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We asked Knightley why she thought the first movie was such a hugely popular hit. “I have no idea. It’s still a mystery,” she admitted. “What’s amazing is that there’s such a wealth of stories there–you know, the pirating stories–and if you can tap into it and if you can do it well then it’s just that spark of imagination. There’s all those films when you’re a kid that you kind of remember as part of your childhood that you’ve sort of lived through.

On suggesting that the popularity of Johnny Depp’s outlandish performance as Captain Jack Sparrow might have a lot to do with the first film’s success, she agreed, “Oh, absolutely. It wasn’t written like that. The character, as it was written, was completely straight, so that character is entirely his and Gore Verbinski’s. They totally came up with that and none of us knew if it would work when we were doing it, because it was so off-the-wall and so not what was on the page.

It’s daring, and talk about risks, a.) you’re making a pirate movie, that hasn’t worked in God knows how long, b.) you’re making a film based on a Disney theme park ride and c.) you got Johnny Depp going mental over there, and you’re just thinking, ‘How is this going to work?’ I think you’ve got to take the risks. There’s no point playing it safe, because either you’ll get bored or the audiences will get bored.

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London Premiere of Corpse Bride
City of Westminister
Forthcoming Events

17 Oct – Film Premiere of ‘Corpse Bride’. – The Vue Cinema, Leicester Square.

No word yet on whether Johnny will be attending…

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Their relationship is one of admiration, inspiration, respect, trust and, sometimes, even love. Their collaborations can result in Oscar-nominated performances or bargain bin specials – by Monica Haynes for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

But when the right director and the right actor get together there’s movie magic and a union that can last longer than many Hollywood marriages.

“Corpse Bride” represents the fifth time director Tim Burton and his muse, Johnny Depp, have teamed up, with Depp voicing the character of Victor. Burton’s personal muse, live-in love Helena Bonham Carter, is the voice of the title character.

Burton and Depp collaborated for the first time on 1990’s “Edward Scissorhands.” Four years later, the quirky director and the eccentric actor tackled “Ed Wood,” and “Sleepy Hollow” followed in 1995. Earlier this year, Burton released “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” with Depp once again in the starring role.

“Each time I’ve worked with Johnny, he’s something different,” said Burton. “He’s interested in being a character and not necessarily interested in his persona, and I find it very exciting to work with actors like that.”

For his part, Depp, like many actor/muses, has developed a deep and abiding trust of his favorite director.

“Tim’s vision is always amazing, beyond anything you expect,” Depp said. “If Tim wanted to shoot 18 million feet of film of me staring into a light bulb and I couldn’t blink for three months,

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Next weekend, 150 members of the regional press will spend four days in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, for the 50th anniversary of the promotional event Cinema Days, deemed so important by British film-makers that stars from Bob Hoskins to the director Terry Gilliam will attend – Louise Jury – The Independent Online.

The guests will watch forthcoming movies – both British and foreign – including Stephen Frears’ Mrs Henderson Presents, shot in London, and The Libertine, starring Johnny Depp, which was filmed on the Isle of Man.

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Gore Verbinski has become a very sought after director in Hollywood. With hits such hits such as The Ring and Pirates of the Carribbean, his movies are a box office success. His latest film is a departure from his genre and action adventure hits and instead dives into mind of Dave Spritz played by Nicholas Cage in the dark drama The Weather Man – by Robert Sanchez/Scott Huver of IESB

Question: Can you talk a bit about pirates? how hard was it to get two more sequel scripts that were just as good as the first one?

Verbinski: We don’t have those scripts yet [LAUGHS]. We’re just making the movie. No. We actually have a pretty good second script and the third script is still on the operating table. And we’re in triage constantly, everyday. I don’t recommend making two movies at once. I think that we’re going to get there, but it’s just madness. You’re like building ships and the ships aren’t ready and you have four hundred extras. There’s a lot of fun and I think that the second movie is strong and clever and has a lot going on. The third movie we’re still working on.

Question: So you’re not doing like lord of the rings and shooting them both at the same time?

Verbinski: No. We are. We are.

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2005, October – The Ginger Man Party

The Keith Richards-in-Pirates of the Caribbean II rumor has gone back and forth so many times, I suppose we won’t be able to believe anything until we see him onscreen, mascared and bantering with Johnny Depp. Still, Orlando Bloom is going around telling people that Richards is definitely going to be involved in the Pirates sequel. — by Karina Longworth for Cinematical.

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A strong launch in Italy was enough to send Charlie and the Chocolate Factory past the $200 million mark and remain No. 1 at the foreign box office. After a $13.8 million weekend from 52 markets, the picture jumped to $201.1 million-the sixth movie of the year to reach that milestone – by Conor Bresnan for Box Office MoJo.

With strong media buzz and positive reviews, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ranked first in Italy with $2.7 million. It was also on top in Denmark with a $307,000 opening from 67 screens. The two markets were the last major debuts of Charlie’s overseas schedule, leaving it to rely on holdovers from here on out.

Tim Burton’s family feature has thrived thus far in holdover markets, led by the United Kingdom’s $65.3 million. In Japan, Charlie eased seven percent in its third weekend. It made $3.9 million for a $22 million total, light years ahead of animated movies such as Madagascar and Shark Tale. More impressive was South Korea’s nine percent drop from last weekend’s holiday opening. Its $1.6 million weekend staved off new entries to remain the market’s highest-grossing non-Korean movie, and the total rose to $5 million.

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BBC.co.uk. Autumn Schedule 2005 – Johnny Depp takes a break from filming to present the James Dean story on Tuesday, September 27 at 8:30pm on BBC’s Radio 2, 88-9|FM.

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There’s a popular showbiz story about Tom Stoppard turning down an offer to write a movie for Steven Spielberg because of a prior commitment to the BBC. “Oh, you don’t want to miss this for a television script,” insists the director, to which the playwright replies: “Actually, it’s radio.” – Mark Lawson – The Guardian

For the British, it’s a self-congratulatory anecdote turning on Hollywood incredulity that anyone could be bothered with the wireless. The assumptions behind it are overturned tonight when Johnny Depp makes his Radio 2 debut, hosting a documentary about James Dean. With Martin Scorsese making his BBC TV directing debut last night – with the Bob Dylan films for Arena – the corporation may soon be putting palm trees in its gardens to make all the tinseltown visitors feel at home.

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