie minions. And his beard lights up when he smokes. And there's man-eating mermaids. Savvy?

Yep, the On Stranger Tides plot makes about as much sense as Cruz's role in the film, which is to say, none. Although there have been holes in the other films in Disney's flagship franchise, Depp's Oscar-nominated performance and the turns from a supporting cast including Rush, Kiera Knightley and Orlando Bloom has been enough to keep the films afloat. This time around that's not the case. Knightley and Bloom clearly recognise a sinking ship when they see one and have jumped over board, with acclaimed actors Cruz and McShane added to the cast in their wake.They add little life to the film, flopping around aimlessly, and even Depp looks as if he doesn't want to be there. For the first time in the series, which relies heavily on the shoulders of Depp's performance as Sparrow, the actor doesn't seem to be enjoying himself. It's only in the final 10 minutes the cheeky charm, flamboyance and liveliness that we associate with Sparrow seems to return. By then it's too late and Rush has been left to do all the work. But it's nice to see they took the minimalist approach to costume design with Sparrow. Not.

Everything about Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is over the top; from the endless locations to the very premise itself. With the director of the past three films opting out, Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine) has stepped in and become the studio's lapdog, replacing sense and creativity with the Michael Bay's take on filmmaking; stunts + fire + nearly topless women = success. With a big budget and big running time, Pirates is small on any lasting enjoyment and will leave your mind plank.

P.S. Keep an eye out for Australian supermodel Gemma Ward in a cameo as an ethereal yet evil mermaid.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opens Thursday, May 19.

Read more...