Pirates!

Stoo

Well-known member
Matt deMille said:
What I meant is that the Clique (as I'll call them, consisting of Stoo, RA, etc.) seem to HATE even the slightest suggestion of anything outside conventional history. I've often wondered how they can even tolerate the Indy movies having been made, much less watch them and like them. Or, maybe they don't. They seem to do little on this board but attack me.
Speaking for myself, this is completely and utterly wrong.
Matt deMille said:
Anyway, given the way they've treated not only myself and anyone who even supports the possibilities of things outside the mainstream,...
Who else has 'The Clique' mistreated?:confused:
Matt deMille said:
And, Stoo: I ignore you for the most part. That's my choice. Given all the wrongs you've done me, and the certainty that anything I say is going to be twisted, ignored, or met with insult by you, I usually just don't waste my time acknowledging your demands of me.
Instead you waste much more time writing long posts explaining why you won't answer.:rolleyes: All I'm asking is the title of a movie or book. A simple title.
Matt deMille said:
As I said, what's so hard to believe that I read a book everyone else did? Or went to a pyramid like a million other people?
Your pyramid avoidance is a joke so I'll stick to Sandokan.

What is so hard to believe? You started a thread to talk about pirates (and were vigorously doing so) yet you clammed up when Sandokan was being discussed. You have nothing to offer and you misspelled the character's name. Sandokan is virtually unknown in North America so not "everyone else" has read one of his books.
Matt deMille said:
I would love to see some movies about pirates in other waters. Some pirates in the Med or the China Sea could be really cool.
Sandokan is the man.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Matt deMille said:
...to go diving at the sunken Port Royal, and what was it like?

No, but my father is a plank owner of the U.S.S. Port Royal. Which, by the way, isn't named after the Jamaican city; it's after the Civil War battle at Port Royal Sound, South Carolina.

Well, now. The real reason why I wanted to revive this thread:

Stoo said:
Sandokan is virtually unknown in North America so not "everyone else" has read one of his books.

I hadn't heard of Sandokan until this thread. I had meant to look him up, of course, but you know how things come up and others fall by the wayside. That said, I was at my local vintage paperback book store and found the first two books in the Sandokan cycle! I've only thumbed through them so far, but am looking forward to reading!


There was a cartoon too. No, really! Go here.

I picked up a copy of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest the other day, and thought: where were the knockoffs? Given the "me too" nature of Hollywood one would have thought that one studio at least would have attempted their own pirate picture.

But, no. Aside from Wicked Pictures' adult-extravaganza, Disney had the entire genre to themselves for nearly a little over a decade. Did the unmitigated disaster that was Cutthroat Island still hold sway? Or, does Ebert's assertion that a modern audience wouldn't sit through a "straight pirate adventure" have credence?

Sure, Warner Bros. greenlit Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World, but stayed very, very far from any pirate-y influences.

I find it perplexing. Especially since the Pirates series gave us... well, pirate metal. Yes, you've heard of gangsta rap and punk rock, but nothin' has prepared you for the mighty Alestorm!


No pirate adventure is complete with the demon rum. So then, where's your kraken?



Hollywood may have not fully capitalized on the pirate craze, but other outlets have stormed up their way up the gangplank. There's a nifty looking trading card game featuring art from Don Maitz, the guy who drew Captain Morgan on his rum bottle. Videogames are, of course, a fairly natural home for pirates. Risen 2 has given the traditional roleplaying game a pirate-y makeover, and unfortunately Captain Blood and his mighty crotch cannon appears to have turned into vapor ware.


Port Royale 3, however, looks great from a strategic standpoint. Naval battles could be great, but we'll see!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/9oyoViVKgLg

Teevee is getting on board as well. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Starz has ordered a series of 8 episodes for Michael Bay's Black Sails!

Yes, I know. Michael Bay doesn't have the greatest track record, but...

The Hollywood Reporter said:
...the project, slated to air in 2014, takes place 20 years before Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale and centers on Flint, a fast-talking pirate, and his adventures with new crewmember John Silver as they fight for survival of the New Providence Island -- a paradise filled with pirates, prostitutes, thieves and fortune seekers.

So, it sounds like it has potential. Bay is merely a producer, and the guy behind Jericho and Human Target will serve as showrunner. It begins filming this year in South Africa, so we'll see how it pans out!
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Once you've had your fill of wenches & mead from Nancy's Harbor Cafe, take a look at these other series' that should be doffing their caps on teevees everywhere!

The Republic of Pirates

Didn't read the book? Well, check out the synopsis!

The untold story of a heroic band of Caribbean pirates whose defiance of imperial rule inspired revolt in colonial outposts across the world. In the early eighteenth century, the Pirate Republic was home to some of the great pirate captains, including Blackbeard, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow pirates - former sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves - this "Flying Gang" established a crude but distinctive democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which servants were free, blacks could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by a vote. They cut off trade routes, sacked slave ships, and severed Europe from its New World empires, and for a brief, glorious period the Republic was a success.

The series appears to have been renamed Crossbones, but NBC has already ordered ten episodes; you can consider this one a go. Stay tuned for further details as they develop!

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Port Royal

Gale Ann Hurd. She's been married to Brian De Palma & James Cameron, and produced everything from The Terminator to Aliens, & The Walking Dead. Big things she has done, and later this year she'll be adding pirates to the resume.

Collider said:
Set in the late 17th century on the island of Jamaica, the series will chronicle the namesake port’s notorious rise as the “richest and wickedest city” in the new world, and as a self-governing safe haven for cutthroat pirates, corrupt politicians, and ruthless merchants. Hurd says,

The series has been optioned by F/X. No creative talent has been announced as of yet, but a pilot was penned by The Shield alumnus, Scott Rosenbaum. There's a lot of talk about the series doing for Port Royal what Deadwood did for its namesake. So expect the last two seasons to be missing.

Pyrates

Of the three series in the offing, this one seems least likely to get out of port. Combine the lack of news since the initial announcement and Tony Scott's death, and chances are this pirate heist mini-series will never head into full-fledged production. That, and the series was supposed to air this past summer. That's obviously past.

Way back in 1628, a vicious band of mercenaries absconded with the Spanish Silver Fleet, making themselves rich and inspiring scores of less successful copycat crimes for decades to come. Pyrates would examine not only the crime itself but the world which inspired the daring robbery and how that changed immediately after. Rather than a series, creator Barry Schindel is envisioning the show as more of a one-off serial extravaganza. It would run between ten and thirteen weeks next summer.


Yes, I know. It was a lot of reading. So in order to make up for it, here's something that's sure to be shamefully titillating! Gannador!



I guess scabbards were too expensive.
 
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Le Saboteur

Active member
Le Saboteur said:
The series appears to have been renamed Crossbones, but NBC has already ordered ten episodes; you can consider this one a go. Stay tuned for further details as they develop!

NBC has released a teaser image!

crossBones_DKA_crystal_hoz.jpg


From the press release:

NBC said:
It's 1715 on the Bahamian island of New Providence, the first functioning democracy in the Americas, where the diabolical pirate Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard, reigns over a rogue nation of thieves, outlaws and miscreant sailors. Part shantytown, part marauder's paradise, this is a place like no other on earth - and a mounting threat to international commerce.

To gain control of this fearsome society, Tom Lowe, a highly skilled undercover assassin, is sent to the pirates' haven to take down the brilliant and charismatic Blackbeard. But the closer Lowe gets, the more he finds that his quest is not so simple. Lowe can't help but admire the political ideals of Blackbeard, whose thirst for knowledge knows no bounds - and no law. But Lowe is not the only danger to Blackbeard's rule. He is a man with many villainous rivals and one great weakness - a passionately driven woman whom he cannot deny.

Parkes and MacDonald serve as executive producers. Cross will write and also executive-produce the series. Ted Gold ("Three Rivers") also is an executive producer. The series will be produced by Parkes/MacDonald Productions; Georgeville Television (GVTV), Reliance Entertainment/Motion Picture Capital's new TV Studio; and Universal Television.

Le Saboteur said:
So, it sounds like it has potential. Bay is merely a producer, and the guy behind Jericho and Human Target will serve as showrunner. It begins filming this year in South Africa, so we'll see how it pans out!

Cpt. Flint's Walrus is getting herself ship shape & Bristol fashion with the addition of Tom Hopper (of Merlin fame) as Billy Bones, Jessica Parker Kennedy as Max (?) and Toby Stephens (Die Another Day) as Captain Flint!

Neil Marshall fresh off his stint on the second season of Game of Thrones has been tapped to do the pilot.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
If you haven't stopped in on the Video Games Thread, feel free to do so. This little ditty was announced recently, and will be the closest we get to a true AAA pirate game for... well, quite some time. Disney might take a stab at one when the next Pirates of the Caribbean drops, but until then there's this.


Thoughts?

After dallying about with Hugh Laurie, it appears that NBC has scored a major casting coup with John Malkovich set to command the Queen Anne's Revenge!

Full article: John Malkovich to Play Blackbeard in NBC Pirate Drama Series 'Crossbones'

No filming date or premiere has been announced. I'm guessing a late 2014 premiere date.

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Blackbeard unquestionably has a grip on the popular imagination, but several other pirates were more successful in their careers. Before beginning his second career hawking kill-devil water, Henry Morgan terrorized His Most Catholic Majesty's holdings in the New World with the full faith and support of the British Crown. He would die in 1688, but not before sacking Panama (then the richest city in New Spain), being knighted by King Charles II, and acting as governor of Jamaica. In today's money, he would have hauled in ~$14-million making him the ninth most successful pirate ever according to Forbes of all things.

A group of archeologists from the University of Texas found a ship off the coast of Panama in 2011 that might be Morgan's flagship, the Satisfaction. The dig/research continues, but that didn't stop the rum folks from funding and filming their own expedition in hopes of striking gold.

Embedded below for your viewing pleasure.

The Unsinkable Henry Morgan

 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Le Saboteur said:
Cpt. Flint's Walrus is getting herself ship shape & Bristol fashion with the addition of Tom Hopper (of Merlin fame) as Billy Bones, Jessica Parker Kennedy as Max (?) and Toby Stephens (Die Another Day) as Captain Flint!

You don't say?! Well, it only appears to have been getting itself seaworthy, but is the first of several series to make it out of port! Whether or not it has sea legs, remains to be seen; this edited trailer, though, makes it appears to follow in the vein of Starz's other series -- Spartacus to be specific. Still, the costuming looks great, as do the sets.


If the other series make it to the small screen, New Providence will be catapulted from minor historical footnote to household name.
 
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Le Saboteur

Active member
Starz has also released a poster for Black Sails! And as pirate-like posters go, it's decently inspired. I'm looking forward to the series despite Michael Bay's involvement.

BlackSailsPoster-610x903.jpg


Le Saboteur said:
I hadn't heard of Sandokan until this thread. I had meant to look him up, of course, but you know how things come up and others fall by the wayside.

I'm such a liar. While unpacking a box of bande dessinee's earlier today, a flyer fell out of one of Corto Maltese books advertising a collaboration between Hugo Pratt and Mino Milani! I'm unfamiliar with Msr. Milani's work, but it appears that in 2009 Rizzoli-Lizard released a prestige edition of their collaboration on Sandokan: The Malaysian Tiger!

sandokanP3.jpg



Stoo, you might want to take a trip down to your local shop and see if they can't scrounge up a copy or three!
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
The tail end of this year and 2014 are shaping up to be a good year for piracy. Not only is Tom Hanks going to square off against Somali pirates in the based on a true-story Captain Phillips, the Danes are getting in on the action with the potentially riveting A Hijacking. Both deal with real world stories of piracy on the high seas, but it would be safe to assume that Captain Phillips will have far more flag waving. It has Tom Hanks, the world's most affable man, after all.

a-hijacking.jpg


While Port Royal and Crossbones* appear to have been becalmed, production is moving along rapidly on Black Sails! Starz has uploaded a new in-production diary featuring a modicum of new footage. Though, we do find out that the bare-chested man with the long hair is the infamous Charles Vane!


We also have our first looks at Clara Paget as Anne Bonny, Toby Stephens as Captain Flint, and a stern view of the Walrus.

*NBC has floated this image of John Malkovich as Blackbeard. Not bad, but I keep thinking he'd make a great Long John Silver.

Crossbones-600x338.jpg


And in a final bit of news, the horribly named Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag has released two new trailers; one's a gameplay trailer, the other a cinematic.

 

Le Saboteur

Active member
BS.JPG


I've been somewhat remiss in posting updates for the upcoming Black Sails, but with International Talk Like a Pirate Day fast approaching it seemed appropriate. Well, it's already here actually. To round out your rum swilling, cutlass swinging day Starz has put up a pair of sites dedicated to the series.

A traditional website featuring full cast details can be found over here. Once you're done there, if you have a brave heart, do sign up for the Nation of Thieves.

Aside from clips and stills from the series, the site seeks to dispel some of the more romantic ideas of piracy. For example, ship bilges were so completely air tight that men were knocked unconscious from the smell of blood, urine, and vomit.

Fun aside: According to naval tradition having one black cat aboard was considered good luck. A second black cat, however, was bad luck and that second cat had to be tossed overboard.

Signing up for the sight grants you early access to the usual offerings of behind the scenes info, stills, and videos.

Stop reading here if you, your boss, or assorted family members have delicate ears/ears/whatever. Enjoy this swell video from the World Famous Comic Con instead.




Ready?


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Le Saboteur

Active member
Fresh from the floor of the New York City Comic Con, comes a brand new trailer for Starz's new pirate epic, Black Sails! They really looks like they're upping the ante to compete directly with the HBO juggernaut.

While very brief, the ship-to-ship engagements look impressive.



Pirates wanted.

starz-black-sails-photo-001.jpg
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Black Sails has a premiere date! For those of you interested, the series gets off the beach on the 25th of January 2014! In the meantime, they've released a few more character vignettes featuring the principle cast.

Eleanor Guthrie


Charles Vane


black-sails-starz.jpg
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
With just about ten days to go before Starz's newest series debuts, a bevy of promotional material is making its way into the trades and online. First up, the latest trailer delves into a bit of the series' backstory with the Republic of Pirates.


There's also a nine-minute first look into the creation of 17th Century Nassau and all of the attendant things that go into a teevee show.


If you aren't intrigued by now, then I don't know what else I can do for you.

The-Black-Sails-gang.jpg


Starz, however, is going to do one better and attempt to draw you in by offering the pilot for free a week before the official premiere date! Machinima will offer it up on their YouTube channel, as well as on Maxim's site, iTunes Podcasts, X-Box Video, Amazon Instant Video, and through traditional cable providers like Comcast and Charter.

Short article from The Hollywood Reporter too.

Sneak Peak: 18 January 2014.
Formal Premiere: 25 January 2014
 

Lance Quazar

Well-known member
Black Sails looks very cool, looking forward to it.

Didn't realize that they are having a sneak preview a week before the official debut. Thanks for the tip!
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Lance Quazar said:
Black Sails looks very cool, looking forward to it.

It was exceptionally well done. I might actually get around to writing about it one of these days. Unfortunately, I've been having a very engaging conversation with my Netflix account that's kept me away.

Me said:
*NBC has floated this image of John Malkovich as Blackbeard. Not bad, but I keep thinking he'd make a great Long John Silver.

Since I had a free minute, I thought I would mention that Crossbones finally shows signs of life with a trailer, and a premiere date! May 30th on NBC for those of you who need to know, like, immediately.

 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Yo Soy Muy Macho said:
Since I had a free minute, I thought I would mention that Crossbones finally shows signs of life with a trailer, and a premiere date! May 30th on NBC for those of you who need to know, like, immediately.

A bit of costume snobbery aside, the past couple of years have been very kind to fans of the cape et epee/swashbuckler/whatever genre. Both The Musketeers & Black Sails are headed towards a second season,
Las Aventuras del Capitán Alatriste is set to debut soonish, and NBC's Crossbones is getting under sail in about a week! And while I'm still unsure how I feel about having a Blackbeard without his signature whiskers I am intrigued.

crossbones-john-malkovich-video-nbc.jpg


Official Synopsis said:
It's 1729. On the secret island of Santa Compana, Edward Teach, better known as the barbarous pirate Blackbeard (Emmy winner John Malkovich, "Death of a Salesman," "Red"), reigns over a rogue nation of thieves, outlaws and miscreants. Part shantytown, part utopia, part marauder's paradise, this is a place like no other.

Blackbeard has designs on the longitude chronometer, an invention that will change the world. During a massive attack on an English vessel, his most trusted pirates attempt to steal the device. But on board is Tom Lowe (Richard Coyle, "Covert Affairs"), an English spy working undercover as ship's surgeon. Lowe's mission is to prevent the chronometer from falling into the hands of pirates - and to assassinate Blackbeard, should the opportunity arise.

Taken as prisoner to Santa Compana, Lowe must find a way to reassemble the precious chronometer, all while trying to uncover Blackbeard's master plan - a plan that includes a greater threat to the English throne than merely pirates...

In addition to some odds and ends on the official site, NBC has uploaded a couple of behind the scenes videos that are worth looking at if you're still on the fence.


Clip from Episode 1:


Richard Coyle Interview:


A longer chat with Malkovich


Whiskers not withstanding, I am definitely looking forward to the series. Malkovich looks like he'll be in fine form, it's shot in the Caribbean, and NBC has put a phenomenal amount of coin into the production design. It really is fantastic. If the story is as compelling, then NBC is bound to have a hit on their hands.

Oh, and do check out some of the character portraits the folks over @ Bleeding Cool have scored. They're very reminiscent of the stuff they did for Deadwood.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
I walked into Bristol with cutlass and pistol...

Lance Quazar said:
Black Sails looks very cool, looking forward to it.


If you haven't caught the series yet, there's still time to catch up before season two hauls out past the horizon! Originally set to debut earlier in 2014, Black Sails was mysteriously scrubbed from the release calendar only to reappear at the New York City Comic Con!

But first...


Season Two gets underway on January 24th, 2015. It also brings two new things: 1.) an expanded offering of ten episodes (up from eight) and 2.) the introduction of the notorious Edward "Ned" Low, one of history's most murderous pirates. He was never captured and ended his days in Brazil or at the bottom of the sea when his ship capsized in a storm.


If you're so inclined, do check out the complete panel from NYCC.

 

Le Saboteur

Active member
If you haven't caught the series yet...
...then you aren't alone. Black Sails ranks up there as one of the best Top 10 teevee shows of this here Golden Age of Television, and it went largely unheralded.

Nigh on a decade later, Netflix has picked up the global distribution rights, and will be premiering the series on the 17th of April! In the meantime, Starz has uploaded the complete unedited first episode to their YouTube channel for your viewing pleasure.


You won't make it out of Annapolis alive.

 
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