Curious Case of Benjamin Gump

Let me be plain. Posting this video is not a criticism of Eric Roth on my part. It's a funny observation and it makes a point. Artists have signatures. Even writers.

When my son and I went to see Legend of Zorro, I knew Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman had the screenplay credit and Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio received story credit. Still, I was expecting to see T&T's fingerprints all over the film.

I didn't.

First act came and went. Hmm. Nothing struck me as T&T's work.

Second act. Odd. Nothing stood out there either.

Finally, toward the end of the film, there's a horse on a train. A horse on train! Now, THAT is something T&T would write!

As soon as I got home, I emailed Terry and told him the film just didn't feel like something he'd touched except for the horse on the train. Terry replied that he hadn't seen the film but had recently received his obligatory copy of the screenplay and flipped through it. He really didn't see anything of his own except -- you guessed it -- the horse on the train.

You see, once you get to know an artist's work, it's relatively simple to feel the familiarity. You'd be surprised how much Pirates of the Caribbean has in common with Mask of Zorro and Shrek and Road to El Dorado or how much National Treasure has in common with Aladdin. They all have the same writers' fingerprints.

James Horner, one of my all time favorite film score composers, almost always uses some kind of haunting oboe solo in his soundtracks. You wouldn't think Cocoon and An American Tale would be similar enough films to have common denominators in the soundtracks. They aren't. But, they do. Danny Elfman has a genius for weaving darkness with whimsy. That's his signature. Just listen to Nightmare Before Christmas, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman, and the theme from the Simpsons. The similarity is there even though the music is decidedly different.

Producers have signatures, too. Is there any mistaking Ridley Scott's herky jerky camera-on-a-tether ball scene transitions?

So yeah, filmmakers have signatures. Now watch this -- good stuff.

The Curious Case of Forrest Gump - watch more funny videos

Snorting Screenwriter Flames

Few blogs incite me, annoy me, or make me want to egg a guy's typewriter. After all, everyone is entitled to an opinion, even a shallow or ignorant one. This post, however, flaps a red cape and frustrates the flaming snot out of me as it squares off at Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio by suggesting that they had no business writing POTC2 and POTC3. Oh please. That's like saying Benjamin Franklin shouldn't have flown a kite.

Whether a critic, writer, or blogger likes a film or hates it, he ought to be able recognize the no-brainer contributions of these two writers to filmmaking and screenwriting, let alone the Pirates of the Caribbean phenomenon. There's a huge difference between an opinion -- "I didn't like the film" or "I had a hard time following that film" -- and the twaddletype passed off as an opinion -- "the narrative mess that was Dead Man’s Chest should have been enough for Bruckheimer to have these two walk the plank before At World’s End went before the lens". Oh, and Gore Verbinski "lacks vision". Yeah. On planet Moron. You want vision? Watch the Kraken in POTC2 or mailstrom in POTC3. You want films that dumb down for viewers? Go rent Baby Geniuses.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Everyone seems to be discussing the story in Variety in which Michael Fleming announces a new writer’s co-op formed by John Wells and several other writers. By everyone, I mean pretty much every professional screenwriter's blog I read. So, if you're as confused as I am about how this works and potentially affects us nobodies - er, I mean aspiring screenwriters - then John August and Craig Mazin are good places to start getting the pro perspective. Or, just Google "John Wells" and "writer co-op" and take your chances.

Meanwhile, in other news ---

Anticipating Pirates IV

Conjecture. Conjecture. Conjecture.

There's talk. Really. Talk about more Jack Sparrow chronicles. The anticipation of Pirates of the Caribbean fans is spilling out all over the internet. But anticipation seems so pointless and potentially disappointing in this case. I've always been somewhat disturbed that the word "anticipation" rhymes with so many other potentially unpleasant "ation"s like "cremation", "dehydration", "masturbation" and "infestation". Ew.

Perhaps I've read way too much Dr. Seuss this week.

Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio have warned us time and again to question the validity of any articles that claim a fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean is on the way, but we don't want to! We relish the anticipation of a fourth Jack Sparrow film and now, there seems to be an announcement that gives a good appearance of credibility to that rumor.

So far, T&T have said nothing about the Happy Feet trailer.

Still awaiting At Worlds End, I can't even imagine where another sequel could go. We're at the finale of the pirate era and have been promised a spectacular conclusion. No doubt, Ted and Terry could master the daunting task of a sequel, but yikes. A prequel, however, about Jack Sparrow's earlier rum soaked exploits and the backstory of the Pearl is not only provocative and plausible, but perpetual in possibilities. (ah, alliteration - Jack is, after all, branded with "P")

Yup. Prequel is the way to go, methinks, because these limitless possibilities contribute to the insatiable frenzy of POTC fans while promoting Jack-o-holism.

Not just any ol' prequel for the sake of slaking the lust of Jack-o-holics will due either because anything less than a brilliantly constructed film with impossible choices, complex characters, and solid storytelling would careen.

Actually, instead of going bigger, I'd develop the prequel smaller so it could build up to Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man's Chest, and At Worlds End, not outshine, out-blow, or out-animate them.

Just how far back could we go with Jack and what led up to the mutiny that lost him the Pearl, the raising of the Pearl from the depths, and whatever juicy tale lies behind Tia Dalma's sultry reception of Captain Jack in her cozy little witch doctor's office?

And, just how much skinny do we want on Will's backstory? Do we want to get the goods on the merchant ship that blew Will into Elizabeth's life? How his mother died? Was she unjustly hung as a pirate? Murdered by Barbossa as he searched for the last cursed coin? Or did Bootstrap Bill make an impossible choice that spared Will, but cost the life of his beloved?

And what about Elizabeth? How does she know so much pirate lore? Maybe her mother was that fierce hell cat, Anne Bonney, who was said to have told her own beloved Jack Rackham, as he awaited execution, that if he had only fought like a man, he wouldn't be hanged like a dog. Governor Swann does, after all, respond to Elizabeth's fascination with pirates by saying "that's what concerns me".

Do we even want backstory on anyone except Jack Sparrow?

The possibilities are intoxicating.

I vote for prequel.

Somebody hand me a pen.

Orphaned Ideas

Even if you've read Sean Kennelly's interview with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio in Creative Screenwriting, don't skip the online version. It's a spillover, not a duplicate, with comments on theme, character risks and the exploration, semi-development, and abandonment of more ideas than will ever fit into a screenplay.

Interviews with T&T abound right now (rightfully so) but a couple of obscure articles you may have missed are in Box Office Mojo where Ted comments on Jack Sparrow being perceived as less likeable and in Latino Review written prior to the release of POTC2, in which Terry humbly discusses the "daunting" nature of his job --

...we can’t predict box office for Pirates 2 or 3 and you have to face reality that it’s nonsensical to make these movies. It doesn’t work, it’s not fiscally responsible to go out in the Caribbean, to build sets, to have actors out there that cost a lot of money... Terry Rossio

That's another idea Terry can orphan since we now know how it turned out -- $258 million in ten days. It may not be fiscally responsible to make POTC films, but like any gamble, the pay off can be -- um, word, word, word, somebody give me a word that hasn't already been used to describe this phenomenon -- neato? Sorry, all the superfluous ones have been used.

La Vida Pirate

Say what you want -- loved it, hated it, too many thrills -- but Dead Man's Chest is wielding a cutlass at box office records and making film history.

I'm reminded of that Entertainment Weekly list that set my teeth on edge by putting POTC2 seventh in the "most anticipated films of the summer" list.

No need for me to say I told you so to EW since the $55 million opening day record is pretty much evidence that POTC2 was THE most anticipated film of the summer and the $132 million opening weekend record makes it, in my mind, one of the most highly anticipated films of all time.

Bottom line. The wallet of the viewer is louder than the voice of the critic.

Well done, Ted and Terry. Truly incredible.

Courage to Dare

Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night,
Tonight there will be no morning star.
Tonight, tonight, I'll see my love tonight.
And for us, stars will stop where they are.
Today, the minutes seem like hours,
The hours go so slowly,
And still the sky is light
Oh moon, grow bright,
And make this endless day endless night!
Tonight!

I'll be living la vida pirate at 12:01 tonight. But don't expect a review of Dead Man's chest from me -- ever -- because, like an expectant parent, I'm predisposed to love this second child as much as the first even if it looks like it was hit with an ugly stick.

If the headlong courage and bold audacity it took to take on two sequels to POTC amid the overblown expectations of passionate fans and the certain close examination of critics wasn't enough to garner my wholehearted admiration, then the mammoth magnitude of work that went into this film would be. As it is, courage is enough for me.

Oh sure, we could say the same about Lord of the Rings, Superman, Star Wars and any number of grandiose and highly anticipated sequels that required guts to write, stage, cast, direct, costume, produce, score, etc. But I wasn't emotionally invested in those films. It wasn't my kid. So if somebody says the kid is so ugly that they need to diaper both ends or is the reason some mammals bury their young, so what?

Nope, I'm not interested in reviewing, defending or picking apart Dead Man's Chest. I'm simply not objective enough. I'm a fan of few -- this is one of the few.

I'm not saying it's the thought that counts, but as I've read blogs and updates on the progress of the film, I've come to respect the extraordinary workings behind it. Stupid and naive of me? Maybe.

Funny thing about kids, though. Sometimes they bring us a handful of weeds and say, "look at the pretty flowers." Sweet. We love them. But they're still weeds.

Just look at those breathtaking photographs, people. Dead Man's Chest is offering us an armful of roses. Somehow, I don't think I'll notice if there are a few weeds.

Walking the Plank

If you are eagerly anticipating Dead Man's Chest, are a diehard fan of Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, are wondering if there's going to be a Pirates of the Caribbgean 4, or --- never mind. this is great. Just go there!

Terry Rossio's Blog