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Thursday, August 23, 2012

POTC Origin

I'm going to assume that most of you guys have seen the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean.  If not, that's weird because it has spawned three sequels (and a fifth movie is in the works) and the series has grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide.  Either way, that's not what's important here, what I want to ask is - do you know where the idea for the movie came from?  And if you answered the Disneyland ride, then you are partially correct.  It is based on the ride, but the ride is based loosely on the Robert Louis Stevenson book, Treasure Island, or at least a lot of the main plot points from the movie came straight from that book (FYI, there was a TV adaptation of the book that starred a teenage Christian Bale).  For example:
  • The Black Spot that is put on Jack Sparrow by Bootstrap Bill in the 2nd movie is a major part of Treasure Island.  In fact, two different pirates have a black spot placed on them at one point in the book.
  • The Dead Man's Chest is the subtitle of the second movie and in the book, it is a line from a song sung by the pirates in the book.
  • "...and a Bottle of Rum" that line that Jack Sparrow is always complaining about in the movies comes from another song the pirates always sing in the book.
  • Tortuga is the pirate haven in both the book and the movie (although technically it is a real place, too).
  • Long John Silver is not in the movie, but his character surely is, they just called him Captain Barbosa.  Long John was a feared, one-legged pirate who wasn't afraid to murder, steal, and cause mutinies just like Barbosa, the only difference being that Barbosa had two legs.  Oh wait, in the fourth movie, he was one-legged.  Also, if you have ever read Treasure Island, you have to find it weird that a crappy fast food chain is named after Long John considering that he is a backstabbing, mutinous, murdering pirate (also, when was the last time, if ever, anyone has eaten at a Long John Silver's?  How is that place still in business?).
Well, I just thought I would share that with you because I read Treasure Island recently (for no real reason other than it is was on my Kindle when I got it and I was bored) and kept seeing a lot of references that kept showing up in POTC movies.


"However, at no point in the book were there any hotties like her."

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