Pirates 4 Trailer Madness

Do you really want to see the new trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides?  Well, if you're going be anywhere near Disneyland on December 13, you could win a chance to be among the first to see it as Mickey Mouse intended...on the big screen and in glorious 3D.

According to their official Facebook page, a special "Pirates Fans First!" event will be held at the AMC Downtown Disney Theater 12 in Anaheim, California.  Conveniently located right next door to the Disneyland Resort, "Fans First!" winners will also get to enter the park an hour prior to opening to ride the original Pirates attraction that inspired the film series, as well as attend a special after-trailer Pirates party.

That seems like a lot of fuss to go through for just a trailer that's going to be premiering everywhere that same day anyway, but hey, you do get to go to Disneyland as part of the deal, which is always fun (and the original Pirates ride there is so much better than the Florida version), so it sounds worth it just for that.  You can check out the details on how to enter the contest here.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sails into theaters on May 20, 2011.

While we're on the subject of the Pirates films, did you ever wonder who Captain Jack was named after?  Nope, it wasn't that Billy Joel song.  He was actually named after Hugh Jackman.  According to Curse of the Black Pearl writer Stuart Beattie, the role was written with Jackman in mind to play the lead until Disney decided he wasn't quite a big enough star yet (this was apparently pre-Wolverine) to play the part.  So instead they went with Johnny Depp, and the rest is history.

But Hugh as Captain Jack?  Wow.  Johnny Depp has so made that part his own that I want to say I can't picture anyone else playing him...but on the other hand, I have seen enough of Hugh Jackman's Boy From Oz ad-libs (which once included pulling Elvis Costello onstage) to think it would have been interesting to see.  No offense to Johnny, of course.