Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #53. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details. Visit the Johnny Kitties page for a full list of Johnny Depp's filmography and links to all previous Johnny Kitties blog posts.]

"When you watch these films, you get this feeling, this sensation that anything can happen." Brendan Thwaites, "Henry" in this latest installment of the Pirates franchise

"Not only is it huge in scope, but we're dealing with iconic characters and iconic ships and elements. I felt there was some sense of magic, walking on to that set." Co-Director Joachim Ronning, on getting started on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales


Captain Jack's past does more than haunt him. 
Down on luck, Captain Jack Sparrow realizes that he made a mistake as soon as he traded in his magic compass for a bottle of rum at a local bar. This compass, which has been Jack's prized possession in all of the Pirates films, points him in the direction of what he wants most. A fellow crew member gave it to him years ago while on the ship of Captain Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem), who was ruling the Spanish seas and killing all the pirates in his path. To stop him, young Jack trapped the evil captain and his crew in Devil's Triangle, where they were all killed. Jack got away with their ship.

Now, what Jack didn't realize is that giving the compass away triggers the release of these angry ghosts. Free to seek revenge, Captain Salazar sets out to kill Jack and find the mythical Trident of Poseidon so that he can break his curse and control the seas. A few other people are looking for the Trident for their own reasons too, so it's a race to see who finds it first in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Directed by Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, this adventure revisits old friends and introduces new ones, who represent the next generation of Pirates of the Caribbean.

It's not just the same old same old.
It's hard to believe that five Pirates of the Caribbean movies are out. The first three, which I consider the originals, told one continuous story. The last two were independent stories, and I really enjoyed them too. What I love about this installment of Pirates of the Caribbean is its mix of both old an new. "I think what we've done here is come up with new angles, new surprises," Johnny says. "I think it will have the surprise, the element of surprise that the first one had."

The film opens with a young boy on a mission. It's Henry Turner, son of Elizabeth (Kiera Knightly) and Will (Orlando Bloom), and he's determined to break his father's curse. Will and Elizabeth drove the story of the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films. When we last saw them, they were forced to part ways because Will had to captain The Flying Dutchman under a curse that only gave him a single day every 10 years to set foot on land. Henry doesn't want to wait that long, so he meets his father at sea and tells him his plan to find the Trident of Poseidon, which has the power to break his and all other curses of the sea. Of course, to do this, he'll need the help of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Although Will tells Henry to give up and stay away from Jack, he spends the next 9 years looking for Jack and working toward his goal. Henry (Brendan Thwaites) also meets a young woman, Carina (Kaya Scodelario), who is arrested for witchcraft just because she's a girl who happens to be smart about astronomy and horology. I like her! She agrees to help Henry because she also wants the Trident of Poseidon to reveal mysteries from her past. Javier Bardem makes a great scary ghost pirate. "He's full of rage and the need for revenge," Javier Bardem explains. My favorite thing is how his hair is always floating as if he's under water.

That brings me to the great special effects, make-up, and costumes. The Pirates of the Caribbean movies always show me something I've never seen before, and this one didn't disappoint. All of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies have great stunts, special effects, and ghosts in them, and I appreciate that they are all so detailed and different every time. In this one, I love how the decaying ghosts (including the sea creatures) look and move. I have no idea how they achieved some of the underwater sequences. It's all movie magic! "It's in the craftsmanship and the detail," Kaya Scodelario says. "It's very easy to lose yourself and feel like you're in another world."

What about Johnny?
I know, I didn't talk about Johnny here at all. I'll admit that I didn't enjoy finding Captain Jack overtly drunk in the first few scenes. I used to completely forget Johnny was Johnny when I watch his movies because I get lost in his character. These days, though, with all of Johnny's personal drama in the last couple years, I'm always watching his new movies irrationally wondering if he's seems okay and thinking I'll be able to tell either way. Seeing him act drunk so well isn't helping my sanity, though I realize this drunkenness is necessary for moving the story along. You know Captain Jack has hit rock bottom when he trades his compass for a bottle of rum!

But this has nothing to do with why I didn't mention Johnny sooner. It just didn't occur to me, and that's a good thing! As always, Johnny is fantastic as Captain Jack. They were very welcoming in that creative way, and they were very happy to be there in that creative world," Johnny says of his directors. "They really let me do some very strange stuff, and they'd just laugh. An actor's responsibility is to give a director some options. They got some options." I soon got wrapped up in his latest adventure. (He also gets one of his most famous friends to make a musical cameo.) I must be so used to the captain by now that I focused on the other ingredients that make this movie fun.

I really like the fulfilling story, which dips into Captain Barbossa's past. It reminds me of the original saga, and I was just as happy to find out more about Will, Elizabeth, and Hector. New characters showed up in a similar mold to those we know so well. Henry will grow up to be just like his dad, and Corina is a strong woman who handle things herself, just like Elizabeth. I like that this film brought some closure to the original story but also left room for new ones. Like Star Wars, this could go on forever – and you know Captain Jack will always be there too, looking for a bottle of rum and maybe saving the day.

The Kitties try out the pirate's life. 
The Kitties aren't big fans of water, but they couldn't resist riding The Black Pearl's anchor. Here, with Mr. Smith (Tyrone) at the helm, Captain Jack (Gordon) leads the way to the safety of the ship as the parted sea is slowly closing in. Not far behind are Henry (Comet) and Captain Barbossa (B.J.). Captain Barbossa grabs Carina (Lily) just in time to save her from falling into the hands of Captain Salazar (Norman), who is hot on her heels. (These are some of the how'd-they-do-that special effects I'm talking about!)

What's next?
Johnny joins an all-star cast on a train in Murder on the Orient Express. I hope he's careful because someone dies.

 All images © Walt Disney Pictures, except for the illustration © Melissa Connolly

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #42—Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details.]

I always feel that with Captain Jack, you can chuck him into any situation and have a ball with it. Johnny Depp

Where do they go from here?

The idea for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides came up while Johnny Depp was shooting the franchise’s second and third films back to back. The writers, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, brought a book to producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s attention. Once he got the rights to On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers, which focused on Blackbeard and the fountain of youth, they set the stage for it in the last scene in the third Pirates movie with Captain Jack on his way to find the fountain.

Right after Johnny excited everyone by showing up as Captain Jack at a Disney event, where they announced that another Pirates of the Caribbean movie was on its way, news broke that it might not happen. Disney chairman Dick Cook, who had advocated for Johnny’s inspired take on Captain Jack Sparrow from the beginning, abruptly left the company, and Johnny started talking like he was going to back out too. "There’s a fissure, a crack in my enthusiasm at the moment," he said upon hearing the news. Oh the drama! Don’t worry; after Johnny met with the film's new director Rob Marshall, the crack was sealed.

Johnny with former Disney Chairman Dick Cook

Aside from this change in Disney personnel, Johnny was also concerned about the script. "Things got very mathematical, very subplotty, on the last movie because there were lots of things that needed to be resolved with the characters," he says. "I wanted to make a film that was more like the first one, that was more character-driven." Apparently, Johnny now deserves a writing credit. "With this one, in terms of story, my involvement was a little more, just because I felt that if we were going to do a 4, that—more than anything—we owed the audience a fresh start," he explains. "I felt it was very important to eliminate as many complications as possible." Co-writer Terry Rossio confirms, "Johnny has a huge influence on the script. He’s invented characters, story lines, jokes. We had lots of creative dinners. They’d normally start at 11 p.m., the drinks would arrive around 1 a.m., and we go on to around 5 in the morning."

A fresh start calls for some fresh blood.
This new stand-alone story introduced several new characters, including new shipmates, some freaky mermaids, Jack’s old flame Angelica (Penelope Cruz) and a few historical figures like King George II (Richard Griffiths), King Ferdinand VI (Sebastian Armesto), and the dreaded pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane).

I love Ian McShane’s performance as Blackbeard so much. It wasn’t until after I saw the movie that I discovered Blackbeard was a real 18th century pirate who sailed the seas around the West Indies and Americas. "Blackbeard is pure evil," Ian McShane says. "Blackbeard’s the most infamous pirate that ever lived. He was feared by everybody, probably because he never actually killed anybody; he just looked fearsome. He’d light torches in his beard so he could impress everybody, or so the legend goes..." In this movie, he scares people just by mere presence.

Equally fantastic in this movie is Penelope Cruz as Angelica. "She’s a pirate. She’s Jack Sparrow’s equal," she explains. "They have a history. A part of her wants revenge and a part of her still cares about him, and they have this dance going on of fights and words." Although Penelope Cruz discovered she was pregnant with her first child halfway through shooting, it didn’t affect the swashbuckling adventure. She and Johnny worked together 10 years before in Blow, and their reunion was a fun experience. "The weird thing was that, when we saw each other again, it felt like we'd wrapped Blow the week before, or a few days before," Johnny remembers. "It just clicked instantly. Whatever exists in terms of chemistry was just instantly firing on all cylinders. It felt completely right." Penelope Cruz agrees, except that, "Johnny is such a funny person. The main problem is that he’s so funny, it was hard to film the dramatic scenes because I could not stop laughing."

Johnny checking things out with Rob Marshall

It was Rob Marshall who persuaded Penelope Cruz, whom he’d directed in Nine, to join the cast. Although I was sad (but understanding) about Pirates franchise director Gore Verbinski’s decision not to direct this Pirates movie, I was excited by the prospect of Rob Marshall taking over. "For me, if the movie had continued with the same cast, the same story lines, it would have been very difficult to come into the project, but I felt like it’s a new beginning in many ways," he says. Though it doesn't make much sense, I had a good feeling about Rob Marshall because of his background in directing musicals. Johnny must have felt similarly. "He has fantastic ideas and a brilliant handle on the way the story gets shaped together," Johnny says. "He’s totally open to ideas. If he likes it, it’ll get used, and that keeps everyone on their toes, keeps it fresh."

So, what’s changed?

I was thrilled to see some returning characters, like Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Mr. Gibbs (Kevin McNally). Be on the lookout for some surprise cameos too! And, of course, Jack is as entertaining as ever. "The one thing we couldn’t change was Jack. That would have been a mistake," co-writer Terry Rossio says. "He’s always been the trickster character, and we had to carry that through. And with Johnny, there’s no need to embellish the performance on the page because you know that he’ll do it all himself." 

From the start, everyone was wary of boring audiences with yet another Pirates movie. "He's created this iconic character for the ages," Rob Marshall says of Johnny's  Captain Jack. "But he also knew about the danger of a fourth anything, how it quickly can become a caricature. So we were very careful to make sure that Jack Sparrow [stayed] real. I mean, he's hilarious, but it all comes from a real place." In this story Angelica reveals a new side of Jack—a soft one! He regrets having wronged Angelica in the past, and it’s the reason he sticks with her throughout this adventure rather than doing his typical cut and run. "What’s nice is you get a sense that Jack has a heart. He’s doing something heroic in a way. For him, for a pirate who thinks selfishly, it’s nice to see that," Rob Marshall explains. "He really has a conscience, and he’s protective, caring."

With a new director comes a new perspective, and I like Rob Marshall’s! Maybe because I know of his musical background, my vision is biased, but some of the stunts in this movie were so meticulously choreographed, they felt like dances. "Some filmmakers go into a film and it's already shot and cut in their head. I didn't get that feeling from Rob," Johnny says. "What I got from Rob was that he heard it as music, in a weird way. It was rhythmic. And, he knew tempo and a way to finesse the sound, which became visual as well. It was an incredible experience. His timing—and not just his choreographic timing, but his sense of comedic timing—is impeccable." The movie begins with Captain Jack escaping King George’s Court by swinging on chandeliers and flags and hopping from one moving carriage to another down the streets of London. Later on, Blackbeard maneuvers all the ropes on his ship to capture his crew, leaving them swinging like rag dolls from the sails. Rob Marshall even got Johnny to tango in this one for a bit. Now there’s a stunt worth the price of the movie ticket! 

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is also the first movie of its scale to shoot in 3D on location. Although some interiors were filmed in Los Angeles, the rest was filmed around the world in Hawaii, London, and Puerto Rico. Can you imagine carrying all that equipment through the jungles of remote islands? "I couldn’t decided if we were stupid or pioneers, but there’s nothing like doing it for real and not being on a stage with a green screen, " Rob Marshall says. The results are worth it. Unlike the previous films that feature sea battles galore, most of this one takes place on land. The scenery is lavishly green and a bright change. 

It's mutiny, Captain! 
Put The Kitties on a boat with a bunch of dangling ropes, and I can't be held responsible for what happens. 

After discovering that his crew has declared mutiny, Blackbeard (Norman) takes control of the situation. With a wave of his sword, the ship comes to life and ties all the traitors up for a good scolding. (Among them, with Gordon, are Comet, Simon, B.J., and Tyrone.) Despite how evil Blackbeard gets in this sequence, I love his dramatic entrance and how he can make such a grand statement with a flick of his wrist. (I told Norman not to go too Method with this performance.) 

When will Captain Jack set sail again?

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides successfully refreshed the franchise for audiences, so a fifth installment, titled Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, is in the works. I’m glad because, though a stand-alone story, On Stranger Tides left some unfinished business. I don’t have any secrets to share about the film yet, but Dead Men Tell No Tales starts filming this fall and is scheduled for release in 2016. Have you marked your calendar?  

What's next?
Johnny makes good on a promise to friend Hunter S. Thompson with The Rum Diary.
　
Copyright credits: All Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides images © Walt Disney Pictures; photo of Johnny with Dick Cook © Eric Charbonneau/AP

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #26--Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl (2003)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details.]

I'm still too dumb to make choices just because it's going to be successful. In terms of this being a giant production, I still chose the same way I choose other films. I really saw something in the character I could do something with.
- Johnny Depp on taking the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl








Is there anyone out there who hasn't heard of or seen this movie?
For those of you who haven't seen Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, here's the scoop: The drive to make this movie was described as Disney's effort to revitalize a 40-year-old theme park ride called Pirates of the Caribbean. But the film isn't really based on the ride, which doesn't have a story to it. Apparently, the writers somehow incorporated a few of the ride's characteristics and minor characters for familiar audience members to wink at as they watched the movie, but they created an original story that could stand on its own. I believe it because there's no way a theme park ride could have such an intricate backstory. At the end of the audio commentary on the DVD, co-writer Ted Elliott actually lists out the plot points one-by-one, ending with, "See? It makes sense, right?!" It does, I swear!

Having several simultaneous stories going on is part of what makes this movie so good! The story begins in the late 1700s or so on a sailing ship with the governing body of England's Port Royal, including Governor Swann (Jonathan Pryce) and his 8-year-old daughter Elizabeth, aboard. Peering in the distance, Elizabeth discovers a boy drifting in the ocean and rescues him. She learns that his name is Will Turner and steals the medallion around his neck to hide it from the others for fear that it marks him as a pirate. Ten years later, Elizabeth (Kiera Knightly) and Will (Orlando Bloom) are still friends but have a societal gap between them: She's the Governor's daughter being courted by Commodore Norrington (Jack Davenport), but she's really in love with Will, who is just a working-class blacksmith. (Isn't that always the case!)

Elizabeth doesn't realize that the medallion she stole all those years ago set a hunt in motion: Everyone comes looking for it. Led by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), pirates sail The Black Pearl and attack Port Royal, looking for the trinket and its owner. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), previous captain of The Pearl before his crew committed mutiny and left him stranded on an island, arrives in search of his ship but soon discovers that Elizabeth possesses the rare medallion. So, things get interesting: Ultimately, Elizabeth is captured by the Barbossa's crew, with the medallion, and Will enlists Jack--who has his own vested interests--to help rescue her. Adventure ensues. Enjoy the ride!

Johnny's gone to the other side!
When word got out that Johnny had signed on to star in a Disney production focused around one of its faded theme-park rides, everyone said he had sold out: He'd given up his indie roots and infiltrated "the enemy camp" for blockbuster success! This idea never occurred to me and hearing it over and over started to irritate me. Do critics really think that signing Johnny Depp to star in a Disney movie about pirates in a story based on an old theme-park ride is a successful recipe? It really didn't sound like one to me. Johnny has never approached his roles thinking about the money he's going to make from it. In fact, he's done the opposite and worked for free just for the experience or as a favor to his friends.

Signing on for a Disney movie was a definite surprise, but surprises are one of the many Joys of Johnny. I chalked this decision up to Johnny having kid movies on his brain since the birth of his daughter in 2001 and left it at that. But Johnny doesn't go into those details to explain these things. Instead, he says things like, "I just had a good feeling about it--a really, really good feeling." He's telling the truth here. He goes on, "It was mentioned that they were considering a movie based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and I said I was in. There was no screenplay, no director, nothing. For some unknown reason, I just said I was in."

Trusting Johnny's instincts, I wanted this movie to be really great--mainly just to disprove all the speculation and skepticism around it. Though wild with anticipation, a part of me feared that it could go horribly wrong. This was a new experience and a risk but no more or less exciting to me than any of Johnny's other movies were when they premiered: I didn't see what the big deal or difference was about this one. Good or bad, I knew Johnny would do something different to keep things interesting, which is good enough for me.

I have a date with Captain Jack Sparrow!

One day, I came home from work, sifted through my mail, and found two free tickets to see an early preview of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl at my local theater in Georgetown. I don't remember asking for these, entering any contests, or giving out my address to strangers. I have no idea how they ended up in an envelope addressed to me in my mailbox. Creepy? Yes, but I  squealed and jumped around in my apartment anyway! In reality, these tickets were no big deal because I planned to be first in line to buy tickets to this movie, but I prefer to see these surprise treats--magic tickets to see this movie few days earlier than everyone else--as fateful Johnny Gifts that make my day. Thanks, whoever sent them. (Was it you, Walt Disney?)

While my friend and I were among the first to arrive at the theater that night (because I'm neurotic that way), it was eventually packed. (Apparently, I wasn't the only one to get free tickets.) More important, I'm pretty sure we all really enjoyed the movie! I was relieved.

The story is rich with side characters and story lines among the stars handling the main plot. Everyone in the cast, straight down to the extras, have distinct personalities, detailed histories, and their own little quirks. It makes for an entertaining soup. To top things off, the script--which really what sold Johnny on the project--is filled with smart humor. During the entire production, scriptwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were on set to make changes, so director Gore Verbinski, Johnny, and the rest of the cast had plenty of freedom to give input and test ideas on the spot. I was also impressed with the special effects. There are things in this movie I'd never seen before, and it's all so detailed! (I love details!) For example, the curse in this story only appears in moonlight, making the night-time scenes and battles extra special. And, instead of your typical treasure hunt, this curse requires that the pirates return rather than keep the goods. I think all these different elements made Pirates of the Caribbean the summer blockbuster it became--I mean, aside from the obvious key ingredient.

Johnny's in his element.
You have to think back to a time before you ever saw or knew Captain Jack Sparrow. I know it's difficult because he may be in everyone's psyche at this point, whether you're a fan or not. If you think back to before you first saw him, you'll realize what an amazing transformation Johnny made into this one-of-a-kind pirate. He disappeared into this role with the costume, the walk, the voice--every movement and every joke. Granted, I'm biased, but I gasped during Johnny's first scene when he started interacting with people. I really couldn't believe that it was the same person.

As always, Johnny did a ton of research for this role. After reading a bunch of books about pirates during that time period, he considered them the rock stars of their day. So, most noticeably, the captain is based on Kieth Richards, guitarist for the Rolling Stones, who Johnny considers the greatest of all rock stars. Johnny also spent a lot of time in saunas thinking about the character and what it'd be like to be on the ocean fighting the elements for hours on end. Captain Jack, he assumed, would be a little off due to the intense heat on the high seas. "With Jack, it was more that I liked the idea of being ambiguous, of taking the character and making everything a little bit....questionable." Also in the mix are bits of Lee Marvin's character from Cat Ballou and the great Pepe Le Pew. (I love it!)

When Johnny showed up at the studio in his costume, the rest of the cast was baffled. "That first day, we were all like, 'What's he doing?'" says Kiera Knightly. When the studio heads saw the dailies, they thought Johnny was ruining the movie. "I was sure I was going to be fired, absolutely!" Johnny says. "They had a few questions: Is he gay? Is he drunk? Is he gay and drunk?" Johnny also had to barter for his look. The studio felt that a mouthful of gold teeth was too much for audiences to bear, but Johnny counted on this concern and removed the two extra gold teeth he considered his barginning chips."When you hire Johnny, you want him to do something unique and different," producer Jerry Bruckhiemer says. They got it. "The characterization, the personality of Jack is what we wrote," screenwriter Ted Elliott notes. "The expression of that personality is purely Johnny Depp. It was exactly what we described but nothing like we anticipated." Johnny is pretty genius in this role, no matter how sick of Captain Jack you may be by now.

But you have to keep it all in perspective, I suppose. Scriptwriter Terry Rossio expains, "Johnny's performance is amaazing, but it's framed by all the other characters and sustained by the situations he gets put in. Everything goes into a performance like that--the cinematography, editing, but particularly the surrounding characters who have to create the environment for him to play off of." It's true. All the supporting characters perfectly fit their roles. Aside from Jack, everyone loves the beautiful people--Orlando Bloom as Will and Kiera Knightly as Elizabeth--who are fantastic. But  no one ever mentions Geoffrey Rush. The more I watch his performance, the more I marvel at his Captain Barbossa, who is your classic "Argh!" kind of pirate up against Johnny's uncategorical Captain Jack. As Terry Rossio notes, "Geoffrey Rush's eyeballs deserve an Academy Award nomination." It's true.

It's about time! At the Oscars with mom Betty Sue
and partner Vanessa Paradis in 2004

Well, they didn't get one, but Johnny did! Did you hear me scream and jump around the moment his nomination was announced? Only Johnny could get nominated for starring in a Disney summer blockbuster as an ambiguously gay, drunk pirate. Granted, he should have at least five Oscars by now, but it's delicious that, after all this time, this is the one that got him nominated. I never would have guessed, yet I wasn't surprised. Johnny probably didn't care as much as I did. Maybe it was the 17-year wait, but I Was Thrilled!!! Alas, he lost to his friend, Sean Penn, who won for Mystic River. Johnny was probably relieved that he didn't have to make a speech. But the only reason I'm just the tiniest bit relieved about his loss is that Johnny didn't go down in history holding an Oscar sporting that night's weird greasy hairstyle. You know I would have had to keep that photo forever, despite what his hair looked like that day. Crisis averted.

Up to this point, Johnny performances generally received critical acclaim, but his characters were always labeled "outsiders" or "oddballs." Hiring Johnny was  considered a risk because "he can't open a weekend" or "he's too weird." He's always described his career as one built on a bunch of box office failures. Johnny's movies were not mainstream, and many people didn't see them unless they were in the know and made the effort.

Imagine the shock of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl becoming a gazillion-dollar blockbuster overnight, Captain Jack and all the characters going down in Disney history, and talk of sequels already buzzing! Did I fully express the inexplicable magnitude of my joy about this? Really, I felt this couldn't have happened to a better person after all the equally stellar work before this crazy pirate movie. Making this movie didn't mean that Johnny sold out: No one could plan for or predict the ridiculous meteoric success of The Pirates of the Caribbean.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was nominated for four other technical Oscars and at a bunch of different award shows that season. It earned quite a few awards. Most exciting to me was that Johnny won the Best Actor award that year from the Screen Actor's Guild, an honor voted  by other actors. Ah, the love gave me a warm fuzzy feeling (even if he couldn't attend to accept it in person).

The Kitties have already heard of Captain Jack Sparrow.
I've actually submitted a couple Illustration Friday drawings inspired by Captain Jack already. Illustration Friday's word of the week, "skyline," stumped me for a few days in 2006. But, eventually, my brain made its way to the last line of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, in which Johnny mentions the horizon. (It counts, right? They're synonyms, aren't they? Well, even if I tried, I couldn't think of anything else once the seed was planted.) Everyone was stumped on how to end this movie, but Johnny had a eureka moment and ran to the writers like a little kid, yelling, "I've got it! I've got it!"

"Now, bring me that horizon..." -- Captain Jack Sparrow
(Illustration Friday: July 7, 2006)

By 2007, the word "captain" instantly and only made me think of the captain on his ship, The Black Pearl. (It still does.)

"It's Captain! Captain Jack Sparrow."
(Illustration Friday: August 17, 2007)

But drawing a specific tribute to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl for Johnny Kitties was daunting! At first, I thought I'd have to draw several illustrations to cover the entire cast of beloved characters. Then, I figured I'd have a few more chances to capture them later. So, I went with my original idea, which flashed in my head when I first thought up the Johnny Kitties project. It's true that Johnny's character shines best when all those "normal" people are reacting around him, but ultimately the greatest thing this movie does is introduce audiences to Johnny's Captain Jack Sparrow.

Not only should his entrance go down in film history as one of the best ever, but--once introduced--there's no turning back. As soon as he sets foot in Port Royal, you know you're in for something special. And, he's here to stay. Savvy?

What's Next?
And now for something completely different: Johnny represents the CIA in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and I'm guessing they wish he didn't.

All film images © Walt Disney Pictures; illustrations © Melissa Connolly; candid photo  © unknown

Signs

(Illustration Friday: May 19, 2007)

After visiting my favorite theater last week, I came home and told the kitties all about its marquee. Here, they re-enact my joyous/frantic anticipation of the coming attraction. I think they all get it just about right....

Although The Mother Kitty doesn't quite understand all the hubbub, she does come prepared to watch this adventure's final installment. (After all, she's been waiting to see how Captain Jack Sparrow will escape his latest predicament, and she can't wait to meet his dad!) At the moment, however, she is smiling at the thought of me bringing home the DVD, which guarantees her at least three hours of lap time.

See you at the movies!!!

Skyline

 
(Illustration Friday: July 7, 2006)

"Now bring me that horizon...." - Captain Jack Sparrow