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Johnny Depp signs on to PIRATES 4 for $75 MILLION !!!!!!!!!!

From themovieblog

My Jaw is on the floor and I’m feeling a little light headed. There is a report out right now that Johnny Depp has agreed in principle to do a Pirates of the Caribbean 4, and that his pay cheque for the film will come in at about $75 million dollars. Let me repeat that. Johnny Depp is reportedly going to be pulling in about $75 million (pretty much double the highest contract pay day I’ve ever heard of. $75 million for one actor. More money than 90% of movies even make in total at the box office… they’re going to give one guy. Remind me to spit in the face of any MPAA guy I ever hear whine or bitch about hard financial times in Hollywood or how Piracy is nking them.

Personally, I don’t even want a Pirates of the Caribbean 4. The first film was nothing short of magical for me. I absolutely loved that damn movie. However, each sequel has gotten progresvely worse and worse culminating in Pirates 3 which was an absolute abysmal waste of a movie and would probably be on my Top 10 Worst Sequels of all time list. I don’t want to see them further ruin the franchise with another money grab.

But lets talk Depp for a moment. Should any human being get paid $75 million for 3 months work? And when I use the word “work”, I use it lightly (not slighting the work actors have to do… but if I had to choose to either spend 3 months doing the heavy work of an actor or doing 3 months doing the heavy work of a road construction guy… I’d pick the actor’s life). This dollar figure is insane.

Now let me play devil’s advocate for a moment. An argument can be made that Johnny Depp is the face of the Pirates franchise, and while I maintain that ANY actor is replaceable… this is one of those tuations where it would be VERY difficult to do so. Depp is synonymous with Captain Jack Sparrow. And no matter how bad the 3rd Pirates film was, it still made HUGE amounts of money, money that a 4th Pirates film could probably duplicate, BUT NOT WITHOUT DEPP.

With Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean 4, you can pretty much bank on it making at least $300 and posbly as much as $450 million. Without Depp you’re looking at $100 million tops. So it could be argued that investing $75 million in Depp for the film makes financial sense. But it still feels all sorts of wrong.

It’s unlikely that either Orlando Bloom or Kiera Knightly will return, which is a good thing. Focus Pirates 4 on Sparrow and Barbossa fighting it out over something and you’ll have my attention.

$75 MILLION FREAK'N DOLLARS?!?!?!?!?!?

That majority of movies don't even make that much in the box office.

This is shocking that they are paying him more than double the highest any actor has ever been paid for a ngle project up till now.

I like Depp as Jack Sparrow . .. ok, so he is brilliant as Sparrow but $75 Million?

WOW!
DaShape Monday 10/06/2008 at 06:12 PM | 20205
I agree with just about everything in that blog. It's an insane amount of money and the POTC movies have sucked nce the original. That being said, the reality is a fourth film with Depp would be money in the bank. They'd make that money back on merchanding alone.
lblambert Tuesday 10/07/2008 at 12:13 AM | 20222
I agree with just about everything in that blog. It's an insane amount of money and the POTC movies have sucked nce the original. That being said, the reality is a fourth film with Depp would be money in the bank. They'd make that money back on merchanding alone.

As far as I'm concerned, POTC owes every bit of their success to NOES for putting Depp on the map (just kidd'n but who knows what would have happen if it weren't for NOES and 21 Jump Street).
DaShape Tuesday 10/07/2008 at 05:24 AM | 20251
I know that POTC is nothing without Johnny Depp, but this is absolutely ridiculous.

Things like this always make me realize why so many other countries around the world hate us.

Our priorities are so far out of whack it's just incredible.

Sorry, I'll get down off my soap box now.

;)
gummi Tuesday 10/07/2008 at 08:02 AM | 20255
LOL I like all of the POTC movies, especially the third one but yes $75 million is retarded.
kweandee Wednesday 10/08/2008 at 11:20 PM | 20375
75 million dollars! Oh crap! Depp should have this money for the four films, not only for one...
LÜCKMANN Tuesday 10/14/2008 at 01:50 PM | 20711
That is a lot of cash, wow.

I heard that he owns his own private island. With making that much loot I guess I would to!

I do agree that NOES helped him with his career, and Tim Burton casting him in almost all his movies
RxQueen13 Thursday 11/20/2008 at 04:05 AM | 24636
Huh...JD is one lucky bastard aint he? I to liked the 3 POTC films. With 75 mil, this film better fucking amazing.
Count Dragula Thursday 11/20/2008 at 08:45 AM | 24697
OMG!!!!! That's about all I can say other then Congrats to Johnny Depp if it is true. I hated the last one but if he can get it congrats for sure.
cropsy Monday 11/24/2008 at 10:59 PM | 25269