Fun Facts About "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"

Walt Disney Pictures' “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush and Ian McShane will sail to Philiipine theaters in May 2011. In anticipation of the film's global rollout, Disney shares some interesting, fun facts about the making of this fourth, eagerly awaited “Pirates” saga!

o “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is directed by Rob Marshall of “Chicago” and “Memoirs of a Geisha” fame.

o It's the first film in the “Pirates” franchise to be shot in Disney Digital 3D™, and the first all live-action, epic outdoor adventure shot on Red 3D cameras.

o New characters add to the fun of the all-new story: Blackbeard (Ian McShane), the ultimate pirate villain; Angelica (Penélope Cruz), a con-artist from Jack Sparrow’s past; Syrena (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey), the mystical mermaid; and Philip (Sam Claflin), the young mysterious missionary.

o For the fourth time, Geoffrey Rush reprises his role as Captain Barbossa. Until the last fim in the series, “At World’s End,” Barbossa’s first name, Hector, was never uttered by any of the characters.

o Although she spent more than two months in Hawaii, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey was not permitted to have fun in the sun on her days off…as the unearthly mermaid known as Syrena, she had to maintain her pale complexion.

o Keith Richards returns in a cameo as Captain Teague, Jack Sparrow’s father.

o Australian Gemma Ward, who plays Tamara, one of the eight mermaids, began modeling at age 14 and has already graced over 20 Vogue covers.

o The fully functional Queen Anne’s Revenge is the first historical ship to be represented in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” film franchise.

o World-class competitive surfer Tamayo Perry was one of six Hawaiian `Queen Anne’s Revenge' crewmen cast by director Rob Marshall.

o The film represents production designer John Myhre’s fifth collaboration with director Rob Marshall. Myhre was honored with Academy Awards® for Best Achievement in Art Direction for both “Chicago” and “Memoirs of a Geisha.”

o Appropriately enough for a pirate movie, the film shot on five different islands: Kauai, Oahu, Puerto Rico, Palominito (a small island off the island’s east coast), and although of a distinctly non-tropical nature, Great Britain.

o It's the biggest movie to ever film at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, shooting more of the complex than any previous production.

o While filming in the thick coconut grove at the famed and now shuttered Coco Palms Hotel in Wailua—where Elvis once sang “Blue Hawaii” for the movie of that title—773 coconut palms were harvested to prevent the heavy fruits from falling on the hapless heads of cast and crew. The harvested coconuts were taken away by local residents to take full advantage of the meat and milk of the tropical fruits.

Opening across the Philippines on May 2011, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.