The third and perhaps final entry in the Pirates of the Caribbean saga is out on DVD from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Tuesday, Dec. 4th. M&C was fortunate to have a quick chat with director Gore Verbinski.
Along with the Herculean efforts of the art department, special effects teams, visual effects geniuses at ILM, and a crew of the best key department heads and craftspeople in the motion picture industry, Verbinski created a trifecta of increasingly complex and challenging scenes that delivers us the swashbuckling Jack Sparrow and his crew.
One of the highlights of POTC3 was the cameo of Keith Richards, the iconic Rolling Stone player who still rocks, and defies all laws of human constitution, namely his legendary "reputation" for the "rum."
Only on set for two days, Richards left a mark.
"Keith has no switch, he is always like that. And he doesn't really stay where you put him, he wobbles. You just have to be very patient and it is like photographing a very strange insect."
Verbinski likened working with Richards to performing a high wire act. Every nuance of the rock and roll legend one could possibly imagine was true.
We had a chance to chat with Gore yesterday.
Q: The Maelstrom scene proved to be a major success, but also offered up major effects obstacles. Was there ever a moment you didn't think it was going to work out?
Q: Were there times that you had to hold back Johnny Depp a little, or did you just let him do his Jack Sparrow thing?
A: Johnny and I love pushing Jack as far as he can go, but we are also aware that keeping him unpredictable requires a constant oscillation between the dramatic and the absurd. So, it's both spurs and reigns - constantly.
Q: How much planning goes into "The Making of..." Extras and how deeply are you involved?
A: It is really an issue of documenting the madness. There must be a million hours of digital video that the 'making of folks' are combing through. (Someone was on set videotaping every day.) They show me the cut footage and most of the time I just have this sort of Vietnam flashback moment and then say, 'sure why not?' I do believe the process of this production is just about as mad and bold an adventure as the narrative itself.
Q: What is the movie scene that gave you much satisfaction once shot?
A: The scene with Jack and the crabs.
Q: I was particularly entranced with the "across the desert by crab" sequence - how did that come about?
A: I have always been fascinated by the work of Miyazaki. When we needed to get the Black Pearl back to the ocean, I thought, why are we limited to the rules of live action film making? Once those shackles are off, it is quite liberating. All sorts of ideas start to germinate. The crab is Tia Dalma's "motif." Why not do something surreal and connected to her? Giving his escape a subtextual intention.
Q: What's the significance of Jack' peanut?
A: Exactly
Q: How hard is it to keep the story in mind if you're so busy with a lot of technology and computer generated images?
A: Visual effects are a tool in the filmmaker's toolbox. Once you become acquainted with them they cease to be distracting. I always try to keep story foremost in my mind while shooting.
Q: How was it working as a guitarist on the score?
A: That was a blast. But my contribution is a pimple on the ass of a tick crawling along the ankle of a behemoth endeavor. Hans Zimmer and his entire team did all the work.
Q: What was it like when you finally got Keith Richards on set? Was he well behaved? Well behaved?
A: Let's just say everything you have heard is true.
Q: In general, what are your thoughts on DVD extras? Some directors bemoan the idea of revealing the mechanics behind the magic and other guys love revealing how it's all done. What are your thoughts on the issue?
A: These films are a different species completely. The process of making them has been such a wondrous and strange adventure, I think it serves as a form of entertainment itself. Nobody wants to show their dirty laundry, but ownership of these movies belongs as much to the audience as it does the filmmakers.
Q: You said on the bonus material that all of the sets begin with drawings on a napkin. When you now watch the finished movie, how close did the sets come to what was envisioned during the napkin drawing?
A: The creative process is complex. I try to be specific and deliberate as I storyboard and pre-visualize the entire film. Yet, I am constantly aware that this process can make a film cold and clinical. I try to remain open to gifts that a little bit of randomness can provide along the way. The contribution of others is essential in creating that particular form of 'controlled chaos.' The napkin drawing is a starting point from which I encourage evolution. Most of the time the concept remains intact but execution shifts dramatically.
Q: The Maelstrom was such a complicated sequence to pull off, were they any shots that proved too difficult, that you just couldn't quite get right?
A: Most of the time the initial response from the producers or crew, when viewing the storyboards, was that this sequence was unachievable. But when you have the best in the business working with you, and you are willing to break apart each shot into its components, the impossible eventually becomes a reality.
Q: What worries you more as a director in general, big scale scenes or intimate ones?
A: It is always the intimate ones that require the most attention to detail.
Q: Did you miss the Kraken?
A: No.
Q: Was the making of POTC 3 as hectic as was portrayed in the DVD of POTC 2?
Q: Of all of the special features on the POTC: At World's End DVD, is there one featurette or one segment that stands out to you as being your favorite or the most interesting?
A: Yes, the making of the Maelstrom gives you a small window into the complexity of creating and executing a sequence that has never been accomplished before. Months in planning and 8 weeks of shooting required a synergy between stunts, camera, practical effects and visual effects. Day after day we were operating amid 100 miles per hour winds, cascading rain and debris, deafening cannon fire with 150 sword wielding stuntmen battling across two undulating vessels on the largest gimbals ever constructed for filming. Although artificially created, practically speaking, we were filming a battle within a massive storm. I think the viewer will get a good sense of what everyone went through to bring this to the big screen.
Q: You visited a lot of exotic locations during your time working on the trilogy. Which was your favorite and did you ever get a moments peace to enjoy any of them?
A: St Vincent and the Exumas were fantastic, but I really recommend Dominica for those who want to go back in time. We stayed and rented homes and bought fish from the locals and barbecued on the beach every night after wrap. There was very little time off but the community of the island melded with production in a way that I have never witnessed. That was a special place.
Q: Do you have any visual dreams that are technically still impossible to do but can be done in the near future?
A: I think Hollywood invention has always been somewhat limitless. You may have relied on a bit of claymation, filmed lizards for dinosaurs, or depicted Chuck Heston parting the seas but what continues to change is execution: design aesthetic and photo realism continue to evolve. For me the limits have always resided with our imagination. The struggle is to conceive something unique. If you can achieve this, then the underlying concept or idea even badly executed will always outshine the polished cliché.
Q: You've been featured on Premier's most powerful list. Do you feel powerful these days?
A: Only when I wear my eye patch.
Q: Are you planning on doing a 4th part?
A: I think the trilogy is now complete. All of the stories set in motion by the first film have been resolved. If there ever were another Pirates of the Caribbean film, I would start fresh and focus on the further adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow.
Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End (Two-Disc Limited Edition) is now available for pre-order at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a Nov. 19th release. Visit the DVD database for more information. Click Here to enter to win a copy of the DVD.
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