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Cannes 2013: Surprises & Notable Absence ...

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

Rupert Sanders & More On The Shortlist To Direct 'Pirates of the Caribbean 5'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 9, 2013 5:12 PM
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7 Comments

News

With "Pirates Of The Caribbean 5" simply an inevitability at this point -- it's already slated for a 2015 release, joining Disney's insane line-up that year -- it looks like the studio wants to keep costs down. Surely, Johnny Depp will be negotiating a Robert-Downey-Jr-making-$50-million-for-The-Avengers sized deal and taking a cut of the back end, which means that in the director's chair, a newer, cheaper face will be given a shot. So that means no Rob Marshall or Gore Verbinski, but perhaps one of these guys.

By Drew Taylor
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May 2, 2013 11:05 AM
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8 Comments

Features

Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, an attraction built for the 1964's World's Fair that is still in operation at Florida's Magic Kingdom theme park, is one of the most emblematic for the company – it incorporates an emphasis on family values with a kind of sunny futurism that both Walt Disney the man (who oversaw the original attraction) and Walt Disney the company strove to maintain. Its theme song contains an earworm-y chorus of "It’s a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day." That great big beautiful tomorrow is coming soon; in 2015, Disney will dominate the cinematic marketplace in a way that no other studio has in the history of the medium (at least since people started paying attention to that kind of thing). But what will that mean for everybody else? How greatly will movies in general be affected by Disney's great big beautiful tomorrow?

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 14, 2013 3:36 PM
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0 Comments

News

Lord have mercy. We are barely two weeks into 2013, and now we have to mark our calendars for the onslaught of blockbusters in 2014. So sit back, get out your day planner and schedule your vacations accordingly.

By Edward Davis
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January 12, 2013 3:30 PM
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10 Comments

News

Remember when bloggers said "Pirates of the Caribbean 5" would begin shooting in November of 2012 because the always-reliable Caribbean Business was reporting that Disney has confirmed a Puerto Rico shoot last year? Yeah, that didn't obviously happen. In fact, while a script for a fifth 'Pirates' movie was reportedly finished in May of 2011, clearly it's not ready for prime time and the film isn't going in front of cameras any time soon.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 24, 2011 2:40 AM
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5 Comments

'Pirates Of The Caribbean 5' Apparently Aiming To Start Production In Summer 2012It's easy to forget what a roll of the dice Marvel took in casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in "Iron Man." At the time, the actor was still best known for his checkered and controversial past, and the studio was concerned about attaching Robert Downey Jr. to one of their centerpiece franchises as any bad behaviour would put not only the box office into jeopardy, but sequels, licensing opportunities and more. And while Johnny Depp certainly isn't a bad boy, it's that kind of thinking that still dominates the executives overseeing lucrative, four-quadrant franchises, and they will do anything to protect the wholesome, family image that has allowed them to print money.