'Pirates of the Caribbean': Inside the Extravagant Disneyland Premiere

THR spoke with director Rob Marshall and producer Jerry Bruckheimer on the black carpet at Saturday's world premiere of the fourth "Pirates" film

Johnny Depp skipped most of the press line to instead spend time with thousands of screaming fans. Invited guests swarmed the free rides with virtually no lines. And a fireworks show capped the outdoor screening of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at the film’s world premiere at Disneyland on Saturday night. Yes, Disney knows how to throw a party.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before, I’m overwhelmed,” said director Rob Marshall, new to the Pirates franchise, as fans yelled for his autograph. “This is the prefect location for tonight because it’s about fantasy and dreams.”

We spotted tons of stars and executives taking advantage of the Disney hospitality.

It seems like one of the few people not going on the rides was Pirates co-star Keith Richards. “I’m too old for that shit,” he told us.

But the evening wasn’t just fun and games. Disney has a lot riding on the success of the fourth film in the Pirates franchise, the first since the widely-panned At World’s End in 2007

 “We tried not to think of it as the fourth,” said Marshall‘s producing partner John DeLuca, who also served as an executive producer on the film, on the approach to the script. “Who wants to see the fourth of anything?”

 “We’ve gone from Ariel being very feisty to pretty much all out fierce,” jokes Ross.

A light mist fell during a portion of the screening. But it didn't dampen enthusiasm for the film, which features tons of laughs and adventure (and is a lot shorter than the bloated Pirates 2 and 3). The festivities went on until the park closed at 1 AM but Disney’s higher-ups and the movie’s creative team will have no time to sleep in on Sunday. The Pirates crew is flying to Europe for a premiere in Moscow on Monday, then London, then capping it off with a splash at the Cannes Film Festival.