Author:
Susan
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Date Posted: 16:40:40 07/07/06 Fri
Just caught a one-hour documentary on the Biography channel called "Real Pirates of the Caribbean"--looks like it was produced last year (guess they're showing it now to tide us over till the new one premieres on Sunday), but it was pretty good. I imagine they'll probably repeat it sometime in the next few weeks--looks like POTC is going to be a huge blockbuster. Early reports say the new movie is even better than the first--if that's possible. (But, as I feared, they did not manage to find a way to resurrect Barbossa, even though I could swear I saw Geoffrey Rush's name in an early version of the credits at the IMDb. I'm also wary about the music--they say they've brought back Hans Zimmer, but what about Klaus Badelt who *composed* possibly the greatest musical score ever? Along with Green Day's American Idiot, I just can't get enough of that CD! Who'd think I could get that excited about classical music? Badelt rocks!) So the main villain this time is none other than Davy Jones--not the Monkee, of course, but he of the famous undersea locker, which, if ya wanna get historically technical, was not referred to in any written texts until a quarter century after the Golden Age of Piracy. And the Flying Dutchman was first recorded even later. But that's OK cuz this is Disney! :-D) Anyway, he's apparently played with relish by Bill Nighy (just in case you're wondering who that guy under all the prosthetics is). According to this interview ...
<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://filmjournal.com/filmjournal/features/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002726818&&imw=Y#">http://filmjournal.com/filmjournal/features/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002726818&&imw=Y#</a>
Nighy gives an interesting insight into the acting profession: "There are good parts of all kinds, but villains are quite good fun--because you get to do things that you can't very well repeat anywhere else in your life. You get to behave in a really ugly manner, be as unpleasant and scary as you can possibly be. If you have anger issues, it's great therapy." Hmm, do you suppose RN was working out some anger issues in Hatter's Castle and Oliver Twist?
BTW, RN is mentioned in the first line of the article, but I don't think what they say about him is very accurate! I certainly don't think Johnny Depp's characterization of Jack Sparrow is any more original (or Oscar-worthy) than Robert Newton's conception of Long John Silver was at the time. (I don't yet hear pirate impersonators going around talking like a drunken Keith Richards mixed with Pepe LePew! But who knows. I sure hope he doesn't overshadow Robert Newton's legacy, whom he admits in the first POTC DVD commentary was an influence on him.)
Anyway, at least two authors whose books I have (Joan Druett and Richard Zacks) served as authorities on the show, and one of the museum curators the interviewed described Blackbeard's demise just the way (and with the same amount of excitement) I've been saying it should be filmed--it sure would make a great movie! ;-) Also, they showed frequent clips of RN from Blackbeard the Pirate--including one right at the very beginning of the show and another in which the over-the-top pirate narrator (complete with "arrs") asks, "Did pirates really talk this way?" Of course the only example they could come up with was our hero since he invented it! (They also show a quick clip of him from Long John Silver in the segment where they ask whether pirates really went around with parrots on their shoulders.)
This night's Biography: RN's Jamaica Inn costar, Maureen O'Hara (a swashbuckler in her own right).
As for this Sunday's pirate marathon, "True Caribbean Pirates" is two hours long and starts at 8 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific time). It's preceded by a one-hour episode of "Modern Marvels" focusing on "pirate tech."
And, if you're interested, here's an article about the Mariners' Museum exhibit:
<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://www.dailypress.com/entertainment/dp-pirate7jul06,0,2879059.story?coll=dp-widget-ticket">http://www.dailypress.com/entertainment/dp-pirate7jul06,0,2879059.story?coll=dp-widget-ticket</a>
FYI, as for the dates, it's definitely scheduled to run through the end of this year, but from what I was told, if it's successful enough, it will probably be extended through next summer. So if you get the chance to go this year, don't put it off!
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