May, 2011

On the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie , Captain Barbossa was an out-and-out villain. "Spat out from the mouth of Hell," is how one character describes Hector before he makes his grand entrance in "The Curse of the Black Pearl." But to hear Geoffrey Rush describe the character he has now portrayed in four installments of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" film series, it's kind of hard not to feel sorry for the "Black Pearl" version of Barbossa...

When Sam Claflin 's agent told him that he had an audition for " Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ," this just-two-years-out-of-the- London-Academy-of-Music-and-Dramatic-Arts performer was not what you'd call optimistic. "I told him 'Oh, what's the point? This is never going to happen. It's impossible,' " Claflin laughed. "But at his insistence, I went to that audition and then flew off to South Africa to shoot another job." But clearly...

Astrid Bergès-Frisbey wasn't quite sure what she was getting herself into when this Spanish-French actress first went in to audition for " Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ." Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved "I did that audition in Paris. And the only information I had to go on was this one short scene from the movie and the name of my character, Syrena," Astrid recalled. "But since the name 'Serena' means 'mermaid'...

Typically when something special happens at Disneyland Park , they roll out the red carpet. But this past Saturday - in preparation for the world premiere of Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films ' " Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides " - Disneyland rolled out a black carpet. In fact, when Angela and I arrive at 2 p.m., while Main Street, U.S.A. was already decked out with all sorts of pirates-related finery, they were still in the process of laying that section...

Are you actively looking for a way to tick off producer Jerry Bruckheimer ? Then suggest to him that the last two installments of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" film franchise were too long. Or worse than that, criticize " Dead Man's Chest " & " At World's End " for being unfocused. For having storylines that were far too complicated & confusing. At a Beverly Hills press conference yesterday for " Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides...