A “micro movie” advertisement trailer of 4 minutes for the Adventure Game developed by Beijing Jianyou Technology, Sea Dawn, inviting players to embrace adventure.
Crew
Johnny Depp as Phillip Artoosh
Francisco J. Rodriguez as Anselm Rodríguez
Shooting Place
Santo Domingo, Dominikanische Republik
Plot
Johnny Depp is a weird, wizened, fez-wearing shopkeeper in the promotional launch trailer for “Sea of Dawn,” the new massively multiplayer online game from Chinese gaming company Changyou.
In the four-and-a-half-minute cinematic trailer, the actor — best known for his turn as Captain Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films — plays Phillip the Shopkeeper, affecting a seafaring lilt. His character confronts a hapless bill collector (Francisco Rodriguez), whom he regales with yarns about bygone adventuring days on the ocean blue… all to distract his visitor from the task at hand.
“I’ve had me adventures,” Depp’s shopkeeper says before slyly ushering the bill collector out the door with the parting words, “I see your journey awaits you out there, on the tides. You be brave. Be bold. And eat a proper breakfast in the morning!”
The short film was released to promote the launch of Changyou’s “Sea of Dawn” multiplayer role-playing game. Set in the 16th century amid the Age of Exploration, the nautical-themed game uses Epic Games’ Unreal Engine to digitally replicate uncharted coastlines and other landscapes, as players take on rival vessels, trade with other merchants, and delve into distant cultures, mysteries and mythologies. The game has launched first in China on mobile and PC platforms, with a rollout in the U.S. and Europe slated for later this year.
The “Sea of Dawn” trailer was created by L.A.-based entertainment agency Buddha Jones and shot by Quriosity Productions director David Gil. According to producers, Depp was closely involved in creating the shopkeeper character for the trailer, which was filmed late last year in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
