Sad news today in the film world. The world should hold hands, sing “Kumbayah” and collectively shed a tear for mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
The poor producer of such cinema touchstones as “National Treasure,” “Coyote Ugly,” “Kangaroo Jack,” (and of course the “Bad Boys” “Transformers” and “Pirates” McFranchises) has evidently been hit by the hard economic times as impactfully as any indie producer out there (or Adam McKay & Ben Stiller).
The L.A. Times reports that the producer who has brought such joy to the world with classics like “Gone In Sixty Seconds” and “Pearl Harbor,” has had to suffer the ignominy of having to devise a budget for his new film — the 4th “Pirates” installment: “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” — that comes in at less than $300 million dollars.
A ripple of astonishment was felt throughout Hollywood today. It’s hard to watch, but the LAT reports that the budget is pitiful. It’s only “north of $200 million,” it’s an embarrassing “third less than the last ‘Pirates'” and even “includes far fewer shooting days and visual effects shots.”
How Bruckheimer is letting Disney get away with this travesty is unknown at press time. We’re assuming walkouts will happen soon enough?
Even new director Rob Marshall (“Nine,” “Chicago”) who knows from big opulent budgets is aghast at this pittance: “This is by far the biggest budget I’ve ever worked with,” he said. “We’re all working hard to keep it as lean as possible…. It’s a tricky time in the economy. You can’t be insane.” You can’t be insane? But then how is a theme-ride picture supposed to dazzle audiences? We’re truly confused here.
“The hard thing is you have to make painful decisions that cut into some very entertaining sequences,” Bruckheimer allowed. “You have to figure out how to keep the movie very entertaining and give the audience more than they expect and yet be cost-effective about it.”
No word on how star Johnny Depp feels about all this, but presumably his kids’ kids’ kids’ college tuitions are still intact.