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Are Disney’s “Pirates” sequels about to set sail without Keith Richards?

Late last fall, it was all that “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” fans could talk about. The rumor that Keith Richards — the rock legend who supposedly inspired Johnny Depp’s performance in the first “Pirates” picture — had agreed to play Capt. Jack Sparrow’s dad in the sequels.

Well, with less than two weeks to go ’til the official start of production, word has begun leaking out of producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s office that it might be a bit premature to definitively say that the Rolling Stones vet is definitely going to appear in “Dead Man’s Chest” as well as the yet-to-be-named third fim in the series.

“What’s the problem?,” you ask. Well, it appears that Disney’s reps & Keith’s people can’t quite come to terms over what Richards’ share of the “Pirates” booty should be. Given that Depp is reportedly recieving more than $20 million (as well as a chunk of the picture’s back end) to reprise his role as Capt. Jack, Keith was supposedly looking for a similiar sized check to play Johnny’s pappy. And — given that Richards was only supposed to spend four days shooting his part of the picture (Whereas Depp will be on-set for the full 8-to-10 months that “Pirates II” & “III” are in production) — Well … I guess you can understand why the Mouse might be reluctant to give this rock star a seven figure salary for what is basically a glorified cameo.

That said … Folks close to Bruckheimer’s production office still say that it’s still way too early to count Keith out. “We’re going to try & keep the lines of communication open,” said one un-named insider.”With the hope that — sometime between now and the end of October — we can come to some sort of financial arrangement that both sides can live with. We still very much want Keith Richards to be a part of these pictures. To have Sparrow father & son on screen together. But — as of this moment — the numbers just aren’t lining up. Maybe further on down the line, they will.”

If this bit of bad press weren’t bad enough … Disney also finds itself dealing with Charles Williams, the chief of the Carib Indians. Who is said to be upset with the scenes for the sequel that will be shot on his home island of Dominica. Which will reportedly feature cannibalism. Which Williams sees an insult to the island’s indigenous people.

Said one clearly frustrated member of the “Pirates” production team:

“Talk about making something out of nothing. We’re not shooting a documentary that alleges that the Carib Indians ever indulged in cannibalism. We’re shooting a big budget fantasy film where pretend pirates are threatened by pretend cannibals.

Though officials from Walt Disney Pictures have yet to officially comment on this somewhat sensitive issue, Bruckheimer’s people are reportedly already talking with the film’s director — Gore Verbinksi — about what they can possibly do to deal with Williams’ complaints. After all, changing the shooting location for these back-to-back sequels isn’t really an option this late in the game. By that I mean: Given that “Pirates” is supposed to shoot on Dominica for six-to-eight weeks, set construction for the films has already been underway for quite some time now.

Okay … Enough with the bad news coming out of the “Pirates II” & “III” production offices. How would you folkslike to hear some good news associated with these two films?

Well, for starters, all you “Pirates” fans out there better start making room on your book shelves. For I hear that Jason Surrell (AKA the author of such well-received volumes as “The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies” and “Screenplay by Disney”) has not one but two “Pirates” related books in the works. The first volume — tentatively titled “Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies” — will reportedly hit bookstore shelves sometime this fall. While a yet-untitled follow-up (which will cover the production of all three “Pirates” films) will be released in the Spring of 2007. Just before the third film in the trilogy rolls into theaters.

Also … Speaking of fun “Pirates” – related stuff that we can all look forward to … I hear that an official fan site for the “Pirates” trilogy will soon be popping up on the web. Given the folks who are associated with this project, I think that I can safely predict that this new website will be a hell of a lot of fun to visit. So — as soon as I know the official URL — I’ll be sure and pass that info along to JHM readers.

Anyway … That’s pretty much it for today’s “Pirates” related news. In the meantime, I’ll keep you posted on what’s going on with Disney’s negotiations with Mr. Richards & Chief Williams. Though I can’t help but think that both of these issues could be quickly dealt with were the Mouse to hire a real cannibal to to meet with Keith & Charles.

By that I mean: Wouldn’t you be in a hurry to reach a settlement if the person across the table from you were to say something like:

“Please sign on the dotted line. Otherwise I’ll eat your spine.”

Your thoughts?

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