Episode 105: Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl With Michael Masurkevitch

What's shakin', homies? We’re back with another swashbuckling episode of BIRD PROTOCOL and this week we’re joined by actor and pirate lover Michael Masurkevitch to talk about Gore Verbinski’s 2003 supernatural pirate adventure flick, “Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl”. This movie is… underrated? Under-appreciated maybe? Either way, this movie rules, It is so much fun and has aged like a fine wine. Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, and Keira Knightly, “Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl” was a massive underdog success at the box office, made Johnny Depp into an A-list star, and spawned four sequels. It’s based on the Walt Disney theme park attraction of the same name and, by god, if it isn’t the best (and only?) film adaptation of a physical ride. We start things off by introducing Mike and talking about the web series “Pirate Mike” that he worked on with Otis, then we go into our personal histories with the film and share some pirate anecdotes. From there, we jump right in… or dive off the proverbial plank, if you will. There’s lots to talk about here. From the amazing set design and score to the standout performances from the leading cast (though PALMREADER has some nits to pick about Will Turner) to the fusion of supernatural with historical to the excellent tone and writing to the lore and sequels to the insanely awesome choreography and so much more. This movie has a bit of everything and really stands out as a prime example of thoughtful, competent, and creative blockbuster filmmaking. It’s got laughs, action, horror, comedy, and somehow it really works.  Lots of the film’s success rests on Depp’s performance as Captain Jack Sparrow so we obviously had to have a conversation about it. He rips. Truly iconic. Did you know that this movie was expected to flop and the studio hated Depp’s performance as Jack Sparrow? Really. Now, he is to Jack Sparrow as Robert Downey Jr. is to Tony Stark. Upon release, the movie was a major hit and proved a lot of critics wrong. We also cover some of the critical responses to the film, breeze through the plot, reflect on the cinema of the aughts, and chop it up about other adventure movies and how the genre seems to have vanished as of late. Luckily, Mike shares some stories from conventions that he’s been a part of that show that pirates are still beloved. We may yet get the sixth Pirates film. Sigh. A man can dream. We close things out this week with some promo, a health update, a discussion on making movies, and some other ramblings. See you next week! CHECK OUT “PIRATE MIKE” HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPJYBETryCs&list=PL7gcLA0ggEgJnEGgG8YvywX6hLrcLuiDS&ab_channel=ChairHumperproductions LISTEN TO THE “STRANGER DAYS VOL.1” SINGLES HERE:  https://soundcloud.com/cemetery_sound/sets/stranger-days-vol-1-singles?si=8ace57b8dd264622a6d7c40ac957d596&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing INITIATE BIRD PROTOCOL! Follow us on Instagram! Instagram: @palmreadr @otismorrisdude