Ted Elliot & Terry Russio Speak about Pirates 3 and possibility of 4
Thanks to Ginger Stanley, I was able to get into the screening last night in West Hollywood, about am mile from Johnny Depp's home on Sunset Blvd. It was put together by the people of Creative Screenwriting. It included the screening of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," followed by a Q&A with the writers, Ted Elliot & Terry Russio. The entire theater was filled with an enthusiastic audience.
Questions were asked about the writing process, and Terry expounded on how usually the entire script is written, then daily the writer is asked to rewrite scenes. He said with P2 and P3, they wrote the entire story, scene by scene, but not the actual event of every scene i.e., dialogue. He said they knew from the time they started writing on the two movies that Will Turner would end up at the end with his new "job," but they didn't know how they would get there.
They said if you watch all three films, you will see that one of the main questions is, 'Is Jack good or bad?' They said that in the first film, he only helped Will and Elizabeth out because it fell into line with his own plans. It's not until the crucial decision on the decks of the Flying Dutchman when Jack has to choose between immortality for himself, or for Will, that we see the answer.
They also talked about a line of dialogue that was cut from the film, but it was one of their favorite. When Will and Jack are on the Black Pearl discussing why Will feels he must save his father, even though he knows it means he's getting further from Elizabeth. Will says, "I have to. I can't turn my back on him." Then Jack replies, "Can't" is a matter of fact. You can if you want, but you won't -- and that makes it a choice."
That of course echoes back to the conversation Jack had while Will dangled off the Pearl in "Curse of the Black Pearl," about what a man can and cannot do.
One of the attendies (Michelle) asked when the audience was allowed to participate, what mark did Jack leave on Beckett. Ted and Terry gave no direct answer, but joked that it was a hickie. Then Terry referred to the Jack Nicholson movie, "Chinatown," how when asked a similar question, the answer was simply, "Chinatown."
The two said they were going to work on a script for Pirates 4- though there has been nothing signed.
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