At a premiere like this, professional film critics are bound to be present. Even if no critics came voluntarily, Walt Disney Pictures would invite some well-known critics with whom Disney maintained good relations. Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, for instance, had deep ties with the Walt Disney group.
Their collaborative film review program, At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper, was originally promoted by a television station under Walt Disney. After Walt Disney acquired ABC Television, the duo began working frequently with ABC Television. Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper even appeared annually on ABC Television's famous programs Oscar Night: Guest Arrivals and Oscar Night: Winners.
Their partnership with ABC Television further solidified the status of Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper within the film criticism community.
No one with even a bit of inside knowledge would find it strange to see these two at the premiere of pirates of the caribbean: the curse of the black pearl.
In fact, it's not hard to imagine—for a critic to become a commentator, they certainly required the support of a media platform.
"A handsome guy, a beautiful girl, and a weirdo..." Richard Roeper said in a low voice. "God only knows what kind of hellish thing they've filmed."
Shaking his head, he continued, "Michael Eisner saw the dailies and thought it was a confusing film."
Roger Ebert nodded slightly, agreeing with Richard Roeper's perspective. He didn't have high hopes for the film either; if the producer hadn't been Jerry Bruckheimer, he wouldn't have had any confidence in it at all.
The pirate genre had long since declined, the director Gore Verbinski had never helmed an A-list production, and the three leads had limited drawing power. All of this made it difficult to feel confident.
Matthew Horner and Keira Knightley were unknowns, and the most famous of them, Johnny Depp, was a weirdo who had never appeared in mainstream films, having always hung around the non-mainstream film circle with Tim Burton, never truly proving himself commercially.
Could three such actors create an explosive cinematic spark?
Roger Ebert remained skeptical.
After the film began, his skepticism was quickly proven justified.
On the screen, after a brief introduction to the childhood meeting of Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner, the story jumped straight to their adulthood. Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner appeared in the same frame for the first time,
followed by a wave of gasps from behind.
"Wow, he's so handsome!"
"She's so beautiful!"
"These two really are a match made in heaven!"
The audience in the back was completely captivated by the appearances of Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner.
Everyone loves a handsome man and a beautiful woman, and Roger Ebert was no exception. He admitted that even in classical gentleman's attire, Matthew Horner radiated a rugged, wild masculine beauty. Keira Knightley, meanwhile, was full of classical temperament, looking very much like an English noble lady.
When these two appeared individually, both their looks and temperament were enough to make one's eyes light up.
But what on earth was the interaction between the characters Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann? Was this supposed to be an expression of admiration? Were there really couples who expressed their affection with such blatant looks and expressions right in front of a father? An English gentleman and a noble lady—is this how they express love? Even if it's an act, they should be a bit more subtle!
These two on the screen, however, were relaying an impatient desire to get down to business through their eyes and brows, as if they were only interested in each other's bodies.
Roger Ebert shook his head slightly and whispered, "The male and female leads have no chemistry; there's no spark at all."
Richard Roeper had also noticed this and said directly, "Mediocre acting. Just two pieces of eye candy."
Unlike these two, the ordinary audience in the back was staring intently at the screen.
Daenerys, with her platinum-blonde hair, rested a hand on her cheek as she watched the handsome man on the screen. Beside her, Brian also stared unblinkingly at the screen, and the people around them seemed equally captivated by the characters.
"These two are such a good match in the movie..." Many people thought of the recent rumors. "No wonder they became a couple off-screen too."
Audiences are always lenient toward handsome men and beautiful women in films. Few cared that the chemistry between the leads wasn't quite right; as long as the people were beautiful, who would mind?
Of course, if a person wasn't beautiful yet insisted on being eye candy in a commercial blockbuster without being able to deliver the necessary acting, even an oscar best actress winner would be cursed as worthless by the audience.
Why does an actress always seem to run into bad luck after winning the academy award for best actress?
On one hand, the oscar best actress winner is a peak; once they've won the golden statuette, audience fatigue inevitably sets in.
On the other hand, in this day and age, most who win the academy award for best actress are not conventionally outstanding in appearance. Furthermore, with rare exceptions like Julia Roberts, most oscar best actress winners haven't proven their commercial value by the time they win the statuette, meaning they haven't made the big bucks yet.
An oscar best actress winner requires a significant financial investment. Thus, for the sake of their wallets, most oscar best actress winners pivot to pure commercial films after winning. However, in pure Hollywood commercial films, multi-dimensional female roles are almost non-existent; most female characters are pure eye candy.
It just so happens that ninety percent of actresses who can win an Oscar aren't conventionally beautiful. These people can play complex neurotics or repressed, deviant characters well, but the simplest eye candy roles become their Waterloo.
Sometimes things are just that funny—the acting powerhouses praised by the Academy's old men and critics end up unable to handle the simplest roles.
"What a truly pleasing sight."
Lister, sitting on the other side of Brian, was used to seeing handsome men and beautiful women due to his job. Yet, seeing Matthew and the female lead in the same frame, he couldn't help but sigh. "For those who care about looks, just watching these two is enough to pass two hours."
Roger Ebert's brow remained furrowed until the other protagonist, Jack Sparrow, appeared, at which point his eyes lit up.
This pirate was too unique; Hollywood had never seen a pirate like this. As soon as Johnny Depp appeared, he stole all the spotlight; the other two combined couldn't compare.
"Helen, it seems... it seems something's not right..." Amanda said as she watched Jack Sparrow cause a ruckus at the docks. "This character is so brilliant; it's easy for people to overlook Matthew's role."
Admittedly, Matthew was very handsome and cool, and his swordplay while delivering the blade to the Governor was quite flashy, but compared to Captain Jack Sparrow at the docks, it really paled in comparison.
Helen Herman looked calm on the surface, but her fingers, crossed over her lap, were constantly twisting. This was the first time she had seen the finished film. While Matthew and Keira Knightley's opening was indeed striking, with Johnny Depp's entrance, it essentially became Captain Jack Sparrow's one-man show.
Even with her composure, she couldn't help but feel a bit worried. If the screen time for the three leads remained like the beginning for the rest of the film, Matthew would turn from a lead actor into a supporting actor. During future sequel negotiations, Matthew's salary wouldn't see an explosive increase. Even if the film was a huge success, if he failed as a lead, it would be difficult for him to enter the B-list.
Amanda was just an ordinary viewer and didn't think that far ahead; she simply felt that Captain Jack Sparrow, who appeared last, was the protagonist, and Matthew and that British actress were just there to pave the way for his entrance.
"If they're supporting roles, then it's fine," Richard Roeper remarked to Roger Ebert from time to time. "Using two average supporting characters to highlight the protagonist, the Captain—it's a very common technique."
Roger Ebert nodded slightly. "It seems there's a discrepancy between the Crew's promotion and the actual content of the film."
If this pirate captain was the absolute protagonist and the other two characters were just there to support him—one lead with two supporting—then the two supporting roles definitely had to be more ordinary. Otherwise, stealing the absolute lead's spotlight would be a disaster for the film.
From Captain Jack Sparrow saving Elizabeth Swann to his solitary entry into the blacksmith shop, almost all the audience in the theater was captivated by Jack Sparrow's flamboyant presence. No one cared about Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann anymore, not even fans like Brian and Daenerys who clearly belonged to Matthew.
The Captain's charm was simply too great; even Matthew, sitting in the front row, had to admit it.
Michael Eisner said Johnny Depp ruined the character, but the truth was quite the opposite. Johnny Depp had encountered the role that best allowed him to showcase his own characteristics since he started acting. The uniquely designed Captain Jack Sparrow had also met his most suitable actor. Perhaps many would say the role made the actor, but that was definitely not the case for Captain Jack Sparrow and Johnny Depp!
They were simply a match made in heaven!
Matthew believed that once pirates of the caribbean was released, Captain Jack Sparrow would be Johnny Depp, and Johnny Depp would forever be Captain Jack Sparrow.
In this regard, Johnny Depp was lucky, yet also tragic.
Matthew was on good terms with Johnny Depp but was powerless to change this. Not only was he just an actor, but even a genius director like Tim Burton would be helpless.
Unless Johnny Depp had a special opportunity, he would likely be trapped in the role of Captain Jack Sparrow for the rest of his life.
Therefore, Jack Sparrow's brilliance was inevitable.
But he knew his Will Turner hadn't been completely suppressed by Jack Sparrow. As the film progressed to this point, a situation where things leaned entirely toward one character would occur because Will Turner's action scenes hadn't started yet!
The characterization of Will Turner was supported by a large number of action scenes, which was the capital Matthew had to truly contend with Johnny Depp.