In another sign that studios are looking to cut costs where they can, it seems producer Jerry Bruckheimer is being given less Disney money to play with for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. According to the LA Times, new Disney chairman Rich Ross is keen to curb excessive spending, which means even the Pirates behemoth is being picked over with a fine toothcomb to cut out anything seen as an unnecessary indulgence.
Don’t worry though, while there are cutback we’re not going to have Captain Jack in front of cardboard sets, battling rubbery villains straight out of old Doctor Who. They’ve still got around $200 million to play with on Pirates 4, but its just that whereas for the last few years massive movies have seemed to have an almost unlimited pot of cash to dip into, now studios are less willing to pay for things that aren’t essential, even for franchises that have seemed like licence to print money.
In this case it means fewer locations, a move from shooting in the Caribbean to Hawaii (to take advantage of tax breaks) and the removal of certain expensive scenes, such as one taking place at an ice fair on the frozen Thames in London.
We’re also likely to see fewers effects shots (1,400 compared to the last film’s 2,000+) as well as a shortened shooting schedule, down to 90-95 days from 142.
To be honest, all this is rather overdue, because it has seemed that a lack of budget control has led to directors not really thinking of the very best way to spend the cash, and instead indulging themselves in things that didn’t necessarily produce the best movie (which I think was certainly true of the last two Pirates movies). The push for smaller budgets comes amidst a more difficult climate to raise financing for films, as well as a contraction in the DVD market, which for the past few years is what has funded a lot of the ridiculous budget movies we’ve had. Indeed, one of the reasons it’s suggested Disney chose Rob Marshall for On Stranger Tides is that he has experience trying to get a lot out of a tight budget on the likes of Chicago and Nine, and they’re hoping this might rub off on the fourth pirates film.