Production has commenced on location in Australia on Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ epic comedy adventure “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” directed by Espen Sandberg & Joachim Rønning (“Kon-Tiki”), the fifth entry in the blockbuster franchise inspired by the classic Disney Theme Parks attraction, which has reaped $3.7 billion in worldwide box office. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” will film entirely at Village Roadshow Studios and on locations within Queensland, Australia.
Johnny Depp returns to his iconic, Academy Award®-nominated role of Captain Jack Sparrow, one of the most beloved characters in motion picture history, newly joined by Oscar® winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”), rising young stars Kaya Scodelario (“The Maze Runner,” British television’s “Skins”) and Brenton Thwaites (“Maleficent,” “The Giver”) and Golshifteh Farahani (“The Patience Stone,” “Exodus: Gods and Kings”). Rejoining the action are Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa, Kevin R. McNally as Joshamee Gibbs and Stephen Graham as Scrum.
Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Captain Jack Sparrow finds the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost pirates led by his old nemesis, the terrifying Captain Salazar (Bardem), escape from the Devil’s Triangle, determined to kill every pirate at sea…including him. Captain Jack’s only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, a powerful artifact that bestows upon its possessor total control over the seas
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and written by Jeff Nathanson (“Catch Me If You Can,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”). The executive producers are Chad Oman, Joe Caracciolo, Jr. and Brigham Taylor.
Joining Bruckheimer, Sandberg & Rønning for the swashbuckling new voyage is a first-tier group of award-winning behind-the-scenes artists—many of them new to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” family—including director of photography Paul Cameron (“Gone in Sixty Seconds,” “Déjà Vu,” “Collateral”), production designer Nigel Phelps (“Pearl Harbor,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “World War Z”), costume designer Penny Rose (all four “Pirates of the Caribbean” films), visual effects supervisor Gary Brozenich (“The Lone Ranger,” “Edge of Tomorrow”), Oscar®-winning special effects production consultant John Frazier (nine Jerry Bruckheimer films and dozens of others) and special effects supervisor Dan Oliver (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”), supervising stunt coordinator R.A. Rondell (“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1”) and stunt coordinators Thomas Robinson Harper (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) and Kyle Gardiner (“San Andreas,” “Kingsman: The Secret Service”), Academy Award®-winning makeup and hair designer Peter Swords King (“The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, “Into the Woods”) and film editors Joel Cox ( “Unforgiven,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “American Sniper”) and Gary D. Roach (“American Sniper”).
The exciting filmmaking team of Sandberg & Rønning directed “Kon-Tiki,” the critically acclaimed story of famed explorer Thor Heyerdahl, which was nominated for both an Academy Award® and a Golden Globe Award® for Best Foreign Language Film from their native Norway. Following their work as award-winning commercial and music video directors, Rønning and Sandberg directed the World War II action drama “Max Manus: Man of War” before taking on “Kon-Tiki.” Most recently Rønning and Sandberg served as executive producers and directed the first two episodes of Netflix’s big-scale mini-series “Marco Polo,” which they filmed on exotic locations in Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Venice. A second season was recently announced for “Marco Polo,” with Rønning and Sandberg continuing on as executive producers.
First in partnership with Don Simpson, and then as the chief of Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Bruckheimer has produced an unprecedented string of worldwide smashes, impacting not only the motion picture and television industries, but mass culture as well. His film and television productions have been honored with numerous awards and nominations, including six Academy Awards®. In addition to his prolific television credits, Bruckheimer’s films include “Top Gun,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” “American Gigolo,” “Flashdance,” “Bad Boys,” “The Rock,” “Armageddon,” “Remember the Titans,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Black Hawk Down,” “National Treasure,” “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” “The Lone Ranger” and “Deliver Us From Evil.” He is the producer of all four previous “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.
If you were born in the ’80s, ’90s, or literally ANY decade after those, you know about Super Mario. A cultural phenomenon was brought to life on the big screen this last weekend. One that has not only stood the test of time but reinvented itself time and time again. This wasn’t even the first time it’s been made into a movie but, well, let’s be honest.. some of us choose not to acknowledge the LIVE action adaptation of the beloved game from 30 years ago.
It was pretty bad… But this was animation. ILLUMINATION animation at that. The Universal company that brought us Gru and his Minions, showed us the Secret Life of Pets, and gave us a reason to SING! Still, I had my reservations and even some concerns, especially when the casting was announced.
Eyebrows were raised. As big of stars as they were on paper, could they really deliver on voicing characters from a staple of our childhood? They did.
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day may not be Italian, and Jack Black may not be a King or Turtle creature from the Mushroom Kingdom, but they make the characters their own all while paying homage to the lore of a video game.
From the jump, the story reintroduces us to the brothers that just want to save Brooklyn one clogged sink at a time. We feel an instant connection and relate to these “underdogs of the plumbing world”. The movie is riddled with easter eggs, each of which tugs on the heartstrings of every generation of Mario fandom. And the soundtrack was beautifully put together to not only make us feel like we’re taking a walkthrough of the game but like an experience all its own with some familiar favorites thrown in.
Every word in the movie is pure eye candy for both those that are casual fans, and those analyzing every frame to see what they’ll catch next. Bowser’s ship, the Mushroom Kingdom, Kong’s arena, and the Rainbow Road.. They’re all meant to give us just enough of a “new” look at these amazing worlds, but stay true to how we remember them.
The movie itself moves along at the perfect pace. Although, if you don’t really know ANYTHING about the Super Mario Bros, you may have gotten a little lost and felt left behind in the green tunnel. But that’s ok! It’s an adventure of the imagination and a classic story of a boy that meets a girl and tries to save the world from a monster that wants to destroy it.
What’s funny is that you could easily say this is a story about two characters who couldn’t be more opposite if they tried, battling to win the heart of a princess. Who would’ve thought that the King of the Koopas was just trying to impress his crush?
And that song? Ohhh THAT song! It’s my new ringtone and deserves the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Back to the movie.
Universal and Illumination clearly understood the assignment. Is it missing some things or could things have been done differently or even better? Absolutely! We’re the worst critics of the things we hold nearest and dearest to our hearts. But if you’re up for going on a 90-minute adventure through amazing worlds, with awesome music, and characters that’ll make you smile and laugh, then this is the perfect movie to spring you into that warm summer feeling.
Plus there’s the whole part with karts and shells, and banana peels and oh my goodness how amazing was that?? It’s enough to make you want to stand up and cheer, then go home and destroy your friends and family on your favorite track haha.
The bottom line, it pays homage in all the right ways to the little guy with the mustache, while giving us something new and exciting. Take the kids and go see Super Mario Bros. You’ll be glad you did!
Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Opening Act Saturday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. on North 200A. Talent confirmed so far to participate in the post-screening panel is Natalie Alyn Lind (Big Sky, The Goldbergs, Gotham) as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and longtime RWBY cast member Lindsay Jones (Camp Camp) as Ruby, Kara Eberle ( RWBY: Ice Queendom) as Weiss, Arryn Zech (Detective Now Dead) as Blake and Barbara Dunkelman (Blood Fest) as Yang – along with Jeannie Tirado (Soul, Saints Row) as Green Lantern and Tru Valentino (The Rookie, The Cuphead Show!) as a cyborg. Also attending the panel will be producer/director Kerry Shawcross (series RWBY) and writer Meghan Fitzmartin (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II).
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023 with the big screen debut from DC Animated Films: highlights this year include the world premieres of the highly anticipated Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham and Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Part One the weekend of March 24-26 in Anaheim, California. Both screenings will be followed by panel discussions with actors and creators. Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham premieres at The Arena on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted) as Kai Li Cain, Christopher Gorham (The Lincoln Lawyer, Insatiable) as Oliver Queen, David Dastmalchian (Dune, Suicide Squad, Ant-Man) as Grendon, producer/co-director Sam Liu (The Death and the Return of Superman), co-director Christopher Berkeley (Young Justice) and screenwriter Jase Ricci (Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem Across the Multiverse).
Both films will have encore screenings in the Arena on Sunday, March 26. Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One will screen at 12:15pm, followed by Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham at 2:00pm
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
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No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
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No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
